I've had elk run between 0 and about 250 yards shot through the lungs with normal bullet performance in relatively flat areas. In the area I hunt that is steeper I've had a head shot cow roll over 150 yards down hill. The attempt to keep her on top of the ridge with a head shot didn't work.
A 165 grain partition will kill elk all day long how far they travel depends on lots of things like placement then penetration and distance of shot, did you break the on or off side shoulder, was the elk on the run or unaware, how steep is the place where you shot them. It's always nice when they drop but it isn't abnormal for them to cover some ground on the last run.
