Recently a couple of pards and I went elk hunting, and each of us had a cow tag. This is open-country elk hunting, and often a long shot is a necessity. I happened to take along my Kimber 7WSM/SS 3-9x42 w/MD, stoked with the 162AM at 3070fps.

We came across a herd of cows, and had the opportunity to use the 162 on 2 of them. The first cow was shot at a bit steeper quartering angle than we initially thought, at 532 meters. The first bullet entered just in front of the rear ham, penetrated the abdominal cavity, liver, lungs, ribs, and was recovered under the hide by the offside front shoulder. It penetrated roughly 4' of elk. At this point the cow whirled around and started running broadside. The second bullet hit a little further back than intended, penetrating the rear quarter, and exiting the opposite side. The proper amount of lead was used for the third bullet as the cow continued to run broadside, which hit in the ribs right behind the front leg, halfway up the body. The entry hole was 2" across, and the bullet exited the offside ribs, with a 1/2" exit hole. The cow immediately stumbled and went down for good. A grand total of about 1/4 lb of meat was lost from the rear quarters.

The second cow was initially shot at 463 meters with a 208AM fired from a .300WM. The cow was broadside and the wind gusted just a bit as the rifle fired, and the bullet hit her in the liver. It did not exit, and was not recovered. She bedded down out of sight. On the approach to finish her, she became aware of us, and got up to run. At this point a 162 hit her at 765 meters at a steep quartering angle as she was running off. It hit her in the rear quarter, penetrated diagonally, and exited just behind the offside front shoulder. This bullet also penetrated 3.5-4' of elk. She was finished off with a neck shot at 10'.

All in all, I continue to be impressed by just how deep these pills dig, as well as the wound channel that they leave.

Here's a couple of pics of the recovered bullet:
[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]