Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Do you shoot till they drop

I've only shot one elk with a single shot before. Usually I just keep pumping rounds into them until it's real obvious they are about to topple. I have this fear of one getting away after tagging it.

The other thing I've noticed is that a good hit on a settled animal seems to lock them up for the most part in their tracks. I had one with a solid hit trot about 50 yards before I rolled him. Both shots were effective lung shots.

What's the group vibe. Trust a good shot and wait or treat em like combatants and keep shooting till they roll?

I shot one Elk with a single shot. Seven hours later and several miles away I got the second, and killing, shot.
Never again!
I shoot until it falls or until my magazine is empty (hasn't gone that far yet)

Shoot until you see hooves in the air.

But shoot carefully, placement is king

conrad---I agree a good 1st shot seems to "lock-up". It's like they are soaking up the shock of the bullet. I'll put another into them----that will usually put'em down. CB

Where I've done most of my hunting is really thick stuff. Because of that when I shoot an elk, it's moving and I'm trying to get it to stop.
The only time I don't pump more lead into them is when it's not in a brushy tangle, there's no one else around, I can see the last shot went where I wanted it to---for sure---and I'm looking through my scope at the animal standing still.
Sometimes around here, an elk going another 100 yards means someone else finishes it off and gets the elk. I've seen elk trot off down a trail with blood spurting two feet out both sides...they can be tough to put down.

I keep shooting at anything I hunt until either is dead or I am out of ammo. I try to make the first shot count keep pumping in lead until the head goes down. I also keep an eye on it for a while with a gun at ready in case it decides it is not dead.

I shoot until they are down or out of site. Seen to many people proclaim an animal dead as it was running off. I don't need it to happen to me to learn my lesson.

I shoot until they stop kicking. I have lost one deer that dropped like a rock at the shot and then 10 or 15 seconds later I seen his head come up and crawled into the brush. Blood was every where for about 50 yards and then nothing. Bullets are cheap..
Dink

+1

It's been about half and half for me for rifle. Obviously, with a smokepole, things are different. Still, even the one's that drop in their tracks I try to have another round ready.

If It's still standing ,I keep shooting. When they drop at the shot, I'm still not convinced.
Seen 'em get back up about the time you are congratulating yourself.

I watched my son shoot his first elk this year with 4 Barnes TSX's out of his 300 Win Mag. Three were textbook in the kill zones in about a 3" circle; with the flier just a little ahead in the neck. 200+ yds! (I had to admit to him it was some awesone shooting and that really hurt! LOL!) Harris bi-pods are nice to have as well! I was spotting for him with my binos. Everytime he got up or attempted to get up I would say "shoot him again"!

He shot him out of a herd of about 65 animals (5 really nice bulls in this herd!) on my aunts ranch at Grand Lake Colo. They had all come off the mtn into the meadow and I think the bulls were maybe a bit pumped with adrenalin.... :-)

Bob

I will frequently put a good shot on a deer, and watch it run out of sight, knowing full well I"ll find it shortly.Elk are different..as long as they are on their feet, they are recieving fire from my AO...I had one of those instances mentioned earlier...8 hours and five miles between first and second shot...


Ingwe

Hey Ingwe!

Hope all is well in your camp!

This year it will be my turn with the big Mauser on the elk... Looks like the wife and I will heading up there this summer to do a little fishing!

Another try for nilgai in April!

Bob

Even if I know the first shot is lethal and the elk is still standing I keep shooting......I look at it as free practice!

IMO...Make the first shot count, and be ready for follow up shots until the hooves are sticking up in the air!!!!

I guess I'm the odd one here.If I know the shot was good,I give them time to die.I did shoot cow tice last year.Shot her while she was in her bed.She stood up and I could not belive it,so I shot her again ,and she fell back in the bed she got up from. I don't hunt where there are a lot of hunters so I have no fear of someone else tagging it.If I feel I have made a bad shot,I might shoot again,but in heavy timber,the chance for a follow up shot is slim, so I always make sure the 1st one goes where it should.Sometimes when I get up to them I will give them another round behind the ear if they are still alive from maybe a high shot that hit the spine.

Looking back I bet at least 75% of the elk I have shot have dropped either where they stood or went less than 50 yds. Both bulls and cows

If you are headed for MT to fish, youd better get in touch for some fishing lie swapping, and Bambi on the Barbie+ cold ones!

Ingwe

I always shoot until the animal drops.
I do it for everyhting, not just elk. Deer, bear, sheep and hopefully one day moose...

Get the lead out! Bullets are cheap compared to the hunt. Alot can and will go wrong, beter safe than sorry IMHO!