Would appreciate a detailed critique of the Berger performance.
Update: for Mule Deer.
The quarters were finally thawed enough for me to process this elk. The onside shoulder was an absolute mess and the scapula blade was cracked and spiderwebbed like a rock chip in a windshield, but no actual bullet hole was there. I guess that means the berger (I presume my first shot, but don't really know) didn't penetrate the shoulder and blew up. I never found a trace of the bullet but had to cut a LOT of that meat away, which I really don't like doing. The amount of meat damage was kind of appalling. I rarely aim at the shoulder but guess I pulled my shot. Other more normal bullets do meat damage when put through the shoulder, but nothing near this bad and in my experience would have broke through that scapula with ease.
This is exactly what drove me away from bergers the first time, 10-12 years ago.
