Back in 1968, I hunted with my Grandad within the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains of northern Wyoming. We both carried 30-30 Winchesters with iron sights. I shot a medium sized bull at about 80 yards through the chest but it only flinched and started to gallop away. I shot again and missed. Grandad told me to wait for the animal to lie down while he rolled a couple smokes from his packet of Bugler tobacco. After what seemed like an eternity, we hiked down the slope to find the bull dead. This elk had traveled about 150 yards before expiring. The next evening, Grandad toppled a young bull with a neck shot at about the same distance. The animal dropped in its tracks! Neither of us read outdoor magazines and had no idea that 30-30 rifles were considered inadequate for elk hunting. Years later, I bought a Savage 99 in .308 and topped it with a Redfield 2-7X scope. This rifle accounted for several more elk. My longest shot ever at a bull elk was about 225 yards or so. My impression is that elk do not react to a lethal double lung shot like deer but they don't travel very far. Most of my relatives in Wyoming hunt with 30-06 rifles but one cousin has had very good luck with his Marlin lever gun in 35 Remington. This rifle shoots a 200 grain bullet at about 2200 feet per second which seems un-impressive on paper charts but slams through elk ribs with great authority.
