Dawns on me that I've only seen one elk shot perfectly broadside. I wasn't the one shooting it. None of mine have been perfectly broadside. That said, I will take a straight-on shoulder shot on a quartering-to elk, even with my "soft" bullets. I've never had one fail yet. More often, I've aimed for the off-side shoulder on various angles angle away. This always gets the bullet into the lungs. Have used neck shots a few times. My brother uses them a lot, and we hunt elk together most of the time. He makes some spectacular (and intentional) neck shots. I prefer not to shoot into meat, but with elk, I take the shots I'm given. Still get ridiculous elk fever after all these years, and I have my hands full just trying to breathe when the sights are on elk.
