JG,

That's my experience as well, and both Eileen and I have killed mule deer weighing 350-400 pounds (which overlaps elk size) using "deer cartridges." Have also seen 350-400 pound elk dropped neatly with cartridges like the .243 Winchester and .257 Roberts.

On a hunt here in southwestern Montana 3-4 years ago, some friends and I were after deer and elk. The country was a mix of open spaces, and fingers of thick timber on north slopes of ridges.

Two guys were shooting 6.5 Creedmoors, and both got shots at elk. One was using 140-grain Nosler AccuBonds, and encountered a 6x6 bull while hiking through thick timber to get to a glassing point. He shot the bull at 50 yards, which went 30-40 yards before keeling over--and the bullet exited.

The other guy (an experienced long-range shooter) shot at a bull at 450 yards, and hit it. But despite a blood trail the was never found. I don't remember what bullet he was using, but obviously nobody knows exactly where it landed. Was it the fault of the bullet, the cartridge or the shooter?


“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck