I was on an elk hunt in NM about 12 or 15 years ago and after I had tagged out on a nice bull my guide and I helped another hunter track down a bull he had wounded. We finally caught up with the poor bastard and killed it after he had shot it 5x at various ranges and at various angles. I can't remember all the details, but I do remember he was shooting a 300 Win Short Mag and 165 grain Winchester Ballistic silvertips. Not one of the bullets penetrated any big bones or got to any vitals and the elk was running around the mountains with various horrible flesh wounds when we finally caught up with the elk and killed it. I asked the hunter why he chosen that particular load to shoot and he told me it was the most accurate of various factory ammo he had tried. I killed my bull on that hunt with 2 rounds out of my 300 Win mag at 425 and 440 yards respectively with 180 grain NPs. One shot went entirely though the bull breaking his off leg between the shoulder and elbow on the way out and the other all the way though hanging up on the offside hide after breaking his off shoulder.
How does this relate to this thread? In my experience, when you are shooting at large animals with thick hides and heavy bones protecting their vitals, accuracy is important, but not as important as bullet construction and performance.
Just my humble opinion.
"You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass" ~Admiral Yamamoto~
When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. ~Thomas Jefferson~
