Hunted deer before elk and based on different bullet construction, weight, shot angles, penetration, retained weight, etc I went away from softer, lighter jacketed bullets to tougher bonded ones.
For example I took a blacktail buck that was quartering away with a 130 BT. Left a huge hole in the side without much penetration, and lots of fragments. Had a similar shot a few years later on another blacktail using an Accubond, multiple broken ribs, tore up lung, big chunk of its heart gone, broken off shoulder, and exited.
Took elk with Accubonds for quite a while and while the bullets performed well, I wanted more penetration than I was getting from a 270. Broadside, easy. Quartering I wanted more. Went to 7 mags with 160 ABs, no issues.
Have stepped back to a 280AI mainly for elk with 145 LRXs, and use LRXs almost exclusively, with the exception of 150 TTSXs from a 308. Most deer haven't taken more than a few steps, if any, and though I've taken only a couple elk with them so far, I've had perfect results.
While I haven't been around 100 elk taken, not even close, I've taken enough deer and elk to prefer tougher and heavier (than 115 - 130) bullets.
Thank you.
