Actually, Alaskacub, I hit the elk exactly where I was aiming. It's just that I needed to be aiming a few inches further forward to compensate for the trot < grin>. And no guts were hit. Jelly' d the back half of the near lung, and clipped the back of the off lung, bruising it and creasing/breaking it, barely.
The whole killing of this elk started the previous year and involved a lot of initiative and bust-ass on my part. In another sense, it was the culmination of 7 seasons of learning how to hunt the G.D. beasts. I did everything right, and the reward was having a split second to make a tricky shot. Which I did- animal was down in a couple seconds. My POINT is that I do feel that having a good, solid cartridge really helped. Sure didn't hurt in any way shape or form!
Would a 30-06 have done the same thing? I'd guess so, but my 22" 30-06 is actually a longer, heavier rifle than my 24" .325. Would a TSX and a .243 have done the same thing? Doubt it.
