Also, my friend Elmer wanted the critter to be dead, dead, dead about the same time as the bullet stopped inside the critter or came out through the hide on the other side � the ultimate bang-flop. He'd had to track (and had lost) far too many clients' wounded critters through the dog-hair tangle that's so common in good Idaho and Montana elk country. He wanted 'em to go down, as our mutual friend Jack McPhee said, "like an armload of wet fish nets."
Dead later, no matter how soon later, wasn't quite good enough.
I think most of us want the same thing, but that desire doesn't require us to strictly esteem Elmer's words above Jack's, or Jack's above Elmer's.
The hunters I know personally all want quick clean kills, and their cartridges of choice (for deer and elk) range from .257 Weatherby to .300 Win Mag., w/ plenty of .270 Win., .308 Win., and .30-06 in between. What those guys do have in common is a consideration of bullet construction for the game being hunted.
At the end of the day, I'm just grateful we've been blessed with the writings of both Elmer and Jack, and a whole host of other fine gun/outdoor writers past and present. I've enjoyed reading them all, and I think my perspective on guns and hunting (and, sometimes life itself) has been enriched a little more by their varied works.
