Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Question for the Elk Intelligentsia

Quite often when an animal is hit and just stands there, it's going into shock. That's caused by a very rapid drop in blood pressure. It's dead on it's feet but it acts like nothing has happened. You don't know if you hit or missed it entirely so the best thing to do is play your bets and shoot again.

7mm Remington Magnum, 150 grain Nosler Partition...assuming appropriate velocity at target and proper bullet placement = a freezer full of elk meat.

Absolutely 0 need to waste time, powder and bullets to gain 10 grains more in bullet weight.

Thus far, Partition accuracy has eluded me on every turn. I keep trying as I figure I am bound to hit upon the right load eventually. I figure a 150 Partition in any of my .284’s running 3000 fps would be the only load I would ever need.

I think you paraphrased what Jon Sundra said many years ago.

Not that it matters, but I bet it’s true too.

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Quite often when an animal is hit and just stands there, it's going into shock. That's caused by a very rapid drop in blood pressure. It's dead on it's feet but it acts like nothing has happened. You don't know if you hit or missed it entirely so the best thing to do is play your bets and shoot again. [/quote]

It’s really gonna be “going into shock” if it stands there when I shoot it again!

I once put 4 rounds through the lungs of an elk and broke the far shoulder as it just stood there like nothing happened. Then it slowly sank down. The lungs were nothing but jello. I'm convinced that the 1st shot hit a major artery and it went into shock, just bleeding out on it's feet, unable to move. That's how shock works.

Not trying to one-up your experience but I shot a bull at about 75 yards right behind the shoulder with a .35 Whelen and he just stood there. I fired again and he still stood there. On my third shot, he was starting to fall over as I fired. Upon inspection, all 3 rounds hit within 3 or 4 inches and exited. Lungs were jello, arteries shot off the top of his heart, and everything else a mess, yet he never took a step. Stranger things have happened!

That just demonstrates my point about shock. Your 1st round hit a big artery and his blood pressure plummeted. He went into shock almost immediately and from there he was largely brain dead. His body wasn't able to function. You could have shot several more times and it wouldn't have made any difference unless you knocked a leg off to drop him faster.

There's plenty on the web about shock and it's causes and effects. They'll be talking about people but it's the same thing in animals. After reading up on it, you'll likely recognize the symptoms in animals you've shot in the past. Since most hunters shoot for the lungs and heart, it's actually quite common but most hunters don't recognize it for what it is.

I have killed some very nice bulls with the 7mm 160 grain NP, I can not imagine 10 gains making any difference at all. If you can't get it done with a 7RM shooting 150 PT's you need a better excuse than you choice of rifle and load let you down.

My 7 mag shoots 3 150 grain bullets into a hole you can cover with a dime at 100 yards quite often. Never has liked 160’s at all. I’ve killed several elk using Barnes & Nosler 150’s with good results. Your partitions are perfect elk medicine. But they aren’t deer a bullet through the chest at 200 yards might just make them look at you & run over the hill - they will die but less quickly & dramatically than deer by a long way depending on shot placement.