Ive trailed and help dress several elk over the years , elk some guys got excited and shot in the butt, ruining a ham and scrambling the guts, by not placing the shot directly up the anus, like your supposed to do if you feel the TEXAS HEART SHOT is a VALID option, (ITS NOT IN MY PERSONAL OPINION) not a single one Ive seen on ELK,or helped trail STAYED dropped with that shot,most got up and hobbled away, for at least a short distance and its a damn mess to dress out! while its a fatal shot Id bet theres several elk lost that are hit that way each year. personally Ive always waited for a better angle, and most times I get it too! seldom in my experiance do you have only a single chance from a single angle,most of the time both you and the elk change possitions and shot angles, but thats one of the advantages of useing a 340 mag/250 grain combo, a rakeing shot driven from the rear ribs near the diaphram to the opposite side lower shoulder area at an angle will penetrate the heart lung area if placed between 1/3 and 1/2 way up the chest from the bottom on a rear angle quartering shot while a lighter weight bullet of smaller caliber may not penetrate that deeply in a strait line. I trailed a cow hit with a fast expanding 130 grain 270 bullet that way for several hundred yards years ago, before the hunter dropped her with a second shot as she staggered away, it was a stinking mess to dress out. ID avoid the shot,99% of the time on an unwounded ELK, and have refused to take it on several occasions when I passed and did not get an ELK, hey thats hunting!! :grin:
http://www.arkansasbowhunters.org/miscpages/elk_shot.htm
now don,t think IM even hinting you need a magnum to kill ELK,...YOU DON,T....... EVEN a 257 roberts can effectively KILL elk...... but the range of ethical shots are fewer...... and the ranges shorter that you should be taking if you choose some of the lighter hitting combos
http://www.arkansasbowhunters.org/miscpages/elk_shot.htm
now don,t think IM even hinting you need a magnum to kill ELK,...YOU DON,T....... EVEN a 257 roberts can effectively KILL elk...... but the range of ethical shots are fewer...... and the ranges shorter that you should be taking if you choose some of the lighter hitting combos
