How many shots ? ?

[rootacres]

2020 bull - 1 shot 168 gr Berger (7mm)
2022 bull - 2 shots 168 gr Berger (7mm)

 

[Huntinaz]

Elk are tough. Bullet energy doesn’t knock them down. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen them take a heart shot or a shot through the aortic trunk or a good lung shot standing with just a flinch or nothing noticeable. Especially bulls

The TTSX though is my very favorite elk bullet

My daughter managed a one shot kill on her full size cow this year. 7mm-08, 120gr TTSX, 190 yards. That’s the exit side in the picture:

This bull took two 180gr Accubonds without noticeable reaction. He died:

This bull took a 180 Accubond standing. He died:

This bull went down with one TTSX, 300 yards, went through him:

This bull took at ~180ish Berger standing, barely a flinch. He died:

This bull took two 180gr Partitions standing. He died:

Point being, elk will withstand fatal punishment like a boss. Shoot them until they are down, absolutely. But if the shot is fatal, they don't stay standing. Lots of great bullets out there. I prefer bonded or monolithic. I think the TTSX is king for elk, myself, based on what I've seen.

 

[WeiserBucks]

A few years ago another group camped right next to us at roadside base camp for deer/elk. While we were BS'ing mid afternoon we heard a single shot go off in the distance. One guy in their group says "Well, they only shot once, couldn't have been an elk".

Laugh my ass off every time I think about it.

 

[2muchhp]

Never shot an elk myself but put a lot of people on them. I've seen them take multiple from the big magnums and fall dead from one shot from a 25-06.
Never have figured out th reasoning

 

[Jr4]

Last two I have taken 700 yards and 808 yards both one shot, nether went more than 30 yards
300 win mag 210ABLR, but I have spotted many times for friends shots, and watched the hit right in the boiler room, and they just stood there then walked off second hit put them all down

 

[KsRancher]

Last year shot my first bull. 300RUM with 180gr Corelokts. Little over 400yds. He soaked up 3 before going down. He pretty well just stood there and took it. All 3 shot right thru the lungs, no shoulder. 1 would have easily done it, but I was told that on elk you keep shooting

 

[willtim]

High shoulder with a well constructed bullet will usually drop any animal.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I had an Indian guide tell me he cleaned elk and recovered bullets from several of them. One elk had two in it and survived until it was taken on one of his guided hunts. He said aside from the bullets he took out of them, they looked and acted normal.

 

[Indyal]

All my elk ( except one recurve bow kill) have been with a 300 WM: 180 gr Winchester fail safes( Dave Petzel called them "the wrath to come"), 180 gr Remington core-lokts, 180 gr Nosler trophy bonded.
Shots ranged from about 40 yards to 360 yards. A spike was spined on first shot so had to do another shot. Two different 5 x 5s were still standing after a broadside chest shot ( 40 yards and 360 yards) and were given a 2nd shot. But both were standing still after the first shot and were basically dead on their feet.
All fell within 25-30 yards of where they were shot.

One bull took 3 shots at about 250 yards. The first shot was broadside in the chest but he was weaving back and forth still on his feet. I fired 2 more times and he fell on the spot. When I got to him, there was only one entry and exit hole, so I figure the only explanation was that all three shots went through the same hole. Your explanation may vary.

 

[Short Track]

If you were really fast on the reload you might have managed to shoot him 6 times, then you could claim it took 6 bullets to kill him . No one will ever be sure.

I did manage to fire another round, but it went over him as he dropped. I will never risk tracking an Elk uphill in the Colorado Rockies at 9000'. I've seen too many lost to bear food, and punched tags.

 

[Terrapin]

I keep shooting until they fall down… bow or rifle. Plus I’m a really fast shooter. Once I put one drain hole in an elk, I figure more is better. I’ve spent way too much of my life following wounded elk.


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[RancherJohn]

Lots of single shot kills with TTSX/LRX in 6.5PRC, .308, and .300WM, maybe 3 or so took more than one round. A few single shot kills with ELD-X bullets as well.

 

[Billy Goat]

A few years ago another group camped right next to us at roadside base camp for deer/elk. While we were BS'ing mid afternoon we heard a single shot go off in the distance. One guy in their group says "Well, they only shot once, couldn't have been an elk".

Laugh my ass off every time I think about it.

Around home the saying is:
1 shot, 1 deer.
2 shots maybe a deer,
3 shots no deer.

But it's a lot different than the mountain elk hunting. Shoot until they are dead, not just off their feet, but dead.

 

[TraderMike]

Depends on where the shot hits. High shoulder or right at the strap/neck and they drop like a ton of bricks.

I generally equate a "high shoulder shot" to being a spinal shot. In my experience nothing drops an animal faster that a destroyed spinal column. Is this basically what you are implying? I believe your description of a strap/neck shot is a spinal shot but please correct me if my assumptions are incorrect. Thanks...

 

[TraderMike]

300RUM 1 shot 210 Berger VLD / 3195fps
Upper angle shot, through the upper shoulder and exit through the spine. All ended within a couple steps
View attachment 467526

Great pic! If that isn't the epitome of elk country I don't know what is....

 

[CAElkhunter]

They are tough bastards and very different. I have found that Nosler partitions put them down faster than
Barnes X but both die. Depends a lot on distance. I have found the Barnes X punch a whole right through where the Noslers typically do a lot of internal damage wound channel and stay in the elk. In my experience.

 

[Woodrow3]

I shot one three times at 25 yards last week with 162 Hornady ELD-X's. Took all three in the lungs then tipped over. First one would have killed him, but if they are still standing, I'm still shooting.

 

[RS3579]

6, I only hit it 3x tho. Must of been Mad Cow Fever!

 

[nphunter]

Most elk I’ve shot have dropped with one shot. My sons bull a couple of years ago dropped in his tracks with a 168vld from my 280AI.

The bull below took 6 shots from a 300win mag and a 200gr partition. 3 in the lungs, 2 in the shoulder and 1 final shot in the neck, he was a giant bodied animal.

 

[KineKilla]

As a guide I see shot counts all over the board. The one and done, DRT shots are the minority.

My client last week took 5 to get it done (3 hits, 2 misses), his dad sent 4 and his brother only shot once.

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