How many shots ? ?

[aron]

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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DRT shots are the minority except for on hunting forums where every shot ends up being DRT

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[S.Clancy]

With a rifle I've seen over 60 die. Most were 1 or 2 shots, with everything from a 6mm Rem to 300 WSM (majority 270 Win). 20-400 yds. Double shoulder, they drop on the spot. Ive seen them run up to 200-250 yds double lung. Bad hits were rare, but they go miles if hit poorly. We've shot them with lead and monos, shoot mostly monos now and am happy with their performance. Biggest thing, hit where you are aiming. I have been lucky that our group are excellent marksmen.

 

[butcherboy]

Shoot a good bullet and hit them in the lungs once. They are dead. I understand shooting again if the shot is poor but I’ve never understood shooting them in the exact same location until they fall. Once the lungs are demolished and deflated there is no reason to hit them in the lungs again. Same goes with a heart shot. Before everyone hates on me, I have shot elk multiple times due to a poor shot but never twice on a good shot in the lungs or heart. I’m a bow hunter for elk mostly so I like one shot and then watch them till they fall over.

 

[Huntinaz]

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.

View attachment 468231

That’s a sweet bull

 

[Huntinaz]

Shoot a good bullet and hit them in the lungs once. They are dead. I understand shooting again if the shot is poor but I’ve never understood shooting them in the exact same location until they fall. Once the lungs are demolished and deflated there is no reason to hit them in the lungs again. Same goes with a heart shot. Before everyone hates on me, I have shot elk multiple times due to a poor shot but never twice on a good shot in the lungs or heart. I’m a bow hunter for elk mostly so I like one shot and then watch them till they fall over.

Until I can cut them open and examine the lungs I assume the possibility the shot could be less than optimal. The only way to know for sure if the shot has done it’s business is when the elk falls over. Until then, not shooting them again is silly. Now if they are wobbling, sure. But that lasts about two seconds typically

Assuming your shot is perfect every time and letting them eventually either fall or run away will lose you an elk, down the line

If you actually have a heart shot, you better be pretty quick on the follow up shot if you’re going to get one. Not a whole lot of animals get heart shot twice

 

[highcountrymuley]

One Remington Core-lok!! Can't rember if this was 180 grain or 165. About 75 yards away. Couple steps.

 

[Behlftball]

This year, took me 1 shot. Came around a corner and had a bull inside 10 yards. 1 frontal shot with a .300 win mag 180 grain Nosler e-tip. He didn't go far.

 

[a_noob_hunter]

26 Nosler
575 yards
127 LRX
one shot
Maybe went 10 yards

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[Extrapale]

One shot elk kills have been rare for me. If they are on their feet, I am shooting.

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[Geewhiz]

So far this year

Mine took 1 arrow
My bro’s took 2 300gr Bergers at 554 yards
My wife’s took 1 300gr berger at 750 yards

 

[go_deep]

50/50 on 21 elk taken with one shot verse more than one. I can only think of 1 that had to have more than one though, the rest were dead and they/I just didn't know it for sure.

 

[Fitzwho]

1st shot put him down, he ran 30-40yards and watched him tip over. He must have moved a little while I went back to get my pack. Because he couldn’t have tipped over where I found him. But not more than another 5 yards.

I ended up putting another shot on him because I could have sworn he moved his head as I was walking up on him. I was solo, first bull nervous, so I wasn’t leaving anything else up to chance.

175 LRX, 300 win mag, 200 yards. Should have impacted his left shoulder going about 2950 at that range. The bullet cut his shoulder blade in half.

 

[Avonac]

First of all, my elk experience is exactly 1 bull that I killed this year. That said, there were four of us and everyone killed and shot 3 times. Cartridges were .300 rum, 7mm mag, 300 wsm and a 6.5prc. Most were realistically dead on the first round but they didn’t fall or run far. My thoughts were with all the money I spent on the trip, I wasn’t going to be cheap with bullets. If he was still standing, I was still shooting. The other guys were on the same page. This may throw stats off a little because I’m sure others keep shooting as well. A buddy told me one time that bullets were the cheapest part of hunting. I agree

 

[Nosferatu]

I've never shot a bull, but the 2 cows I've taken went down with a single shot. .30-06 w/168gr TTSX Buffalo Bore load.

 

[hunterjmj]

I've killed 2 cows with high shoulder shots and they dropped like a sack of potatoes. I always aim right behind the shoulder but they just ended up high shoulder.
The rest have been double lung either 1 or 2 shots.
My first bull was a 75 yard lung shot and he just stood there so I shot again and he finally got wobbly and tipped over.
I'll always shoot again if possible. Those suckers are tough. I'll shoot a deer again as well if needed.
You don't really always know you made a fatal shot so I always shoot again if possible.

 

[Brando26]

2 elk have been 1 and done
1 elk took 4 rounds.

270 WIN MAG with 150 grain Sierras. All shots inside 150 yards

 

[JFK]

1 bull
270 win, 129gr LRX bullet with impact velocity of 2214fps at 480 yards.

First shot dropped him like nothing I’ve ever seen. Literally fell where he was standing. Walked up on him 20-30 minutes later and he wasn’t going anywhere but was moving his head some, so I shot him in the neck to end things quickly.

 

[270quest]

5 point bull, 622 yards 1 shot 150 scenar…spined him and dropped in his tracks.

 

[mtnkid85]

Ive only ever killed a single bull with a single shot from a rifle and that was because he fell out of sight immediately. Every other bull gave me the chance to take another shot... and I took it!
Mostly 30-06 with 180 ABs, but also 180gr rem corelokts, 168gr ttsxs and a 338WM with 225gr ABs.
Rifle hunters could take a note from archery hunters. Just because an elk doesn't drop in sight, doesn't mean he's not dead. Ive never gotten a second shot with archery and expect to be doing some tracking after the shot, of course that can very from a few yards to miles but I pretty much expect the elk to move off some distance after the shot. And I am going to have to find him.

 

[mcseal2]

My last one I used a 300 win mag 180gr E tip. 180 yards quartering toward me. I shot once and the elk went 30 yards. Bullet exited. I’ve had good performance on deer, elk, caribou, and moose with that load.