Tim,

Your story does not surprise me at all -- they are amazing animals.
I tend to agree with bigbulls as I personally don' t favor neck and head shots as the best choice -- I' m a " bust them in the shoulder" man myself, however.....

Many, many people -- especially those going after elk for the first time with " deer hunting" expectations as their benchmark (which may or may not be the case with your friend) have come to find out that a bull elk is one TOUGH critter.

Still recommend big tools for big jobs.

Never Go Undergunned,
EKM