Oh excuse me fer slightin' the highly experienced hunter callin' heavy-made bullets an' other folks experience nonsense. Let me try agin.

Beans:
Contrary to your assessment of ballistic tips, I have found in many years that they don't penetrate tough bull elk like other bullets. They are designed for accuracy, and for deer they are fine. But most elk are taken at less than 100 yards, and fragile bullets won't reliably perform at high velocity. In addition, planning on a heart shot at any range is inadvisable, in my humble opinion. Shoot for the shoulder to incapacitate and lung shoot the bull. Tough bullets are the choice of most seasoned elk hunters because of the need to punch through the animal and eliminate a lengthy, difficult track, regardless of range. I had the misfortune of tracking a BT shot elk just 2 years ago. The bullet over-expanded on thick muscle, and after a lengthy track, another shot was needed (which also blew up on the neck at 15 yards). Other hunters in my camp also have had similar misfortunes as I have, so my opinion is based on many real life occurances under hunting conditions. Another episode 5 years ago with mule deer is also etched in my mind, but I am far too humble to quote my real life experiences when I certainly haven't done all the quality bench rest shooting that most hunters have. I know bench rest shooting is the utmost in preparation for elk hunting, but I have been much too busy to do much of that. I have not carried sand bags in my day pack for years, finding that wind, moving animals, obstructions, winded hunters, and fading light typically confound bench rest hunting. Now that doesn't mean it doesn't work for you. After all, you have been remarkably successful in your four years of hunting elk. So please accept my opinion in the friendliest, non-inflammatory manner as possible. I know its just nonsense, because after all, you said so.

BJ