bullet placement
 

What shot do you take on an elk? A bullet in the lungs or do you aim for the shoulder? Can premium bullets hold up to shoulder shots on Elk?

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RE: bullet placement
 

On a broadside shot, I always aim for a lung shot tight behind the shoulder and in the middle of the body. Miss high, you hit the spine. Miss forward, you hit the shoulder. Miss low, you hit the heart. Miss back and you hit the liver. All fatal shots.

Yes, premiums will punch through the shoulder.

RE: bullet placement
 

A liver-shot elk can run a long, long ways. Best to knock his wheels out. Hold center on the shoulder.

BJ

RE: bullet placement
 

This is one of those tough questions that each person will answer from his own experience.
My opinion is the same as txhunter. I have seen elk with a front shoulder busted and other elk with the rear quarter joint busted just keep on running I was amazed at how far they went.
A good double lung shot will drop an elk quickly, and a spine shot drops them immediately. If you only get one lung the elk can still cover quite a distance.
I am sure others here have seen elk drop by taking out the front shoulder, that has not been my experience unless you hit high in the shoulder and hit the spine also.

RE: bullet placement
 

I'm with Tx on this one, just behind the shoulder !!

RE: bullet placement
 

Straight through the shoulders (center) is straight thru the lungs - no locomotion - they don't get away very often! (Assuming of course, you aren't using a 30-30 or some other fly weight). It takes a good powerful cartridge and a quality (partition and up), heavy for caliber bullet to make it work well though. If you don't have enough gun or enough bullet or a quality bullet, then it's best to take the "detour" and "thread it" in behind the shoulder (your angle needs to be good and your deviation needs to be small) and hope for the best.

Second day of the early season, two years ago, in the early morning I came across a beautiful 6x6 laying near the trail rigor mortis starting to set in and just starting to bloat up real nice. Most likely shot the late afternoon/evening before. Classic "white tail shot" right behind the shoulder half way up. That bull elk ran far enough that that hunter didn't get to claim his trophy, his odds of running him down would have been lots better if he had taken one or both shoulders. (A desperate hunter did cut the antlers off two days later (had to be ripe).

Where to hit'em will rage on just like cartridge selection. I'll always vote for "bust'em through the shoulder" with something big. If you do, then you'll own them right there and that 100 to 150 pounds of "wrapped" meat won't be rotting by the trail.

Never undergunned,
EKM

Good judgment comes from bad experience! Half of elk hunting is knowing what NOT to do!

Edited by - ELKampMaster on 01/28/2003 18:28:51

RE: bullet placement
 

i think that if you shoot thru the front shoulder then you have more bone to hit and make 3 legged animals if the bullet stops at the bone. if you take out the lungs then it usually drops after 20-30 yds. how long can you hold your breath, now how long can you hold it running????

IF IT IS TO BE......
IT IS UP TO ME......

RE: bullet placement
 

A shot through the lungs will kill any animal faster than any other shot. As the lungs bleed out the blood pressure drops and the animals brain tells the heart to beat faster to accomodate for the loss of pressure. As the pressure keeps dropping the heart keeps beating faster and faster and more blood leaves the animal. Part of the lungs are located behind the front shoulder, but not that much. I aim just behind the crease in the shoulder. You get the lungs and / or heart and get far better penetration than through the shoulder.

RE: bullet placement
 

If it is a cow elk, spike bull, or rag horn I will hit it behind the front leg in the center of the body. If it is a mature bull elk, I will hit it square in the shoulder. I am primarly a meat hunter, but if I see a big bull I want to anchor it right there. Good luck.

Edited by - handloader1 on 01/29/2003 00:06:00

RE: bullet placement
 

Most of them have been through the shoulders because I wanted to stop them where they were rather than let them travel .

RE: bullet placement
 

I shoot all elk and moose behind the shoulder and have never had to track one yet.

RE: bullet placement
 

Its got to depend at least partly on the situation.

Close, in open country, with time, I'd take a crease/behind shoulder shot.

Moving, brush, tough country, I'd aim high in the mid shoulder if possible.

And I have killed a few bulls in my time (never had trouble finding any); and I say who's really kidding who? You don't always get the luxury of this choice.On most of 'em I haven't had really the space or time to plan it out too much. In the brush, hit 'em in the front and don't stop shootin' till they stop movin'. It is generally thick timber where I hunt.

RE: bullet placement
 

BullKllr,
You bring up a good point. The "opportunity window" for rifle elk is typically quite brief. One has to get the crosshairs into the middle of one's "feel good zone" and squeeze off a round or the opportunity may well be gone thus leaving the hunter second guessing himself, "Why did I wait for "perfect" when I had "sufficient"? Elk certainly don't stand around as patiently as deer (the 125 yard look back at you shot) and certainly not as patient as that paper target that sits opposite of the bench rest.

Rochelle,
I forgot to "stay on point" to your last question, about quality bullets hold up on shoulder shots. You could hear varying accounts on this, but in my experience, "Yes." One example: I found one bullet as we dressed/skinned an elk this year. 375HH, 300 grain Nosler Partition, 210 yards, went through both shoulders and stirred up everything in between, and lodged under the hide on the opposite side. 75% of the "mushroom petals" were intact and probably 50% of the front portion of the bullet was intact for roughly 75-80% intact overall. I was pleased.

Never Undergunned,
EKM

Good judgment comes from bad experience! Half of elk hunting is knowing what NOT to do!

Edited by - ELKampMaster on 01/30/2003 11:29:36

RE: bullet placement
 

how come people think that they have to take a long distance shot at elk???????? people who bowhunt have to get close for a good shot and good shot placement, so why shouldn't rifle hunters do the same????????? every elk i've ever shot has been within 50 yds and only had one that ran over 100 yds. you take out the lungs and it might run 40 yds at the most. if you have too or want to then shoot again. just my 2 cents


[email protected]

IF IT IS TO BE......
IT IS UP TO ME......

RE: bullet placement
 

I can't speak for the rest of the country, but in Colorado some differences (not that they'll be at all acceptable) that result in longer shots are:

By rifle season, there's little or no rut or pre-rut activity. Elk are no longer "love sick" and thus are not as likely to be guilty of poor judgment (being fooled).

By rifle season, the herds have been hassled first by the archery hunters (minor) and then the muzzle loaders (major). The "word is out" about hunters and the game on public land tends to be much more skittish (read longer shots) by the time the regular rifle hunters get there.

Archery season is months long, our elk season is 5 days long - don't have any time to waste - got to get the job done. Plus, when you butcher, wrap and freeze 5 elk in camp it can take a day or two.

Kinda like the Iraqi Republican Guard and our boys out in the desert - we're there to win, not screw around! Got the technology (magnum rifle, range finder, scope) and going to use it. If it's a clean shot in my kill zone then its in trouble. Some folks by choice of their tools limit their kill zone and if thats what they want then that is fine.

------------------

Just my perspective, may be too pragmatic for some, probably not for everyone, some may not like it that way - thats okay, some may call it unsportsmanlike - thats okay, some may say thay like it different - thats okay, some may shoot all their elk at 40 yards with iron sights - thats okay, some may agree - thats okay too.

Never Undergunned
EKM


Good judgment comes from bad experience! Half of elk hunting is knowing what NOT to do!

Edited by - ELKampMaster on 01/30/2003 22:52:50

RE: bullet placement
 

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
how come people think that they have to take a long distance shot at elk???????? people who bowhunt have to get close for a good shot and good shot placement, so why shouldn't rifle hunters do the same????????? every elk i've ever shot has been within 50 yds and only had one that ran over 100 yds. you take out the lungs and it might run 40 yds at the most. if you have too or want to then shoot again. just my 2 cents
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

Whoa there, get some more facts before you get question mark happy. Like EKM says rifle sason is a whole different ball of wax. If you had ever gone on a unguided general season rifle hunt on public land you'd know that. I've been on bow hunts early in the season and elk are very responsive to calls and very relaxed. During rifle season you can get em to call back to ya but they aren't as likely to come runnin.

Why?

Because they aren't lookin for girlfriends near as much. Early season hunts have relatively few hunters in the mountains. Rifle season has many hunters and just the high amount of human presence get the elk spooked, and thats before we go trompin through thier bedrooms and watering holes. The elk are very spooked by the time rifle season comes around and the hunt becomes much more difficult. In areas like Colorado or Utah where I'm at, open country and deep canyons are common and elk when spooked will not come to calls and will stay where they can see all around them so stalking is much less likely. Also there a smaller factors. Bow hunters can where camo but rifle hunters have that bright orange to give them away. And elk can see better than most think. Sorry but on general season public land rifle hunts, your success many times will depend on your rifles ability to to make a long shot.

Not trying to say rifle hunting is more difficult but it would be if we had the same range limitations. Thats why sometimes we have to take a long distance shot at an elk!!!!!!!!

RE: bullet placement
 

hey elkcampmaster, i invite you to come and enjoy some arizona elk hunting, no charge for GUIDE FEES, you put in for an area and we get drawn and we go. byob and food too. lol all the areas i hunt have rolling hills and no real verticals (unless you want too) check out www.azgf.com i usually hunt unit 6a. in the back pg #68 has the draw percentages email me [email protected]

IF IT IS TO BE......
IT IS UP TO ME......

RE: bullet placement
 

Dart,
Thanks for the invitation. No doubt Arizona has some of the premier elk hunting and some of the biggest bulls in the U.S. and having the opportunity to avoid guide fees and have someone provide info is a real plus! Though you might have to admit we'd likely make strange company, given our different styles and the importance of elk camp camaraderie plus our being on different sides of a &quot;few&quot; issues.

I've got a fair bunch of people, friends and family, counting on our annual &quot;setup&quot; of the &quot;Hilton Elk Camp&quot; in Colorado each year and taking 16 to 17 days off for that is a handful - two elk outings in a single autumn would likely leave me divorced! So thanks, but no can do.

Even though the elk hunting thing has been and is wonderful, as of late, I'm feeling a little restless for something a little different: caribou, moose, the great bears, and then African game. With Africa being so reasonable in cost versus Alaska and Canada it may NOT go in that order. So I'm banking my time and my money accordingly.

[Note: one advantage to Africa, is you can hunt six months later (like spring turkey hunting).]

Never Undergunned,
EKM

Good judgment comes from bad experience! Half of elk hunting is knowing what NOT to do!

Edited by - ELKampMaster on 01/31/2003 23:36:16