Blood trail for elk

There’s no guaranteed blood trail on an elk, but if your bullet makes a good wound channel in the right place they’re not going to go far. I’ve had both the 168 and 180 TTSX not exit out of a .300 win mag. Both bullets did a lot of damage and neither bull made it out of sight. If I had to pick one bullet for elk for the rest of my life it would be an Accubond.
All my elk have been shot with 160gr accubonds in 7mm RM. Ive switched to 155gr Terminal Ascents due to availability... I've heard really good things about the TA's.
 
404 yards laying down over a pack. My old man did the shooting and I did the ranging and photographing.

View attachment 330443
jeez - not sure it was possible for a 6.5 creedmoor to do anything to an elk 🤣. Makes me lol when people think a 6.5 prc is a perfectly suitable elk gun but the same bullet going 200 ish fps slower will bounce off.
 
Depends on where the bullet hits the animal. Low in the chest will drain the blood out rapidly. High in the chest, the lungs may be shot and the animal is dead, but until the blood flow hits the outlet hole, you won't have much blood to follow. Poke a hole in the bottom of a full bucket of water and it will empty right out, hit it at the waterline and you won't get much water to come out.
☝️ Best advice on this thread.

Also keep in mind that, other things being equal, a bullet designed to open at low velocity (long range) can open VERY rapidly at high velocity (short range). Nothing wrong with quick expansion—it kills just fine—but a fully-expanded bullet has a very unpredictable path inside the animal, which in turn makes it a bit less likely to exit in a predictable place.

All that said, the core of Hammer Hunters have an excellent track record of exiting after they shed their petals inside the animal. The two elk and one bear I've shot with them dropped within view, but all three had notable exit wounds with blood pouring out. All three were also within 100 yds, so YMMV.
 
To each to there own. Not preaching out past 300 yards. But head shots do the trick. Just curious as to why u frown on a good head shot.
 
Alot of people think they chris Kyle. But in actuall conditions. Wind angle 400 is a poke little alone 800. Lol. People on u tube do it all the time. My longest kill shot is 250. Most elk I have killed are within 100. But I hunt the timber alot and hunt them actually.
 
Fowladdict. No doubt 6.5 143 Hornady eldx very capable. I bought my daughter and oldest son 6.5 cripplemores 6 yrs ago. Only thing we shot through them were Hornady 143 eldx. We sold them.

Great target guns. Very capable. But my opinion not a big game hunting rifle.

Fun, kids love to shoot them. But go big 7mag. Best 300 plus.

Target shooting and shooting in actual conditions very different.

And hunting is different from shooting.

Personal choices, taking 800 yard shots with any gun.
 
One of my brothers shoots alot. Puts alot of money into it. Time. He shoots heavy calibers and bullets out to 1000 yards plus. Target practice. His best kill shot is 727. Big guns. Big bullets. Lots of practice.

Ironically he was at the shooting range last year. Guy next to him. Was shooting a little caliber gun with very hot loads. Pushing ft per second. This assholes gun blows up. The bolt of his gun went through my brothers hand. My brother was life flighted out. Alot of blood loss. Big deal. Madison county mt. Handled terrible wrong from law enforcement and county attorney. My brother has 50 percent use of his hand. Because some $*)Q!#@$ moron was jacking up his hot loads. Out of capacity of manufacturers recommended use.
 
Schrapenal everywhere. In my brother. Crazy was the shrapnel in my brothers gun. He was standing next to it. When it happened. Metal in my brothers gun and my brother. Like crazy. Stupid mother ****ers. Hot loads. Playing with fire.
 
They were not with each other. Just sharing the range. Go figure a dick head from washington
 
Let my brother tell the rest. If he wants. Madison county attorney double d. A $*)Q!#@$ duche bag. Peace of shit.
 
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