Elk reacting to being shot with rifle???

[Steiny77]

I've only shot three but they all just tipped over.
.300 Weatherby mag w/ 180gr Rem Corelokts.

 

[brymoore]

Make the 1st shot count and follow ups are not needed.

Yep. If you punch the lungs on any animal, they die quickly.

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

Shot a 6X6 bull elk using 7mm 150 grain on public land in Canada. First hit on the brisket and the other in the gut.
Bull ran approximately 500 yards and collapsed on a private property. Fighting a court case and need to prove that an elk can travel such distance after being shot in the described manner.
My lawyer says we will need expert opinion from fellow hunters who had similar experience.

So welcome to HT! There are questions come to mind here and you’ll need to answer truthfully if anyone’s going to give a serious reply. Were you with a bonded guide at the time? Are you a resident of USA or Canada? Is the case Provincial or Federal? Has prosecution offered a plea?

 

[Horseman]

Well as everyone knows or might not know, I am going on my first elk hunt this fall. Since my elk IQ is weak and not having any time in the field pursuing elk. I have been reading and watching elk videos for a few months now trying to absorb what I can.

I have only shot whitetail with a rifle. Often a good shot will be signaled by a mule kick and rapid running off vs a gut shot is a humped up back and slow movement.

I have seen on video now hundreds of elk shot (thanks to youtube). I have noticed that even with 10x on the kill spot shots, the elk just seem to stand there and not act hit. I have always heard that you shot and elk more than once because they are very tough animals. I just cant seem to understand why they show no reaction to fatal gunshots.

Is this mostly the case that they dont react to a fatal hit? I will be hunting by myself and notice almost all filmed hunts the shooter has a spotter that tells him if he made a hit. When you are by yourself do you just reload and rapidly fire another shot or watch the animal for signs of being hit???

I will be using a 300 win mag with a 200 grain bullet, I cant imagine an animal not acting hit from that round. I have shot maybe a dozen white tails with it and they drop on the spot. Are most these guys in videos using a 6.5 creedmoor or are elk just that damn tough that they can absorb a hit form a magnum caliber with that much kinetic energy?

I’ve only shot one that did not react-feeding at 350, perfectly broadside and I placed my bullet just behind the shoulder in the ribs. The bullet only broke one rib and she didn’t flinch. I knew I connected because I knew that I couldn’t have missed (because I had a perfect prone rest), I heard the bullet hit and I could see her coughing blood against the snowy background. 15 seconds later she tipped over. All of the other elk I’ve shot have reacted to the hit-not as quickly or violently as a whitetail but a noticeable reaction, broken shoulder/lameness. The only times I’ve watched elk drop at the shot was because the bullet hit them in the spine-I don’t prefer to spine elk because of meat lose and because they usually have to wait for you to hike up to them to get their coup de grace. If an elk immediately reacts to the shot, no matter how subtle, I assume I connected and this has always been correct for me. Also I nearly always hear my bullet hit an elk. Sometimes if a big bone is broken, it’s a very loud ‘crack’, other times it’s a ‘wop’ like shooting water filled milk jugs and other times it’s a barely audible ‘pok’ sound but in my experience I nearly always hear the bullet hit. For comparison I’ve rarely heard my bullet hit deer and antelope-I think this has to do with the large body size of the elk and the bullet not exiting. Personally I really try to get a rest that I’m confident in and get a range before shooting. Then I shoot a dry fire, then I chamber a round and squeeze. I want to have the confidence in my shot to watch the elk that I shot disappear without feeling the need to shoot a 2nd time-if for some reason I have doubts about shot placement I will of course shoot again but if I think the bullet should’ve hit the boiler room I don’t shoot a second time I just carefully watch the elk leave. I don’t like to shoot an elk more than one time perfectly because each bullet is going to waste quite a bit of excellent, best-in-the-world-quality meat. Also if you are shooting at a cow or even a bull amongst a herd you run a very high risk of accidentally shooting 2 elk if you shoot a 2nd or third time. This unfortunately happens a lot when guided hunters, new to elk, get a crack at a herd of elk (especially cows). After the first shot elk herd up very quickly and it’s very difficult if not impossible to distinguish the one you hit with your first shot. So you want to have absolute confidence in your first bullet. It’s been my experience that when guys new to elk hunting shoot more than once at a member of an elk herd they often discover that they hit more than one animal. Using the experience listed above, I have personally never lost an elk that I chose to kill.

 

[Fayez]

So welcome to HT! There are questions come to mind here and you’ll need to answer truthfully if anyone’s going to give a serious reply. Were you with a bonded guide at the time? Are you a resident of USA or Canada? Is the case Provincial or Federal? Has prosecution offered a

So welcome to HT! There are questions come to mind here and you’ll need to answer truthfully if anyone’s going to give a serious reply. Were you with a bonded guide at the time? Are you a resident of USA or Canada? Is the case Provincial or Federal? Has prosecution offered a plea?

Thanks! I am a Canadian citizen. It is a provincial case and no plea offered.

 

[Gerald Martin]

If you’re asking for opinions and experiences of whether an elk grazed on the brisket and then shot through the paunch can travel 500 yards before expiration then that answer is absolutely yes. That could easily happen.

 

[Fayez]

So welcome to HT! There are questions come to mind here and you’ll need to answer truthfully if anyone’s going to give a serious reply. Were you with a bonded guide at the time? Are you a resident of USA or Canada? Is the case Provincial or Federal? Has prosecution offered a

If you’re asking for opinions and experiences of whether an elk grazed on the brisket and then shot through the paunch can travel 500 yards before expiration then that answer is absolutely yes. That could easily happen.

Thanks Gerald!

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

@Fayez - ok, it sounds like you could get a suspension, fine, maybe community service. Idk if the provinces have reciprocal suspension on such matters, but we do here in the States. Yes, it is possible that the elk traveled when shot as you’ve described. Here’s a good question to put to the Court: Elk walked approximately 500yd, died on private land. Presumably there a blood trail over that distance. If so, was there a digital record (cell phone video) and did the investigating agency observe this blood trail physically and/or on your device? Even if there was no recording and it’s only your word then the investigator should have ruled that out. If they didn’t articulate it in the complaint “no evidence of blood trail” or whatever then it could be viewed as an incomplete investigation. If all this is true then your atty can present that and I betcha you’ll see a plea offer. I’ll accept a Starbuck’s gift card for this service, got no Tim Horton’s here.

 

[Dsnow9]

My cow took 4 last year. All through the vitals. .308 Barnes vortx 168g at 200 yards. She was slightly quartering to me. She didn’t flinch once. I thought I missed until she turned around and I saw all four exit holes. She didn’t make it five feet but I keep shooting till they drop.


My calf dropped like a bag of rocks. Same location, round, setup.


My bull last year. Same round, 320yrds. Boom, thwack. Ran 15 yards and went to bed.