What caliber are you using to get pass through shots on elk

[Jbotto]

Pass throughs:

.243 with 85 grain Barnes
.280 with 136 grain Hammer
6.5 with 124 grain Hammer
30-06 with 150 grain Partition
.300 Win with 150 grain Silvertip
.338-06 with 200 grain Speer
.338-06 with 185 grain Barnes

Dang! That 85gr Barnes passed through and elk? I’ve never caught one in a deer yet but that impresses me! You have a good list! I shoot both the top and bottom loads on your list so it’s good to see success with them.

 

[buffybr]

By:

Bullet velocity at impact
Expansion of the bullet
Maintained integrity of the bullet
Diameter and expanded frontal diameter of the bullet
Sufficient retained mass and momentum to provide depth of wound channel

Flesh is elastic.
This video shows both the temporary and permanent wound channels.

The temporary wound channel is created from the energy of the haudraulic shock wave when the bullet hits the flesh, and is much greater than the diameter of the bullet. (Like the splash of water when you throw a rock into a pond.)
After the shock wave passes, the elaticity of the flesh closes the wound channel back to the permanent wound channel which is basically the diameter of the bullet or expanded bullet.

The smaller permanent wound channel is the path the bullet physically tore or cut through the flesh.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Flesh is elastic.
This video shows both the temporary and permanent wound channels.

The temporary wound channel is created from the energy of the haudraulic shock wave when the bullet hits the flesh, and is much greater than the diameter of the bullet. (Like the splash of water when you throw a rock into a pond.)
After the shock wave passes, the elaticity of the flesh closes the wound channel back to the permanent wound channel which is basically the diameter of the bullet or expanded bullet.

The smaller permanent wound channel is the path the bullet physically tore or cut through the flesh.

Comparing a bowl of jello to living tissue is beyond apples and oranges. Yes, flesh is elastic ... as long as the cell walls remain intact. If the cell walls of adjacent cells are ruptured by the shock of bullet and/or shrapnel, those cells cease to be living tissue. Then as destroyed tissue, do they not become part of the "wound channel?"

 

[buffybr]

Comparing a bowl of jello to living tissue is beyond apples and oranges. Yes, flesh is elastic ... as long as the cell walls remain intact. If the cell walls of adjacent cells are ruptured by the shock of bullet and/or shrapnel, those cells cease to be living tissue. Then as destroyed tissue, do they not become part of the "wound channel?"

No, ballestic gel is not living tissue, but other than using a cadaver animal, it is probably the best labratory medium to test bullet expansion and show the hydraulic wound channel.

And yes, aren't the contents of those ruptured cells that bloodshot goo (sometimes inches thick) around the bullet cut wound channel?

 

[Ought Six]

Hello all, I hunt mostly deer and a lot of the places I hunt it's think and if the deer run off very far you're going to have to blood trail. I like a Caliber and bullet that leaves a good blood trail. I've only been a part of a few elk hunts but only one has left a blood trail. The elk I'n the picture was shot at 200yrds with a 280rem with a 154 SST. The bullet entered in the ribs and exited just in front of the shoulder you can see in the picture. This elk ran 400 yards and then was shot again.

I just like a good blood trail and am interested in what more experience elk hunters are seeing and using.

Thanks

I typically shoot a .204 with 116 grains up front for elk. Have had mostly pass throughs and never a blood trail longer than 40 yards. Shoulder blades seem to be a non-issue with this setup as well depending on how much velocity you’re pushing.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

I had a complete pass through on my first covid shot. Second vaccine, not so much.

When talking elk, I've had pass throughs with both my 270 and my 9.3. I've also recovered bullets from both of those in elk I've shot. I think bullet construction and shot placement have more to do with it than anything.

 

[Firehawk54]

I have experienced pass throughs with a 200 grain Accubond in my .325WSM and 160 Accubonds in my 7mm Rem Mag and 140 Accubonds in a 7mm-08.

I have also caught the same bullets in elk with my .325 and 7mm Rem Mag.

 

[HUNTNNW]

last 4 elk... 2 with a 300WSM 180gr accubonds no pass thru. 2 with a 300PRC with 215 and 230 gr Bergers no pass thru. Every elk dropped

 

[Addicting]

50 cal 290 grain Hornday FTX and 300 grain harvester did not get a pass thru.

300 Sherman 180g Accubond seems to always poke thru

280ai 162 ELDX never goes thru and is never recovered

7mm Mag and 150 grain TTSX didn’t make it thru but had a perfect mushroom.


By the last 3 pages of bickering I would say it’s the off season. Lol

 

[Mallardsx2]

A lot of my 30-06 bullets never go through a deer. I use Ballistic tips for everything I shoot though, so it doesn't surprise me.

 

[TimeOnTarget]

Interesting that a lot of you guys shooting heavier ELDX than myself are not getting pass throughs.

I've had 1 143 ELDX from a 6.5x284 not pass though and it was under the hide on the far side The other round into that same elk went right on through.

That's the only time of all the elk I've shot that I didn't get a pass through.

 

[Caseknife]

Don't know how you guys remember what the bullets did unless you are keeping a journal, I don't. Been hunting elk for 45 years or so and have used everything from 6mm Rem with factory 100 gr to 338 WM and everything in between. For the last twenty years have been using Barnes exclusively and a lot of times the perfectly mushroomed bullet is caught in the offside hide. A lot of times there is a hole on the opposite side, kind of depends on where the animal is hit.

 

[buffybr]

Don't know how you guys remember what the bullets did unless you are keeping a journal, I don't. Been hunting elk for 45 years or so and have used everything from 6mm Rem with factory 100 gr to 338 WM and everything in between. For the last twenty years have been using Barnes exclusively and a lot of times the perfectly mushroomed bullet is caught in the offside hide. A lot of times there is a hole on the opposite side, kind of depends on where the animal is hit.

The only journal that I keep is on elk, where I list the year, where I shot it, # of points or cow, and the rifle that I shot it with. Except for my first 10 years of hunting, I've pretty much stayed with the same bullet for each rifle. For example, the 21 elk that I shot with my .30 Gibbs were all shot with 180 gr Partitions, as those were the only hunting bullets that I shot in that rifle.

The partition bullets that I recovered from those elk (and moose) were all flattened back to the partition and I found them just under the hide on the off side. My conclusion there is that the large, flat mushrooomed front surface caused those bullets to expend most of their energy inside the animal, and that there wasn't enough energy left for that large,flat surface to punch through strong elastic hide of the far side of the animal.

After I built my .375 RUM and .300 Weatherby, all of the animals except two that I shot with those rifles were with Barnes bullets. Of the 30 plus of these animals, I only recovered 8 bullets. The first elk that I shot with a Barnes bullet impressed me because of the lack of bloodshot goo around the wound channel compared with the large bloodshot areas in the elk that I had previously shot with my .30 Gibbs with slower and heavier bullets. That one is also easy to remember because I took pictures of it when I skinned him.

Then, after my very nasty divorce 20 years ago where she wanted half of her very inflated value of my taxidermied animals, I've kept a computer record of all of my mounts. On that Excel spreadsheet it's easy to record the animal, the taxidermist, the year I shot it, the year it was mounted, the cost of the mount, and the rifle and bullet.

Other than they killed the animals, I mostly don't have a clue as to what the bullets did on all of the other animals that I've shot. I also usually don't spend a lot of time looking for the bullet in an animal. But those bullets that I have recovered I keep in a small box, and now I don't know what animal most of those bullets came out of.

 

[Falcon75]

Exit holes are more about #1 bullet construction and #2 sectional density than caliber or cartridge. I’m surprised you got an exit with an SST shot out of any cartridge.

If you want consistent exits then shoot heavy for caliber solid copper projectiles. Or at least bonded core conventional projectile.

143g eld-x 6.5 Creedmoor all day long

 

[winmag]

143g eld-x 6.5 Creedmoor all day long

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[Flyman]

An elk shot in the right spot shouldn’t run 400 yards. I’m using 280ai with 160 gr accubonds. Most shots do not pass through but are found in the offside hide. Average elk distance from shot is 50 yards or less.

How far the elk runs after it has been shot, often depends on more than shot placement. Many things can come into play such as the distance of the shot, caliber, and size of bullet. And other factors could be if the elk were spooked, verses standing or very calm.

 

[Flyman]

Picky, picky, picky.

The wound channel is created by the energy from the bullet.

The wound channel from a 180 grain bullet from a .357 Magnum pistol will only be a fraction of the size of a wound channel from a 180 grain bullet from a .300 magnum rifle.

The location of the wound channel in the animal is also critical. If that bullet from a high power rifle goes through the stomach of an elk there will probably not be any appreciable damage to that animal's nervous system or a rapid loss of blood, but that animal will probably run off and die.

That is why shot placement is critical.

 

[brymoore]

How far the elk runs after it has been shot, often depends on more than shot placement. Many things can come into play such as the distance of the shot, caliber, and size of bullet. And other factors could be if the elk were spooked, verses standing or very calm.

Not really. Elk due quickly from punched lungs. All your factors indicate a bad shot placement.

 

[LopeHunter]

Win Mag .338 250 grain. Nosler Partition. Federal Premium factory off-the-shelf. I did get a few pass-throughs on elk but I was more interested in wound channel and depth when unable to take a full broadside shot.

A Shira's moose soaked up 4 shots which all entered through the near-side ribs and the 5th round hit the base of the neck and dropped the bull. No pass throughs at 90 yards or so except for the neck shot that mostly hit muscle but clipped the neck/spine junction. I think the first shot was lethal though had a bum right leg the doc was wanting to amputate above the knee so I did not want to pack out the meat one step more that had to that hunt. Lost a bit of neck meat and quite a bit of rib meat.

I shot a pronghorn at 70 yards broadside with the same rifle and load a few days prior and was a pass-through with a massive exit. I never shot that rifle at pronghorn again. Too much for small body and thin hide at short ranges though should be able to buck the Wyoming prairie wind for a long distance.

 

[Conrad8899]

My wife shoots a 6.5 creedmoor and has dumped several elk with berger 140gr hybrid