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Tennessee Hunting Forums
Hunting - other than deer
Elk Gun
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<blockquote data-quote="Crosshairy" data-source="post: 4539126" data-attributes="member: 3202"><p>I recently shot a cow with my buddy's 300 Win Mag. If hadn't offered the use of that gun, my plan was to use my dad's .30-06 due to the availability of heavier cartridges.</p><p></p><p>I sought out some advice on calibers and rounds prior to going on my hunt, and a common theme of the conversations was "pick a reasonable elk caliber (there are many), then get the best bullets you can for it". A lot of people worry more about carrying a big gun, but don't buy decent bullets to feed through it. Most of the conversations I had or read centered around getting bonded bullets that were meant to hold together better so that you have a better chance of an exit hole (blood trail).</p><p></p><p>I can tell you that I was amazed at how little blood an elk drops, even when shot all the way through. I believe there are several reasons for this. One fact I learned from my trip was that many shots are taken at ground level, and therefore you sometimes have no "slope" to the wound channel that helps blood come out more easily (compared to a deer stand, where they are often at steeper angles). A second one was that elk have a LOT more thick fur than a whitetail, and it absorbs more blood before it hits the ground. This may not affect the blood trail at the end of the animal's run, but it can make finding the start of the trail more tricky.</p><p></p><p>All that said, if you can get an exit hole on a shot, great. Everyone tells you "keep shooting until they are on the ground", but sometimes you don't get that chance for whatever reason. If that's the case, I want better odds of a blood trail.</p><p></p><p>For what it's worth, I got the Barnes TSX bullets for the 300 Win Mag. The cow I shot wasn't that big, but I got a pass through and it took maybe one step.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Crosshairy, post: 4539126, member: 3202"] I recently shot a cow with my buddy's 300 Win Mag. If hadn't offered the use of that gun, my plan was to use my dad's .30-06 due to the availability of heavier cartridges. I sought out some advice on calibers and rounds prior to going on my hunt, and a common theme of the conversations was "pick a reasonable elk caliber (there are many), then get the best bullets you can for it". A lot of people worry more about carrying a big gun, but don't buy decent bullets to feed through it. Most of the conversations I had or read centered around getting bonded bullets that were meant to hold together better so that you have a better chance of an exit hole (blood trail). I can tell you that I was amazed at how little blood an elk drops, even when shot all the way through. I believe there are several reasons for this. One fact I learned from my trip was that many shots are taken at ground level, and therefore you sometimes have no "slope" to the wound channel that helps blood come out more easily (compared to a deer stand, where they are often at steeper angles). A second one was that elk have a LOT more thick fur than a whitetail, and it absorbs more blood before it hits the ground. This may not affect the blood trail at the end of the animal's run, but it can make finding the start of the trail more tricky. All that said, if you can get an exit hole on a shot, great. Everyone tells you "keep shooting until they are on the ground", but sometimes you don't get that chance for whatever reason. If that's the case, I want better odds of a blood trail. For what it's worth, I got the Barnes TSX bullets for the 300 Win Mag. The cow I shot wasn't that big, but I got a pass through and it took maybe one step. [/QUOTE]
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Elk Gun
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