I didn't draw an elk tag this year but my friend Spencer did so I went along with him. Season opened Wednesday morning but I had to workbon Wednesday so we got up there that night. Webhad both hunted this area but not until late December so it was basically a new area to us. Thursday we scouted around a bit. We found 2 herds but weren't able to connect. I did find some other things though.

Nice!

Paul

Friday we were expecting snow. So we got up and headed to an area that we had scouted on Thursday. We were following a fence line and where it made a 90 degree turn I saw 4 cows standing along the fence. Spence leaned on the fence and waited for a clear shot. One cow turned broadside and he fired. Two cows ran right and 2 left, including the one he shot at. So we headed up the hill to look for blood. We looked for about an hour and found nothing. I pulled the bolt from his gun and checked a bore site and the scope mounts but everything seemed good. So we headed up the hill and looked out over a big valley. After a short time I told him that I was going back to look again. I refused to believe that he had missed. We were walking back down the fence line and I looked over and there she was laying. She had only gone about 10 yards but it was into the brush. The shot ended up being about 175 yards, not the 125 that we thought. So we started working. When we gutted her, she was full of blood. The bullet went in, took out both lungs, and we found it just under the hide on the off side.  There was only a few drops of blood at the entrance. I took 1 backstrap and the tenderloins along with a bunch of stuff that we didn't need back to the truck and got the framed backpack. When I got back we loaded up and headed out. I took a hind quarter and a backstrap my first load.

I weighed the bullet when we got home. It was 113gr. I was not impressed that it did not exit on a broadside shot at under 200 yards.

Nice bullet pics!

QuoteShe had only gone about 10 yards

Quoteshe was full of blood

QuoteThe bullet went in, took out both lungs, and we found it just under the hide on the off side

QuoteI was not impressed that it did not exit on a broadside shot at under 200 yards.

JEEEZ! You guys are hard to please! "Only went 10 yards after the shot." "Full of blood" - "Took out both lungs". Good Grief! You'd complain if you were hung with a new rope! You guys spent an hour looking in the wrong place! An off-side exit wouldn't have helped!

"Not impressed..." Really???

Paul

We walked past her and across the path that she took after she was shot. Had there been a blood trail, we would have seen it.

So what was the bullet and weight and caliber?

Quote from: sakorickSo what was the bullet and weight and caliber?

A 165gr 30-06 factory Remington Corelock.

Those bullets do break apart fairly easy. That said, the Elk was dead in only 10 yards.

Quote from: sakorickThat said, the Elk was dead in only 10 yards.

That is true, and very fortunate. Elk are tough animals and she could have easily gone 30 yards or more and in those trees with no blood trail, the odds of a recovery would be slim. That is why I want a pass through on my elk. I shoot my 338 loaded with 200gr Barnes X at 2950fps. Before I got my 338 I used an 06 with hand loaded 180gr Partitions.

Quote from: Hunterbug;149556Before I got my 338 I used an 06 with hand loaded 180gr Partitions.

Me too. Shot 3 Elk with the 180 grain partitions and all 3 went straight down.

Congrat's for a successful hunt. :biggthumpup:I'm with Paul on this one. The bullet did it's job. I'm with Rick on the Nosler Partition too. You cannot beat the partition bullet for performance. Barnes X bullets will out penetrate them but does not make a wider wound channel. They don't cause as much hydrostatic shock either. A lot of hunters seem to ignore the real value of hydrostatic shock. It might cause more meat destruction but it's better than not having any meat & much better than chasing down some big varmint. ......Paul H

It's interesting that the Nosler partition bullet has been around since it's first testing in 1947 and was only modified slightly in 1970. The Sierra Match King has been around since 1947 as well. The Game King and Pro Hunter followed in the 50's. Some things in life really work well and are timeless.