ELD-M elk kill

Ucsdryder

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Shot a mature, big bodied bull with a 180eldm this weekend. 575 yards, check out these holes and let me know what you think. Both the entrance and exit holes were clogged with chewed up grass. I only shot him 1 time. Entrance hole was thumb size, 2" above elbow and 1" behind, any closer and I would have caught shoulder. Exit hole was 3-4" behind the shoulder, golf ball sized exit. He was nearly broadside. He made it 50 yards and slid another 20. I couldn't have asked for better performance!


How does chewed up grass get into the entrance and exit hole? I didn't open him up but when I took off the shoulder a couple gallons of blood came pouring out. As far as blood, I got a couple drops every 10 yards or so. As you can see on the entrance there is hardly any blood, which shows how fast the grass clogged the hole.
 

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Did he roll over during sliding or when he stopped? That'd be my best guess on the grass, unless you mean chewed up as in looks like he was chewing it with his teeth.. Congrats on the kill, though! What was estimated impact velocity?
 
Hmmm maybe he was chewing grass at the shot? Then when hit he inhaled the grass and coughed causing it to get pushed out the lungs? Reaching for straws so if that doesn't explain it I'll blame aliens or the Russians ;)
They were above timberline feeding. I thought maybe that it was in his throat? I'm just surprised how quickly it plug the holes. A half inch hole going in and a 2 inch hole going out right through the heart and bottom of lungs should have produced immediate blood but since there was no blood I assume it's clogged it almost immediately.
 
They were above timberline feeding. I thought maybe that it was in his throat? I'm just surprised how quickly it plug the holes. A half inch hole going in and a 2 inch hole going out right through the heart and bottom of lungs should have produced immediate blood but since there was no blood I assume it's clogged it almost immediately.
That seems like a lot of chewed grass. So I kinda doubt it got pushed through the lungs. Most like if he slid it got pushed into the exit holes.
 
The other theory is that the bullet grenaded inside of him and some of the bullet went in to the paunch. Then the shank exited but I still don't know how it clogs the hole so quickly.
I guess suction. Looking at some gel tests in slow motion I guess the bullet exiting could suck the grass out with it. But most likely the grass got pushed in from the outside.
 
Did he roll over during sliding or when he stopped? That'd be my best guess on the grass, unless you mean chewed up as in looks like he was chewing it with his teeth.. Congrats on the kill, though! What was estimated impact velocity?
Velocity calculated at 2283 and ft lbs at 2089, all out of a 20" barrel. Have I ever mentioned that the 7saum is the best cartridge EVER!!! 😬
 
I have a theory that animals that are shot through the heart tend to die more slowly and bleed less than just a double lung shot. The heart's purpose is to circulate blood. When it's not pumping, there isn't really any pressure to keep the blood moving so it just sits in their body unless the bullet holes are in areas where gravity is able to help. Impact velocity would be good to know to help make an educated guess on what the bullet did inside. My guess is it separated though. Potentially it tore off chunks of flesh/organ and pulled it along until the hide caught the chunks but let the bullet out. Combine that with no heart forcefully pushing blood through the body and that might be the answer. Just a guess, and likely not a good one.

Edit, I see you just posted the velocity. That's not terrificly fast, I'm leaning towards it stayed together.
 
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I have a theory that animals that are shot through the heart tend to die more slowly and bleed less than just a double lung shot. Obviously the hearts purpose is to circulate blood, and when it's not pumping, there isn't really any pressure to keep it moving so it just sits in their body unless the bullet holes are in areas where gravity is able to help. Impact velocity would be good to know to help make an educated guess on what the bullet did inside. My guess is it separated though. Potentially it tore off chunks of flesh/organ and pulled it along until the hide caught the chunks but let the bullet out. Combine that with no heart forcefully pushing blood through the body and that might be the answer. Just a guess, and likely not a good one.

Edit, I see you just posted the velocity. That's not terrificly fast, I'm leaving towards it stayed together.
I like the thought it pulled crap through with it. Now I wish I would have opened him up more. He started bloating right away and I did open him up to get out the tenders and didn't see any sign of stomach content. Everything seemed to be still intact. I'm thinking whatever he was chewing on 30 seconds before getting shot came out. In the zoomed in picture, it wasn't digested.
 

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A little different scenario but my Dad's bull this fall did something similar. Perfect double lung, bull went 30 yards and then crashed 40 yards down the mountain. As soon as we moved him for pictures, it caused him to burp and the river of cud went gushing down the mountain. We're guessing that the bullet impact, body impact from falling off the side and the way he was laying attributed to this. First time we've seen this happen.
 
I shot a sheep a long time ago. She was facing down hill about 45 degrees. I made what a young kid thinks is a good shot, just behind her shoulder, but hit paunch, hydraulic-ing her lunch through both shoulders. We did not find one square inch of edible meat after that shot. Very disappointing.
This hit could have done a similar thing. Hard to know without a necropsy, or at least cutting the bull open and taking a look. And some pics; some of us like details!
 
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