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How much Energy to kill an Elk
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<blockquote data-quote="SansSouci" data-source="post: 1000323" data-attributes="member: 84520"><p>We might want to consider biology and parts necessary to sustain life. Everything that lives dies due to cessation of brain activity. Stop oxygenated blood flow to an animal's brain, and it will die. The crucial part is stopping it sooner as opposed to anything else. Hence, a heart shot will kill an elk before it can go too far. Lung shots will kill quickly as well. It's not what destroys these essential parts that matters. What matters is that they're destroyed. Hence, a hunter who can accurately shoot a .270 Win will kill any elk just as dead were it hit with a .375 H&H Mag. </p><p></p><p>I'm good with any big game cartridges hunters want to use. But cartridges cannot compensate for for bad shooting. Bullets have to go where they need to do in order to hasten death.</p><p></p><p>About a month ago, my guide told me that he wanted me to take a shoulder shot. I know why. He wanted a bull to drop and become immobilized for a death shot. My bull wasn't cooperating. His front legs were behind trees. So I killed him with a heart shot. I was using a 7MM Rem Mag with 160 Partitions for a through-and-through shot. That bull went well better than 900lbs and scored better than 370. He was huge. He was 130 yards from me when I killed him. There is no doubt in my mind that most any cartridge would have reduced his blood pressure to zero.</p><p></p><p>My point is cartridge isn't as important has hunting and shooting skills. </p><p></p><p>I have a friend who has hunted all over North America. He has about 140 animals in his trophy room including an Alaskan griz. He killed most with a .300 Wby Mag until recoil became an issue, then he went with a .270 Wby Mag. He told me many years ago that when he saw a big game animal far in the distance, his first thought was closing distance. He'd rather shoot at a hundred yards than 500 yards even though his .300 Why would easily exceed that distance. </p><p></p><p>Years and years ago when the 7MM was the 7x57 and the .300 was the .300 Savage, hunters knew the importance of assuring bullets went where they needed to go. Above our northern border, our Canadian brethren were killing everything including griz with surplus .303 British rifles. Probably none of the rifles our hunting forefathers used to kill everything would break 1500 FP. </p><p></p><p>If hunters want to kill elk at 500 and better yards, I'm good as long as they're certain that they can humanely kill animals. I know my limitations, and they stop with 7MM Rem Mag recoil, a cartridge that was designed to be a long range elk rifle. But like my friend and my guide, I'd rather close distance to increase probability that my bullet will immediately stop oxygenated blood flow to an animal's brain. That way whatever game I'm shooting will die sooner as opposed to anything else. </p><p></p><p>I cannot begin to recall hunters who have fired big rifles from benches only to come to grips with reality that bigs guns = big recoil. Big recoil = flinching. Flinching screws up confidence. Confidence is essential for good shooting. Good shooting is nonnegotiable when it comes to killing big game. </p><p></p><p>If I'm able to draw another tag for an excellent area, I think I'll take my .270 Win. I do have preference for 22" barreled rifles that are light, fast-handling, and don't cause CTE when shooting them from benches. But that's just me. Mileage will vary.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SansSouci, post: 1000323, member: 84520"] We might want to consider biology and parts necessary to sustain life. Everything that lives dies due to cessation of brain activity. Stop oxygenated blood flow to an animal's brain, and it will die. The crucial part is stopping it sooner as opposed to anything else. Hence, a heart shot will kill an elk before it can go too far. Lung shots will kill quickly as well. It's not what destroys these essential parts that matters. What matters is that they're destroyed. Hence, a hunter who can accurately shoot a .270 Win will kill any elk just as dead were it hit with a .375 H&H Mag. I'm good with any big game cartridges hunters want to use. But cartridges cannot compensate for for bad shooting. Bullets have to go where they need to do in order to hasten death. About a month ago, my guide told me that he wanted me to take a shoulder shot. I know why. He wanted a bull to drop and become immobilized for a death shot. My bull wasn't cooperating. His front legs were behind trees. So I killed him with a heart shot. I was using a 7MM Rem Mag with 160 Partitions for a through-and-through shot. That bull went well better than 900lbs and scored better than 370. He was huge. He was 130 yards from me when I killed him. There is no doubt in my mind that most any cartridge would have reduced his blood pressure to zero. My point is cartridge isn't as important has hunting and shooting skills. I have a friend who has hunted all over North America. He has about 140 animals in his trophy room including an Alaskan griz. He killed most with a .300 Wby Mag until recoil became an issue, then he went with a .270 Wby Mag. He told me many years ago that when he saw a big game animal far in the distance, his first thought was closing distance. He'd rather shoot at a hundred yards than 500 yards even though his .300 Why would easily exceed that distance. Years and years ago when the 7MM was the 7x57 and the .300 was the .300 Savage, hunters knew the importance of assuring bullets went where they needed to go. Above our northern border, our Canadian brethren were killing everything including griz with surplus .303 British rifles. Probably none of the rifles our hunting forefathers used to kill everything would break 1500 FP. If hunters want to kill elk at 500 and better yards, I'm good as long as they're certain that they can humanely kill animals. I know my limitations, and they stop with 7MM Rem Mag recoil, a cartridge that was designed to be a long range elk rifle. But like my friend and my guide, I'd rather close distance to increase probability that my bullet will immediately stop oxygenated blood flow to an animal's brain. That way whatever game I'm shooting will die sooner as opposed to anything else. I cannot begin to recall hunters who have fired big rifles from benches only to come to grips with reality that bigs guns = big recoil. Big recoil = flinching. Flinching screws up confidence. Confidence is essential for good shooting. Good shooting is nonnegotiable when it comes to killing big game. If I'm able to draw another tag for an excellent area, I think I'll take my .270 Win. I do have preference for 22" barreled rifles that are light, fast-handling, and don't cause CTE when shooting them from benches. But that's just me. Mileage will vary. [/QUOTE]
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