The pics aren't great, a lot blurry, and distorted, but you can get the idea. They are 165 gr. Federal Fusion bullets in 30-06, shot at 40 yards into the neck of a bull elk and stopping behind the off side shoulder blade.
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[font "Times New Roman"][#ff4040][size 3]Looks like they worked out great for you.[/size][/#ff4040][/font]
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Looks like they did the trick. From what I can tell they have a very nice mushroom. I wonder what the weight retention is???
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I am going to pick up a box of those for the deer hunt. Usually I use the good old remington core locks as they pattern the best out of my gun. However the fussions really have my interest.
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I shoot them out of a remington 700 and it loves them Good luck on your deer hunt. Save me a fat doe for november.[
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That is the rifle I will be using in that exact same caliber. No worries, I am going for antlers.
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Looks like the bullet mushroomed nicely, did it hit the spine? I'm surprised at that distance the bullet did not go clear through.
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No, it never hit the spine. It actually took a turn and went down through the neck into the chest cavity and stopped just under the skin behind the offside shoulder.
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Thats a strange thing for a big cal bullet to do, did it take out the lungs or heart? It must have glanced off the spine when it changed direction or the angle that the bull was standing was the reason for the bullet turning. I guess all that matters is you got the bull though.
I had something similar happen a few years back, I was hunting the North slope and some how I managed to get right in the middle of a herd of elk. I saw cow elk first, then a group of three bulls busted out of the trees from below and were coming right at me. At 40 yards the 5 and 6 pointer turned away and went back down the hill but the three pointer kept going straight and stopped behind some trees at 30 yds. He slowly put his head out in the open and turned to look in my direction. The head shot was all I had but at thirty yards that was all I needed.
You can hunt a lot of years before getting a shot like you got. Were you hunting around the Red Cloud loop area?
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LH2 - I've shot many elk (10+) with the 165 grain Federal Premium Boat Tail in 30:06 and found that the bullet is really to fast for short distance shots (under 100 yards).
This year I went up to the 180 grain Fusion and took a 5x5 bull at 20 yards. I was impressed by the bullet performance and I believe after you have taken a few big game animals you will come to the same conclusion.
The 180 grain shoots about 4 inches lower at 100 yards than than the 165 grain but has much more stopping power. It all depends if you want your animal to run 100 plus yards after you shoot it (depending if you shoot at the heart or lungs - not neck).
My opinion is to keep an open mind don't bet the farm on one shot - take several different peoples input....
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I do thank you for the input. It is always good to have more insight. I shoot the 165 grain so i don't have to move my scope or guess at the shot placement. I love the 165 gr and have shot them for 9 years without any problem. Many deer and elk, not to mention countless other animals. If i do ever have a problem i will definately reconsider, but i am confident for the moment.
Where did you shoot your bull? General or did you draw a good tag. Once again, thanks for the input.
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Yes Curt, but a little farther west.
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The reason I ask, we hunted up Dry fork canyon this year on the muzzle loader deer hunt. As I'm sure you know, that is the West side of the Red Cloud loop, and we saw a fair amount of elk there.
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I did draw out on the limited entry for the Diamond mountain unit. We saw lots of bulls and the one I shot was running at me and we were right above the truck - I had the 10 secs decision and shot him in the chest and bullet went straight into is spine. No meat damage and happy to get a good eater - I am not that much into horns -- I like a good freezer full of tender steaks & roasts.
Attached is my bull --
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That is a nice bull. I'll bet he is mighty tasty as well. I love eatin' elk!
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Yeah, nice bull. I am also not a horn hunter as you have seen the animals i shot this year. I will take a legal animal if it presents a shot. If i shoot an animal that is a trophy, it is simply a bonus.[cool]
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