Ranges of your shots Tx Fiddler?
The bull shot with the 7x57, I don't know how far (it was over 30 years ago), across Bonito Canyon in the San Juan Wilderness of Colorado, it was a long,
lucky shot (154 gr. Hornady). Another bull at about 75 yds. that I jumped out of an aspen thicket and shot running while he was quartering away (225 gr. Partition, unimpressive penetration). Another at a lasered 360 yd. quartering away, entered high behind the right shoulder, exited low neck on off-side (225 gr. TSX). Another at 50-75 yds. broadside, TSX again, but at that range a .243 and a 100 gr. bullet probably would've worked.
I guided my dad on a couple of elk hunts and he killed two bulls, both with the 35 Whelen. The first was with my rifle/load and the TSX. Due to the situation, he had the shoot the bull square in the rectal orifice at around 100 yds. The bullet penetrated into the neck of the rather large 6x6 where we recovered it. That one instance and the fact that they've been ridiculously accurate is what sold me on TSX's
The last one he killed was also with a Whelen but in timber at a bit under 50 yds. This time he had loaded a 250 gr. Speer SP which, for the caliber and style is a very streamlined bullet. But it SUCKS for large game, made a mess.
Entrance wound-
Offside shoulder-
What was left of the bullet-
So, based on my limited experience hunting elk, I choose a bullet that above all penetrates well.
