ELD-M elk kill

[Ucsdryder]

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!

As details start to come back to me I am realizing it wasn't a paunch hit. When I pulled the shoulder a couple gallons of blood came out, there eas no stomach contents in it. I do the gutless and always grab the tenders last. I slice the belly to let some guts out to relieve pressure on against the tenders, the stomach was still intact and bloated so nothing had punctured it. I'm starting to think it was whatever was in his throat. It looked very freshly chewed and didn't have any bile or show any signs of breakdown in the grass.


Oh and here's a picture!

 

[beretzs]

First off congrats on a great bull and a heckuva good shot!

I also remembered I shot my bull last fall with the 212 ELD at 400 from a 30-06 which had a very similar path through the bull and remember seeing the same thing. I can't get to the pictures right now, but when I can I'll post a picture of his entrance and exit holes as well. I think I remember seeing something very similar though. I always gut them after I use the gutless, just to see what the innards look like and get an idea of what happened. Cool stuff!

 

[TBell]

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.

Had something similar with a whitetail just behind the shoulder with a 308, only the entrance was pencle hole, no blood to speak of, and the exit was 2" and totally plugged with fat. Zero blood trail. Just walked zig zag pattern, and tarsal smell till i found it.

looks like you had a great hunt. Sometimes you just can not explain it.

 

[DesertDweller62]

"Have I ever mentioned that the 7saum is the best cartridge EVER!!! " WOW ucsdryder... you opened up a can of worms with that statement! As the owner of more 7mm SAUMS than most, (3) I agree that it's a good cartridge... but best ever? Not so sure about that... DD62

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

I was beginning to think that only Hammer bullets would kill anything based off how many supporters are on this site lol I love the eld-m for hunting. I shoot the 140s in the 6.5 and the 180 in the 7mm rem mag and they never fail to impress!

 

[xsn10s]

I was beginning to think that only Hammer bullets would kill anything based off how many supporters are on this site lol I love the eld-m for hunting. I shoot the 140s in the 6.5 and the 180 in the 7mm rem mag and they never fail to impress!

What were the impact speeds on the 140 and 180 ELDM's? I heard impact at 2600 fps and above they were a bit too soft. Below that and they worked great on BG. TIA.

 

[Treeslug]

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.

What do you mean "I didn't open him up?" Did you leave the tenderloins behind?

 

[Treeslug]

As details start to come back to me I am realizing it wasn't a paunch hit. When I pulled the shoulder a couple gallons of blood came out, there eas no stomach contents in it. I do the gutless and always grab the tenders last. I slice the belly to let some guts out to relieve pressure on against the tenders, the stomach was still intact and bloated so nothing had punctured it. I'm starting to think it was whatever was in his throat. It looked very freshly chewed and didn't have any bile or show any signs of breakdown in the grass.


Oh and here's a picture!View attachment 304965

Well, I am glad you got the tenderloins. I have seen so many people leave them behind because they don't know what or where they are.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Well, I am glad you got the tenderloins. I have seen so many people leave them behind because they don't know what or where they are.

if I left the tenderloins I'd kick my own ***! I just go in behind the last rib to get them out. I'll usually split the belly open after all 4 quarters and trim meat has been removed to relieve pressure on the guts pushing against the tenders.

 

[Treeslug]

if I left the tenderloins I'd kick my own ***! I just go in behind the last rib to get them out. I'll usually split the belly open after all 4 quarters and trim meat has been removed to relieve pressure on the guts pushing against the tenders.

That is the way my son does it. I grew up believing that getting the guts out and letting the animal cool was the best way. But kinda like girl's sports, the times they are a-changin'. I'm just proud to know you didn't leave 'em behind.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

What were the impact speeds on the 140 and 180 ELDM's? I heard impact at 2600 fps and above they were a bit too soft. Below that and they worked great on BG. TIA.

On whitetails and black bears most of my impact velocitys are between 2800-2900 fps and they hold up just fine. The exit 90% of the time

 

[Ga6570]

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.

I agree. He was working up more to chew again from one of his four stomach chambers when you shot him and the shot and cavity pressure pushed that stuff anywhere it could go…always exciting!

Congratulations

 

[Mike Matteson]

I have shot two elk in the heart. Both hearts split in two for about half the heart. Both drop in their tracks. There wasn't much bleed outside the elk, but inside that was a different story. Looking at the pictures I can't make out just where the bullet hit. First look I kind of felt it hit the neck. If further back the duck for food intake pushing just eaten grass. I seen this a few time with deer, but that been it.

 

[Treeslug]

I agree. He was working up more to chew again from one of his four stomach chambers when you shot him and the shot and cavity pressure pushed that stuff anywhere it could go…always exciting!

Congratulations

If he was about to chew his "cud," that would explain this whole thread.