Shot placement for steep angle in high brush

[Paul in Idaho]

Last weekend while deer hunting, I had the opportunity to observe a herd of elk for more than 30 minutes less than 250 yards away. It was great to be able to watch them for so long, and I heard cow talk and even bugling.

I have a late season cow elk tag for the area, and was thinking about how to hunt the steep slopes covered in tall, dense mahogany. It seems the only way to get a clear shot is to be high above like I was that day. This photo doesn't look like I'm all that much higher, but I was 300 vertical feet higher on the slope than the herd, about a 25˚ angle.

Good shot placement will be important since blood trailing through mahogany would be difficult at best. I'm thinking a double lung hit is minimum and breaking a shoulder would be helpful if possible.

Here's a photo with where I think I'd need to hit to anchor this elk. I think the high entry would ensure the angle would hit both lungs, not go underneath the far one. There's also a good chance I could hit at least one if not both shoulder or upper leg bones. I use monolithic copper bullets in a .30-06.

Do you agree with my thinking on fast lethality and the selected shot placement?


And here's another photo showing how tall the mahoganies are and how fast a poorly hit elk could become invisible.

 

[hank4elk]

Looks like the PJ country near me,minus the thick Mohogony. Find an open widow...set up on a tripod. Aim a bit low if aiming uphill or down...

 

[Muskeez]

True, take into account the angle compensation. a 300 yard shot at a steep angle may only be 250 yards of horizontal distance

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

To each there own but I would not aim there, the elk is slightly quartering away and you are going to destroy the opposing shoulder.

This is where I would aim:

 

[CUElk]

To each there own but I would not aim there, the elk is slightly quartering away and you are going to destroy the opposing shoulder.

This is where I would aim:

View attachment 117285

^^ yep. maybe even a touch lower.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

Angle compensation is measurable, no need to guess. For example for a 30 cal 165 TTSX going 3000fps, the drop difference between a 0* and 25* angle at 300 yds is less than 2". I'd recommend plugging your load data into JBM or similar calculator and playing around.

 

[2rocky]

To each there own but I would not aim there, the elk is slightly quartering away and you are going to destroy the opposing shoulder.

This is where I would aim:

View attachment 117285

I would be at your height but under the green, shoulder be damned. Finding a blood trail in that thick stuff could be tough. A 180 gr Copper should handle that bone JUUUUUSSST fine.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Personally I'm not a fan of hitting the shoulder. It destroys a lot of meat. I clipped just the elbow of the last cow I shot and was amazed at how much of the shoulder meat was ruined.
Double lung shot for me whenever possible.

 

[Paul in Idaho]

Thanks, everyone. My main concern with hunting this spot is blood trailing. It's hard enough to move through dense mahoganies, but trying to follow blood would be much worse. I want the best chance possible for a bang-flop instant drop. I have heard many times punching a shoulder bone or joint is the most reliable way to achieve that. Losing a pound or two of shoulder meat seems way better than risking the loss of the entire elk. It also seems to me that since copper bullets don't fragment like lead, the damage I have found is often a smaller diameter around the hole than what I found with lead in the past.

I wrote here about possibly losing an elk due to a lack of blood trail adjacent to an area with brush far shorter than this stuff. I can't risk an unknown blood trail situation in the middle of much denser and taller brush.

 

[elkduds]

I wrote here about possibly losing an elk due to a lack of blood trail adjacent to an area with brush far shorter than this stuff. I can't risk an unknown blood trail situation in the middle of much denser and taller brush.

I have seen in person quite a few elk shot w firearms, very few dropped @ the shot. Elk have 4-5 gallons of blood, it takes time for them to lose enough blood pressure to fall. During which they are running on adrenaline. To me a quick elk drop is within 100 yards; my reference is double lung shots w 7RM, 175 gr bullets, @ 100-200 yds. The elk I've seen shot w larger magnums, 30-06, 270 class cartridges went down much the same. 100ish yards from the shot. Multiple hits did not result in bang-flop.

A CNS hit is what drops elk instantly: spine, brain. Small target to aim for, easy to miss altogether or wound/lose. Not a risk I care to take when shooting @ large game. Plus, elk are tough enough to get up from a CNS knockdown, and R-U-N-N O-F-T.

 

[mtmuley]

Sounds like you are worried. Drill the shoulder. mtmuley

 

[Paul in Idaho]

Sounds like you are worried. Drill the shoulder. mtmuley

I am, somewhat. No ethical hunter wants to lose an animal, and I know this area is less forgiving than open country with good visibility. I had a good run for many years of instant drops or very short blood trails. Then, I had 2 hunts that went bad, including the story I linked above. Since then I have been trying to learn everything I can about anatomy, blood trailing skills, ballistics and other things to prevent another difficult recovery or a lost elk.

Earlier today I found an article related to this topic by Wayne van Zwoll I had bookmarked a couple years ago. Others may find it of interest too: http://www.rmef.org/TheHunt/During/ReadingTheHit.aspx

@elkduds, I have heard that about CNS hits. I just noticed what you described is included in the article I linked: "But a hit to the spinal processes—those projections of bone to which back muscles attach—will drop an elk without anchoring it. Several times I’ve seen game floored by a bullet bounce up and run away."

 

[Deleted member 20812]

Personally I'm not a fan of hitting the shoulder. It destroys a lot of meat. I clipped just the elbow of the last cow I shot and was amazed at how much of the shoulder meat was ruined.
Double lung shot for me whenever possible.

No issues with excessive meat loss using copper bullets. I trim right to the hole.

 

[2rocky]

px

@elkduds, I have heard that about CNS hits. I just noticed what you described is included in the article I linked: "But a hit to the spinal processes—those projections of bone to which back muscles attach—will drop an elk without anchoring it. Several times I’ve seen game floored by a bullet bounce up and run away."

I've experienced just that. Hence my lowering point of aim.