Once upon a time, I accompanied a fellow who had a special bull elk tag. I was there to walk through the bushes, pack out elk meat and cook.

Opening morning, the guy with the tag sat on a rock high in a large bowl, and I walked around the bowl to move whatever elk might be feeding in the scrub oaks unseen out in the open. Sure enough, a group of elk came out and one had a nice rack. My friend shot and the elk dropped. He sat on the rock another 20 minutes watching where the elk fell and it did not move.

So my friend walked back to the truck and traded his rifle for his backpack and saw, to use in carrying the elk out. By the time I got back from where I had been hiking, my friend was back at his rock, and I met him there. I was surprised he was not carrying his rifle. I asked if he was sure he killed the elk, and he was, so we walked up about 250 yards to where the elk had been shot.

At about 10 yards, a wounded bull elk stood up. Between us we had only a Glock 9mm with 90 grain hollow points that I had loaded for rabbits. I tried to hand it to my friend, but he was sick to his stomach about his error and told me to just finish the elk. 5-6 rounds in the neck didn't do anything, so I tried to break the spine at the base of the tail. That did not work either. We were following this poor elk and shooting. It would fall down every couple of steps and then get up again.

Finally, a neck shot went deep enough to hit the vertabrae and the elk died.

A post mortem showed that my friend's shot had grazed both knee caps, making the elk fall. The elk could balance on his damaged knees for a couple of steps, and then he would fall again.

I advise against the 9mm for elk, even for a coup de grace.

Your friend had way too much confidence. I can't imagine not walking up to the elk and confirming him dead before leaving the scene.

You are both lucky the Game Department wasn't there to watch the 9mm action.

I believe I'd have let the bull settle down, left you to keep an eye on his movement, and I'd have high-tailed it back to my truck to get my rifle.

When I got home I'd let you make a sign for me that said dumb-ass, and I'd wear it around my neck for a week.

That's a tough way to get an elk. I'd have been sick to my stomach too. I hope your friend learned something from it.

If I even thought of using a 9mm for a finishing shot on anything. It would be with a 147 grain black talon or a 147 grain golden saber.
Both of these bullets will hold together and penetrate a lot better than that 90 grainer did.
They will go through a deer broadside and give about 20" penetration for a quartering shot. At least this is what I've seen from three deer shot with the 9mm. Which really isn't very much penetration.

500 Grain,

I had a very similar experience several years ago. One of my hunters shot a bull right at dark. He shot it all around the edges. I put my Beretta in my pocket and approached the downed bull. As I got up to him he raised his head and looked at me. I ( Dumb ass that I am ) approached from below and shot him in the neck from about 15 yards with 115 grain hydra shoks. 4 shots later he was still looking at me. At the 5th shot he got up and came down the hill at me. I just barely got my fat ass out of his way!! He went about 40 yards and fell again. I then shot him from behind between the ears. That did the trick.

When we skinned him we found that those 9's had not penetrated over 4" in his neck. The nine is NOT an elk round.
The strange thing is that in my job at that time I had to shoot a crippled elk a week and used that silly 9 for most of them. Seemed to work allright at the ranges involved. I have even knocked several down with shoulder shots from 25 yards or so.

I now use a .45 for all my backup shooting.

Taos,

I surely agree that ANY 9mm is not an elk round, but the 147 sub sonics seem to work a lot better than the lighter, hi vel rounds. As a rural cop I shoot a lot of deer and the occasional elk or bear. We carry nines with 147 sub sonics. I've had similar experiences to you as I too have taken down a few road hit elk with lung shots at 10-20 yds.
We are getting .357 SIG's in about a month. Should be interesting to see how those 125's at 1350 fps will work vs the nines.

FN

I think I would have made your friend do his own dirty work.

If you plan (yes, I understand that this wasn't planned) to use a handgun for finishing shots, use FMJ and take very careful head shots.

When you find that you have to use an unsuitable load or caliber on an animal, you can almost always do the trick with a shot from the back aimed where the skull connects to the spinal cord.

Too bad neither of you had a .270. Or at least a .45 ACP.
Yesterday I saw the skull of a decent bull that had been "finished" by a 9mm and the 9mm bullets didn't penetrate the skull plate between antlers, just dented it. It's spooky.

Sounds like your friend is a pimp. Reminds me of that worm on the movie the deer hunter that carried the snub nosed 38. Don't tell me he forgot his boots too!

Yous Guys was LUCKY puppies!

Elk take a lot of killing ... and 9mm in any form is NOT enough. .41 Mag and up make just about adequate for the coup de gras.

Kensco - Welcome back. We missed your good posts. Any adventures to tell?