Shooting and bullet selection,are THE two easiest things to have finite control over on any hunt and I'm continually amazed at the number of folks oblivious to same.

Most anymore are Armchair Theorist and the only thing they've ever shot,was their mouths.

But it's always fun to grant those that know/do the least and opportunity to "showcase" same.(grin)

I have to agree with a few of the more realistic replies on here. Apparently everyone on AR has never missed or had anything but DRT shots lol. Maybe Mike D should add that to his list of things learned on AR....no one misses

Someone mentioned how missed, lost or shot up animals never get mentioned, and I bet there are more then a few stories from reports here that might have had some artistic licsense between the shot and the post. I truly do think there are a lot more hunters then not, who WILL take bad shots regardless of calibers, but as many small as big.

I also love how everytime this comes up its assumed a magnum is always being aimed at the guts.

To Larry Sellers, right on! Everyone else is entitled to their opinions and to stick to them, good for you for doing the same! He says his hunt, his camp, his rules. People said my money, my tag MY hunt....this is theoretical because again, no one misses and always have 100 yard broad side shots at unspooked animals.... its YOUR money YOUR tag YOUR hunt....and I bet all the money I have.....until that if something went wrong, its HIS fault lol. His job is his reputation, even if a hunter makes the wrong mistake and obviously its his fault, it WILL become the guides "fault" come hunt report/word of mouth time. His caliber restriction is his insurance policy.

All that being said, will a small caliber do it? Sure, are there better choices? Damn right there are. Again, lots of ethical people here who DO practice what they preach. Example I truly believe everything Raven says about picking shots and passing up elk. But, there are some who probably have made poor choices but will never admit it. That's fine. I have a short difficult season, I get 4-5 days max a year to hunt elk in an area with small bands scattered in all kinds of terrain, not herds in big open fields. I CHOOSE to be ready for the shot presented to me, and I have respect for my quarry, so personally I choose fast 30's. I have in my life, only 2 times, been presented with more then 1 elk sighting while hunting. We hunt in an area that's the staging grounds for the migration to wintering grounds. No patterns, no usual hot spots, just random stumbling. But its where we hunt, and always have. I learned to shoot a more powerful gun, and have had some easy shots, and some hard ones.

And I have to agree with ISS (did I really say that?) I keep shooting til its done moving. Even with a solid shoulder hit, if the elk starts to stand up its getting another 165gr of FailSafe in the boiler room

Elk have huge vitals and the gent that can't connect those dots,can cuss noone but himself.

Spent primers are the Supreme Tutorial.