Just got back from my michigan elk hunt where i shot a good bull one .44 300gr xtp to the spine and he never took a step thanks for all yalls help it kept from making a big mistake and takeing a rifle on a once in a lifetime hunt i shudder at the thought. I did notice upon dressing him out my bullet came apart and all i found was a piece of lead and no jacket im assumeing thats normal when encountering a big bone? Pictures are on the bragging board.

Congratulations bigred! That is one heck of a nice bull you shot there and you have every right to be very proud! Glad the XTP worked out for you. Were you using Hornady factory loads? I don't like that your bullet came apart like that.

That is a BIG, strong bone so I would expect breakup.
A heavy boolit cast from water dropped WW metal or a little harder would not have stopped.
We found that even an LBT 320 gr WLN is not hard enough from the .44. Pete hit a deer in the big shoulder bones and it scuffed enough of the nose off to turn the boolit into the guts. He found it under the hide behind the hind leg. From the angle he shot, I figure the boolit turned a good 30*.
The .44 is right at home with a harder boolit but never hard enough to fracture.

Red,

Wow, a very nice elk. Great job. I especially like the pictures you have posted, and the one with the bull hanging. If you compare this picture to your others with the elk on the ground, it would be easy for someone to see the ground pictures and not appreciate the size of these critters. The hanging picture can sure give someone, perhaps new to elk hunting or thinking of hunting one with only smaller deer experience, a perspective on why folks recommend giving your load and bullet serious consideration.

Craig

If there is anything that will soak up a bullet it's the spine. Congratulations.

You know you can embed the photos from the bragging board here. I'll show you how by adding one to the start of this post for you. Click on edit your post to see how it's done.

Gary

that is just awesome! glad the 300 gr did the job great.

I knew the XTP would work fine. Even though the bullet came apart the animal was stopped w/ one shot. Great job Bigred!

Nice bull big red! It feels awsome to shoot something like that with a handgun doesn't it ?

CONGRATULATIONS are in definately in order. You should be very proud that is a heck of an Elk. Yes that picture sure does put things into perspective.

Larry

Congrats!

Congrats on the nice bull! Where in Michigan did you hunt?

whitworth they were handloaded over 20 grains of 296 430man i had some 320gr wln from btb on order but they didnt arrive until the day after i returned i was invited on the trip by my uncle and didnt have much time to prepare the xtps were all i had and i really like this picture anyone who doesnt hunt or hasnt seen an elk up close is immediatley impressed by the size of these animals this was my first big game with a handgun ive been waiting a long time to get the opportunity ive been studying these post trying to learn as much as possible as there is a wealth of information here thanks for all yalls help

Lewiston Michigan

Congratulations ! Ironically, I traded my 44 in on a 454 magnum for elk hunting next year. I am currently trying to sight in those 300 XTP Mags though.

very nice, awesome trophy.

My hat off to you, Bigred, NICE GOING by 'sticking to your guns' (revolver)

Nice Bull.

Thats a Great Bull! Congrats!

the mags out of the 454 typically don't break apart the same as the non mags out of the 44 if they are pushed hard. now the hornady factory loads are not going that fast and tend not to break apart that much.

any idea the mv of the load you used.

congrats btw

Nice job and your right, even after killing my share and being around alot of other peoples kills, elk don't seem to shrink.

Congratulation on a very nice Elk.

Your experience is exactly the reason that I prefer hard cast bullets

Congrats Good to see the 300xtp did the job.

Very impressive animal. Great job. Elk never shrink. Especially when it comes to packing them out!

beautiful....

I guess it's true...happiness IS a large gut pile. Way to go, Bigred!

LOL! Very well said!

Congratulations on a very nice bull! Any elk with a sixgun is a cherished trophy. Although I always use cast your 300 gr XTP did the job, the spine on a big bull is a very extreme test for any bullet.
Lynn Thompson of Cold Steel has probably shot more big animals than anyone on the planet & he's had very good results with the 300 gr XTP's on huge hogs & buffalo in Australia. Me, I'll stick with cast but the 300 gr XTP or the Speer 270 gr Gold Dot or the Punch Bullets that Keyle at Belt Mountain is making will handle just about anything within reason.

Dick