Interesting, I have shot a few elk and seen many others shot. Never have I seen an elk hit the ground at the shot - not even those hit with .375H&H nor the one I killed with .45-110 Sharps with a 535 grain bullet nor the kills with .300 WinMag and .270 Winchester. Admittedly these were all bulls and are probably their size makes them a bit tougher than antlerless elk. But Jeff you are saying the .280 has made them all hit the ground at impact? I think the .280 is probably as good as any other .30-06 class round and benefits from the wide selection of 7mm bullets available. But I don't think it exceeds the .30-06, .338-06 or .35 Whelen on the big elk. By the way, the ..45-110 Sharps, while it did not drop the elk in it's tracks caused him to collapse on the spot in about 15 seconds - just about the same as a good .375H&H hit which I consider the ultimate elk rifle for those accustomed to the recoil.
