Saturday I shot a cow elk on a Texas game ranch. I really wanted to use a handgun, as I've hunted with handguns exclusively the last few years (haven't hunted a lot though). I used my S&W 629 Classic with a 6 1/2 inch barrel, I've been using Keith loads (cast 250 grain "Keith" SWC) for feral hogs with great results. I had laid out a box of these "Keith" loads, plus a partial box of 300 grain wide flat nose cast bullet loads. Of course I ran off and left them both on the work bench at home, luckily I did have two speed loaders full of a load using the Hornady 240 XTP, which I thought would be OK. Unfortunately the XTP bullets came apart and didn't penetrate well.
She was a big critter for sure, a protein fed elk. She was as big as most of the adult bulls. I don't know the live weight, guessing 600 - 700. They killed a cow elk there last year that went 975.
First shot hit the shoulder, broke the shoulder but only tiny fragments went into the chest cavity. Second shot hit the crease of skin behind the shoulder. Same thing, the bullet broke up and did not penetrate to the vitals. But the cow wasn't going anywhere now so I got closer and put one in her neck, broke the spine and she went down like a sack of potatoes.
The moral of this story is to leave the JHP bullets to deer hunting, and use a tougher bullet on bigger game.
My two 9 year old grandsons were able to come along, and give a size perspective on the hanging elk.