Lol…. Hell no less velocity wouldn’t have helped. Hitting it in the lungs would have. Why was the bullet chosen? Are you serious Clark? Why do a million guys use Core Lokt? Because we grew up with them. Because they are readily available everywhere. Because the results for the most part all across deer and elk country are pretty good….. because the shot placement for the most part is pretty good. When you’re 13 you don’t sit around talking about ballistics and such. Next question….
do you shoot core lokts ? i know they have killed a giant pile of game, like muzzy broadheads.... people buy both because they are the cheapest option on the shelf, which is not the best way to pick the part that actually does the killing.... early on, i killed 9 or 10 roosies with muzzy broadheads, and i was lucky because they killed well for me, but i never got one back i could use again..... i was playing with fire... broken blades and bent ferrules were the normal.
there are so many good projectiles on the market now, better and way more options, and the smaller you go with a projectile, and the larger game you plan to kill with it, there does need to be some consideration in picking the right tool for the job. "because we grew up with them" doesn't make them a good choice.
when you're 13, you need experienced people making those decisions for you, because you're right, all they know is someone hands them a rifle and tells them to shoot that elk there, but putting the blame on the cartridge honestly doesn't make sense... i do assume your 300 ultra in that same scenario would have had a faster outcome, a better shot would have too, and likely a different choice in projectiles.
i just remembered another elk i watched killed with a 338, it didn't go anywhere, but did soak up 4 bullets from 250yds before tipping over... the other one was shot 2 times sub 200yds (5pt roosie) and his buddy shot it a 3rd time high shoulder with a 300wm thinking it was a different bull and dumped it.
the day i watched the bull soak up 4 338's (was a spike roosie) i also stood right behind my buddy as we cut those elk off, and he shot a bull frontal, inside 15yds with his 300wm, which was impressive... you could see the shock go through his body, he reared up and fell over backwards
there is a ton of anecdotal evidence of pretty much anything if that's what a person is seeking