Re: check it out ethic patrol......
I happen to know some of the guys featured in a few of the older Best of the West videos before the "restructuring" so-to-speak of the Best of the West bunch. John Burns has plenty of attitude to go around, but it's a pretty safe bet the scenario went down just as depicted.
Berger "hunting bullets" are nothing more than their old thin jacket match bullets. They penetrate a little way then go off like a grenade. I shot 4 elk with 168 Berger VLDs out of a 7mm Rem Mag before deciding they aren't my cup of tea on elk. I switched to 160 Nosler Accubond bullets. I do use 140 VLD's in my 6.5-284 for deer and speed goats. Just my experience and personal decision, and guys who use Bergers on the big stuff are more than welcome to knock themselves out.
As we all know, with the right gear, a 688 yard shot on a broadside cow elk is no big deal if you have your dope right. But a .243 Winchester is too light for elk at any range, period. Again, that is just my opinion. I had this same conversation with the guys at the Best of the West (not Greybull Precision) and they told me they have shot several elk with a .243 and 105 VLD's but none of those shots have been aired. Yeah, I know the 105 grainer is heavy for caliber and has a decent sectional density , but still...
As far as ethics, that is a personal decision. If a person is going to shoot light for the game calibers and they will do the work required to recover a cripple, then I suppose that is better than crippling an animal with a flinch inducing ear-ger-splitten-louden-boomer off of the hood of a pickup then just driving away as the animal disappears into the sunset with a pinwheeling leg.