I see this much like the revolver vs semi world's equivalent of the rifle world's single-shot vs semi-auto.
The guy with a single-shot rifle will nearly always fill his tag ... with ONE shot.
Yet, many of the guys with bolt actions will shoot
AT animals (not
shoot animals, but shoot
AT them) until they
finally land something that allows a follow-up shot (or six) and moderately easy recovery. There may be another eight animals out there with festering, nasty wounds, and sixteen trees that will die from bullet wounds; but that doesn't matter - they filled their tag!
I understand it - whether it's revolver vs semi-auto, or single-shot vs bolt action (or semi-auto).
Having more ammunition on tap can make people stupid.
But, at the same time, having LESS ammunition on tap can make people seriously consider what EACH and EVERY cartridge should be used for.
A very conscientious and practiced shooter can make the most of anything in their hands. But most do not. They see the unending ammunition reservoir as the answer to their poor marksmanship.
I've been there myself. I grew up in an environment where the mentality was, "shoot into the herd." (Seriously.)
But, after hunting with a Browning 1885 for a year, then muzzle-loader hunting a bit, and finally ending up with an H&R Handi-Rifle later on down the road, I went my own way.
I used to leave the truck with dozens of rounds of ammunition, even for a bolt-action - 20 rounds in one pocket, 20 rounds in another pocket, 10 rounds in a back pocket, 16 rounds in an ammunition carrier on my belt, 4-6 rounds in the gun, and another 2-5 rounds stashed anywhere else I could stick them, like the sling loops.
Once I realized the stupidity of that, things changed.
In 2012, when I dropped my first bull elk, I was carrying a Handi-Rifle in .444 Marlin. The rifle had a butt cuff with eight rounds in it, and the rifle had one in the chamber. ...But they weren't all suitable loads for elk. FOUR of the eight rounds in the butt cuff were what I call ".444-.410". They were .410 shotgun loads stuffed into .444 cases, so that I could legally pop some pine chickens (grouse) with the same rifle I used for elk. (And I did ... in flight ... with a scope ... but that's another story.) And another pair (two) of the cartridges in the butt cuff were an experimental load that I wanted to test for terminal performance on game. They weren't meant to be used to fill the tag - just to be pulled out if the right opportunity presented itself (or as last-ditch backup, should something really bad happen).
I had nine rounds total, but only five were suitable for elk. ...And only three of the five were
intended for elk.
Three rounds.
I left the truck with just three rounds intended for the job at hand, and knew that the only way they wouldn't be enough was if I seriously screwed the pooch at least twelve different ways.
If I had been the average elk hunter with a bolt action, that elk probably would have gotten five or more bullets (if what they were shooting could have gone through the trees that the .444 Marlin did ... but, again ... another story).
If I had been the average elk hunter with a semi-auto, the magazine surely would have been emptied ... possibly more than once.
But, having a single-shot in my hands, the first shot was decisively fatal. A follow-up shot was made simply to ensure that the bull expired quickly and didn't run off.
One round did the job. The second simply 'anchored' him and made sure he didn't suffer.
Two weeks ago, I dropped a mule deer with a traditional muzzleloader. The first round was decisively fatal. The second, point-blank round simply made sure the buck didn't suffer unnecessarily (which was later discovered to be, itself unnecessary ... but that doesn't matter).
Semi-auto? Shoot until that ******* hits the ground!