Elk Cartridges

[sns2]

Was just watching the video of the fellow making a 603 yard elk kill with a 6.5 Creedmoor. The video that came on right after it was a very good discussion, with footage of various cartridges making clean kills on elk. It is worth a watch for sure...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfd3...=316.489833158

[catnthehat]

We are forever preaching on here " acuracy first" and firmly believe that , be it archery or rifle.
Nothing else mattes if the bullet or broadhead can't be put where it is supposed to go.
Cat

[58thecat]

Aim small, miss small, fills the freezer every year.

[buckman]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

We are forever preaching on here " acuracy first" and firmly believe that , be it archery or rifle.
Nothing else mattes if the bullet or broadhead can't be put where it is supposed to go.
Cat

Exactly

[leo]

I've taken elk with the following.

340 Weatherby Mag, 225 TSX
300 Weatherby Mag, 180 Partitions
270 Weatherby Mag, 130 TTSX
308 Winchester, 150 Corelokt
280 Remington, 140 Ballistic tip
280 AI, 140 TTSX
270 WSM, 140 Accubond

Hit in the right place they all go down. Some quicker than others though.

[greywolf]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

We are forever preaching on here " acuracy first" and firmly believe that , be it archery or rifle.
Nothing else mattes if the bullet or broadhead can't be put where it is supposed to go.
Cat

I've been preaching this for 35+ years to the people that think they have to have the big iron.

[Zuludog]

Originally Posted by sns2

Was just watching the video of the fellow making a 603 yard elk kill with a 6.5 Creedmoor. The video that came on right after it was a very good discussion, with footage of various cartridges making clean kills on elk. It is worth a watch for sure...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfd3...=316.489833158

I just watched this clip the other day and thought that he had a lot of good points. I like watching his shows on youtube.

[The Spruce]

Different calibers for different situations. Very little room for error if shooting ANY longish distance with a small caliber. I don't think it matters where you shoot an ELK with a .243 at 500+ yards, it is not going to die. Bigger is better IMO for elk...I can deal with some sudden wind draft with my 300RUM, you can't with a 25-06 @ 500 yards.

Spruce

[1Heavyhitr]

Originally Posted by The Spruce

I don't think it matters where you shoot an ELK with a .243 at 500+ yards, it is not going to die. Bigger is better IMO for elk...I can deal with some sudden wind draft with my 300RUM, you can't with a 25-06 @ 500 yards.

Spruce

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY0w1c-gf18...... Don't this dead elk it was shot at 688 yards with a .243.

[1Heavyhitr]

Originally Posted by 1Heavyhitr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY0w1c-gf18...... Don't TELL this dead elk it was shot at 688 yards with a .243.

Missed TELL*

[Sooner]

Originally Posted by sns2

Was just watching the video of the fellow making a 603 yard elk kill with a 6.5 Creedmoor. The video that came on right after it was a very good discussion, with footage of various cartridges making clean kills on elk. It is worth a watch for sure...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfd3...=316.489833158

I seen that vid. Wicked shot, blood coming out the off side when the elk circled back.

There was another vid after that with a young kid taking long range shots at antelope. I tip my hat to the long shooters.

[Rio56]

Originally Posted by 1Heavyhitr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY0w1c-gf18...... Don't this dead elk it was shot at 688 yards with a .243.

a 243 will not do the same trick as a 300 rum on a not so perfect shot angle at 688 yards .. I appreciate all the "shot placement " but not always will the elk cooperate for the perfect shot and that's when a larger cartridge , caliber is a better bet .. If not, then why even make any cartridge's other than the 243... this obsession of shot placement is gone over board to a degree.. big boolits do well on shot placement as well , maybe even better and forsure when penetration is needed on bad angles making the diff on a wounded or dead elk ...

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by Rio56

a 243 will not do the same trick as a 300 rum on a not so perfect shot angle at 688 yards .. I appreciate all the "shot placement " but not always will the elk cooperate for the perfect shot and that's when a larger cartridge , caliber is a better bet .. If not then, why even make any cartridge's other than the 243... this obsession of shot placement is gone over board to a degree.. big boolits do well on shot placement as well , maybe even better and forsure when penetration is needed on bad angles making the diff on a wounded or dead elk ...

I don't think that being obsessed with shot placement is any worse than advocating a large cartridge for marginal hits .
I would personally be far more comfortable shooting a 6mm 100 grain bullet at an elk at 300 yards tan I would a 300 RUM - in fact I would not be shooting a 300 magnum at anything for that matter.
Doesn't mean anything except that I can't shoot heavy cartridges as well as lighter ones.

The bottom line is, once the choice is made to shoot an animal the shooter has to live with the result, be it a deflected bullet at 100 yards or a poorly placed clear shot at 500- no matter what animal they are shooting at.
Cat

[Jnesimiuk]

Shot placement is everything. A bad shot with any cal no matter how big isnt as good as a good shot with a cal that may be on the small size.

[last minute]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

We are forever preaching on here " acuracy first" and firmly believe that , be it archery or rifle.
Nothing else mattes if the bullet or broadhead can't be put where it is supposed to go.
Cat

Very well said .

[heretohunt]

It looked to me that the .243 elk kill was a spine shot. Neat for sure but she got lucky. What if she hit it behind the shoulder like he said?

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by heretohunt

It looked to me that the .243 elk kill was a spine shot. Neat for sure but she got lucky. What if she hit it behind the shoulder like he said?

The result would more t likely been the same as the one that Van Zwoll shot with the Creedmore - but personally, think that one went into the spine as well, it sure dropped fast fro the back end first.
Cat

[Rio56]

let's just imagine that next year all rifles come out with NO recoil .. none .. so with that would you change calibers and rifles to match your game or hunting terrain ... Elk, moose , grizzly ... Just a thought but it very well may happen some day .. I realise recoil is a big issue for most and me as well to an extent .. but how bout the NO kick .... now what do you shoot ?

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by Rio56

let's just imagine that next year all rifles come out with NO recoil .. none .. so with that would you change calibers and rifles to match your game or hunting terrain ... Elk, moose , grizzly ... Just a thought but it very well may happen some day .. I realise recoil is a big issue for most and me as well to an extent .. but how bout the NO kick .... now what do you shoot ?

The are almost thee now, as well as laser guided bullets.
Cat

[stevens]

i was a big shot placement guy until a few years ago. I was hunting with a buddy for moose he was using a 6mm another big shot placement guy. Well we see this nice bull he shoots once the bull takes off headed downhill from where we needed him to go and right towards the thickest nasty mess he shoots again certainly going to drop now nope right down the hill into a mess. So we give him time my buddy felt like his shots were good. So we go look for this bull finally find him but he is standing there looking at us about 15 yards away in this thick willow patch obviously not in good shape but still hanging on to life. My buddy shoots him right between the eyes he tips over backwards then gets back up the bullet never fully penetrated his skull. I felt bad for the moose he suffered and we suffered getting him out of that mess and up the hill again. I said never again. I hunt with a 300 wsm now why not I can handle the recoil and everything goes down and fast and if I ever need to shoot something in the head from 20 yards away it sure the hell will penetrate the skull. Yeah so no Alaskan brown bear hunts with a 243 and no cape buffalo moose elk or anything other than coyotes and gophers with a 6mm. In my opinion if I make those same shots with my 300 the moose might have went 20 yards maybe. I saw one animal suffer horribly because we didn't have enough gun never again.

[IBEX]

Haven't shot an elk yet! but hopefully will be chasing them this season with my .308 win with some 150gr. Partitions. Realistically, most of my big game shots with the .308 have been between 150-75yds except for one on a mule deer at 450yds a few years ago.

Used to think that I would need a magnum size cartridge for larger animals until I saw my partner shoot a cow elk with a 7mm-08 @ 150yds. facing broadside, bullet through the lungs, she walks a few steps and drop!!

[Fowl91]

Originally Posted by IBEX

Haven't shot an elk yet! but hopefully will be chasing them this season with my .308 win with some 150gr. Partitions. Realistically, most of my big game shots with the .308 have been between 150-75yds except for one on a mule deer at 450yds a few years ago.

Used to think that I would need a magnum size cartridge for larger animals until I saw my partner shoot a cow elk with a 7mm-08 @ 150yds. facing broadside, bullet through the lungs, she walks a few steps and drop!!

First Elk i took was with a 25-06, used 115gr Partition. Worked extremely well and the bull only went 50 yds or so. The key was shot placement and a well constructed bullet.

[leo]

I've had the privelidge of hunting some really good elk country, I've shot more elk than likely most have, and no doubt, less than some. My experience with them has led me to be more positive about my shot placement. Elk are tough. Pound for pound as tough as any critter. But they are not bullet proof. I've had lung shot elk and moose run for close to 1/4 mile after the shot. They died alright but on their terms. One bull nearly went over a hell of a deep creek, I'm glad he didn't because I'd still be down there trying to get him out! Saying that, I decided a few years back to try and take out at least 1 shoulder when shooting these critters. Especially when you're hunting them early in the year. I've spent hours looking for shot elk in the bush. I've lost one because the wound channel sealed up on me after a couple hundred yards. My minimum for elk is a .277 caliber, well constructed 130 grain bullet. Sure lesser cartridges will get it done, but I know this one will at most any shot angle, at most sensible ranges.

[MattH]

.300 win

[Salavee]

Rob't Ruark said it long before any of us were around .."use enough gun".

Marginal ability plus a marginal cartridge plus a marginal shot opportunity will almost always equal a marginal or negative result.
If we could only limit ourselves to taking the perfect shot from a perfect position under perfect conditions on a perfect target at a perfect distance I doubt this conversation would be necessary. It's when things go a bit sideways, as is often the case, it becomes a different topic. Assuming everyone is a perfect marksman, just when is enough gun, really enough gun? I'm thinking some of the cartridges mentioned in this thread wouldn't make the cut. Surely, there must have been be some bad experiences with these same cartridges but we don't hear about those... do we ?

[catnthehat]

Ruark was speaking about dangerous African game not elk.
As far as perfect shots go that us what I look fir.
I would no sooner take a marginal shot on an elk with a big cartridge than I would a small one .
Cat

[Salavee]

Granted, Ruarks forte was dangerous game but the gist of his remark was on a broader scale and applies to any hunting arena. Whether one is trying to avoid being clawed or stomped isn't all that different than trying to avoid a wounded Bull Elk from making his way to the Creek bottom.
I'm not suggesting everyone pack a Mega Mag by any means and I totally agree that "shot placement is everything" but I do feel that calibers/cartridges on the larger end will eliminate a lot of difficult recoveries or lost animals when that "perfect" shot inadvertently goes astray .

[catnthehat]

I have been told numerous times that the .303 British is minimal for deer , yet
Countless elk , moose , and dangerous Game overseas have fallen to it,
These days people seem to think that anything but big modern cartridges should be used " just in case" forgetting that a shot does not have to be taken if it s not optimal .
The cartridge should not be the main consideration, the shot shot be .
Cat

[lannie]

Its a legal shot or it isn't. No gray area to me...Want to take the chance of not going home with the meat...only for the guy with his finger on the trigger to decide.

[Bergerboy]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

I have been told numerous times that the .303 British is minimal for deer , yet
Countless elk , moose , and dangerous Game overseas have fallen to it,
These days people seem to think that anything but big modern cartridges should be used " just in case" forgetting that a shot does not have to be taken if it s not optimal .
The cartridge should not be the main consideration, the shot shot be .
Cat

The same people seem to feel that lead core bullets suddenly dont work anymore and only a monometal will kill anything.