Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Handgun hunting Elk

Anyone using handgun for Elk? If so, what load are you packing?

I have not, but did pack my FA 454 horse hunting elk in The Thorofare, backed the 335 gr Cast Performance WFNGC's down to a one hand/either hand, manageable 1250 fps, I wouldn't have hesitated to use that load on an elk up close.

I have only taken one bull with a handgun, so take this with a grain of salt. I used a Ruger Super Blackhawk with a 7 1/2-inch barrel and 300-grain hard-cast lead bullets loaded by a custom reloader up in South Dakota. One shot at a little over 40 yards and the bull went down before I could get lined up for a second shot. If I were doing it again, I would use the same gun and load.

I have a 309-JDJ, I have carried it while hunting elk. I have yet to shoot an elk with it. It does a bang up job on deer.

309-JDJ built by SSK Industries.

The last two years I've carried my SBH in 45colt loaded with a 260gr Keith over 19gr of 2400. If the opportunity presents, it'll do the job.

.44 magnum ...

My old super blackhawk hunter had an oversized bore and would not shoot .429-.431 diameter bullets with any accuracy. I had a custom LBT mold that threw a .433" diameter, 300 grain, WLN GC bullet. Rooster Red lube, RCBS or Hornady crimp-on checks, not Lyman slip on gas checks. Old starline cases with Midway head-stamps. Fed 155 or CCI 350 primers, it didn't shoot well with WLPs. 22.5 grains of Win 296.

My standard carry gun load uses the same brass, WLP primers, 24.0 grains of Win 296, and 250 grain SWCs sized .431" from wheelweights and quenched at cast.

I haven't killed an elk with either. I've killed deer with both. I switched to cast bullets 'cause the 240 grain JHPs were blowing up too much meat. Both bullets address that. The SWCs don't kill as fast. The LBTs kill as fast as the jacketed hollow points but without the meat loss.

300 grain XTPs over 20 grains of 296 seated to the front cannelure shoot pretty well.

I'd use any of those.

The old SBH hunter is gone replaced by a Bisley version which has more conventional throat and bore diameters. It shoots pretty well with the 270 grain Speer Gold Dot which I'd definitely use on elk ... but I ran out of them. I think the load is 23.5 grains of Win 296 ... check the manual on that one.

Tom

Snake,
I have carried my SBH Hunter 45 Colt several times afield. Like you, the opportunity has yet to transpire.

45-70 BFR... 420 cast..

21 years ago I shot a yearling cow with a 45-70 TC Contender. This year I am carrying my 6.5-06 TC Encore.

Been using my 475L with either 400grn gold dots or 370 or 405 grn cpb's.
This year thinking about using the Ruger 5 shot 454 with 335grn lwfngc's.

So, there's only 10 or so of us that handgun hunt Elk?

When I did (unsuccessfully) elk hunt with a handgun I carried my TLA #5 44 Magnum loaded with 320 gr WLN's at 1,200 fps. That was many years ago. Today I suspect I would carry my Ruger Bisely 500 Linebaugh loaded with a 420 gr WLN at 1,100 fps just 'cuz I need to kill something with it.

I don't live in elk country so do not hunt elk, but I deer hunt with my handgun.

I'm going to carry my 29-3 Mountain Gun .44 Mag with Aimpoint Micro T1 in a Blade-Tech Pro-Series dropped & offset speed holster. Thinking I may zero it for BB's 200-grain HC Wadcutters at 1,300 fps.

Just in case a bull or bear shows up really close and I eschew the CTR .260. I may use it as primary for bear if we have an elk gut pile to hunt over...

I've killed a couple whitetail w two other .44s and think elk or bear are doable.

Haven't taken an elk with my 5-1/2"Ruger (Williams Shooters Supply) Bisley Blackhawk in 45 Colt yet. I know it will do the deed. I now load it my own cast 285 LBT WFN over a healthy dose of H110 capped with Fed GM155M primers. I did take my bull moose at 15 yds just over 7 years back North of Nome, AK, with my 4-5/8" Blackhawk with my 335 gr LBT WFN sped along with a full dose of Lil'Gun.

Alan

I haven't killed an elk in a while so if one shows up I'm not waiting for it to come closer. If close enough I will use my new SBH 44mag I picked up about a month ago



I'm really hoping to kill at least a deer with it this year

Truly awesome.

I killed my first two elk with a pistol. The first was a little rag horn at 15 yards with my contender in 358jdj. The second was a cow at 8 feet. Talk about exciting. Watch the wind, your step and use your cow call.

30-30 14" Contender is in the mix for me this year. Going to try to take a deer with it, and if I get the chance, I'll shoot an elk with it. 150 gr SST at over 2100 should be good for 200 yds, if I can get a good rest. MPBR is a bit farther than that. I've not shot it past 150 at paper, but the results have been good. The hard part, as usual, will be locating the elk.

I'm not specifically hunting elk with a handgun - unless - I'm "pushing timber" for the wife, or the bull season passes me by and I'm cow hunting. Putting meat on the table "trumps" my handgun hunting. If it happens I'll use my X-Frame 460 S&W. memtb

That's my intent too. I like the gun with its typical 8" barrel. It is just right for me.

I would like to see a Deep Curl that has spider'd into the top of the heart of a mature bull!

Book max of 296 under a 270gr DC has a very nice bark to it when fired from my 7 1/2" .44 SBH. I have yet to put one in an elk.

Are those deep curls as good as the old unicore?I used to use the 300 grain Unicore in my 454 and it worked pretty good..I prefer jacketed to cast in my hunting pistols contrary to a lot of people.I don't have anything jacketed worked up for my BFR but the deep curl is an option.

During the shortages I could get deep-curls, shot them and noticed a fair grouping. I like them!
In a .44Mag, 270 gr is a nice weight. I drank the kool-aid.

Working up a load to H-110/WW-296 max, pushing deep curls did seem to show signs of pressure right on schedule for book-max. I am glad I found the right data for DCs and would not want to go any hotter.

Old school
Hornady 240 gr JHPs and 24 grs of 2400 was a hard hitting very upper end round.
Book max 110/296 under the 270 DCs feels way hotter then anything I ever got out of a .44 before!

Trying off and on. I haven't managed to seal the deal yet.

I had an out of spec Super Blackhawk Hunter (over diameter throats, forcing cone, and muzzle) which I shot with 300 grain .433" LBT WLN GC bullets over 22.5 grains of Win 296 with CCI 350 or Fed 155 primers.

I carried it for a lot of years, killed several deer with it, but never happened to get it close enough to an elk. The gun eventually "went bad" (I don't understand how, but targets don't lie.) and I traded it.

It's replacement is a Bisley version of the same gun. It likes the jacketed 300 grain bullets from Speer or Hornady or Speer's 270 grain bullet, all with magnum primers and a max load of Win 296. If I haven't gotten around to getting a properly sized mold for it, I'll use whichever of those I can get my hands on.

It may never get the chance: I'm trying to get one of the new 5-shot Super Blackhawk Bisleys that Ruger is making for Lipseys. I don't care which chambering, whatever I can get first.

This year, though, my elk gun flings patched round balls.

Tom

I "bit the bullet" and paid good money for a Ballisti-Cast mold of the Hensley/Gibbs original #50,. Ballisti-Cast's number 1101. Good tools produce reliable results.