Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting .260 for elk

That elk doesn't look much larger than some of the good sized caribou we kill - and I've killed more than a dozen; less than two, with my 6.5 Swede and they died very quickly. And since so many of the Scandinavian moose I've seen pictured also don't look much different in size than that cow, I guess it stands to reason that they would be killed quite effectively by said caliber.

But to keep things in realistic perspective, I offer this shot of two 140 Partitions which were stopped by larger game in the form of a rather ordinary, certainly not huge, Alaskan moose:



They made it through the chest on a broadside shot which included the legs, but not the heavy leg bones. Two 140 A-Frames followed the same general paths but didn't get to the hide. Any of the four shots adequately ventilated the lungs and would have been lethal. This animal still allowed plenty of time between shots to glass and and ensure that this one, among a group of several, was the same and only animal being shot. There are undoubtedly better calibers for very large game.

Swift A-Frame 140 grains

I appreciate hearing how you came to that conclusion.

My guess is that if that elk weighs 685#, that rifle is about 5 1/2 feet long. That would explain it.

I make no claim to be a judger of elk size.

However, I was told by my hosts at the ranch that my Colorado cow had to have been 600 lbs on the hoof. I know she was DAMN big in person. So, for reference purposes:

LMAO!!!

Are you kidding me?

there's no way I'd give that calf 200#

maybe that picture is of the fetus that fell out of a 685# cow when the cow hit the ground?

I got no prob with a guy takin a calf, we take one or 2 in our group every year I've been able to go. But if you have to do surgery to find the ivories & when you pull them they are the size & shape of house cat teeth.... well that's no cow brudda.

Dats a kaff

Jeff-O --

Don't you feel somewhat ashamed for taking a dink like that?

Here's a pic on of the hunter223's "685 pound" cow discussed on snipershide.com followed by a pic of one of the two cows I took in 2007.

That is a big cow, Jeff!
nice...

Northern Dave,



Yeah, no kidding and that's exactly what I called it, a calf.
Read my post more carefully.

Like I said,


I was trying to be nice!

that is the big mama of cows Jeff.

I'd call this one average.

I was agreeing with you.

Dave-good pics, I take it you took her with a Guide rifle? If so, then that is some kind of cool deal!

Dober

(that fella with the 685 lb pound must of been having some serious munchy attacks coming on from all the weed he was smokin...grin)

Thats my thurdy thurdy.....


Naw, it's an 1895M. Very similar to guide gun.

and yes it made cow hunting fun.

Cal?

Dober

.450

If I knew back then what I know now... I woulda just bought the 45-70 & loaded it up to the .450 specs

I was shoot'n 350 gr Hornady's

pumpkin chucker.

Short barrel, gotta like that right?

I take it every year as my "dark timber" rifle and it's my backup for what ever pointy bullet scoped rig I take.

That year I decided to "handicap" myself with stubby thunder here to add to the challenge. I do not regret it, I'm thinking it's the most fun I've had on any of my non resident low buck cow hunts

"stubby thunder", that has a nice ring to it...

I've had two guide rifles, both in 45/70 and sold both of them like a total dummy! I mean they both shoot into lil tiny holes so I just had to sell them right...

Dober

oh that's rough, I have a hard time selling any gun let alone one that will shoot well. I'm finding more & more that those "shooters" really aren't all that common.

My 45/70 Guide Gun also shot bugholes (holes for BIG bugs, though ,g>). So I also sold it. WTF?!

With that big cow o' mine, I played the "extraction" process according to the ranch owner's plan. I shot it way up on a steep hill. See that strap on the front legs? That was the "brake line". I was the brakeman. Brad (left) and Mark would sort of tug it, it would start to slide, and my job was to dig in my heels and keep it from running them over! Good times.

Then, Brad took the ranch truck, an old beater Ford that was always in 4-lo with the hubs locked, and backed it into the creek, thus bringing the tailgate about level with the opposite bank. And we slid that beast right into the back. It was pretty damn slick!

That cow was considerably bigger, physically, than the raghorn bull I shot a week or so later...

Anyway, I concur with ya'll about that little calf! Surprised nobody called the guy on it, over on that thread....

So now all the .260 Rem fans are bragging about the small elk they killed with the .... .45-70. Go figure.

Why did you have to put it down? Rabies?

Bulls get mad all the time.