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With careful bullet placement and premium bullets what is your minimum caliber?

22LR ??

I would not bad an eye at using my 6.5x55 and 140gr cup and core bullet's. Have shot two with my 6.5x06 and 140gr Hornady's. 243 is legal in this state but I wouldn't use it but, with your description of use, I could certainly kill elk with it.

I usually steer clear of these threads, but I'm bored.

243

I hear 223 can get it done.

I know a 243 will work...

I probably wouldn't go smaller than the 6.5x55 or .270 and 140 or 150 gr.

I think the .22, .24/6mm and .25 CF's are just a tad too small.

but that's just a "feeling", I've only shot 1 elk ever (.300 Win Mag, but people with the same last name as me using MY rifles have shot elk with .30-06 and .270)

AZ draw entry deadline is in a few weeks, we'll see how that goes... I'll probably be carrying something in .30 cal.

shoot good

Poole

The smallest I ever used was the 7mm rem mag/

I've done a few elk with my .25-'06 and 100-grain Hornady Interlocks. The simply folded.

So too, in my college days I killed a few elk with my Swede M-94 carbine in 6.5-55 with those Norma 156-grain steel round nose bullets. That flippin' bullet would travel the entire length of an elk, open to fully 1�-inches (the expanded bullit looked like a boat propeller) and knocked the big old Coastal elk down and most sincerely dead.

I've killed one big old cow with a .243 loaded with the Partition. Just dead right there.

Methinks that careful placement of the bullet is way more important than the cartridge or choice of bullet. Plant the bullet right and the elk die dead.

Steve

With careful bullet placement a gimmee, heck a .223 and a good bullet would, I think, get 'er done.

With elk hunting as *I* know it <grin>, personally I've hunted a 7-08 and that's a good place to draw the line for myself. Or say a 30-30 depending on the situation.

I'm no great Hunter of Elk, though I try. If I'm carrying a damn rifle around anyway, and elk hunting, might as well carry a decent-sized one is my way of thinking it.

+1 cause where there is elk there is sometimes bears

Some states have a minimum caliber required.

23 cal for all big game for WY

the smallest Ive seen used was 243 win and 6mm rem, neither impressed me , as in both cases the the elk ran as if untouched for a while but both did provide a mortal wound, and while I don,t think they are ideal for the application theres no denying they can be fatal to elk, while not a huge jump up in caliber Ive seen a 25/06 and 257 wby both do noticeably better, by that I mean the fast 25 calibers seem to hit a bit harder and leave a larger wound internally, personally I like the .338-.375 calibers for elk but I sure would not give up hunting if forced to use a 25/06 or 270 win

Mine is .284 caliber. For me, that would be a 7mm-08 or a 7x57, tossing 120 to 150 grains of appropriate bullet..

I'm not bothered at all by recoil 'til I get to burning more powder than that, or pushing a heavier projectile through the tube. In fact, I dont notice a whole lot less recoil/muzzle blast when shooting my .243 or even .223. So, it's sort of a case of shooting the biggest rifle I can shoot well.

Now, I can shoot my .30-06 and .35 Whelen perfectly well, and have killed elk & moose with them. It's just easier to shoot those 7's, and I'm confident that they'll kill just fine.

FC

Yes. For a truly adept marksman and hunter, a 22 caliber would likely suffice. While it is not my goto unit for elk, if I had no other options, I would take the 22-250 out. Oregon law, however, mandates at least 24 caliber.

I've used a 243 in the past due to circumstances. I doubt I do it again, though I did kill an elk. I would say 270 generally.

The OP neglected to say where he was hunting, what he was hunting (a 300 lb yearling or a 800 lb rutted up bull) , what his skills are and his minimum and maximum range.

A 243 with a 100 gr premium bullet at 150 yards would work fine down in the Red Desert but if you're hunting the Upper Green with lots of Grizzlies around, "comfy" is a 9.3x62 or 375 H&H with 250/270/300 gr TSXs.

Minimum caliber is .243 in colorado.
Where we hunt you never see anything smaller then a .270 and most of the guys that return year after year are shooting 7mm's or a .300
Can be tough to track an elk if it gets in the black timber w/o snow....

Now that is a very proud and accurate hunter right there!! I wish I was good enough to pull that off. LOL

Our camp last year..
1-.270
1-30/06
1-7mm rem
1-7mm stw
1-7mm ultramag
3-300 ultramags