Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Elk and the .223.Why not?

Yep just as well as an Elephant, they also have been killed by a 22LR. would not be my choice. Yes I have used a 5.56 for 20+ years.

Legal is always about regulation and regulation is what is necessary for people that can’t abide responsibility. Although a 223 may be legal I don’t think it is responsible, yet I don’t want to see it legislated.

Laws alway result as a necessity to combat lack of common sense and discipline. It is simple, don’t hunt elk with a 223, there are way too many better choices...

So a .223 is no good for elk but a .25-35 is good grizzly medicine ?

You are a horse’s ass...

You did kill a grizzly with a .25-35 didn't you ? No better choices for grizzlies or are you just above the whole lack of common sense and discipline thing ?

Wow,seems I missed the party..

Shrap....You might want to check the other .223 on elk thread just below....It seems prarie goat had used the.223 on elk more than once and with Mule Deers blessing,as he posted...

How's your head this morning....hahaha

>> this is a very well said and i agree . i also know my 300 or 338 will always do well on elk !

The question posed by the OP is "Why not?"

That is a big difference than "Can it be done?", the proven answer to which is "Of course it can."

For years I hunted elk one day each season using the buckhorn-sighted .44 Mag carbine Dad had given me. In doing so I knew I was giving up opportunities at ranges much over 100 yards, partly because of the iron sights, which I found hard to use, especially when not in bright sunlight, and partly because of external ballistics - trajectory, retained velocity and energy.

It turns out that a .223 and the .44 Mag are not that much different in terms of retained energy, although the .223 has a definite advantage in trajectory and retained velocity.

My .44 load at the time was a Speer 240g JSP launched at 1881fps. Using 1500fpe as a rule of thumb for elk (you have to start somewhere) and 1000fpe for deer, the .44 carbine was a 50-yard 'elk' rife and a 125-yard 'deer' rifle. In the field I limited myself to 100 yards on elk, ignoring the 1500fpe rule of thumb. Years later, using a ballistic calculator, I found that at 7000 feet that load had about 1300fpe at 100 yards. Never did shoot an elk with it as I elected to pass on the one opportunity I had, a big bull face on, right at 100. My hunting buddy had just dropped another bull using my 7mm RM and I figured we had enough work cut out for us.

My Ruger .223 is a MKII with a 1-12 twist. It is a tack driver with 40g bullets but quickly loses interest as weight gets above 50g. A 55g Hornady SP launched at 3300fps starts out with 1330fpe (equal to the .44 Mag at about 95 yards @ 7000ft) and, at 7000 feet, drops below 1000fpe around 135 yards (equal to the .44 Mag at about 170 yards @ 7000ft). The advantage for me is the Ruger is scoped, allowing much more accurate placement.

Jumping up to heavier bullets for the .223, muzzle energy doesn't change that much - 1366 for a Barnes 62g TTSX @ 3150fps, 1343fpe for a 80g Hornady ELD-M. Downrange at 7000ft, the .44 Mag drops below 1000fpe at about 170 yards with 1333fps remaining, the .223 TTSX just past 135yds with 2884fps remaining and the .223 ELD-M just past 255 yards and 2380fps.

Shooting a coyote in the lungs at 4 feet with a .44 Mag revolver, using the same 240g JSP load but at 1467fps due to the shorter barrel, did not provide me with any confidence in the load. If there was any expansion, I couldn't prove it - but it did make caliber-sized holes. Given that, I'd much rather use a 1-9 or faster .223 and 62-80g bullets for elk. The higher impact velocity would ensure expansion and, although an exit wouldn't be guaranteed by any means, I'm sure the penetration and destruction done would be adequate on a broadside.

In situations where a second shot is required (either because I screwed up or I'm shooting backup), I'd be wishing I had something bigger in my hands.

"Can it be done?" Yes - that has been proven many times over.

"Why not?" For me there are multiple reasons. One is legal restrictions in Colorado. Another is I'm a meat hunter and want a cartridge I feel is capable out to (or at least close to) my self-imposed limit of 600 yards, the limit of my practice. I no longer hunt elk with the .44 Mag, .30-30, .375 Win or .45-70 and even my .257 Roberts/120g A-Frame/2947fps load hasn't seen much use in the last few years. My .280 Rem, 7mm RM, .300WM and .338WM see the most use. My last elk was at 487 yards. Although I'm sure I could have hit her easily with a .223, even the 80g ELD-M would be below 800fpe at that range. Instead, a 225g AB launched at 2742fps smacked her broadside at about 2170fps with 2350fpe, creating large entrance and exit wounds and demolishing pretty much everything between them. Not a shot I would have taken with a .223 and I would likely have gone home empty-handed as a result.

I put together a load for Daughter #1 using a .270 and a 150g Nosler ABLR @ 2912fps. Recoil is under 18ft-lbs and at 7000ft energy is 1500fpe past 700 yards and velocity is 2000fps past 800. This is a significant bump up in capability compared to the .308/130TTSX/3045fps load she had been using and much more capable than any .223 load. Last year she passed on a cow elk at 476 lasered yards, preferring to get to her comfort range of 400 with her .308. Even at 476 yards her .308 packed as much punch as a .223/80g at the muzzle. By the time we reached 400 the elk had disappeared into the trees and she went home empty-handed.

Yes it was. Kid has been thru a lot. God Bless Him

THIS!!!

If I'm spending money to go elk hunting I'm taking the best shot at it with the best rifle for it. I think it would be a magnum of .277 Caliber up. I really like .30s But if it's all I had I'd use my .270 with a 150 grain Nosler Partition or Swift A Frame. I wouldn't feel undergunned with my .30-06 with a 180 or 200 grain Partition or Swift. But I've got a 7mm Rem. Mag and a .300 WBY that I'd take with me, the 7 mag would be the back up. I shoot the .300 WBY pretty well and I'm not shy of its recoil. It has a good brake and it's a Mark V and heavy enough to tame the recoil. I like the rifle and I'm pretty accurate with it. When hunting really big game I figure bigger IS better. Gimme the .300 WBY. Save the .223 for coyotes and deer.

Not a problem with the .223 if you don't mind chasing elk after the shot..

Well let's see.....the elk I've been in on that were shot in the lungs with a 223 went about 30 yards a piece. Similar to what's happened when elk were shot in the same place with 270s and 300s and such.
The cow I shot in the neck with a 223 went about 30 yards also, but that's because she was rolling down a steep hill, dead.

Someone on here was using a 60gr NBT with a 223 on elk. Was it this guy ^^^^

No.

I started this thread seven years ago when I bought two. 223's to use hunting...I also bought a couple boxes of Noslers for the task...there are other bullets that would work fine,but I prefer Noslers for what they do...

If my hunting was like alot here,I would choose one of my other calibers,but it's not...I'm in the hills all summer long not far from my house and see where the game is and what terrain there hanging in..I really don't care if I ever shoot another elk..

Knowing the limitations of the 223 over say a 30-06 or one of my larger more appropriate rounds,I know I can't take some shots that I have before with bigger rounds...like I said,I don't really care if I get another one but I'm game to go with my boy and help him get another one plus he has lots of help for packing them out..

I've seen elk shot with smaller calibers than the 223 and know that it will work just fine if the shooter does his part with the knowledge of what it takes...Hell,they shoot the big bears with the 223 so it's fine for elk...

THIS!!!

If I'm spending money to go elk hunting I'm taking the best shot at it with the best rifle for it. I think it would be a magnum of .277 Caliber up. I really like .30s But if it's all I had I'd use my .270 with a 150 grain Nosler Partition or Swift A Frame. I wouldn't feel undergunned with my .30-06 with a 180 or 200 grain Partition or Swift. But I've got a 7mm Rem. Mag and a .300 WBY that I'd take with me, the 7 mag would be the back up. I shoot the .300 WBY pretty well and I'm not shy of its recoil. It has a good brake and it's a Mark V and heavy enough to tame the recoil. I like the rifle and I'm pretty accurate with it. When hunting really big game I figure bigger IS better. Gimme the .300 WBY. Save the .223 for coyotes and deer.

Nuff said......

Yeah. I was reading through some search results, didn’t think about how old the thread might be. So sorry you had to see it. Nice name calling, by the way. See a lot of that from people on the internet.