Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Whats your yardstick for ethically taking an elk

Blueranger, My wife and I have "cleanly" taken elk at 400 yards. Under good conditions, range known, and with a good solid rest, I think that we'd both be comfortable to around 500. memtb

I've had much debate with a few folks I hunt with over the last couple years about this very topic, mostly because of kids we're trying to shepherd into elk hunting. I grew up in an undergunned household, by today's elk-hunting standard, and my first elk hunts I carried a 257 with 100gr PT's at at book speed of 2830. I doubt they even got that. I didn't get elk with that gun, but my dad did.

I know a 243 can easily get beyond that 2830 with 100gr Partitions. I also know that a 6mm 100gr Partition is great elk medicine when good hunting and good shooting are part of the equation. I also don't think that handicapping youngsters with something that leaves little room for error when it comes to shot angles/placement/distance is a good idea.

Certainly, in the hands of someone who knows what elk fever feels like and can handle the pressure and can pull off a good shot during less than ideal circumstances, a 243/6mm with appropriate bullets is just fine for elk hunting, or more to the point, elk killing and recovery. I don't like handicapping kids though with the same setup.

We've not seen elk during the hunting season the last 2 years, so there have been no successes or failures to note, but I have convinced a couple folks to move to a 308 and 150gr bullets for their youngsters' hunting when elk is in mix. There are other steps between a 243 and 308 that I think would have been just fine, but other circumstances came into play, and 308's were chosen.

Handloading and bullet casting have been very handy in these circumstances for getting the kids started with very reduced loads so they get much trigger time and get comfortable with a rifle while dealing with vastly reduced recoil and noise. One youngster who will be 14 this year, and a small kid, has graduated to 308 nicely, and we've been working him toward 150 gr bullets, adjusting bullet weight, powder charge, velocity with each step. He has a knack for shooting, and loves it, so it hasn't been a chore to help him progress. So fun to watch! Excited at the prospect of doing this same process for my own in the future.

Bringing this back to topic: 243 is plenty good and ethical in the hands of a knowledgeable hunter and shooter when elk are being pursued. It is a handicap for those who are more green, and IMO, it is a ticket to a rodeo. Far better to give a youngster a gun with more bullet weight, momentum, and surface area, as long as they can shoot it proficiently.

Same thoughts here. I do my own load work and shoot the rifles out as far as I can all year round, from on the ground or the actual positions I will get to use in the field. I have a pretty good idea come October how far the rifle in my hands will get it done. Different days (wind) will stop me from taking a shot I could have easily made with no wind.

I'm from the midwest and close to a thousand miles from any elk I can legally hunt. Though I've hunted initially about every other year it has become about an every five year thing of late over the thirty years I've hunted them. Also being a general gun loony, I went up the cartridge latter fast graduating with the 340 Wea, all of which I blame Ross Siefried for.

I shoot a lot but my immediate locale limits me to five hundred yards on a farmers field so that is what I became comfortable with though depending on circumstances I would consider six hundred on a hunt. I am not in the game with some of the "long rangers" here (like scenarshooter and others) but wanted to maximize my chances on a five to seven day hunt on public land wherein I may see one or two bulls briefly during that time. If any. I also bought into, "placing a bullet in the heart-lung complex on a big animal from any angle" concept so used heavier "X's" and Nos Part's mostly finally settling on the 210-gr TSX. In review though, no Tx Heart Shots were taken or other extreme angles either. Most were broadside.

Of the eleven bulls taken with the 340, most were over three hundred yards with the longest at LRF'd 475. Two cows were taken at forty and about eighty yards with. 45 Colt and a 45/70 respectively. I did take one bull at about 400 with a 30/06.

Long way of saying, my criteria for "go-no go," is range to animal; presentation and attitude of same; possibilities of closing the distance; wind; firearm and bullet I'm using and my comfort level with any one or all of the above.

Thus I've not wounded and lost an animal. The longest distance from hit to "DRT" were the cows, one with a 45 hard cast through her ribs and the other with the 45/70 which made me rethink hard casts for soft, thin-skinned animals.

George, you've piqued my curiosity: what bullet/load/gun were you using in 45 Colt on that DRT cow through the ribs? I bet that and the 45/70 hunt are good stories.

The "DRT" was a little tongue-in-cheek 😎. Both the 45 Colt and 45/70 threw big hardcasts that blew through the chests like a hot poker through butter. Both animals went 100-200 hundred yards but luckily it wasn't densely brushed country. No surprise--tough animals that have a "small" hole poked through them without breaking down bones, leak slowly, and can go a long ways.

They were DRT but only after they traveled a good distance.

Then you meant 'DOT'. Dead over there.......

DSOT 😏 -- "dead somewhere over there." Not good.

DYW. Dead yonder ways.....

George,

I'd like to try flinging big chunks of lead from a 45 Colt rifle. My dad has some replicas. I may inherit one. I imagine a 300 would get to 1000 in a rifle with the right powder, and still stay kosher for pressure. That should be good for timber stalking. He also has an 1895 CB. These guns are a few of the reasons I am intrigued with what you did there. I am itching to try it out, kinda sorta how the old timers did it. And how some are apparently still doing it. Without all the smoke, or round-nosed bullets, though.

If you can confidently place a bullet or arrow in the vitals the shot is ethical. Depending on conditions with a rifle my maximum would be around 600 yards in less than a 5-10 mile wind. Practicing in field conditions prone or off sticks I'm good to a little past that range. I've never taken a shot past 350 at an elk because the longer shots presented were not conducive to killing them cleanly and or a successful recovery.

For elk in my rifle choices start at 30-06 with 165 grain, 7mm Rem Mag with 150 and 300 Weatherby with 180 grain all Barnes TTSX bullets. I'd rather not explore the limits of how small i can go to kill an elk.

That's what she said!

That cuts to the heart of it IMO.

To each his own. Some have zero interest in "playing Indian" with bows and arrows. So what.

I thought they were playing Robin Hood? He was a better shot than the Indians.

Yeah, but most would rather wear loin cloths than leotards.

Good point.

My yardstick is complicated and simple at the same time. Simple because I only pull the trigger when I'm sure that I will hit what I'm aiming at. Complicated because there are a lot of variables that go into making that decision.

Bullet construction is only one item in the long list of things to consider. I use a bullet that I'm sure will kill the animal that I am hunting. I make that decision long before I go into the field so I never think about it when hunting. For elk I use a 180 grain Nosler Partition because I know that works.

I also use a rifle that I'm sure will do the job. That decision is also made long before I go into the field and it includes lots of practice. So that's another item that I don't have to think about when hunting. For elk I use a T/C Icon Weathershield 30-06.

Other things that I consider automatically include:
Range to the target,
Rifle Rest - is my rifle stable?
Wind - specially a cross wind,
My Breathing Rate,
Target Activity,
Visibility - can I see well enough to make clean kill,
Backstop - what's behind the target?

I shot one elk at a range so far that the range finder couldn't get a fix on a solid reflective target. I estimated it at about 500 yards because reflective targets near and in front of him were recording ranges around 450 yards. I shot twice and hit him twice after watching him graze for about 15 minutes. It took that long for me to dope it out.

BTW I know a young lady (20 something) that has killed 6 elk using 115 grain Nosler Partitions in a 25-06. She's not very big so bigger calibers present a recoil challenge to her. She just makes sure that she hits the animal in the right place. Like you said "shot placement is the most important aspect."

KC

Last year's deer was 7 minutes and only 276 yards. It also took that long to get shooting stable.

I see several guys have used the phrase "if I'm confident in the shot," or "confident in the bullet". Perhaps confidence is a better choose of words than ethical. But what gives you that confidence pre-hunt and during the hunt that the rifle/bullet combo you chose in the situation you are or will be hunting is a good match (clean kill) for the animal you are hunting? What info, or anecdotal stories do you use get that "confidence" in your set up?