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Originally Posted by WAM
I was glad to have my “minimum” .300 Weatherby this November during my elk hunt. Shot at first light at 225 yards with no time to dink around with rangefinder and shooting stick. Hold center mass and let it rip, bang flop! 168 TTSX did its job. Happy Trails


That would have also worked for a .30-06. laugh


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Originally Posted by bsa1917hunter
Originally Posted by Brad
Originally Posted by Mule Deer

Damned if I know what's minimum for elk.



Isn’t that the truth...


I've heard 22wmr... If that is any help.. Heard that from some oldtimers in Washington state..


yeah from what I've heard, over toward Coos Bay....

many an elk has been taken with a 22 Mag and a Flashlight...

right in the ear or eye...


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tzone,
Yes, the '06 would have worked just as well at that range. No doubt that the .308 Win or .270 would have taken care of business in that situation. Happy Trails


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If you are hunting in Colorado, the Minimum Cartridge/Caliber question has been answered for you, by the Colorado Dept. of Parks and Wildlife:

1. CENTERFIRE RIFLES
a. Must be a minimum of .24 caliber (6 mm).
b. Must have a minimum 16-inch barrel and be at least 26 inches long.
c. If semiautomatic, a maximum of six rounds are allowed in the magazine and
chamber combined.
d. Must use expanding bullets that weigh a minimum of 70 grains for deer,
pronghorn and bear, 85 grains for elk and moose, and have an impact energy
(at 100 yards) of 1,000-ft.-pounds as rated by manufacturer.

Their brochure doesn't list a maximum caliber restriction, so I guess if you want to use your .460 Weatherby, it's your call.......


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Originally Posted by HuntnShoot
Though I've toyed with the idea of using a 223 with bonded 64 gr bullets for elk, and if I happened to have said combo in hand when an ideal shot arose, I would take that shot (and keep shooting until the elk was down), I don't think I would pack a 223 if elk was the main or the only quarry.


[Linked Image]

Here's a 75 grain Amax I pulled out of the offside hide of a nice sized cow elk. Shot was 430 yards through the lungs. Starting velocity 2750 fps courtesy of a shortie 223. She traveled around 20 yards and piled up. Have also used the same setup for a neck shot, but did not recover the bullet as it exited. That cow elk went about 30 yards, because she was rolling down a steep hill.

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Originally Posted by WAM
tzone,
Yes, the '06 would have worked just as well at that range. No doubt that the .308 Win or .270 would have taken care of business in that situation. Happy Trails


I was just givin you a little crap. grin

If/when I ever get to hunt elk, it will most likely be with a .308 Win or a .30-06


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Originally Posted by Calvin
If I draw the etolin elk rifle tag this year, my choices will be:

Kimber MT 7 WSM 162 Amax
Kimber MT 300WSM 155 Scenar
Kimber Montana 6.5 Creedmoor 147 ELDM
Rem Model 7 7 Saum 150 E Tip
Rem 700 243 AI 105 Amax

Good to have choices. Brutal hunt, big bodied elk. Hope I draw.


Sounds like you're feeling lucky. Only 7 weeks till we get our hopes crushed.

Same rifle choices if you draw Delta Sheep?

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I don't live out West, and have only shot 5 elk and assisted on killing two others, my minimum would be the 270 Winchester firing a 150gr Partition at a damn accurate 2900 fps.


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My comfortable minimum for BULL elk would be a 7mm-08 but I seen the kreedmire kill elk on Youtube out to 500 yards!


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The Indians here use a 22-250?

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Originally Posted by Slider1
The Indians here use a 22-250?


Yeah, they don't give a chit if they recover one or not. They just go shoot another one. Fugg the tribal poachers.


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I hunt big Roosevelt Elk on Afognak Island in Alaska. We've shot elk the size of moose - our biggest was around 1400 pounds. Over the years we've harvested over 20 elk. I've kept tabs on calibers and the heavy hitters have often failed while the non magnum rounds have a perfect record. I used to use a 300 win mag with 200 grain bullets, but 6 years ago I switched to a 308 with 180 grain bullets. I feel more confident with the 308 and have shot an elk 5 straight years with the caliber. Last year I dropped my elk at 300 yards while a 7 rem mag at 100 yards failed to do the job. I truly believe the lighter rounds are better because we all shoot them better. Also they are less speedy and so the bullets are less likely to do crazy things. The only elk I ever shot that got away was at 50 yards with the 300 win mag and using a 200g bullet. I hit it perfectly but it ran away - sometimes velocity is not such a good thing. Patrick

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PAGC requires a 270 as minimum.
Of course, it's Pa.
We don't really have elk.


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.256 Newton for the win


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The last 6 that we shot :
3 shot with .280 Rem 120 B-Tip 421 yds, 426 yds, 200 yds.
3 shot with 7-08 120 B-Tips 2325 yds, 1 @ 125 yds

All 1 shot kills. 5 dropped within a few feet. 1 wandered maybe 30-40 yards

People sweat the small things too much.


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Originally Posted by pgsalton
I hunt big Roosevelt Elk on Afognak Island in Alaska. We've shot elk the size of moose - our biggest was around 1400 pounds. Over the years we've harvested over 20 elk. I've kept tabs on calibers and the heavy hitters have often failed while the non magnum rounds have a perfect record. I used to use a 300 win mag with 200 grain bullets, but 6 years ago I switched to a 308 with 180 grain bullets. I feel more confident with the 308 and have shot an elk 5 straight years with the caliber. Last year I dropped my elk at 300 yards while a 7 rem mag at 100 yards failed to do the job. I truly believe the lighter rounds are better because we all shoot them better. Also they are less speedy and so the bullets are less likely to do crazy things. The only elk I ever shot that got away was at 50 yards with the 300 win mag and using a 200g bullet. I hit it perfectly but it ran away - sometimes velocity is not such a good thing. Patrick


Not to say big, heavy bullets are not good; witness the .35 Whelen, but I believe velocity is always your friend when using light for caliber, well constructed bullets. Poorly hit elk will usually haul ass not to be found....

Happy Trails


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Red deer were culled in New Zealand with .22 Hornets and the .222 Remington throughout the 50's and 60's.
The professional culler's were paid by the tail count they brought in.


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The minimum rifle cartridge diameter is 6mm in Colorado but there are pistol cartridges with much less energy that are legal. Go figure.

Daughter #1 has done her elk hunting with a .308 Win and 130g TTSX @ 3045fps. I figure that would have worked out to about 500 yards at 7000 feet and above, but she shoots further a the range so I traded her ex-hubby's .30-06 for a .270 Win. Developed loads for the 150g Long Range AccuBond. With the higher B.C. and increased weight, the 150g LRAB will do at 600 yards what the 130g TTSX will do at 325 yards, at least in terms of retained energy. And it will do it with about 2 ft-lbs more recoil, about 18 vs a bit under 16. Thinking that will work well for her.


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No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.

A good .30-06 is a 99% solution.
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For those who would like to keep shooting their favorite cartridge but recoil is starting to take its toll, or those thinking they need to move up in cartridge, I would encourage you to look into GS Custom bullets (hollow point, monos). I have remarked on these before. To be clear, I have no financial interest in the company. Due to their design, they shoot softer or faster, or a combo thereof; your pick. I've used them in 375 Ruger (200 gr). Point is, if you want to shoot a cartridge with a little more authority, maybe a larger wound channel, but getting tired of recoil, these may be your ticket. Downside is you need a chrono, but load development is easy. Step-load up to get to desired MV, then maybe 4-5 different 3 shot groups at varying depths to get best accuracy. Done. My Ruger GG shot all 5 groups under MOA. I settled on the depth giving me .55. (Just three shot groups). YMMV


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The ideal elk cartridges are those you can shoot well and accurately and delivers enough velocity and energy at POI to get the job done cleanly. There isn't just "one".

My hunting buddy has diabetes-related shoulder problems and heavy recoiling loads, while possibly "ideal" for others, are not for him. I saw a huge bull hanging that was shot by a young lady I think was all of 12 years old. She used a .25-06 and a 117g bullet. I'm pretty sure a 378WBY would have been a less acceptable choice for her.

A lot of people way overthink this. Most shots taken are well within the effective range of most legal cartridges.

But heck, elk season is a long ways off. Gotta talk about something.


Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!

No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.

A good .30-06 is a 99% solution.
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