Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 223 for Elk?

I noticed that Idaho allows 223/5.56 for Elk. I've never seen anyone do it and I've never considered it. What say ye?

Ahhh....No

I'd visit a .223 ai camp, for sure.

I post below

I have killed horses and cattle with 22 LRs. So the ability of a 223 to kill elk is not in question. However the horses and cattle I killed with 22s were all shot from about 2 feet away and at angels I got to choose.
Just because a cartridge can kill an animal doesn't mean it should be used if you can use something better.

I am a bit of a big rifle fan, but I have over 50 years of elk hunting and guiding experience, and I can tell you factually that a heavy caliber rifle with lots of power is not needed to kill elk. It is sometimes helpful to have range, power and penetration, and the smaller you go with your firearm the better you have to place the bullet. The smallest caliber I have personally used is a 270 with rifles and a 44 mag with handguns to kill elk, but I have seen several killed (very cleanly) with 243s 257 Roberts, 25-06s 6.5X55s, 260 Remingtons, 30-30s 357 mags from both handguns and carbines and one with a 41 mag from a 4" barrel.

If you can place a bullet in an elk at the angle you need to, and if that bullet will penetrate fairly straight and at least 16" deep you can kill elk.

So --- can a 223 kill elk well?
Sure.

Should you go that small for elk hunting?
I'd vote "no".

I fall back on a counter question:

Why would I want to?

Idaho's regs specify that any centerfire can be used on any big game. You can use a 22 Hornet on moose or bear if you want to. I've never heard of anyone using a 223 on elk but some will probably try it.

Idaho's one of the few places that allows that. It's a bad idea and causes problems with wounded animals.

I asked because some folks were pronouncing the 77gr Sierra TMK (Tipped Match King?) as the end all of 223 hunting bullets. Posting lots of pictures of bloody deer innards as proof that the TMK turns the 223 into a big league hunting cartridge. Then they made the pronouncement that it was a legit elk cartridge too.

And it turns out that it is legal for elk in Idaho.

I'm in Oregon and the 223 is not legal. A big Rosie will run 8-900lbs. Even the Rosie cows run an honest 600lbs. That's many times bigger than the biggest muley I've seen. I've tracked bad hits for multiple days and the 223 seems like a recipe for a long tracking job.

But maybe I'm wrong.

Not really the same thing, but I know a guy in Idaho that regularly kills bulls with a 22-250 with 50 grain Speer HP’s

Depends who’s gunning the 223 Win. 😎

WHY ?

I've done it twice, and my pard once. All within 100 yards, all head shots. It worked but wouldn't be my first choice, or even my second.

There were extenuating circumstances each time ( i.e. wounded by somebody else and the .223 was the only thing I had in my hands...)

I figure most of the elk I've killed could have been taken with my .22-250, so a .223 would probably do the same.

Not legal here in Colorado and wouldn't choose a .22 even if it was.

Some can’t place a round well enough at a distance, let alone close yards, with any rifle...You know this, or you should. 😎

I wouldn't personally do it but I am solidly in the .223 Rem for deer camp.

Smallest I have gone on elk is a 6mm Rem with 100 speer BTSP. It worked just fine.

22-250 is a quite different cartridge from the 223. Doesn't seem very "apples to apples" to me.

It's a bad idea to use any centerfire on any game, but I find "any centerfire" preferable to telling hunters they can't use certain centerfires on certain game ("24 caliber and above", "no .223", etc, etc). And I seriously doubt locations with such rules have any more wounded animals than in the neighboring areas. Most people tend towards magnumitis rather than the anemic, and you can't legislate good shooting, anyways.

I think that what I like about Idaho's regulation is that it's one less restriction placed on hunters, on Americans, by the government.

Maybe Idaho figures that it should be the hunter's choice. I kinda like that.

Personally though, I'm happy with my choice of larger cartridges for larger game.

Regards, Guy

I'm fine with Idaho's regulations that allow a .223 to be used on elk, moose etc. I think it should be up to the hunter. But I would choose a more powerful cartridge for my own elk hunting.

Fuggetaboutit.