Any idea where this basic recommendation came from, or what it's basically based on?

Asking for Huntsman22.......

Hate to make assumptions in today’s world, but assuming that your aunt is/was a women, a .257 was obviously adequate.

Had that been your uncle, a .257 would have been marginal at best.

This got me thinking. I know this will really screw things up, but what if you’re a Governor tag holder?

In the proper hands, good bullets, proper placement, within reasonable distances.....a .243 Win or 6 mm is adequate for an elk cartridge!

My wife killed her first elk with a .243 Win., and will be the first to tell you that luck was involved and she does not consider it a good choice of elk cartridges. She killed several elk with a .270 Win., and didn’t really find it lacking. She then went to a .338 WM, and was quickly conversed that it was a far better elk cartridge than those of her previous experiences! memtb

I’d ask the Governor, he’s supposed to know what’s best for his state.

This is where it all falls apart and gets confusing. What if the Governor is a woman?

Think I’ll stick to deer hunting.

How does bullet construction and velocity fit in? Bowhunters kill elk all the time with solids, and at 300 FPS.


Explain that, Mr. Smartypants.
No need for magnum speed.

I've killed a lot of elk with a 270 and 150gr bullets. I'm currently using a 30-06 and really like 165's. A 308 with 165's doesn't give up enough to matter.

I think anything larger than a good size deer the 6.5 is as small a cartridge that should be used on the larger animals. Not because smaller won't do it but because heavier bullet's allow room for error. Now if we were under attack by some enemy here in our own country and survival required killing game my weapon of choice would be my 22 mag RF! Require's better hunting skills and better shooting but is much quieter than larger dia CF rifle bullet's. Then what's easier to hide; 100 243 cartridges or 100 22 mag cartridges

Yeah and if you had fewer nonresidents you could have more tags less people buying up the access most people used to have just for asking? Lotta aspects folks don t like to think about. No win either way for some folks.

Oregon - .24 for center fire and .50 for muzzle loaders.

Then a .50 BMG is the ticket.

If we're talking about hunting elk, the minimum I've carried was a Crosman 760 .177 cal pump. My step-brother was carrying his Daisy Red Ryder though. I'd say the Red Ryder is a good minimum for elk hunting, but the plastic-stocked Daisy is lighter and shorter, thus better for field carry.

The elk killing was on my step-dad. He was carrying a 7 RM with factory Remington ammo. Seemed to work okay.

I prefer .277 and a 30 would be better. Always premium bullets............. My personal preference.

Whatever you use, DO NOT use a Savage 99 in 22 HP...................

Because everyone knows that it will NOT kill Tiger, Cape Buffalo, Red Stag or the like..............

at least not since Charles Newton died...............



that aught to be good for another 4 pages!!!

Good advise. Do not use a 22 HP.

Shhhh Ted!!! 🤫😂😂

Are you talking targets or shooters!? Cuz we all know women and children can kill with smaller cartridges and bullets!

You guys all have missed the important points about larger-bore bullets. With them, you can shoot at large snowbanks above the elk and kill them with no meat loss via avalanche. Also, larger diameter bullets are better when shooting at smooth rocks near the animal and ricocheting into the animal at the perfect angle when the line-of-sight presentation is not perfect. Moreover, a heavier bullet is more stable when being fired in a nearly-vertical manner to take out an elk hiding behind cover from above like a mortar. Jeez. I can't believe I have to be the guy to bring up these important considerations.

Well being as you are showing CO as yer home state, my old stomping grounds, let's use them, but of course this is widely disseminated general knowledge

https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/EHU-CH2-L10.aspx#:~:text=A%20commonly%20accepted%20threshold%20for,243%20Win.

"A commonly accepted threshold for the minimum amount of kinetic energy needed to kill an elk is 1500 ft-lbs. For whitetail deer, the minimum amount of kinetic energy is 1000 ft-lbs. We’ve all probably heard stories of hunters taking elk with a .243 Win."

Keep in mind I NEVER said it is a hard in stone rule, but it is an widely accepted axiom of Deer (1000) and Elk (1500) hunting..
I honestly didn't expect to have to explain it, as I learned it in CO myself 40 some odd years ago...



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