Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting What do you consider minimum cartridge for elk?

Most of my friends are ranchers who killed their first elk with 6mm Remingtons, a few used 243's. None of them used "premium" munitions. They used whatever 100 grain ammo that was available and cheap.

Many of these guys still use these cartridges - and bullets, powders and optics have improved quite a bit over the past few decades.

If the bullet penetrates and disrupts the vitals, you'll have a dead elk. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot one with a good, penetrating bullet from a 243.

That said, the smallest I've used is a 120 grain ballistic tip from a 7-08. It worked very well:

My wife’s first elk was killed with a borrowed .243. She’ll readily admit there was a lot of luck involved!

However now, 50+ years later, with a lot more experience and knowledge of hunting big game…..she would never advocate the use of a .243/6MM on elk.


Can it be done, obviously yes, but why would someone intentionally use this or similar when there are much better choices! memtb

No wonder she married you

She obviously is a huntress with experience, brains and morals about animals and hunting. Sadly it is lacking in most.

Thank You! And she will pass on shots she’s not comfortable with….seemingly a rarity among many! memtb

I carried a 280 rem for alot of elk seasons. Kilt'em dead when I did my part mostly with handloaded 160 gr. Bullets.

Then I thought bigger would be better, so a 338 win mag rolled along. Did good with it, killing 10 elk bulls and cows in ten years. 225 partitions and 250 grain horn interlocks. Liked the big ol' 10 lb. m-70, but my youngest needed some expensive dentistry work so the m-70 turned into cash.

Fell back on the 280 for a few more years only then it dawned on me, the 280 killed elk just as dead as the win mag.

Killed on ol'phat cow with my 257 roberts with 120 gr. Partition in-between somewhere threw all that. Then a few years back my wife drilled a cow at 250-ish yards with my 25-06 and a single 100 grain Partition. The bullet entered right at the rear rib on the right side to be found in the left front leg 'elbow'. Over 3 foot of elk was cleaved with that 'light for elk' bullet. Couple years before that, she killed a cow with a broadside shot with the 1895 marlin 45-70 at about 50 yards with same outcome, dead elk fast.

Shot placement is the secret. Minimum caliber for elk, for me now that my area is infested with 'endangered' needing de-listed Grizzlies is .284 cal or 7mm. Be it from my 280 or my 7 rem mag....

280 Remington

Letting my 12 year old thump a couple this year with a 240 wby. I suspect they will be just as dead as with anything else.

One thing about these discussions is that the question is, "What is the minimum caliber you'd use on an elk?" when it should be, "What's the minimum caliber you'd use on a bull elk?"

Too often we see people say "I've shot lots of elk with a .243" and they show a picture of a cow. Get close enough and shoot accurately and a .243 is probably fine for a cow. But I'm not going to try and kill a trophy 6x6 with one.

Cows and bulls are often two very different animals when it comes to size. When my oldest went on a cow elk hunt two years, I didn't hesitate to have him use a 6.5 Grendel. Inside of 250 yards it was plenty of gun. If that had been a bull hunt, I would've said .270 minimum.

Good point! I concur, though I might go a bit farther…….what’s the minimum caliber/cartridge that you would use on a “once in a lifetime” bull elk hunt?

I think that this would be pretty relevant because…..many hunters may only have the opportunity to make their “dream hunt” one time! memtb

Or just a hunt 1000 miles from home. Huge difference between someone who lives in elk country and may have a month long season and the guy who travels 4 states from home and has 5 days to get his bull (or cow).

Exactly! Those hunters should be carrying a little extra insurance! memtb

Not a thing.

Bull is a loose term as well. You also hear “ I killed my bull/s” and they are spikes or rag horns which in many cases are smaller than a big old cow.

Not all elk hunts are the same. Given the right unit/hunt, I’d have no problem at all taking a .243 on a hunt for a mature bull, other hunts/units, not so much.

It always amazes me that every year big bulls are killed on our youth hunts with “smaller” calibers, but as soon as it’s an adult hunt, the elk get a lot tougher. Never mind all the women that can’t handle recoil and kill big bulls every year with cartridges that the “seasoned” hunters find inadequate.

I’m guess’n that a lot aren’t killed also! Making an educated decision on firearm use when accessing the type of hunt is never a bad thing!

Many men think that wives and young hunters are incapable of tolerating some recoil. Years ago, fathers thought that starting their kids out with a 410 was a wise decision…..actually just the opposite, by handicapping them with a small shot charge which required more skill to make clean, lethal shots!

There is a vast difference between adequate and optimum! memtb

BTDT. If there was ever an exercise in humility, shooting quail with a single shot full choke 410 is it.

Yes…..absolutely! memtb

You guys are really helping make the counter argument here. The message is, don’t start novice hunters with a firearm that makes proper shot placement more difficult. Very simplistically, with shotguns that means a larger shot pattern. With rifles, it means more accuracy and precision, which means less recoil and less sensitivity to wind and short-range drop.

Right on Jordan. My thoughts, after only a single bull elk, but 60+ head of African game, is that what some consider "adequate" often times become way more than that in the hands of a good shooter with good bullets. In the past, after guiding more than 160 hunters, the biggest problem I saw was that most of them showed up over-gunned and over-scoped.

And under-practiced...