Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 6mm Remington 100 grain bullet for elk hunting.

Good point. Those "eating" sized elk, if they've spent the summers on the hay meadows are going to outweigh that bull in the timber by 100 lbs or so.
In the 40 some odd elk I've taken out of the high country over the last 1/2 century I don't think I ever had a shot over 250 yds. The 4 or 5 elk I've shot since they got so thick here,on the ranch, there's only 1 that was under 200, and that's because I set up an ambush for him at a stock dam.
Most of the "ranch" elk we've had shot here were moving, the vast majority of elk I've killed or been witness to in the "public" lands were standing and grazing, or bedded down.

So a spike is 100 lbs heavier than a 9 year old bull.

Got it.

Elk get killed with 22-250's all the time, which works fine when everything goes well. Ditto the 243. I just chose to draw my line a little heavier out of deference to Murphy.

If you live in elk country and hunt big meadows on a private ranch or shoot them in your backyard or you are a 12 year old girl on your first hunt 6mm 100 grain might be an ok choice.

Bull elk are big tough animals that can be hard to stop with really good elk cartridges let alone the legal minimum. You can certainly kill them with lung,neck or head shots but why you would choose to is beyond me

AS the others have said, if a 243 or 6mm was all I owned, I'd load it with 100 PT's or similar constructed bullet and limit my distance a little more. I wouldn't stay home that's for sure. Saying that, the smallest I have used on elk is the 270 and it works just fine. Good bullets equalize a bunch of stuff in my opinion.

When my daughter decides she wants to tackle elk with me, I'll probably have the little 6.5 Swede loaded up with a good bullet. I suspect it'll work well too.

I do understand what Brad means though, not all elk are the same nor the places we hunt them. My current favorite is the 7mm Mashburn with a good 160/175..

243...100gr NPT...~375yds. First elk for the boy, 10th elk for that 243. The spike was quartering towards us when the bullet entered behind the front leg and ended up in the off hind quarter. Traveled about 30 yds before it died. Spike was maybe 400lbs, tops.





243...100gr NPT....150yds. 5th elk for the boy, 14th elk for that 243. The cow was very heavily quartering away at a fast trot. The bullet entered the front portion of the hind quarter, into the flank, through intestines and stomach, drilled a lung and clipped the liver, ended up against the ribcage next to the off shoulder. She traveled about 60 yds before she piled up. This was a very large, mature, dry cow, around 550lbs.





Both cases are an example where a less-that-stellar shot with a premium bullet makes a difference--regardless of our cartridge choice.

I have been the shooter or witnessed every one of those 14 elk killed with that 243, and I have yet to see what that cartridge/bullet combo can NOT do.

Point is it's hard to let go of old ideas. I mean, I still will be packing my 270 next year, but I'm beginning to question why.........

Casey

I'm sure it was just a fluke.
I mean we're those private land hay meadow elk?

Do yourself a favor, give the elk a litte respect and shoot something bigger.

Or just simply learn how to shoot. Most folks miss that part...

I'd have no qualms... but then again I carry a 30-30 for moose at times....

Of course small tends to limit you a bit too, but just be prepared for that.

This reminds me of the time when we hunted the Upper Green River, and a friend of one of my cousins , was standing at the meat pole. We had 3 5pts, and a 6 pt hanging. He shot a 300, hit his bull 4 times before it all came to an end, the other bulls were shot once or twice by folks shooting 243's.
He was ragging on us 243 shooters about how we needed bigger guns.. Someone asked him, which elk was deader and which one was shot up the most?

Well, until I see guys taking on 400 lb lions and big cape buffalo with a deadly 6 mm.....

Elk don't have a tendency to turn around and try to kill you when you shoot them either...

I have done our local "sight in days" and most if not all of the out of state hunters, and a number of instate hunters can't shoot worth a damn. They would be better off with a 243 that they can shoot.

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Ya know, that is probably not as far fetched as it sounds. 243/6mm with a 100gr solid might get it there, especially on the lion. But, and you knew that was coming, I'll leave proving it the the guy's that swear bullet placement is everything! :-)

A small framed young child might be a good candidate to shoot a 243 but in my experience almost anyone who wants to hunt elk can manage a 270 or larger. I have a young woman hunting friend maybe 120 lbs who handled my lightweight 375 H&H just fine practicing for one of those TV hunting competitions,

My 12 year old grandson will be using his 30-06 for his first elk hunt this year he started using 110 grain minimum loads but handles 150 grain standard loads fine now.

We practice out to 700 yards or longer off sticks, knees or packs getting ready so that 300 yards feels like a chip shot. By the time we get to Colorado nobody feels the need to run to the sight-in days. Maybe if I were shooting a 243 instead of a 300 Weatherby or 7mm RM I'd need the reassurance.

I'm probably going to have 2 young first time elk hunters and a young guy on his 2nd trip in the group all of whom will shoot 30-06's with different Leupold scopes that will have way more rounds through them then they have today. The idea of handicapping them with a 243 or 6mm never entered mine or any of their thoughts - honestly I can't imagine thinking that way. But then again I like elk steaks and burgers and hate wounding animals.

I hunt elk with a 30-06 and 180 grain Nosler Partitions with Spitzer points, hand-loaded to perform like a .300 magnum (61 grains RL22 – 2,870 fps). It might seem simpler to just use a .300 magnum but I already have the '06 and the hand-load has a trajectory that is close enough to factory loads Federal Premium 30-06, 150 grain Sierra Game King BTSP that I can switch loads without adjusting my scope.

I think the middle calibers, anything from as small as .270 to as big as .338 magnum, are best suited for hunting elk. I recommend a minimum of 150 grain premium controlled expansion bullets. A 30-30 will kill an elk but its’ range is limited to about 200 yards. It’s my opinion that anything bigger than a .338mag is more gun than necessary and I don’t enjoy the recoil of those big calibers. A well placed shot from just about any legal caliber will kill an elk but nothing will work right with bad bullet placement, so one needs to use a caliber with which they are comfortable and proficient and take the time to get it right the first time.

I know a twenty-something, hundred and thirty pound, young lady who has killed six elk with a 25-06 and 115 grain Nosler Partitions. So much for my middle caliber theory.

Killing them is easy, killing them immediately and where you can find them not always so. The majority of "lost" elk that I have been made aware of were all shot with 6mm. As already pointed out, under ideal circumstances they can be killed with about anything. To many are lost to deer hunters whom move up to elk with deer rifles. Use all the gun you can shoot accurately and do the elk a favor. My group uses the following. 06, 300 WM, 7 mm Mag, 300 WM, 7 mm mag, 300 WBY. We kill elk every year and have yet to lose one. Oh our sample size is well over 100.

My basic rule of thumb is use a gun and bullet combo that will penetrate into the chest cavity of the critter from any shot angle if I have an antlered tag in my pocket. Hunting does or cows I might take one of the smaller rifles knowing I may have to pass up some shot angles. Easy peasy.

Brad, what's your thoughts on something like a 25-06 on elk? I'm thinking of picking up a MT in that cartridge and am curious as to how it would do.