Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Best .50 Cal ML Bullet for Elk

BUT, if legal, the barnes give an extra margin of error.

Since we were hunting in CO and I didn't care for powerbelts and sabots were not allowed, I went to No Excuses big slugs in the 54. But in fairness have never shot an elk with them.

But don't discount folks that have seen the light with Barnes before, and have seen that they will keep going when others fail, and if thats important to you and legal, well better is not a bad thing often, just in case.

But I"m with you, put lead where it belongs and you'll do fine.

I stick with boy scout motto be prepared though if legal.

I have a QLA on an encore, I'm about ready to have the damn thing cut off. Think it was a good thought but just flat doesn't work worth a flip if not machined perfectly.

TC has a high opinion of what is good enough too... I"ve sent a couple tubes in for shooting all kinds of bullets around 4-5 inches at 100 and they send em back and say they are just fine as is. Same group sizes.... Yeah well I tossed last TC barrel I had on a hawken and green rivered it right away.. much better deal.
Green rivers on my 54 Renegade shoots 545 No Excuses at an inch at 100, with irons. Maybe a bit more on average, probably more like 1.5 inches... Thats acceptable to me.

So would a 50 BMG. We're talking velocities under 1600 fps, a big hunk of lead does just fine.

Elk threads always crack me up.

All these guys that post you have to use that bullet or this bullet only are about the same as the ones who say you must use BH209 powder.(usually the same ones) When in fact, that powder does not work well in all ML's . A person has to make sure they have the right breech plug with enclosed nipple,but no one ever says that.

Then you get the guys a who say you don't have to worry about what powder you use for the particular bullet they recommend ,but the same guys probably agonize over what powder to use for their center fire reloading.

Off Subject. I have the QLA muzzles on my TC Hawkin and Black Diamond inline.

Since they re-barreled my Hawkin the 1st time, it didn't shoot as well as the original barrel without one , but they just re-barreled it again this past spring and it shoots fine as does the Black Diamond. Certainly better with iron sights than these old eyes can.

Seems those unhappy with the QLA would have it cut off , re-crowned and the front sight moved back the same amount instead of buying a whole new barrel. A lot of these newer ML's have the front sight held on with one screw and it would probably be less than $100

You guys are way overthinking all this.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! one more piece of info my TC Encore has a Bergara 28" 1:28 right hand twist barrel

290 GR TMZ.

precision rifle's 450gr keith nose. wouldn't be much good past 175 or so but 1 elk, 1 bear and multiple deer have failed to go more than a few yards after being hit.
i put it over 90gr of 209-

forgot-also one cow buffalo that simply fell backwards onto her butt then tipped over.

One should do well on elk even if he used a 50 caliber lug nut. Find something that's accurate and go with it.

You couldn't pay me to run a Powerbelt into an elk. Pass the solid lead...

My first choise of bullets would be a Barnes or Thor bullets,providing they shoot well in your gun... My last choise,,would be,,, a power belt,,, na,,,i would rather throw a rock at an elk than shoot a powerbelt..

My factory Encore barrel shoots the Barnes TEZ (250 grain) over 110 grains (volume) bh209 with amazing accuracy and those bullets kill critters real dead. If I was using it for elk that would be my pet load but muzzleloaders shoot differently.

Last thing I'd do is a round ball in 50 cal. They are barely ok for shoulder shot deer and antelope and I won't use them now for that.

With no sabot I'm in the 348 power belt camp to stay, even for deer.

Good timing on this post, I just bought my first inline this morning.
Kinda went cheap since I'm at entry level, CVA Wolf 50.
Got a year to learn since I'm set with 2nd rifle season this one.

I'm with ya. I bought a 50 cal Omega earlier this year but haven't started to play with it yet. I have visions of elk hunting with it and had Thor send me the test bullet pack to size them. I'd prefer to only do load development for one bullet that will work for everything.

I've shot powerbelts in my other inline (Rem M700) and they did fine on deer. I have dug a few out of dirt banks and they do deform quite a bit. I was running them with 100 grs of Triple 7 and don't know the velocity and frankly didn't care - it was only for deer and under 100 yards. I've killed a bunch of deer with recurves and revolvers - a 348 gr hunk of lead moving faster than I can see will kill a deer out to any reasonable range.

For elk, I want any extra margin of error I can get. Last year was a good example. I ran into a small herd of elk in the timber headed back to their bedding area. I shot my bull at 30-40 yards as it quartered sharply to me. I had cows standing within 10's of feet when I shot; they were within seconds of bolting. I want to feel confident I can make that shot with a MZ. I would have passed with a bow but would have taken it with my large caliber handguns shooting heavy LBT style bullets. Situational ethics applies to hunting and I want to be sure of the outcome before I pull the trigger. If I can believe I'm better off with a more costly bullet, I'm in. Now if Nosler would just make a 50 cal Partition MZ bullet, we'd be set.

Nothing wrong with that. But a couple things about "Powerbelts." First, they come in different sizes. A 348 is not a 250. Second, they are softer than some bullets, so 80-90 grains of powder is your sweet spot.

But most guys who say they won't work on elk haven't shot elk with them.

Haven't shot an elk with mine, but have used .348gr powerbelts to kill two mulies. I read all about no penetration and super lousy bc with powerbelts. So reality for me is they are the most accurate by far out of my knight lk93 in .54 in front of two pyrodex pellets. Last mulie turned as I was shooting and the powerbelt went through the hip bone, penetrating the body and exiting through an offside rib leaving it sticking out. That should be enough penetration to kill any elk. Shot was at 90 yards. I will be hunting elk this year. Will use an Austin Halleck in .50 cal that I just picked up. I'll be running powerbelts, barnes, shockwaves and precision rifle's dead centers to see which is most accurate and gives the most distance. I'm confident any will work if I do my part.

I wasn't throwing rocks at you or your experience, in fact I appreciate sharing it with us. Bullets are one thing I've never thought twice about spending money. I always try to use a bullet that enables me to shoot whatever I'm hunting at any angle at any reasonable range. The reason I tend to use Nosler Partitions for everything - certainly don't need a partition to kill a deer.

No worries B, the comment was not really aimed at your post, and I don't take issue with what you said. I'm not trying to tell people what bullet to use, what bullet is "best," or criticize someone's bullet choice.

I just get tired of hearing people say powerbelts won't kill elk, because I know they will.

i harvested 1 5x5 bull with a 348 grain powerbelt. elk was slightly quarting toward me at over 150 yards, shooting downhill hit him a little high behind the front shoulder and bullet lodged low in offside hind quarter. i am a firm believer pour powder is best used with a powerbelt due to the cup on the base. hunting in Co. had to use a full bore bullet and open sites. ranged the shot after the fact at 159 yards. i was using a Knight Wolverine, added a thumb hole stock and a recoil pad for the extra length. still hunt with that MZ to this day but has Luepold 3x9, still shoots great whatever i run thru it.