Frequently Banned Troll
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These would work just fine if needed, proper bullet placement requires as with all bullets. Both 62 grains going roughly 3kfps from muzzle. This would be my minimum
Minimum Elk Caliber. what do you think it is.
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Berger230Otm
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Always, the answer seems to be the annoying "It depends on"
Is your elk a bull or a cow?
What angle are you shooting at?
What's the range?
For me 27 - 33 caliber
if my rifle shoots them well and I can get in close I prefer light to medium weight monolithics. If monolithics won't shoot i try mid-weight bonded. Last option if nothing else works, heavy for caliber cup and core.
My go to load is Barnes 150 ttsx in my 300 Win Mag chrono'd at 3075 fps (I know it's slow but it's about the best accuracy I get and it tames the recoil quite a bit) For the data curious: @7,000' altitude, 20 degree temperature and 50 % humidity that bullet is still above 2000 fps.
Is your elk a bull or a cow?
What angle are you shooting at?
What's the range?
For me 27 - 33 caliber
if my rifle shoots them well and I can get in close I prefer light to medium weight monolithics. If monolithics won't shoot i try mid-weight bonded. Last option if nothing else works, heavy for caliber cup and core.
My go to load is Barnes 150 ttsx in my 300 Win Mag chrono'd at 3075 fps (I know it's slow but it's about the best accuracy I get and it tames the recoil quite a bit) For the data curious: @7,000' altitude, 20 degree temperature and 50 % humidity that bullet is still above 2000 fps.
Berger230Otm
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For the minimum I'd go with a 270 and 130 grain monolithic if I was just told here's an Elk tag and I didn't know anything about the hunt.
Nunjagottam
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Killed most of mine with .270 one with a 25-06 and 3 with an '06. From circles I travel, .243 is smallest I know of anyone to carry in the woods. Saw one go down like a sack of rocks with a .223 once upon a time.
Lmartin5
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That is a stud...congratulations!
BAKPAKR
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What do you shoot the Berger 230 OTM in?
Austinw8
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At this point in my hunting life I’ve read, watched and now have seen enough with my own eyes to convince me that a modern heavy for cailiber 6mm/243 bullet is plenty for elk within “normal” western hunting ranges (0-500 yards)
I like a big gun.
The people that always rail on about proper shot placement aren’t wrong. A 22 will killl an elk. But things can and do go sideways despite our best efforts.
The chance of recovering a wounded elk poorly shot with a 300 is much higher than with a 6mm.
The people that always rail on about proper shot placement aren’t wrong. A 22 will killl an elk. But things can and do go sideways despite our best efforts.
The chance of recovering a wounded elk poorly shot with a 300 is much higher than with a 6mm.
There was a thread on MM years ago where a guy claimed a poor shot with a Berger would anchor a critter anyway. Hilarious. mtmuley
Wind Gypsy
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Bullets matter. Same bullet construction in a small cartridge vs large, big one is going to wreck more stuff. But lots of people would use a 308 with a copper and think it would kill drastically better than a frangible 6mm and I dont think that is necessarily true.
From Hornady's available ballistic testing of LE TAP ammo- one is an itty bitty 6 arc shooting a 106 gr from an 18" AR. One is a 165 CX from a 20" 308. If I need to kill something regardless of size, one of those is going to be easier to hit where you're aiming (from a recoil and wind deflection standpoint), spot your impact, and follow up quicker. Terminal damage at least from these tests is close enough to not matter.
Bare Gelatin:
After going through "wall board"
sclancy27
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IMO, making a poor shot with a 300 or bigger is much higher than a 6mm for almost everyone.
So, it's a question of diminishing returns of hit rate vs "damage" or whatever you want to call it.
I've shot close to half my elk with a bow, so I never really bought into the "300 Win Mag" or bigger for elk given I'm killing them with a sharp stick going 285 fps with a whopping 85 ft lbs of energy.
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Elky Welky
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Only an 800 mm German rail gun can bring down an elk. Elk are otherwise entirely bullet proof, as an infinite number of gun writer threads and magazine articles have said for all time.
Big guns with brakes or suppressors don’t kick. And without brakes or suppressors, they still don’t really kick a grown man that much.
I know of a sheep this year that ran around gut shot for6 days before they could get him killed after shooting him with some gopher plinking caliber.
Having the perfect shot with a small gun sounds nice, but the wind blows, the animal moves, the rest is imperfect, shooter is nervous, breathing heavy, etc. whatever the case may be things just happen.
More people than care to admit are just not as good at shooting as they think or say they are.
I watched one get shot behind the ear this year at 65 yard with a rifle. Fatal shot but he was supposed to be shooting it in the heart.
I too have shot most of my elk with a bow. Not because I think it’s more lethal than my center fire rifle, but because it’s bow season and it’s more fun to hunt with.
sclancy27
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I will continue to track around the small caliber marksmen’s injured game. Thankfully sheep usually die if you get mad at them so it matters a little less.
BuzzH
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Rifles that are fun to shoot get shot more. The more shooting a person does the better shot they become. I don't give a shit if a .338 has a brake or not, they just aren't fun to shoot. I shot one for about a dozen years, great rifle, great round, but at the end of the day doesn't kill a heart/lung shot elk any quicker than smaller rounds.
I also know a bad shot with a 300 win, 338, etc isnt going to change the outcome often either. The theory sounds good, but the reality is, a bad shot on elk with anything is going to mean one thing, a long day, or two, or three.
One time on one elk I do believe my 338 made a difference. Shot through a lodgepole an elk was standing in front of as well as the elk.
After having shot and seen shot a lot of elk, the main reason people have trouble getting them killed has little to do with the rifle. For whatever reason people lose their shit and just cant hold it together when they see elk. Which has always struck me odd. If a person can stay calm and hit a basketball, there should never be a problem. Its not like you're head shooting grouse for Pete's sake.
I sort have gone full circle, started with a 6mm worked up to a .338, now much happier shooting elk with a 7-08 or 7 RM. If it came down to choosing between my 6mm or .338 for the rest of my life for elk, 100% I'd take the 6mm.
Lasiocarpa
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I would bet money that more elk have been gut shot and gotten away with .300s than .243s…. I know I personally have been there (not me shooting) for far more rodeos with magnums than with smaller calibers. Most people (not all obviously) don’t shoot them enough to be proficient.
And being able to spot your own shot and what happens after it is invaluable.
If you can shoot the magnums well, more power to you. But from my experience it’s not the small caliber guys that are wounding game…
And being able to spot your own shot and what happens after it is invaluable.
If you can shoot the magnums well, more power to you. But from my experience it’s not the small caliber guys that are wounding game…
Neither do bowhunters. mtmuley
