30-30 for elk?

[big johnson]

Hey captain obvious if I can kill a bull elk with a bow and arrow , I can surely kill a bull elk with a 30-30 . (If you plant corn , you get corn! ) Get my thinking

 

[akmtnhnt]

This is not based on experience just physics. A 30-30 is a 308 Win is a 30-06 is 300 Win Mag it is simple a matter of distance. X bullet traveling at Y velocity at Z distance doesn't care how it got to the elk, nor does the elk. Velocity at impact along with the bullet's construction characteristics are what matters.

Hammer bullets have a minimum impact velocity of 1800 fps and assuming a 2100 fps muzzle velocity your max range is about ~ 100 yards. Hornady does not list a minimum impact velocity but it could be less given the FTX tip and the Hornady has a slightly better BC so you might have a little more range. Based on your post though, 100 yards may be plenty.

The amount of people that don't understand this is baffling.

 

[DakotaRingo]

Hornady Leverations are better for lever guns as they give you slightly better velocities at the same ranges of the flat nose rounds. I bought my first lever gun at age 14, yes it was a day or 2 ago being born during WWII. The flat nose rounds harvested effectively within humane ranges. Lethality and common sense with a 30-30 will take an elk.

 

[Nimrod]

Elk size game require a minimum of 1500 ft-lb of energy in a projectile delivered to a vital area.

While I have read this many times over the years, and I have also read that deer require 1000 ft-lbs. Nothing could be further from the truth, there is no minimum energy requirement! The "requirement" is that a well constructed bullet is placed in a vital area with enough energy to get the job done. I'll bet there have been a pile of elk killed with cartridges that barely generate 1500ft-lbs at the muzzle. Are there better cartridges for elk, of course but that doesn't eliminate the others. Used within the parameters the OP mentioned the .30-30 will get the job done if the shooter is up to the task.

 

[Coldfinger]

I typically hunt with a bigger boltgun and optics but the area I've been scouting and locating elk in the past month is far from ideal for that style rifle. Shots are maxed out at 20 yards and more like 40-100 yards in most places.
I don't own any low power scopes but have shot and carried my Marlin shortie in the hills and on horseback forever. It's got a Skinner Peep on the receiver and i can keep 6 rounds on a paper plate at 250 yards.
I'm considering using this rifle for elk this season but am curious on opinion of which bullet I should utilize and distances I should max out at.
I hand load and have
- Hammer Lever 143gr
- Barnes Original 190gr
- Factory loaded Hornady Leverevolution 160gr FTX
I'd be open to other suggestions too.
Anybody hunt Roosevelt elk with a 30-30…?

I'd use whatever bullet shoots the best! Remember the men and women that settled in elk country when the 30/30 was in its glory didn't have 300's and 338's to choose from. We're just spoiled by all the new and best inventions. Just choose your shots, choose your distance and aim small!

 

[HRM Johnny]

I typically hunt with a bigger boltgun and optics but the area I've been scouting and locating elk in the past month is far from ideal for that style rifle. Shots are maxed out at 20 yards and more like 40-100 yards in most places.
I don't own any low power scopes but have shot and carried my Marlin shortie in the hills and on horseback forever. It's got a Skinner Peep on the receiver and i can keep 6 rounds on a paper plate at 250 yards.
I'm considering using this rifle for elk this season but am curious on opinion of which bullet I should utilize and distances I should max out at.
I hand load and have
- Hammer Lever 143gr
- Barnes Original 190gr
- Factory loaded Hornady Leverevolution 160gr FTX
I'd be open to other suggestions too.
Anybody hunt Roosevelt elk with a 30-30…?

Interesting thread. I have enjoyed reading the posts. Thank you for starting it.

 

[Mike6158]

This thread makes me glad that I still have my dad's Winchester Model 94. You never know when you're going to get stampeded by a herd of wild elk freshly escaped from a high fence ranch here in TX.

 

[Rflshootr]

I wonder back in the day, if anyone with a Winchester model 92 carbine in 44-40 caliber ever killed an elk or a buffalo?

 

[YZ-80]

I don't see why not. A nice little 30-30 would do it. Not a fair comparison but I have an old Marin 336 Texan in .35 Rem that I'd love to take a crack at an elk with in the thick stuff at NFL ranges!

 

[Batsin]

Elk size game require a minimum of 1500 ft-lb of energy in a projectile delivered to a vital area.

That was decent rule of thumb with the simple cup and core bullets or even large diameter solids from the last century. I have looked at a lot of "killing power" formulas over the years. Some were even utilized by the ammunition makers themselves. I recently has a conversation with one of Hornady's engineers and asked about rules of thumbs (ROTs) for modern bullets. He replied that modern bullet construction has rendered most ROT's useless. It is more of a case-by-case basis now. Hornady even abandoned their own H.I.T.S. formula about the time they developed the monolithic GMX line of bullets. They found that it grossly underestimated the ability of the new bullets.
It still comes back to "know what your bullet can do and put it in the right place", but there are more bullets with different capabilities than ever before.

 

[APDDSN0864]

I wonder back in the day, if anyone with a Winchester model 92 carbine in 44-40 caliber ever killed an elk or a buffalo?

One of my best friends grew up in far NW Colorado in the 40's and started hunting elk and big Mulies with his uncle's .44-40 lever gun. He said it worked, but he never killed any at more than 100 yards. He said he bought one of the first .270s that hit that part of the world as soon as he could.

Ed

 

[AussieWriter]

That was decent rule of thumb with the simple cup and core bullets or even large diameter solids from the last century. I have looked at a lot of "killing power" formulas over the years. Some were even utilized by the ammunition makers themselves. I recently has a conversation with one of Hornady's engineers and asked about rules of thumbs (ROTs) for modern bullets. He replied that modern bullet construction has rendered most ROT's useless. It is more of a case-by-case basis now. Hornady even abandoned their own H.I.T.S. formula about the time they developed the monolithic GMX line of bullets. They found that it grossly underestimated the ability of the new bullets.
It still comes back to "know what your bullet can do and put it in the right place", but there are more bullets with different capabilities than ever before.

Those that know, know this to be true. Readership will always continue to be divided by those that don't know and continually quote and requote others who don't know, or didn't when their words were written.

 

[Batsin]

Those that know, know this to be true. Readership will always continue to be divided by those that don't know and continually quote and requote others who don't know, or didn't when their words were written.

Wait a minute!!! Does this possibly mean that I no longer need to follow my Grandfather's advice to occasionally drive at 100mph to "blow the carbon out of the engine"?????

 

[Lnewton]

Pick a bullet, make a good shot, load the animal in the pack and go to the truck. Pretty simple.