6.5 prc enough gun for elk

🤔!

Your other two comments were pretty clear and accurate! However, the meaning of the above quote from your post eludes me! Please explain! memtb
Yeah. I think I left a word out in there 🤦🏻‍♂️

A guy who shoots his rifle a lot will kill more animals, regardless of the chambering.

Generally speaking, more powerful cartridges, cost more, and are less pleasant to shoot. Therefore shot less.
 
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6.5 PRC is definitely adequate for elk, the only reason guides say to bring some thing bigger is their used to guys choking when they see an elk so if your going to screw it up any way might as well make as big a hole as possible. I always told guys to bring the gun they shot the most deer with and it's served me well, they issues always happened with guys with "elk" guns.
For the record I loathe shoulder shots especially when I guided cause guys tend to put them over the spine and take to top out dropping the animal but if you didn't have a clear second shot those are the ones that turned into pulling elk out of dark, deep down fall at 2 am or following them out in to the flats and loosing them. The vast majority of wounded elk are muffed up shoulder shots going high or going low and just breaking the shoulder, especially on bulls. The center of the spine is much lower than deer from the top.
 
@808hoghunter So I just happen to be in Kona right now and we drove over to Hilo the other day and noticed a LOT of goats and pigs, do you guys hunt them hard as targets of opportunity or actively hunt them for food. Just interested, to me going up and wacking the right size pig and slow cooking it down by a beech doesn't look like a bad deal kinda like me going out and tipping and elk over and tenderloins next to a warm fire, just seems like it would be right!
 
@808hoghunter So I just happen to be in Kona right now and we drove over to Hilo the other day and noticed a LOT of goats and pigs, do you guys hunt them hard as targets of opportunity or actively hunt them for food. Just interested, to me going up and wacking the right size pig and slow cooking it down by a beech doesn't look like a bad deal kinda like me going out and tipping and elk over and tenderloins next to a warm fire, just seems like it would be right!
A little bit of both , the locals hunt em for food and trophies.. I've never hunted Big Island before but the know that the pigs were beginning to become a problem… here on Maui we do the same… the state also does eradication to kill off the goats and deer.. considered invasive species unfortunately for us hunters … but yea man just go to a grab a hunting license and find some public land to hunt .. unless you can get permission from land owner to hunt.. all you need is your hunters Ed card number
 
Never shot an elk, but killed plenty of whitetail with everything from a 22-250 to a 375 H&H. Bullet selection is key with a good shot. However, when conditions aren't perfect and a slightly longer shot than normal presents itself, I have never felt that going a little bigger ever hurt my chances. Now when things aren't perfect, I have at times wished to have brought along a larger caliber. I say 6.5 is probably good enough, but if elk are a rarity for you and it is costing you a significant amount of money for the trip, why not just bring enough gun to be comfortable with a less than perfect shot opportunity. A 6.5 PRC is great, but why not just bring enough gun?
 
Take your 6.5 Creed as a backup. It can do it all and at long range. 🤣 All kidding aside I set up my 7mm-08 shooting heavy's so if I have a tag and I'm deer hunting and elk hunting then I can do both. I like shooting it and placing the bullet in the right place is a definite confident booster when you do it a lot at extended ranges.
 
Ok the largest caliber I now own is 6.5prc … considering doing an elk hunt for the first time . Would I be better suited doing a 7prc or possibly even 300prc … I've never left the Hawaiian islands to hunt before so I'm thinking a 300prc might be a bit much on axis deer and pigs after… I chosen those calibers due to inherent accuracy of cartridges, I'll be using factory ammo as supplies for reloading suck here. Thanks
Go ahead and buy the 300 prc! You'll feel good afterwards that nice warm fuzzy feeling that accompanies a new rifle purchase!!!!!! I've never left much more than an hour from home without a backup rifle. You just never know
 
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