What caliber?

[RevJim]

I shot a 500+ pound Scimitar Horned Oryx at 184yds through the base of the neck. It was a little 85gr Barnes XBT started out at 2900fps. I was recovering from a neck surgery and had a Mod 700 made into a 6mm/222 Magnum ( 6x47) with a 27 inch barrel. It had a 3x10 Sightron Compact on it. Lone Wolf synthetic stock. Hardly any perceptible recoil, so wife & doctor "approved" ( very important! ha) Anyhow, he dropped down, never kicked! Bullet had exited. I gave him an insurance shot at 75yds. He was on his side, brisket facing me. I shot him up through the heart and it broke/stopped in the spine. It weight 83gr! That's 243 ballistics. I shot an axis buck and doe with same results. Base of the neck is a very good killer, shot many deer/hogs there.

 

[Hoss50]

Smallest I would consider is 100gr 243.
Smallest I have done is 115gr .257 caliber.
My next hunt will probably be using 135gr 6.5 cal.

I just took my dads 300 weatherby in for a muzzle brake, so that may be making a comeback to the ranks of field useable rifle. He doesn't hunt anymore, and neither of us like getting the crap kicked out of us, so it spent many years in the back of the safe.

Load development starts as soon as I get it back from the Smith. Looking to shoot 185gr Berger Classic hunters or 210gr HVLD bullets in it. The cases just went through the tumbler and will get resized and primed tomorrow.

 

[crazyhorse02]

7mm-08 would be a nice choice

 

[corsair4360]

I use 270 WSM, 30-06 primary is 338 Win Mag hunting in Northern Utah, from brush to open meadows 30-06 is a sporterized 1917 Enfield

 

[Bull_Mtn]

I shoot a .300 WSM, Federal Edge TLR 200 Gr bullets. Outstanding performer. However, I have taken many elk with a .270, .308, .350 Rem Mag and .338. The .270 and .308 were shorter range, <300 yds. I like the .300 WSM because it is capable of longer range shots, and easier to carry than the .338 was. Bullet construction and shot placement are the key factors in successfully killing elk. However, on the ridiculous side of the ledger, was an encounter I had with an old recluse who owns a couple of sections on top of the mountain where I hunt. I came upon him one day, in a blind he had constructed in the middle of a park I frequently find elk. He had no hunter orange on (which is illegal) and had a very worn Savage lever action rifle across his lap. I noticed that the bore diameter was very small, so I asked if it was a .250-3000 caliber. He said, no , it was a .22 Hi Power and he couldn't get shells for it any more. He had 4 shells left, which should be good enough for that season. He said that he had to be within 50 yds and shoot the elk in the head for a killing shot. I ask how many elk he had taken with that rifle. He said, around 40 over the past 50 years. Next time I saw him, a couple of years later, he was carrying a Savage 110 in .243 caliber, with a 6 power scope. He already had taken 2 elk with it, said it more than doubled the shooting range, however, he still shoots them in the head!

 

[Draftmule]

Have taken more elk with recurve than rifles but not in the cards in open desert now. Was 270 plus 150s now first choice any 300 with 200 Accubond.

 

[KU_Geo]

I've killed lots of elk, including mature bulls out past 500yards with the lowly 270win shooting 150 partitions. Take whatever you are comfortable with and spend time at the range practicing. Don't over complicate things

 

[Greyfox]

The smallest caliber that I would take clean shot to the vitals of an elk would be a 6.5 using a 140gr bullet driven at 3000FPS MV and limit my shots to under 500 yards.

 

[TxMulieHntr]

Following

 

[Hhardrockminer]

Hey Guys, If you all want check there are some guides in the west that say 30-06 or bigger or don't hunt. Just my .02
Hhardrock

 

[436]

what is the smallest caliber you would hunt elk with and grain?

Well, that's kinda a loaded question in some respects. I've killed a few Elk over the last 45 years and pretty much everything I used did a fine job as long as the POI was correct on my part. I as I think about calibers and killing large game one thing comes to mind; the first'..., the arguments between Elmer Keith and Jack O'Connor over the years, wow... did they have two different prospectives on caliber. Then I think about, I don't know, let's say the 6.5mm caliber in a 6.5x54mm Mannlicher-Schonauer which the famous African hunter W.D.M " Karamojo" Bell used to kill several hundred Elephants while using a 160gr bullet. Or... perhaps the video I saw once of an African Game Warden cropping a group of about 25 plus Elephants with a 7.62x51mm NATO in an FN FAL killing one after another and walking into them even standing on the ones shot so he had a shot at the others, getting a better sight pictures standing on the dead ones, I mean they dropped one after the other, no charges and no time to escape it was so fast... As I recall; I think he cropped about half that herd or more, I do recall him changing magazines at least once. So which one is a better Elephant rifle? well, let's make it easier, which one is a better Elk rifle? I think caliber like hunting; is a common sense and experience thing, guys that do it more than others know what works even if others don't agree. Like I was told when I was a young hunter, you can't make a bullet go fast enough or one hit hard enough to make you a good hunter, learn to use what you have. Just my thought on the question, good luck.

 

[Lowedown]

well, Great-Grandpa head shot cow elk with an open sight 22lr during the depression to feed the family. This was of course from close range. Today's technology in optics, bullet construction, powders, cartridge design, accurate rifles, and rangefinders have caused many prior perceived limits to become null and void. On your way down in cartridge size you will run into legal limits before you find a cartridge that won't "kill elk". I have seen elk killed with .243s and 80 grain bullets, 250 savages with 100 grain bullets, etc. Although shot placement/accuracy are always paramount, I believe they become even more important as you attempt to use smaller, or slower cartridges. If you wanna push these lower limits, just understand the limits you need to impose on yourself for effective range, shot angle acceptability, wind deflection, etc. Happy hunting.

 

[Don A Parsons]

The rave of the land was the arrival of the 30 Ought 6,,, next in line was the 7 mag,,, now its all about 6.5 Creedmoor...

How ever,,, we shouldn't discount the other 10.000 +++ cartridges that spent time with humans on the planet...

Once in a blue moon the odd old time cartridge shows up to set another world record.

Lots of folks laughed at the 1 1/2" Re-bar barrle built by Ron Smith,,, or was it Dave Hennery... Bubble gum and copper wire to hold the scope bases in place... LOL..

The next day the laugh came to an end when it shot a world record group at 100 meters...

32-20 or was it a 32-40,,, Ye Ha to good times what ever a person chooses

 

[Whaler63]

Cup and core: .270 Win. 150 grain with careful placement (no quartering away shots)
Mono: 25-06 100 to 115 grain

memtb

I'd be interested in hearing more about the 25-06 w/115gn. I'm currently working up loads for my M70EW with the 115gn Nosler Partition as it has a better BC than the 120. Would love to hear more.