Ideal Cartridge for Elk?

Golovkin

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The .22 Mag (or .22 WMR) is the ideal cartridge for harvesting elk, providing it was born today and you have a good reason for harvesting a freshly born elk with spots, (I can't think of any).

Now bear in mind when an elk starts out, it only weighs about 20lbs and it isn't very mobile. You can get pretty close to a newborn elk - so a .22 Mag is all you really need. Now an Elk is going to start growing pretty fast, and you will need a larger caliber at some point.

Fast forward 2 yrs and this elk has now lost his spots and weighs over 500lbs. The .22 mag is no longer the ideal cartridge unless you are hunting him inside a small pen. At this point a free roaming elk is pretty adept at keeping some space between itself and hunters and its body has gotten massive.

A tiny .223 remington would certainly have more potential at this point, especially with good bullet choice, but its not going to really open up many shooting opportunities. The .22 bullet is just too light to penetrate 300yds of air, an inch of hair, a 1/4" hide, several inches of meat, a bone, and then a vital organ. Sure you could dump an elk at 30yds with a headshot, but that baseball size brain has a lot protecting it, and a deflection is very likely if you aren't perfect. Lets say you have access to a ranch that has elk eating off a haystack and they aren't afraid of the ranchers truck, could you double lung an elk and then watch it die within a few hundred yards? Probably, but you're getting close to not reliably having the horsepower to damage both lungs, so real world options with this tiny gun are very limited.

Enter the light rounds of .243, .257, 6mm, 6.5 creed etc. This class of guns can reliably double lung elk out to a considerable distance 3-400yds lets say. They can also take out a heart or Liver at closer distances, but one must be very careful to not hit heavy bone or take on too much angle. This is a pretty ideal cartridge for those willing to only take well presented broadside shots out to about 300yds. If you are an experienced and expert marksman, this distance could be stretched out to maybe 400yds reliably. You've also got the option of neck shots in the tight timber, where torso shots may be hard to discern. This Class of cartridge is low on recoil, therefore high on accuracy. A good hunter could feasibly get an elk every season with a rifle this size, but self discipline and experience is a must!

Stepping up to medium rounds. Enter the 270, 7mm .308, .30-06 etc. class of cartridge. This is a pretty good choice as you can typically get a bullet into the vitals at most angles and do this out to 400yds or so. A good marksman can penetrate into the vitals of a broadside elk at much greater distances with these heavier bullets. Keep in mind that Elk hunting public ground is no easy task, these are big skittish animals that don't always present ideal shooting conditions, and seasons are short. A cartridge in this class is going to afford you a few more possibilities while still keeping recoil and muzzle blast to a manageable amount. There is good reason these calibers have been so popular with elk hunters. You don't need to be a sniper or expert in anatomy to take a shot at an elk with a medium caliber gun.

The Magnums... Is bigger better? .300 win .338 Lapua .375 H&H etc. An elk hunter may spend many days and hike a hundred miles before presented with a shot at an elk on public ground. When that moment finally arrives it may be a bull elk running directly away in thick timber, or it may be 700yds across a canyon, do you have enough gun? A .338 RUM with the right bullet can do things a 30-06 can't. Should you take a Texas heart shot on an elk? That's up for debate as some would say wasting one quarter to put three quarters in the freezer is worth it. Others say to pass on a wasteful shot. I think it depends on the frequency a person is afforded shot opportunities, but we can all agree that shooting an elk up the rump with a 6.5 creedmore isn't going to work out. Extreme shot opportunities come at the cost of dreadful recoil and muzzle blast, enough to cause the toughest of men to flinch. I've seen many elk missed entirely, or hit poorly because a person used too much rifle. I've also seen many elk get harvested by magnum rifles that couldn't have been taken with lesser guns.

I've missed an elk with a Large magnum round that could have easily been headshot with a .223 remington. It was 30yds away and bedded down with its head resting on its rump facing me. It was such a "gimmie" shot with my .338 RUM that I put my crosshairs on its nose, (flinched) and pulled the trigger. I grazed the top of its skull and momentarily knocked it out. I wasn't even holding my gun when it woke up and escaped! I have no doubt that I would have taken the care to place that shot perfectly with a smaller gun. It wasn't the first time I've "jumped" on a trigger knowing my magnum could kill an elk without precise bullet placement. I've learned to shoot it better, and I would be hesitant to shoot a smaller gun, although I'm not convinced the gun I use is 'Ideal'.

What is your experience in finding the Ideal elk caliber?
 
I have not shot at an elk yet but have shot plenty of mule deer with a 270 Win. They have all gone done almost instantly. All have been perfect broadside shots and the deer have had no idea I was there. An elk is quite a bit larger and I firmly believe in using plenty of gun to kill a game animal as quickly and humanely as possible. When I finally do get a chance to go elk hunting, I will be toting a 338 Win Mag. It is not as accurate as my 270 but still shoots 1" or less at 100 yards. It will have no problem anchoring a big tough elk. The rifle kicks a little but it will only require 1 shot. The 270 would work but the 338 is a better option.
 
I pack a 300wby for elk hunting, slinging 212eldx with a muzzle brake and electronic hearing protection. Works for me
 
In the end, it's like asking what is your favorite song or food. With so many great possibilities, the only reason you might come up with only one, is inexperience!

I'll stay on point... with western elk hunting, you need long range performance with a tough bullet. I love the standard calibers, but I gotta go with a magnum for the additional 200-300fps. As has been pointed out by others, the short magnums are not overtly underweighing the standard magnums, so no huge short action advantage. I know the 6.5mm and below can kill but I'd stick from .270 to .338 for elk.
 
The .22 Mag (or .22 WMR) is the ideal cartridge for harvesting elk, providing it was born today and you have a good reason for harvesting a freshly born elk with spots, (I can't think of any).

Now bear in mind when an elk starts out, it only weighs about 20lbs and it isn't very mobile. You can get pretty close to a newborn elk - so a .22 Mag is all you really need. Now an Elk is going to start growing pretty fast, and you will need a larger caliber at some point.

Fast forward 2 yrs and this elk has now lost his spots and weighs over 500lbs. The .22 mag is no longer the ideal cartridge unless you are hunting him inside a small pen. At this point a free roaming elk is pretty adept at keeping some space between itself and hunters and its body has gotten massive.

A tiny .223 remington would certainly have more potential at this point, especially with good bullet choice, but its not going to really open up many shooting opportunities. The .22 bullet is just too light to penetrate 300yds of air, an inch of hair, a 1/4" hide, several inches of meat, a bone, and then a vital organ. Sure you could dump an elk at 30yds with a headshot, but that baseball size brain has a lot protecting it, and a deflection is very likely if you aren't perfect. Lets say you have access to a ranch that has elk eating off a haystack and they aren't afraid of the ranchers truck, could you double lung an elk and then watch it die within a few hundred yards? Probably, but you're getting close to not reliably having the horsepower to damage both lungs, so real world options with this tiny gun are very limited.

Enter the light rounds of .243, .257, 6mm, 6.5 creed etc. This class of guns can reliably double lung elk out to a considerable distance 3-400yds lets say. They can also take out a heart or Liver at closer distances, but one must be very careful to not hit heavy bone or take on too much angle. This is a pretty ideal cartridge for those willing to only take well presented broadside shots out to about 300yds. If you are an experienced and expert marksman, this distance could be stretched out to maybe 400yds reliably. You've also got the option of neck shots in the tight timber, where torso shots may be hard to discern. This Class of cartridge is low on recoil, therefore high on accuracy. A good hunter could feasibly get an elk every season with a rifle this size, but self discipline and experience is a must!

Stepping up to medium rounds. Enter the 270, 7mm .308, .30-06 etc. class of cartridge. This is a pretty good choice as you can typically get a bullet into the vitals at most angles and do this out to 400yds or so. A good marksman can penetrate into the vitals of a broadside elk at much greater distances with these heavier bullets. Keep in mind that Elk hunting public ground is no easy task, these are big skittish animals that don't always present ideal shooting conditions, and seasons are short. A cartridge in this class is going to afford you a few more possibilities while still keeping recoil and muzzle blast to a manageable amount. There is good reason these calibers have been so popular with elk hunters. You don't need to be a sniper or expert in anatomy to take a shot at an elk with a medium caliber gun.

The Magnums... Is bigger better? .300 win .338 Lapua .375 H&H etc. An elk hunter may spend many days and hike a hundred miles before presented with a shot at an elk on public ground. When that moment finally arrives it may be a bull elk running directly away in thick timber, or it may be 700yds across a canyon, do you have enough gun? A .338 RUM with the right bullet can do things a 30-06 can't. Should you take a Texas heart shot on an elk? That's up for debate as some would say wasting one quarter to put three quarters in the freezer is worth it. Others say to pass on a wasteful shot. I think it depends on the frequency a person is afforded shot opportunities, but we can all agree that shooting an elk up the rump with a 6.5 creedmore isn't going to work out. Extreme shot opportunities come at the cost of dreadful recoil and muzzle blast, enough to cause the toughest of men to flinch. I've seen many elk missed entirely, or hit poorly because a person used too much rifle. I've also seen many elk get harvested by magnum rifles that couldn't have been taken with lesser guns.

I've missed an elk with a Large magnum round that could have easily been headshot with a .223 remington. It was 30yds away and bedded down with its head resting on its rump facing me. It was such a "gimmie" shot with my .338 RUM that I put my crosshairs on its nose, (flinched) and pulled the trigger. I grazed the top of its skull and momentarily knocked it out. I wasn't even holding my gun when it woke up and escaped! I have no doubt that I would have taken the care to place that shot perfectly with a smaller gun. It wasn't the first time I've "jumped" on a trigger knowing my magnum could kill an elk without precise bullet placement. I've learned to shoot it better, and I would be hesitant to shoot a smaller gun, although I'm not convinced the gun I use is 'Ideal'.

What is your experience in finding the Ideal elk caliber?

To your point - the ideal elk cartridge is the one you can shoot the best. If you flinch with anything bigger than a 243, then shoot a 243. If if you can handle more than shoot the largest caliber you can without flinching or worrying about the recoil. Bullet selection and impact velocity have more influence on busting through bones than the diameter of the bullet itself. Once you decide how much energy you think you need to kill an elk - opinions vary, but lets say 1000-1500 ftlbs...you can see what distance you need to keep your shots within.

I am so tired of people thinking they need large caliber and magnum rounds to cleanly kill these animals. Most people would be way better off spending time and money at the range shooting their 243 or 6.5 cm or 25-06 and improving their marksmanship than spending it on a "300 magnum elk killer".
 
I have shot probably around 40-50 elk and have used 25-06, 7mm rem mag, 44 mag, 30-06, 300 win, 300 ultra, 338 win, 338 lapua, 338 RUM and 375 RUM. Of those the 375 RUM is absolutely the most effective, I had great luck with the 7mm (my first hunting rifle) for a lot of years, I have several 338's and tend to gravitate to them, however anything 30 cal and up is great. Lots of people say 6mm and 6.5 are all you need and they are right in a perfect world, bt when things dont go as expected and crap gets real, the big 3's have the needed horsepower. When asked I always recommend a 338 of some flavor.
 
I have not shot at an elk yet but have shot plenty of mule deer with a 270 Win. They have all gone done almost instantly. All have been perfect broadside shots and the deer have had no idea I was there. An elk is quite a bit larger and I firmly believe in using plenty of gun to kill a game animal as quickly and humanely as possible. When I finally do get a chance to go elk hunting, I will be toting a 338 Win Mag. It is not as accurate as my 270 but still shoots 1" or less at 100 yards. It will have no problem anchoring a big tough elk. The rifle kicks a little but it will only require 1 shot. The 270 would work but the 338 is a better option.


Your 270 would work awesome on elk. It will also only require one shot to kill an elk. You don't need a 338 wm.
 
Fast .338 are hard to beat. I shoot a 338 Jarrett because the RUM wasn't around way back then.
Seen plenty killed with 06s, shot quite a few myself with one. A bunch with 7 mags too.
But ideal, hard to beat a fast .338.
Closest was five feet, long 481;
Most between 200 to 300 yards.
Lost one.
 
It depends on your intent. Personally I think if your the kind of guy that would take a texas heart shot on an elk, the perfect caliber for you is none, get the hell out of the woods with that nonsense. The only exception is an already wounded elk that needs to be put down. I have lived in Wyoming since I was a child and hunted for nearly 20 years here, and almost every year I find blood trails where hunters wound an elk and fail to trail it, or give up, as they can run for miles. I have harvested elk myself by following these trails and eventually coming up on them. But reguardless of caliber, waiting for a proper shot is a requirement if you want guaranteed success on elk.

I have used 30-06, .308, 300 wm, .260 AI, and 8mm-06 on elk. The longest shots were with my .260 AI, at 710 yards and 813, and both 6 point bulls went down very quickly with no tracking required. At that range, the little 140 and 147 grain bullets carried more energy than a standard 30-06 load, .270 load, or .308 load would have. However, if I am hunting timber, I prefer something more like the 30-06, 8mm-06, or something that shoots a heavier bullet. The more energy I can put on in heavy timber, the better.

Now while my .260 worked decent at extended ranges, I do want to build something of 30 caliber capable of shooting the heavy for caliber bullets for longer distance elk. Until then, my .260, or a .270 ss in the works currently will be good medicine for mid to long distance deer and elk. For long range, I would rather have a rifle I can shoot well than a rifle with more energy. For short distance, timber work, you can use these same rifles, but my long range gun is heavy. I'll use a sporter wieght 8mm-06 with 180's for timber elk.
 
A few moons ago we were shooting elk out of Orchards and hay fields for depredation work and we had a need for those elk to be dead right where we shot them. We shot them with all kinds of calibers and quickly learned that 338s and big bullets did the best at that job.

But for regular hunting I don't mind if an elk goes 30 yards before it falls. Today I hunt with 6.5 and 7MMs and they do just fine.

Bigger is always better when shots aren't perfect.

One could hard to argue that a 7MM rem mag or a 300Winny mag are the perfect balance for all occasions. I shot the most of my elk with 300WM it performed perfectly every time.
 
Good, well stated article.

I wanted one rifle (cartridge) with which would be adequate for all North American game as well as the world. It would need to fulfill the caliber requirements for several of the African countries, for hunting large dangerous game. As practical at Whitetail ranges in Southern thickets, as well as cross canyon shots in the Wyoming Rockies. That cartridge would need to be popular enough, that ammunition could be acquired anywhere big game was hunted. While likely not found in in a small, Mom and Pop gunstore in rural Mississippi, it was however, very likely to be found in hunting supply stores in Africa, Alaska, and across much of Europe. A cartridge, that has been time tested, and never found lacking. A cartridge that "cut it's teeth" on 30 plus day safaris, written about and praised by the likes of Ruark, Hemingway, Selous, and many others. A cartridge that is perhaps more popular than ever, with many rifle companies chambering "bolt guns" of many variations, with a "smattering" of single shots and doubles thrown in. And, with it's popularity, we have more brands and bullet types and weights available than ever before. A cartridge, reputed for it's effectiveness in the field...while not punishing the hunter with recoil. And if, the shooter is a bit of a "rifle looney".....an inexpensive, simple gunsmithing job can transform it to a "wildcat" fully capable of long range hunting potential. After that transformation, factory ammunition can still be used, with minimal diminishing of it's original potential. This cartridge is a piece of history, and still stand "toe to toe" with many modern cartridges! My choice, the .375 H&H....."looney(ed)-out" to AI! At 9 pounds 1 ounce, fully loaded, scoped, slung, Winchester Model 70 action, a light contour Douglas SS Match Grade barrel with express sights and barrel mounted front sling swivel, McMillan Stock, with a Leupold 3.5-10 CDS scope in Leupold QD base/rings, giving quick access to the iron sights or to another Leupold already zero'd for use. My present hunting round is a 250 grain Barnes TTSX, with a muzzle velocity of 3130 fps.

This rifle has been my hunting companion since 1990, and has accounted for game from foxes up thru moose, at ranges from a few yards to over 400. I've never felt over or under gunned! memtb
 
The .22 Mag (or .22 WMR) is the ideal cartridge for harvesting elk, providing it was born today and you have a good reason for harvesting a freshly born elk with spots, (I can't think of any).

Now bear in mind when an elk starts out, it only weighs about 20lbs and it isn't very mobile. You can get pretty close to a newborn elk - so a .22 Mag is all you really need. Now an Elk is going to start growing pretty fast, and you will need a larger caliber at some point.

Fast forward 2 yrs and this elk has now lost his spots and weighs over 500lbs. The .22 mag is no longer the ideal cartridge unless you are hunting him inside a small pen. At this point a free roaming elk is pretty adept at keeping some space between itself and hunters and its body has gotten massive.

A tiny .223 remington would certainly have more potential at this point, especially with good bullet choice, but its not going to really open up many shooting opportunities. The .22 bullet is just too light to penetrate 300yds of air, an inch of hair, a 1/4" hide, several inches of meat, a bone, and then a vital organ. Sure you could dump an elk at 30yds with a headshot, but that baseball size brain has a lot protecting it, and a deflection is very likely if you aren't perfect. Lets say you have access to a ranch that has elk eating off a haystack and they aren't afraid of the ranchers truck, could you double lung an elk and then watch it die within a few hundred yards? Probably, but you're getting close to not reliably having the horsepower to damage both lungs, so real world options with this tiny gun are very limited.

Enter the light rounds of .243, .257, 6mm, 6.5 creed etc. This class of guns can reliably double lung elk out to a considerable distance 3-400yds lets say. They can also take out a heart or Liver at closer distances, but one must be very careful to not hit heavy bone or take on too much angle. This is a pretty ideal cartridge for those willing to only take well presented broadside shots out to about 300yds. If you are an experienced and expert marksman, this distance could be stretched out to maybe 400yds reliably. You've also got the option of neck shots in the tight timber, where torso shots may be hard to discern. This Class of cartridge is low on recoil, therefore high on accuracy. A good hunter could feasibly get an elk every season with a rifle this size, but self discipline and experience is a must!

Stepping up to medium rounds. Enter the 270, 7mm .308, .30-06 etc. class of cartridge. This is a pretty good choice as you can typically get a bullet into the vitals at most angles and do this out to 400yds or so. A good marksman can penetrate into the vitals of a broadside elk at much greater distances with these heavier bullets. Keep in mind that Elk hunting public ground is no easy task, these are big skittish animals that don't always present ideal shooting conditions, and seasons are short. A cartridge in this class is going to afford you a few more possibilities while still keeping recoil and muzzle blast to a manageable amount. There is good reason these calibers have been so popular with elk hunters. You don't need to be a sniper or expert in anatomy to take a shot at an elk with a medium caliber gun.

The Magnums... Is bigger better? .300 win .338 Lapua .375 H&H etc. An elk hunter may spend many days and hike a hundred miles before presented with a shot at an elk on public ground. When that moment finally arrives it may be a bull elk running directly away in thick timber, or it may be 700yds across a canyon, do you have enough gun? A .338 RUM with the right bullet can do things a 30-06 can't. Should you take a Texas heart shot on an elk? That's up for debate as some would say wasting one quarter to put three quarters in the freezer is worth it. Others say to pass on a wasteful shot. I think it depends on the frequency a person is afforded shot opportunities, but we can all agree that shooting an elk up the rump with a 6.5 creedmore isn't going to work out. Extreme shot opportunities come at the cost of dreadful recoil and muzzle blast, enough to cause the toughest of men to flinch. I've seen many elk missed entirely, or hit poorly because a person used too much rifle. I've also seen many elk get harvested by magnum rifles that couldn't have been taken with lesser guns.

I've missed an elk with a Large magnum round that could have easily been headshot with a .223 remington. It was 30yds away and bedded down with its head resting on its rump facing me. It was such a "gimmie" shot with my .338 RUM that I put my crosshairs on its nose, (flinched) and pulled the trigger. I grazed the top of its skull and momentarily knocked it out. I wasn't even holding my gun when it woke up and escaped! I have no doubt that I would have taken the care to place that shot perfectly with a smaller gun. It wasn't the first time I've "jumped" on a trigger knowing my magnum could kill an elk without precise bullet placement. I've learned to shoot it better, and I would be hesitant to shoot a smaller gun, although I'm not convinced the gun I use is 'Ideal'.

What is your experience in finding the Ideal elk caliber?
Good writing but you're leaving out so many variables there is no correct answer.

80lbs kid shooting at 80 yards? Probably one of the milder 6.5's and a good bonded or solid copper bullet.

250lbs man shooting the trophy of a lifetime at a thousand yards? One of the big thirties or .338's.

Overall, anything with a quality bullet and enough energy at the necessary range for that bullet to perform as desired.

All things considered the most important requirement to me would be that you take the rifle you have 100% confidence in and that you can shoot most accurately and stick within both your and the rifle's capabilities.

Don't go slinging lead at an animal that rare and precious for any reason other than perhaps the very real threat of starvation. Even then you'd probably be far better off saving your ammo and limiting yourself to a shot you have absolute confidence in making.
 
Good, well stated article.

I wanted one rifle (cartridge) with which would be adequate for all North American game...

Hard to argue against a .375 H&H.

I'm a big fan of swift A-frame bullets, but I suppose even those wouldn't hold up going the speeds you describe.
 
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