400 Yard Elk cartridge . what's your Pick
- Thread starter Spruster
- Start date
Bang on.
Last edited:
- Location
- Saskatoon Saskatchewan
This is a great post from a guy who has been there done that.
- Location
- Saskatchewan
Spruster, Yup. All licensed hunting. Mostly regular season, over the counter tags. A couple were draw tags. All in Saskatchewan. We have some exceptionally good elk hunting in our province. Alberta and BC get most of the publicity for Canadian elk hunting. We just enjoy what we have and don't share with non-residents, sorry!
Well, that's everywhere, not just an AB/BC thing. - dan
I believe it was gun writer Bob Hagel who said use enough gun for when things go wrong, not for when everything goes right. - dan
Well I guess a bit of common sense needs to be applied. I haven't seen anyone advocating for the 243 as a 400 yard elk cartridge.
As to "We all would be using a 243", why is that? I mean, I do have one in the safe, but never use it... Maybe one day I will shoot gophers or a coyote with it....
Pudelpointer
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Lethbridge, Alberta
Yes, it does work exactly that way. Every rodeo I have been involved in has resulted from one thing - crappy shooting. If you want to argue about poor angle shots, offhand shots, running game shots, and other sillyness, go right ahead. Facts are facts - a hole through both lungs with a hunting bullet within its design parameters, and / or heart = dead animal, every time, no exceptions. Will an elk bleed out quicker with a .458 caliber hole vs a .264 hole all else being equal, yes. But, it will still bleed out.
The 6.5s will kill whatever you shoot well, and have for well over 100 years. A "magnum" is not a solution to poor shooting ability and limited hunting skill. Is my 8 mag a better elk gun then a 6.5 CM? Probably, but I would not hesitate for a single second to send a 140 gr pill into the biggest elk on the planet with one.
But hey, you do you brother.
that is clever and i wish we were doing the same here.
My elk hunting experience closely mirrors longwalkers. Raised a family on it to the extent that my kids thought beef tastes funny.
I hunt them much like deer by posting morning and evening on a field they’re using and have made some longish shots, first legal bull gets it.
The trouble with shooting elk at distance isn’t in killing them as much as in finding where he died. I lost the bottom half of a well shot bull a few years back to bone sour, just couldn’t find him in time. Take a look at longwalkers picture and you’ll see how you can walk within a few feet of a carcass. Sometimes your nose tells you “he’s right here”.
I hunt them much like deer by posting morning and evening on a field they’re using and have made some longish shots, first legal bull gets it.
The trouble with shooting elk at distance isn’t in killing them as much as in finding where he died. I lost the bottom half of a well shot bull a few years back to bone sour, just couldn’t find him in time. Take a look at longwalkers picture and you’ll see how you can walk within a few feet of a carcass. Sometimes your nose tells you “he’s right here”.
I've shot 22 elk I think, none over 300yds though. I hunt thick bush in northern SK and there just isn't the visibility for longer shots. The one 300yd shot I took was with a .338-06, 250gr Nosler Partition. Hit him a bit high through the lungs and he went down right away but not dead. Another quick follow up and that was that. All the others ranged from 12yds to 200yds approx. .303 Epps, 8x57, .30-06, and the majority with .338 Federal.
Ah but that is where you are wrong!
See, it's really tricky. Hard to explain...thats why no one can explain why exactly a GOOD 6.5mm bullet at Creedmoor speed cannot kill an elk, even when placed well.
The effectiveness is inversely correlated to how preoccupied you are with homosexuality lol.
All joking aside I'd like a bit more speed at 400 yards but I'd prefer nice presentations and the opportunity to shoot again to any caliber. With elk hunting being a rather rare occurrence for some I see why they want more insurance. If you shoot something well, you shoot something well. Go get em!
