Bull elk / rifle / cartridge / bullet

Spruster said:
Great response write up ..now just one question and what I was asking ...
If the 257/264 kills .
What and how does the 30-06 / 308 cal do it Better ? why want one with more recoil and blast
how does it kill better ?
Dead is dead ... right
The same placement with both
Not disagreeing , just looking for the reasoning.. very few wanna try and answer that
Why a 30-06 over a 257
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Knock-out power, and overall down-range energy. If you could shoot the same weight of bullet at the same velocity out of those pea shooters, this conversation would be mute. The lighter calibers may have the advantage of short range trajectory, but down range, they will not pack the punch of the .30 cal or higher bullets. A bull elk will soak up more energy than your average white tail, and without proper penetration, you stand to lose them. True, bullet placement should always be the trump card, but then penetration comes in to play so why take a chance? Just trying to be fair to the animal by doing all in my power to make a more ethical kill.
 
Blakeyboy: TTSX has been just as good as anything for me but I ain't shooting across a couple postal codes either :)

Can't wait to try LRX this fall.

If I was gonna be Grendalizing animals or reachin out there I'd be usin a different pill and puttin em down as you do...if I shot as well! ;)



Browning525: What is "knock out power"
 
I've shot 3 Elk.
30-40 Krag, 6.5 swede and 303 Br. They were all one shot I think. They all died posted haste.
The 30's were reloads...the Swede probably not.
 
MiG25 said:
Yeah, it works well on Elk, I got a Bull one time at ~100 yard on a mountain side, he made a short run and went down.

Works well on the larger Muley Bucks but IMO it is too stout for smaller (whitetail) bucks. IMO a regular cup and core bullet is better for smallish deer.

I've switched to the 160TTSX for a variety of reasons but it doesn't work nearly as well, or maybe it does, I haven't lost anything with it, but standing there scratching my head wondering if I hit the animal is the norm. With the NP larger bucks often fall and start rolling down the hill.
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How fast are you pushing the 160gr TTSX? I've changed to 180gr tsx in the 8x57 at 2780fps and the last 5 big game I've shot with it were spectacular drop on the spot results.
 
Joel said:
Cool, I wonder how the 180gr 8mm Ballistic Tip would work on deer, although its rather thick jacketed, I bet it opens fast!
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The 180 NBT was a great bullet when I used it a few years back. Great penetration on large mule deer and bears. Even recovered one after travelling about 3 feet in a bear. Definitely one of the better ballistic tips I've used unlike the 30 cal versions which are pretty explosive.
 
uberti77 said:
In that regard, what is the smallest caliber for a "bang flop" scenario @ 100m on elk?
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The .17 Rem has done the job for a select group of folks over the years. The "One Shot Head Shot Club" fer instance.
https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Life...p-try+the+.17+Remington+or+the...-a0112128010

I've not taken elk, but got my 1st & only moose using a 45-70 with a 405 gr factory load at 60 yds. Not a bang flop, more like wait a bit an watch it lay down
followed by another small wait before quietly moving up to the critter to ensure it was T.U. It was. No 2nd shot needed.
 
dgradinaru said:
The 180 NBT was a great bullet when I used it a few years back. Great penetration on large mule deer and bears. Even recovered one after travelling about 3 feet in a bear. Definitely one of the better ballistic tips I've used unlike the 30 cal versions which are pretty explosive.
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Sounds like a great combination for that kind of game! 3 feet of bear for a ballistic tip is very impressive.

Seeing them sectioned, it looked like the jacket was quite thick, like an accubond but just not bonded. Never killed with it. Thanks for the info.
 
Its the bullet design that determines if it holds together or flies apart at any speed....but its the cartridge that determines how fast it goes...but its the bullet....

ARGH you guys are making my head hurt. Need another beer. Take yer favorite rifle and kill elk with it as long as ya shoot it good.
 
when i guided in northern quebec for mostly caribou (yes still not elk there lol) i guided 4 guys from wyoming that were hunting elk every fall on public land and i asked them what they will use for elk: 4 answered the same guns they brought for caribou hunting as they had only one rifle each and it was all in 7mm rem mag ... i used a lot the 7x64 so a little slower but i find it interesting that they never user bigger caliber or faster like the rums or wsm but what worked for them was enough.
 
Long before I ever shot at an elk, I was reading the back and forth in various magazines at the time - Jack O'Connor (Outdoor Life and others) thought the 270 Win was about perfect and took elk and sheep with his - Elmer Keith (Guns and Ammo and others) was a Idaho guide, and did not seem to think much of a client who brought a 270 Win to hunt elk - of course old Elmer thought that the .338 Win Mag with 250 grain bullets (or similar) made a fine antelope cartridge - I understand that he had a lot to do with Winchester bringing it out - I think he had a written line where he opined that the 270 Win might make a good coyote rifle. Oddly, it was a picture of John Wooters getting the brim of his cowboy hat pushed back by the scope of a Model 70 rifle in 338 Win Mag that made me want to have one, one day. It could have been some words in that article as well, but I still remember that picture. And I did get a Model 70 in 338 Win Mag - got a couple elk with it, but have not hunted with it, since I got a Husqvarna Mauser 98 in 9.3x62.
 
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Spruster said:
Great response write up ..now just one question and what I was asking ...
If the 257/264 kills .
What and how does the 30-06 / 308 cal do it Better ? why want one with more recoil and blast
how does it kill better ?
Dead is dead ... right
The same placement with both
Not disagreeing , just looking for the reasoning.. very few wanna try and answer that
Why a 30-06 over a 257
Click to expand...

Because a heavier bullet of bigger width generally speaking has more knockdown power and is a better killer on tough game animals. A 257 Roberts will kill an elk, no question(or practically any other thin skinned game) but a heavier, bigger calibre bullet leaves more margin for error in case of a flubbed shot. Which can happen for any number of reasons. The man behind the rifle is more important than the rifle but all things being equal not every shot or angle is ideal. Better to err on the side of caution and pack enough wallop to do an animal in smartly rather than chase an animal over half the country before dispatching it. Never hunted elk personally because I'd have to drive a couple thousand miles but they are very tenacious of life and don't roll over easily. By all accounts much tougher than moose which I have killed. Even for moose I would choose a 30 cal and up for the chore.
 
The 3o-o6 Sprgfld has accounted for most of my elk, and other big game. 150 Horn Interlocks, 150TSXs, 168TSXs. Works great.

The 6.5CM has been my most used chambering the last 5ish years. Some bull elk, a few deer and a bull moose. 127LRXs & 147ELDs. Works great.

Given like shot placement, I can't tell the difference on game. I tend to agree with Mr. tokguy. Put the bullet into the vitals, and it's not that hard.
 
tokguy said:
We aren't hunting T-Rex's guys...it's not that hard.
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kpSZUOA.jpg
 
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