Advice on shooting elk
- Thread starter furey2304
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Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
Firstly given its Canada Elk may well refer to the very large Red Deer type animal, where as what the Europeans call an Elk is in North America the Moose
Best advice is from North American hunters - Randy Newberg, Ron Spomer, Craig Boddington etc.
You want a 7mm at a minimum, 30-06 and 300, but the 338 not too big.
The 400 yard question is a bit bothersome- you need an accurate rifle, a high BC bullet that will penetrate right the way through an elk at that distance, abd cause major blood loss very quickly. Otherwise you will injure the animal and spend a long time looking for it.
Best advice is from North American hunters - Randy Newberg, Ron Spomer, Craig Boddington etc.
You want a 7mm at a minimum, 30-06 and 300, but the 338 not too big.
The 400 yard question is a bit bothersome- you need an accurate rifle, a high BC bullet that will penetrate right the way through an elk at that distance, abd cause major blood loss very quickly. Otherwise you will injure the animal and spend a long time looking for it.
Will a 6.5 kill an elk, well yes it probably will. Is it a good idea to try it ….. almost certainly not unless the bullet is placed with absolute precision on an ideally placed animal. We all know the 6.5s are used in Scandinavia but the hunts seem very different to those in the USA and Canada. Add to that the extended ranges you are speaking of and you get into a whole raft of problems to solve.
Personally I would be looking at a .300 or .338 Magnum of some sort with heavy for calibre aerodynamic bullets and a quality diallable scope along the lines of a S&B, Zeiss or Nightforce. Equally if not more important is to learn how to use the scope properly and shoot the rifle a lot before you go until you can hit a 6 inch gong out to 500m from improvised positions in wind and foul weather. You may already have them but figure on taking a rangefinder and wind meter as well.
Personally I would be looking at a .300 or .338 Magnum of some sort with heavy for calibre aerodynamic bullets and a quality diallable scope along the lines of a S&B, Zeiss or Nightforce. Equally if not more important is to learn how to use the scope properly and shoot the rifle a lot before you go until you can hit a 6 inch gong out to 500m from improvised positions in wind and foul weather. You may already have them but figure on taking a rangefinder and wind meter as well.
This ^^^^
Foot lbs doesn’t actually tell how well a bullet kills. A good bullet above minimum expansion velocity is a better recommendation. Again guys are killing elk as far as a 140-147 gr eldm bullet is above 1800fps.
It kills well. Whether we agree with shooting that far is another thing.
It kills well. Whether we agree with shooting that far is another thing.
Utectok
Well-Known Member
. I’ve alway thought 1000ftlb for deer and 1500ftlb for moose or elk but hey ho each to there own.
If the elk you are referring to are the Rocky Mountain species here in the USA, I shot 2 with a .30/06 and 1 with a .308 Win. All were healthy sized bulls and none required more than one shot. Shots were between 175 and 225 yards. This admittedly limited experience has shown me that a well-placed, well-constructed .308 caliber bullet at non-magnum velocity and at reasonable distance can take these elk with ease. As stated earlier in the thread, shot placement is most important.
Some are still using that but there seems to be a shift, at least in the circles I’m familiar with, that is looking more at how the bullet kills, ie wound channel.
Sorry op to sidetrack. Just want to you have confidence in your setup for your future hunt.
UpNorthMI
Well-Known Member
Personally I don't like to be under gunned, I shot some pretty big red stags in Scotland for over 20 years with a .338 win mag, I never had to chase after a wounded animal or be required to give it a second shot irrespective of distance. I believe that the choice of bullet and loading is more important than the caliber. If was going on this trip for large Canadian Elk at 400 yards it would either be a .300 Win Mag or .338 win mag for me. Even more important would be the practice and understanding how my rifle performs at different distances. Bullet placement remains the most important thing.
We are not talking about punching holes in paper, we are talking about shooting a large animal at a fair distance, let's give the animal the respect it deserves and shoot it with enough gun that is going to kill it effectively. I've got nothing against the 6.5 but it would not be my personal choice for the mentioned task.
We are not talking about punching holes in paper, we are talking about shooting a large animal at a fair distance, let's give the animal the respect it deserves and shoot it with enough gun that is going to kill it effectively. I've got nothing against the 6.5 but it would not be my personal choice for the mentioned task.
Utectok
Well-Known Member
I know a few folk who think they need a magnum for red deer… mostly they haven’t shot many deer. I’ve shot the odd stag at 400yds with my little 6.5 and they died just fine although I’m sure they would have been much deader with a 338 lapau mag?
devon deer stalker
Well-Known Member
I have shot 2 bull Elk, both with a 30-06 180 grain nosier partition, it worked.
alberta boy
Well-Known Member
Pretty much standard issue for Elk around here . Any of the above cartridges will cleanly kill an Elk , having the ability to put a bullet in the right place out to 400 yards is the issue . A good rifle and a lot of practice will make it possible however . I've seen a number of Elk killed with a lot of different cartridges , from 6.5x55 to 375 H&H . The only time I've seen a problem was down to bullet construction/placement . For many years the 7mmRM was very popular for open country Elk , it's still my favourite belted cartridge . There are a number of other cartridges with very similiar performance . To the OP , I'm a fan of 6.5 cartridges , you don't mention which one , but it is at the lower end of the spectrum IMHO . Elk are large animals and fairly tough , a 6.5x55 or 6.5 Creedmoor will cleanly take a Bull under normal hunting ranges , 400 yards is a long poke though . Good luck on your hunt and be sure to post some pics .
AB
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