50 cal hawken for ELK?

[nvstickbow]

I have several muzzleloaders but only two .50 cal sidelocks that I am interested in hunting with. I want to get rid of my two .54's as they are inlines and I just don't see any point in shooting them over my centerfires.

My question is wether my .50 hawken is enough for elk out to about 80 yards with a round ball or if I should find a load with a mini/maxi ball. Hoping to hunt Montana this year and want to get ready. Thanks in advance.

 

[Ol Thing]

While it can and has been done with .50s time and again. I think I'd go ahead and peddel those inlines and spend some of the money to replace one of those .50 barrels with a .54.

Here where I hang my hat, the country is thick with brush and steep. I've yet to take an elk with a M/L, but I've gotton my fair share of leg work in chasing um down after a shot with a centerfire. Some of those critters take alot of killing, not to mention that they can cover alot of ground in short order and a 220 grain beats a 174 grain PRB hands down for penatration and sheer power. Just my 2 cents worth, I'm rather a green horn at this M/L sport.

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck. :hatsoff:

 

[WV MZL HUNTER]

For the .50 cal. I would use a 370 gr. maxi ball with around 100 gr. of goex ffg. Or 85 gr. of fffg.and stay under the 100 yd. range. But I have not got to hunt elk "yet". :hmm:

 

[renovato]

If you can keep your shots inside 80 yards and put the ball where it needs to go, .50 will take elk just fine. Personally, I feel it's a tad light for the job and have always used a .54 (which is probably still a little light). There are plenty of others who have had no trouble taking elk with a .50 and I'll defer to their expertise.

 

[Lonegun1894]

Keep in mind this is all based on reading books and various other info, much of it shared here on this forum as i havent had a chance to hunt elk yet either. There have been many posts about members taking elk with .50s and .54s. There is a recent one about a mamber here taking a buffalo (bison) with a .50 PRB. And there was an article about a buffalo (bison) in the last Backwoodsman magazine about a man who took his with a .45 or .50 caliber air rifle. I have seen deer taken with a .177 pellet rifle, so while i would feel more comfortable with my .54 for elk, i dont think i'd go hungry with my .50 either. And as far as getting inside 80 yds, I think that is a realistic goal and very good advice. Last time i saw elk in the wild, i was deer hunting in Arizona but only had a deer tag and not an elk tag. We saw a couple of elk and figured we'd stalk closer--we never did see a deer that trip. Anyway, I was about 8 ft away from the elk with plans of poking it in the side with my finger before it finally realized that we were there. I know i could have taken that elk with a handgun or the bow i had on me--if it just wasnt for that pesky tag issue. If i managed to do it, most people can too if they just try a little. Just keep your range reasonable, place your shot exactly where it needs to go, and dont underestimate that amazing round little ball.

Paul

 

[bob308]

if you can shoot then a .50 will do just fine. if you can not shoot then anything bigger will not help.

there was another post where a guy took a bision with a .50.

 

[MSW]

i agree with Ol Thing, and i agree with your decision about selling the in-lines... we don't get Elk in this part of Vermont, but i'd be surprised if the don't eventually drift in. we have Moose, but not yet in huntable numbers and, regretably, there's no open season on politicians. having said that, i'd encourage you to go with .54 or bigger for elk... it's a lot of critter you're trying to kill.

 

[MikeChapin]

I'll go along with Plink on this. The .50 will do the job inside 80 yards. I have yet to shoot one further than 75 yards so could have used one if I was so inclined.

A lot of people around here use a .50 on elk. The animals don't run far if they do at all. I prefer something a little bigger. I have used both a .54 and .58 with good effect.

 

[Vaino]

Our elk party "loan out rifle" is a .50 cal. TC "Hawken" which uses 410 gr. Buffalo Bullets w/ 100 grs. 2f and it has taken quite a few elk. This rifle was used by me for many years until I built a .54 that uses PRBs for 2 reasons. The 410 gr. conical's trajectory when sighted-in at 100 yds. yields a mid-range height that's too great and could cause poor hits on elk. So the sight-in yardage was reduced to 60 and the mid-range height is much less. By the way....none of the elk hit w/ this rifle went very far. My .54 cal. "Hawken" w/ PRBs has also performed well on elk w/ no noticeable difference in killing and the sight-in yardage is 100 w/ 3" mid-range height which is much more versatile. The last elk taken w/ the .54 was hit at 107 yds. and went 40 yds after the shot. The second reason I no longer use the .50 is that conicals many times don't stay on the powder in a clean bbl and have to be checked through out the day. The "loanee" of this rifle is warned asre the checking frequency. No doubt a .50 PRB will kill an elk w/ a well placed hit but judging from the experiences of our elk party of 5 over 20 yrs., it's a little light......Fred

 

[Mad Professor]

They have opened S.Vt. to moose hunting but you need to apply for permit.

 

[Little Wattsy]

if you can shoot then a .50 will do just fine. if you can not shoot then anything bigger will not help.

there was another post where a guy took a bision with a .50.

ummmmmmmmmm :bull:
Parden me, but all incompasing statements like these kill me. This would imply that a 20MM cannon wouldnt kill an elk if gut shot? :slap: I KNOW that wanst the intended message but please lets keep it real. I would contend that you could kill an elk w/ a .22 cal "If you can shoot" HOWEVER obviously NOT a suitable calliber for hunting big game. In a marginal situation a "size up" in calibur can get you THAT much more penetration, THAT much more killing energy, just THAT much more of a kill spot. Sometimes the differance between a good kill at the end of a blood trail VS a pit in the stomach "couldnt find-em".
YES you still gotta be able to shoot yer gun but the opinion given earlier to "sell the inlines and buy a drop in.54cal barrel for the sidelock makes sence to me.
Last point, A .50cal WILL do it if you know your gun and are a ethically good shot.

 

[boar]

If it was me and I was using a .50 I would use a max-ball. Have shot deer with them,100grs 2ff. Also shot them with RB 50&54 They 54 RB kills them better then the 50. The 54 max-ball is a better killer yet,120grs 2ff. Were the maxis has the edge is when it hits it tears a bigger hole. Had them(RB) seal shut with fat and not leave a good blood trail. Use real soft lead when making maxis, this helps it expand into rifling. I also tapped the base a bit to make it fit tighter, a little harder to load, but will help it not to drift in the barrel. Go big. Dilly

 

[gjkershul]

I have taken one Idaho Elk with a .50 Armisport Cabelas Hawken loaded with the 385 grain Hornady Great Plains bullet over 90gr. 3f Goex at 110 yds. I had to shoot it twice through the lungs to put it down. I loaned the rifle to an expert bowhunting friend who wanted to try muzzle hunting. He took another Elk with the same load after shooting it twice -range is unknown to me. In both cases one bullet was recovered from the Elk that did not mushroom.
After these experiences I bought a .54 Lyman Great Plains Hunter fast twist barrel and plan to use it for with a solid conical. The .50 will be loaded with the Hornady 410 grain solid or the 460.
Mostly because I wanted it, I recently got an 1861 Enfield Musketoon in .58 and my Lyman 566
grain Parker Hale minie mold should arrive today.
I rationalize getting another muzzle loader by telling myself the Enfield will be good for close Elk shots in black timber and easier to carry.

 

[nvstickbow]

Thanks for the replies. I know that a .54 will kill better than a .50 but as of yet do not own one. I think that I will try to sell or trade the two .54 inlines for a sidelock(hoping to get a flinter). I am quite confident in my ability to place a shot where I want out to 80 but would try to keep it under fifty. Figured there would be some mixed response and they are about what I had hoped to get. Thank you for the willingness to share the knowledge learned from your experiences. That is what makes this such a great site.

 

[nw_hunter]

The 50 will do the job!Prb or Conical.

 

[tg]

I would not hesitate to use a .50 rifle and PRB if I still had one, I like to get closer myself, like 50-60 yds but that is just the way I hunt, I don't know how much Elk hunting you have done so don't take offense at the following, Elk are big(DUH) so judging range can be tricky if your previous hunting has been for Deer, I like to use full size cutouts made from card board when sighting in/target practice at different distances for Deer and Elk this gives a known range and the sight picture and its relationship with the front sight/end of barrel, helps to judge range later when an animal not a chunk of cardboard is out there.Good luck and happy hunting.

 

[smokehouseman]

.50 mmmmmmmmmm, in close maybe, .54 32:1 fast twist barrel with a big honking conical, in close as well. I very seldom shoot anything beyond 50 yards anymore............old eyes and and the "golden years" catching up on me. :2

 

[bob308]

now if you had read the question then you would not have had to try to make a person look like a fool.
first he asked about a .50 not a .22. and second i have seen people that would use a 20mm if they could shoulder it just with the thought that even if they hit it a little bit they would have meat.

 

[Mountainman56]

I've shot elk with a .50 back in the "old country" ..no problem (I shot an elk with a .45 TC back when I didn't know any better....he didn't know any better either cause he up and died, but I don't recommend using anything smaller than a .50). . I wouldn't feel undergunned if I had it to do again. Sounds to me like you've got it figured right. Both with dumping the inlines and your maximum range with the .50.

 

[daven1834]

I agree that you should trade off the in lines more and more states in the West have made them illigal for hunting during black pwder seasons. I myself use a 50 cal. It just depends on your skill level and the area you plan to hunt..Where I hunt 75 yards is about the longest shot because of the timber. I have taken several elk over the years and have never lost one with the 50 cal..