Elk Hunt Advice

[James Stella]

My dad and I got drawn for an Idaho Unit 54 Bull Muzzle loader Tag.

We are both shooting Lyman Great Plains Rifles. I a shooting a 54 Caliber Great Plains Hunter with Hornady Great Plains Bullets. I have shot one elk with it and it worked good.

My dad is shooting a 50 Caliber with PRB. It is not the Hunter version and will not shoot anything but PRB. He has killed deer with it but not elk. This will probably be the only elk hunt he will ever go on.

Shout I try and get him to get a 54 cal barrel for the his rifle or do you think he will be ok with the 50?

I know I am asking an opinion but I am going to weigh the answers and then give him advise.

Thank You

 

[hoochiepapa]

Although I am a .54 advocate, a lot of elk are killed with a .50. Shot placement. Short range, meaning under 100 yards.
Best of luck.

 

[James Stella]

Thank You. That is how I see it but I wanted a little more advice. I hate to have him but a new barrel when the one he has will work for one hunt. All of his deer have been well under 100 yards.

 

[rodwha]

Has he tried the shorter Lee REAL that weighs 250 grns? I've read some have great accuracy through slow twists with them as they aren't much longer than a ball.

Through my Lyman Deerstalker I needed a felt wad to get the heavier REAL to shoot, but it did extremely well.

 

[agill]

This will probably be the only elk hunt he will ever go on.

Thank You

If there is any doubt about him using the 50, why not swap rifles just for this hunt?

 

[James Stella]

That is a good thought. I do not know if he has tried those or not. I am betting not. I will suggest that to him.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

Although I am a .54 advocate, a lot of elk are killed with a .50. Shot placement. Short range, meaning under 100 yards.
Best of luck.

:metoo:

 

[Blackbruin]

If he can shoot prb than pick up a box of hornady pa conicals, wash off the factory lube with turpentine and relube lightly with a veg base lube. If he's overly concerned with the rb being effective, these work in slow twist barrels...

 

[longcruise]

I'm a mugwump on this question, being a firm "believer" in the. 54, but there are a bunch of hunters right here who use the .50 with success. So, IMO, whatever he feels most confident with. A drp in .54 barrel is not a huge expense for a special hunt!

 

[William O.]

I agree and one other thing to consider is that the .54 barrel weighs a bit less than the .50 and makes the GPR less nose heavy. Practice shooting whichever he chooses of course.

 

[Wes/Tex]

At max charge, delivering roughly 1950 fps velocity, you can expect about 150 to 175 more foot/pounds of energy from the .54 adn PRB. While this looks like a sizable number, I doubt the elk will feel the difference. As Mike mentioned above...it's shot placement. Many fall into the mistaken belief that bigger projectile can overcome poor shooting...just ain't going to happen. Practice till you find you can put 5 balls in a 6" to 7" EVERY time and don't take a shot more than 15 yards past that, preferably 0 yards beyond that! :wink:

 

[Rat Trapper]

Anything a 50 will do a 54 will do better when talking elk. Shot placement is critial when shooting elk.

Your choice of a conical is a good one with elk. round balls are ok for deer but on elk I would want a conical. I like the Hornady great plains bullets.

 

[James Stella]

One of the members on this forum was nice enough to offer to send my dad some of the Lee REAL bullets to try so that is going to be his first step. If they shoot good he will probably use those.

 

[longcruise]

Heck, if they shoot it would be a way to get the bullet weight up. Be sure to try them on out to 100 yards. I experimented with them in a .50 TC hawken and they shot tight little groups at 50 but opened up to 12 inches at 100. :shocked2:

 

[Idaho Ron]

When asking for advice on the internet it is no different than asking for advise in any other setting. If I were to ask advice about working on cars I would ask a friend that works on cars. This is no different. I would like to know how many guys that say use a 50 PRB have actually killed a elk with a 50 PRB?
I agree is the situation is perfect and a guy gets a perfect broad side shot at a very close range, sure why not.I know it has happened. I say on here that elk come in different sizes. Small ones like this one.

Medium sized ones like this one.

Or Big ones like this one.

Or super hogs. This bull was killed close to the area you have tags for. This bull was killed with a ML. I have seen pictures of elk killed in your zone that were bigger than this one.

Now I have killed a lot of elk. I have seen a lot of elk killed by others. Elk don't just give up easily. I have seen some cows killed with PRB and I have seen some lost. I have seen elk killed with a conical and I have seen them lost. Yes shot placement should be your top priority.

On this one I would say that the guy that shot it thought that was a perfect hit.

I shot that cow with a 460 gr Paper Patched bullet right in the shoulder Quartering to me.

My bullet went through the shoulder and was found in the hip. The cow died quickly. What was the wound from before? I don't know but I can tell you this. The guys that say a 50 PRB will do it, well I would want to see their own personal proof. Pictures of their elk that they killed with them. Then I would add it to the info that has proof. Killing a whitetail with a 50 PRB is not proof that they will kill an elk.
Ron

 

[James Stella]

IdahoRon

Nice pics. The 460 grain paper patch bullet you were shooting- what was the caliber/dia of the rifle and bullet?

You had mentioned to me before you did not like the Great Plains Bullet. Have you had bad luck with them?

The only elk I shot was with a 54 cal great plains. I shot it quartering toward me and it broke the shoulder and exited the back of the ribs on the off side. But that is only one elk.

 

[Rat Trapper]

Ron provides some very good advice that is worth following. I've spend plenty of time in elk camps in the past. I know first hand how hard elk can be to kill even with center fire calibers. I would have no (zero) faith in a 50 caliber patched round ball when used on an elk. In the right conditions it can work, but the guy paying out lots of money for a 5 day hunt may not get the perfect shot. the bullet must be placed correctly. That failing, the elk may die some place that will make you wish you had not taken the shot if you find it.

 

[longcruise]

Maybe GM Boy will weigh in on the efficacy of the .50?

 

[Sean Gadhar]

Maybe GM Boy will weigh in on the efficacy of the .50?

:grin: :applause:

 

[hoochiepapa]

Whenever someone disparages the Hornady Great Plains bullet, I have to try to give them credence. I have killed 5 or so elk with that bullet, with a Cabela's Hawken in .54 percussion. It has performed well for me from 30 to about 115 yards.

Two different 5-point bulls, one at 70 yards, and one at around 115.