Elk hunting with a smoothie

[Zutt-man]

Has anyone tried it? Care to share your experience? With rifle kits being pushed further and further back, I may take mine out (if I get drawn) since I don’t have a rifled barrel over .40

 

[Zonie]

You should check out the Traditional Muzzleloader Hunting section of the forum. They have a number of threads about hunting elk although most of them involve using rifles.
Here's a link to one of the posts that may interest you.

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/elk-hunt-caliber.128065/

 

[tenngun]

I’ve only taken one and it was with a rifle, but at thirty yards well in smoothbore range

 

[appalichian hunter]

Never hunted elk (bucket list project) but I would think a .62 smooth bore well sighted to say 60 yards should get the job done nicely. Go for it and let us know the results my bet is you will be eating elk.

 

[tenngun]

Lota elk killed with NWG, and before the invention of them Dutch and French trade guns, elk, used to out number deer east of the Appalachian and were largely cleaned out before rifle making started here

 

[Zutt-man]

Lota elk killed with NWG, and before the invention of them Dutch and French trade guns, elk, used to out number deer east of the Appalachian and were largely cleaned out before rifle making started here

Pretty amazing that they only cover 10% of their home range anymore

 

[appalichian hunter]

Yes has become a rich mans hunt if your not a resident in a state where elk are. A few years back there was talk of introducing elk back to the green ridge state forest in western Md. but the locals shot it down. Too bad

 

[Zutt-man]

Yes has become a rich mans hunt if your not a resident in a state where elk are. A few years back there was talk of introducing elk back to the green ridge state forest in western Md. but the locals shot it down. Too bad

I really don’t consider it a rich man’s game if you’re after meat. Plenty of OTC opportunities in the west yet. There are some pretty good draw odds for muzzleloaders as well. If you do the processing yourself and be frugal with your travel, it can be a pretty good lb per dollar ratio.

It is nice to see elk being distributed back to some of their homes range though.

 

[hanshi]

Judging from the way it slams whitetail, I'd not hesitate one bit to go after elk with my .62 smoothbore.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Judging from the way it slams whitetail, I'd not hesitate one bit to go after elk with my .62 smoothbore.

So the rifleman was the iconic image of the colonial era...here....in The States.

BUT, what I found interesting when I learned it..., the 20 gauge hunting fusil, or trade gun, was to the people in Canada as was the rifle here in the USA.
Moose were taken on a regular basis with 20 gauge round ball from a smooth bore.
So as Hanshi pointed out about deer..., IF MOOSE get taken with a 20 gauge round ball, then elk should work too.

How close you need to be, is another detail, which of course will depend on a lot of factors, and perhaps..., perhaps Moose behavior allows folks to get closer than do the elk, so maybe it won't work unless there are very special circumstances.

LD

 

[Brokennock]

A member here, who also happens to own a longbow building company,,,, has taken bison with a smoothbore .62, with what some with magnumitis would call a moderate load, I would think that puts elk well within the spectrum of possible game with a 20 gauge smoothbore.

 

[appalichian hunter]

.60-.610 cal patched ball, good accurate load, well placed shot, reasonable shot distance there is nothing on this side of the Atlantic that will walk away, four or two legged.