Help selecting between guns for elk hunting

[mnbearbaiter]

What are everyones views on the ITX rb's? I like the concept of a harder ball that penetrates better than a lead rb, and is still safe in traditional guns! The 54cal ITX is .527, wonder what patch id use in my Renegade should i try 'em(gun likes .530 rb/.015 patch now)? I found an article of a guy who did a penetration test on wet newspaper with 'em and they got 5" of penetration where as the lead ball only got 2"! They dont expand like lead rb's from my understanding, but is it really needed if we are already putting a 1/2" hole through the lungs?

 

[mnbearbaiter]

Im guessing .018 pillow ticking as the patch thickness in my Renegade! It would make sense to increase patch thickness by .003 if the projectile is .003 less!

 

[Pete Gaimari]

You've all seen this before, both Great Plains from my .54, both from elk taken at about 100 yards, with about 110 grs. of poopodex.
I would by all means use the .54, I have seen elk wounded and escape with the .50. Just my personal preference. And I will be hunting with a round ball this season.
As for baiting bears, if you hunt with a round ball, that's about the only way you're going to see one. Just plain luck other wise. It's ignorance to try to make people hunt the way you think you do. :thumbsup:

So, I guess the Colorado DOW are ignorant? You might want to check the bear kills in ML season here. What's the PRB got to do with it? All of a sudden it's not effective anymore? Pick and choose to make your point?

Maybe someone will quote this so you can read it. :shake:

 

[tg]

"What are everyones views on the ITX rb's?"

unless going for a hard skinned animal (maybe large hogs or rhinos) I see no need for anything other than the normal balls, they have worked for a long time, for decades manufactures have been offering a lot of answeres for unasked questions

 

[mnbearbaiter]

Point taken, but i was just sayin that alot of people think that the short comings of the rb are how fast it loses velocity and its poor penetration qualities! Weve all recovered rb's on the far side hide of a deer!!!

 

[tg]

"Weve all recovered rb's on the far side hide of a deer!!!"

I know I often here on how we can improve on what we used to kill that Deer.....that dead Deer :hmm:

 

[sepiatone]

"Weve all recovered rb's on the far side hide of a deer!!!"

I know I often here on how we can improve on what we used to kill that Deer.....that dead Deer :hmm:

:thumbsup:

 

[mnbearbaiter]

I dunno, they may give a little extra penetration where its needed like on elk and other big stuff! Ive never shot an elk, what do all of you find as far as the rb's penetration and integrity?

 

[misher]

I still have most of a box of 530 grain TC Maxi Balls.Don't see those anymore.

 

[misher]

In my area here the new rules this year are 3 bears.

 

[nkbj]

How do you get them to line up without bait?

 

[Pete Gaimari]

I still have most of a box of 530 grain TC Maxi Balls.Don't see those anymore.

My cheek hurts just thinking about shooting those. :surrender:

 

[tg]

" what do all of you find as far as the rb's penetration and integrity"

In about 40 years of ML hunting I have only used the PRB and taken Deer and Elk with .40-.72 Elk with .50 and have never felt lacking with the prb if the range is matched to the game and ball size if you have to shoot at animals at 125yds with primitive sights it can be a crap shoot no matter the projectile, the best thing to do is go with PRB and primitive sights and think like archery hunting, shoot at 50-85 yds depending on the caliber of the gun, some can get by shooting farther but make sure you are one of them and you and your gear is up to it before trying, I have always watched folks so excited to "step back in time" and hunt with a ML, then try to improve on the ignition, sights and projectile and anything possible that can be tweaked to gain an advantage over the orignal gear and obtain results/ranges equal to the centerfires they left home, I guess I am just not wired that way as it makes no sense to me, the old ways work quite well if used within their limitations, which will not cause one to loose a lot of hunting oppertunity, but one does have to learn how to realy hunt, not just snipe from a long ways off.

 

[BrownBear]

Just to complicate your life, Track of the Wolf has the GM 58 caliber drop-in barrels back in stock. Click here and get em while they're hot! :grin:

 

[mnbearbaiter]

:grin: :grin: :grin: Funny BrownBear! Im a minimalist when it comes to hunting, and wont be switching to a 58cal anytime soon!

 

[BrownBear]

Ah man, but there's principle at stake here! :rotf:

There must be close to half a dozen of those barrels here in my neighborhood along with that many more rifles that started life as 58's. Yet I started a flurry when I passed that link along. Yeah, they're that good and the .570 ball weighing 279 grains at 1500fps or so does impressive things on game- even if you're used to a 224 grain .530 ball at the same speed.

With that in your barrel channel, there'd be no question in your mind which to use for elk! :grin:

 

[nkbj]

Well, if I was going elk hunting I'd take my .62 flinter TC Hawken with the 32" barrel just because it feels oh so right.

 

[BrownBear]

Well, if I was going elk hunting I'd take my .62 flinter TC Hawken with the 32" barrel just because it feels oh so right.

Now we're talkin! I've got a 62 cal that's in desperate need of elk blood and moose blood treatments.

 

[misher]

Why did you have to point that out.........That is such a dangerous website for me to go to............Now my mind is racing again.I will always need (want) something from there.

 

[BrownBear]

Why did you have to point that out.........That is such a dangerous website for me to go to............Now my mind is racing again.I will always need (want) something from there.

:rotf:

One good thing leads to another?