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lowest powder charge for elk
- Thread starter Gman86
- Start date
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Consult with your gun's manufacturer by the manual or call if no manual. Also, the
Longrifles club members are knowledgeable. For the recommended load. I have an
old Lyman's Black powder manual that I also consult. You want the maximum safe
load with a heavy slug. Not knowing the exact details of your guns I cannot give
further comment. Myself, for whitetail, in my Hawken I use 90grs black pushing a
powerbelt (a gift to me from friends). Elk is a massive chest and you need power to
realize a humane kill. It would help to know more about those rifles. Good Luck.
Longrifles club members are knowledgeable. For the recommended load. I have an
old Lyman's Black powder manual that I also consult. You want the maximum safe
load with a heavy slug. Not knowing the exact details of your guns I cannot give
further comment. Myself, for whitetail, in my Hawken I use 90grs black pushing a
powerbelt (a gift to me from friends). Elk is a massive chest and you need power to
realize a humane kill. It would help to know more about those rifles. Good Luck.
Phil Coffins
69 Cal.
100 grains of two fg.
FishnRod
40 Cal
For elk, BIGGER is better.
Shooting ball?
In a 32” barrel 70 grains of 3f gives a velocity of 1385a charge of 110 grains, 1731. In a 43 inch barrel 95 grains will do what a 110 do in a shorter barrel.
At fifty yards a 1400fps ball will have a velocity Of 1076 fps. At 1700 fps a ball will slow to 1020fps at a hundred yards so if your inside fifty yards a slower ball will be faster then a faster ball at longer range.
So let’s say you load a .54 ‘for bear’ in a 43” barrel you can get 2158. At 2100 fps a ball will slow to 1230. That’s a 160 grain charge
, but if your inside fifty yards you can do as well with a MV of 1600 fps and you can pull that off with a 80 grain charge in a 43” barrel or a 100 grains in a 28”barrel.
So your charge would depend on your gun and the range you want to hunt at.
In a 32” barrel 70 grains of 3f gives a velocity of 1385a charge of 110 grains, 1731. In a 43 inch barrel 95 grains will do what a 110 do in a shorter barrel.
At fifty yards a 1400fps ball will have a velocity Of 1076 fps. At 1700 fps a ball will slow to 1020fps at a hundred yards so if your inside fifty yards a slower ball will be faster then a faster ball at longer range.
So let’s say you load a .54 ‘for bear’ in a 43” barrel you can get 2158. At 2100 fps a ball will slow to 1230. That’s a 160 grain charge
, but if your inside fifty yards you can do as well with a MV of 1600 fps and you can pull that off with a 80 grain charge in a 43” barrel or a 100 grains in a 28”barrel.So your charge would depend on your gun and the range you want to hunt at.
The reason I ask is that my wife may be hunting if we draw tags
Phil Coffins
69 Cal.
Then you need to give a lot more info. Only what’s the least powder with out anything other then caliber is like asking how much fuel to put in a race car, is it a dragster or an formula one at La Mans? We all would like to help but to get the best answers give as much details as you can.
inline error
for traditional i have used 54 0r 58 and 80 gr3f....no losses.
for traditional i have used 54 0r 58 and 80 gr3f....no losses.
I use 80 grs of 3F in my .54 it pacts a pretty good wallop. I've haven't used it on elk but it will take down a deer rather handily.
"Okay so the .50 is a Remington 700 this is what my wife would be using we will be using a conical bullet or sabot I think that the conical is about 210gr the sabot I am not sure of"
Cannot discuss inlines or sabots, this is a traditional site.
Cannot discuss inlines or sabots, this is a traditional site.
More than anything it depends on how good a shot she is.
For me it would be the hunt of a life time and I would be actively and eagerly experimenting with what is the stiffest and at the same time most accurate load for the gun I planned on using.
Robby
Robby
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In my traditional 50 calibers 65 grains of fffg pushes a 370 grain T/C MaxiHunter at 1,180 fps -chronographed. With a proper butt stock my former wife shot that load quite accurately. She is not a big frame woman. We've taken deer from a short distance up to 175 yards with that load. Yet, it isn't a hammer of Thor, as some would have you believe. It is equivalent to an 80 grain ffg loading. Put in the right place it kills very well. Hit the animal in a less than stellar spot then they will die, but finding them may be a chore. I am sure it will work on an elk, but precision placement and keeping the shot within 100 yards, or less is better, would be optimal.
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Elk are tough animals. Much more so than deer. You owe it to the elk to use as much as you can handle accurately and get close for a clean shot. That means if you can't hit a 5" target every time, don't shoot that far.
She is a great shot with my other weapons
My .54 is a t/c Renegade this gives me a place to start thanks
You could ask the same question of distance. Velocity and accuracy decrease with distance.
