NM ElK

[NMHUNTER]

I recently put in for three elk hunts with a friend in NM. My friend is a very experienced hunter, but uses in lines and knows nothing about traditional rifles. I hunted with a 30-06 and 30-30 as a kid, but havent shot anything but pistols, a remington 870 and an M-4 in the last few years. I was wondering if anyone could give me a few tips as to calibers, brands, rate of twist and bullet typesw for elk.

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you are hunting Elk under 100 yards, that .30-30 will do fine, with a 170 grain bullet. If you think you will be shooting out to 200 yards, use the .30-06, and a 180 grain jacketed softpoint. Lots of factory ammo available. Find one that shoots well in your gun.

If you are going to use Muzzle loader, try to stick to something in .50 caliber for short yardage, and .54 for longer. Neither caliber is going to be a 200 yds shooter, with open sights, so practice using a tree, or walking stick as a brace to lean the gun on to shoot, and get in lots of practice at the longest range you expect to have to take a shot. Using a ML rifle is about Hunting, and not shooting. Both the .50, and .54 can kill at well past those distances, but your ability as a rifleman, using open sights, is what limits the effective range of both.

 

[Bill Hall]

NMHUNTER, the only experience I have with elk is with a .54 rb, and they have worked great. Four cows and one bull. All but one fell within 20 yards of where they were hit. The one that gave me trouble was a cow that I hit too high in the back, didn't break her back and didn't hit her lungs. My fault.
If you use a roundball, I think anything smaller than a .54 is too small. If you use conical or sabot, a .50 will do the job, but I suggest whatever you use, always go for the lungs. The lung area is a big target and once the lungs are hit, it's a done deal. You can look up elk anatomy on the internet if you're not familair where their vitals are located.
What units did you try for. I put in for unit 17 for bull first, and unit 15 late cow season second. I took a cow from 15 last year. Good luck. Bill