PRB for elk?

[happyhunter]

I am beginning to think the best "compromise" is 54 cal. I really don't think I will ever hunt elk. May just be a dream. I am thinking the 54 would work just fine if I ever got a chance to.

WARNING BLASPHEMOUS STATEMENT AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!!!!!!!
If I did draw a rare PA elk tag I may use a centerfire..... There I said it... Sorry.....


The 50 does a fine job on deer which is the only thing I hunt. So maybe I will just get a really nice 50 and use the finish off of it. Or maybe a 54 which would work even better on deer and may be enough to leave that other thing in the gunsafe (where it belongs...).

Someone mentioned a 50 for black bear. I have never had a desire to hunt bear, don't know why... But the 50 is legal in PA for bear. From what I hear PA bear are not very big.

Thanks for all the input!!
Have a nice weekend!!
HH

 

[Extranero]

"A 50 cal shooting 80 grains of powder under a Patched round ball will kill any Elk on the face of the earth"

I am lead to believe that in Idaho and a few other places there are Elk that a .50 or even larger PRB will bounce off of...even deer in some places :shake:

Dang, that's funny TG. But if they are that tough, who wants to try to eat one anyway?

Sean

 

[Protrucker]

From what I hear PA bear are not very big.

Yep, not very big at all......

The guy in camo is 6' 3" tall.

 

[edcknives]

I am new to this forum and would like to take this time to make my first post. Back in the mid to late '80's I lived in Colorado and went elk and deer hunting every year during that time. I had a T/C New Englander 54 Cal. I was using a 460 grain flat base Buffalo bullet with 90 grains of 2f BP. Out of 7 years of hunting seasons I harvested 3 deer (2 bucks 1 doe) and 1 bull elk. The doe and elk were with the T/C. When I was shooting the doe it was within 40 yards. I shot the first bullet and it just stood there. I was so disappointed with my marksmanship I was almost ready to turn and walk away :surrender: . I kept my cool, reloaded and fired again. Same thing happened again, it just stood there looking at me :blah: . I was very befuddled. :idunno: I drew a 45 C&B revolver and fired twice again (not a wise choice) :nono: too much testosterone :slap: . It then took a couple of steps forward. All of this took place over the course of what was probably about a minute to a minute and a half. I did not know if I was going to spit or go blind :cursing: . I then speed loaded a THIRD load into the T/C and fired again, this time it went straight down. The whole time my hunting partner who had filled his tag earlier that day was razzing me and asking if he should take the shot. I was to proud and stupid to allow that of course. The point of this long drawn out story and what may appear as a tall tale :yakyak: is that when I went up to the doe after the 3rd rifle shot and two pistol shots is that two of the three rifle shots hit the deer and one of the pistol shots. Pistol hit the shoulder, rifle rib cage through and through same size entry and exit wound and shot that brought it down was on the spine directly above the rib cage. The elk went down where it stood from 40 to 50 yards away. Same load right into the shoulder, entry wound was smoking when I approached and the bullet split into three or more pieces. My take away from all of this is that energy transfer means little if you don't hit bone mass or a very vital spot. If a blood trail and outlet is what is necessary and you are set on using a round ball and not a conical, I would say bigger is definitely better. My vote would be the .58 or higher. I have been using a 50 cal since moving to New England and am currently on the hunt for another 54 cal as we speak. It is not that any of the above mentioned loads can't take the game you ask about, it is about how much added security do you want upon harvesting. The argument about load recoil only is felt much later in the day after the adrenaline has subsided and you realize the beating you took sitting around the campfire. It is well worth it for me. I know I went overboard on the smiles, but hey, this is fun. I hope I didn't bore you to death. Good luck on your endeavor. Eric

 

[edcknives]

I apologize if mentioning the use of conicals and the T/C New Englander was out of bounds for this thread. Reading one of the other posts brought me to saying this. I will try and educate myself better to "traditional" before responding to this thread again.
Eric

 

[tg]

". I will try and educate myself better to "traditional" before responding to this thread again."

No need to apologize, the above is not a requirement here, it is the exception not the rule,and welcome to the forum.

 

[Idaho Ron]

It is my understanding that talking about conicals is fine as long as they are made of lead. No plastic, or copper. Ron

 

[edcknives]

Thanks for the clarification. I personally do not consider saboted or copper bullets conicals so I was hopefully not too far off track.

 

[tg]

80 gr or so of 3f in a .50 with a PRB is certainly not taking a knife to a gunfight,as many who have actually hunted Elk with a .50 have testified here before when the .50 for Elk topic comes up. I have not seen them this time around sadly I suspect they may be some of those that are no longer on the forum.We have lost a lot of traditional members over the last few years, they probably had higher priorities,it couldn't be the topic choices.

 

[larry wv]

The knife to a gun fight means you need something big enough. I don't think 80 grains and a round ball is near as good as 90 grains or a conical...Larry

 

[BrownBear]

I don't really care what folks use, but I can report on 6 ML elk kills on our place, same three hunters, two years in a row. One shot a 54 cal RB on top of 90 grains of 3f both years, and the other two shot 50 cal conicals on top of even heavier loads than that, changing brands each year.

Each of the 4 elk shot with conicals (total of 4 different makes over the two years) required tracking and a second shot. The two taken with 54 cal RB required only one shot apiece.

Now that doesn't prove anything cuzz it was just too few animals. I'd put my money on the 54 cal user, even if he swapped over and shot 50 cal conicals. He's just a better hunter, stalked closer (inside 50 yards) and put his shots where they belonged. The two guys shooting 50 cals launched their first shots at between 75 and 125 yards and didn't hit as well.

Being there and watching first hand, my conclusion is that 6 elk says lots more about the hunter than the caliber and bullet. Good hunting will put you close enough, and good shooting will take animals. Don't matter much how much air fits inside the bore.

 

[larry wv]

By the way I have Bow hunted and muzzleloader hunted for elk. So a blanket statement that 80 gr and a prb is enough means that you live in a perfect world where everything goes perfect all the time. A new hunter needs some lee way for mistakes. Thats not their with 80 grains of powder. Larry

 

[tg]

"
80 gr or so of 3f in a .50 with a PRB "

90 is good if accuracy does not suffer, the biggest mistake folks make when hunting Elk is taking to long of shots from what I have seen no matter wwhat they use,I had a guy whose work I was bidding on for his house last month carry on happy as Hell because he took two shots each at the two bulls in a herd and found one blood trail(never found the animal) he said his pardners range finder showed 600 yds,this was a centerfire deal probably some dead cows lying around somewhere,he was playing in sniper world.I guess we must disagree on one point, there is not enough powder or big enough bullet to make up for mistakes,just my opinion.

 

[larry wv]

TG I don't remember saying anything about bigger making up for mistakes? I agree with you Brown Bear good post. Larry Wv