.45 PRB versus elk

[Dan]

Would you?  Yes or No please.

If yes, what would your aim point be, assuming a broadside shot.

[Tony N]

No!

~Tony

[Dave Marsh]

No.

Dave

[Daryl]

128 to 135gr. round ball vs. elk? - NO
I do know a fellow who shot a bull moose with a .45 TC Hawken using a .440" round ball driven by 80gr. of "powder". The range was approximately 50yards.  The moose was allowed to run off and after about 30 minutes, the hunter went after it. The moose was found dead in his bed, 50 yards from where it was shot. This behaviour is common to moose is not chased - an elk might run 1000yards before stopping with such a wound, due perhaps to the 'fright' of the shot.

It is highly unlikely to get within 50yards of a bull elk, unless during the early rut or in an area they are not normally hunted.

Even then, I would not go hunting elk with less than a .50 and then, probably not less than a .54 that was properly loaded & tested for accuracy out to 150yards.

[Kermit]

No way. Never. .54 minimum.

[hanshi]

I would if that was all I had.  But I do have a .50 and a .54.

[WadePatton]

No.



unless i was putting an otherwise mortally injured animal out of its misery at close range and had nothing else, or was in a life/death struggle for food...

[J Henry]

 How close can you get and how good a shot are you?? I read  ,, if your questioning it already ,,  you have your doubts ,,  so, No !
 Aiming point ,, in the head/ brain  ,,no body or neck shots,,,
 and remember,, if it runs off, that only increases the distance you have to recover it !!!

[wattlebuster]

No thanks

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I agree with the group...answer no!

But I must add:  NEVER take head shots!  Shoot game animals through the lungs - both if possible.  There is too much of a margin for a terrible wound without immediate death, with a head shot.  Same goes for the neck...except perhaps worse!!

[Dan]

Thanks for the replies.

Never hunted elk.

[JDK]

I agree with the group...answer no!

But I must add:  NEVER take head shots!  Shoot game animals through the lungs - both if possible.  There is too much of a margin for a terrible wound without immediate death, with a head shot.  Same goes for the neck...except perhaps worse!!

Hate to be a "downer", but I personally know of two whitetails that suffered such fates.  I was hunting with a friend during the second week of Virginia's archery season several years ago.  He made a bad shot on a large buck, too far away and walking.  The deer crashed off into a large tract of immature pines with the arrow sticking out of either side of its neck and attempts at recovery failed....no blood.  The same deer was killed weeks later during gun season, gangrenous, emaciated and still carrying the arrow.

The other was a deer taken during another gun season that earlier was apparently the victim of misguided head shot that removed most of its lower jaw.  It was obvious it couldn't eat or drink.

For these reasons I won't attempt head/neck shots.  J.D.

[Standing Bear]

Will a .45 roundball kill an elk?  Yes, sometimes. Would I purposely hunt elk with a .45?  No.
TC

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

whats screwed up is the fact that in colorado a .45cal round ball is illegal during muzzleloading season YET legal during centerfire season  Not quite sure how that works.

As for using it on an elk. I am sure you could do so with proper max range and shot placement. The eastern forests once held plenty of elk and I doubt it was the indians that wiped them out.

[C Wallingford]

I took mine with a 54 caliber Great Plains conical at about 60 yds. He went off approximately 100 yds. Hit him thru the lungs.
Flintlock off course

[Tony N]

Great job,Charlie!  Any pictures??

~Tony

[JBlk]

That would be like using a twenty two rifle.I am not saying that it won't do the job, but it is far below the margin to insure a good quick kill.

[Dan]

I agree, but in their infinite wisdom the New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish says the .45 is legit without conditions. In my not too infinite experience, the infamous .22 RF is, in good hands, a killer. My experience with elk is zilch. On the other hand I've been putting small bullets where they belonged for a good number of years.  I suspect the argument is a zero sum game, but will eschew the .45 PRB on elks and Bullwinkle.

[Long Ears]

whats screwed up is the fact that in colorado a .45cal round ball is illegal during muzzleloading season YET legal during centerfire season  Not quite sure how that works.


Huh? 458 Winchester mag and a 460 Weatherby vrs a .45 cal. Round ball?

[Kermit]

This is risky. It's at least approaching political. If it crosses the line, my apologies.

Often we criticize game departments for what some see as screwy game regs vis a vis muzzleloaders and hunting. I don't know about your state, but where I've lived, it's been hunters and shooters AND THEIR ORGANIZATIONS that have lobbied and testified when these regs were being written. We may think roundball and loose powder when we see specific caliber delineations for hunting, but others are thinking saboted jacketed bullets powered by various non traditional propellants. If the development of these regs was politicized, it was done by ostensibly non- or a-political organizations and individuals providing testimony and other input in creating these laws and regulations. In my experience, there were axes ground left, right, and center in the process. Some states did better than others, in my opinion, but where I may think a better job was done, others don't like the outcome.

You can please all of the people some of the time, and some...

[WadePatton]

Yeah, along those lines Kermit, one shouldn't really base his caliber selection on game regs IF he is a seasoned VETERAN of the out of doors.  Then he is better generally better equipped to make such decisions than the book.  The regs are written to guide the novice and the warden as I see it.  Outdated laws often stay on books forever and new laws are ... well they do the best they can, bless their hearts. 

It's perfectly _legal_ to hunt 'em with a 36 in my state, but that we only have handful of elk and five tags per year.  If i ever get drawn for one of those tags, I'll be toting a .54 or larger.

Thankfully most men and women who take to the woods understand the woods and game better than any legislative body.

[Vomitus]

  Elk responding to a call, I'd feel comfortable with a .54 or larger. A fifty, in my humble opinion would be marginal.
 So no.

[Jerry V Lape]

I have taken a number of elk within 50 yds and a couple muzzleloading seasons back (not a hunt during rut) passed on a spike bull at 12yds - they are not that hard to get close to, just takes good planning and stalking skills.  In AZ you can hunt them with a .22 muzzleloader legally but we know that laws are different than ethics.  My life time experience with elk leads me to use a .54 or larger muzzle loader and restrict my range to less than 100 yds.  I have not seen an elk killed with a .45 round ball and would wonder if it could penetrate where it collides with a heavy bone.  A big bull can soak up some heavy blows and travel long enough to get pretty distant - often showing no sign of being hit.

[Stormrider51]

I just thought I'd point out that traditional bowhunters, using longbows and recurves, take elk successfully.  It doesn't have to be a long range proposition.  A .45 PRB is more than sufficient if the ball is accurately placed.  All a larger caliber does is give you a greater margin for error in the event of a less than perfect hit.  It may also buy you a little more distance although that is determined by your eyesight over open sights as much as anything else.

As for shot placement, the heart is located low in the chest behind the front leg.  Your best shot is with the elk quartering slightly away so you clear the shoulder/leg.  If the elk is directly broadside, wait until it steps forward with the front leg nearest you and aim for the crease that's revealed.

John

[WadePatton]

Archery tackle works by cutting not blunt punching, so it's a bit of an apple/orange thing to compare the two. 

Last I heard they use nail guns at the slaughterhouse, saves powder.