Originally Posted by
Topgun 3006
"I dont care what cartridge you shoot a elk with, if you hit it in the lungs it is going to run."
***That's interesting because the last 6 we've taken with a .270, a 7mm mag, and a .300 win mag were all shot through the lungs and none ran anywhere. The biggest (357 3/8" net after drying) did try to get back up and my buddy shot him a second time to keep him down.
Originally Posted by Anthony T.
I'd recommend the biggest rifle cartridge you are comfy shooting for elk. Then match one to the range you'll be shooting. My choices would be 30-06 for inside 200yds and 300 win mag for 200+yds. It's not a caribou. Elk are tough buggers. Tougher than some guys on here are giving them credit for.
***I'd also have to call baloney on the 30-06 being an "under 200 yard" gun for elk. They still have some pretty good poop out to about 350 or a little better with a good, stout bullet. Elk are a big, solid animal, but they aren't made of steel. That said, I'll still leave my .243 and 25-06 in the safe and carry a 30-06 or bigger for them.
...Deleted by CalHunter...
With a heart lung shot 9 times out of 10 it is going to run, no matter wether it is a deer or bear or elk, no matter what cartridge. I have seen whitetail run with perfect heart, lung shots from 30-06's, 270's, 7 mags, and 300 ultra mags. The exception is if you take out the shoulders, hit high lungs where it shocks the spine or you get bullet fragments or bone fragments that hit the spinal cord. I work in a taxidermy shop here in Idaho and probably see more dead game per year than most see in ten years. I work in the hunting indusrty and have several personal freinds that are big game outfitters, they will tell you that they cringe when they see a customer arrive at elk camp with a 300 weatherby or ultra mag, because most of the time they cant shoot but because they have that mag they think they can kill a animal at 500+ yards. When someone shows up with a 243 to hunt elk, you can bet your bottem dollar that man is confident with his weapon and can shoot it very well. I would put money on that more game shot with these mag rifles are wounded and lost on the average than are wounded with a 243, because people know there limitations and wont take shots of 500 yards or more.