I was going to get a 45 cal for my son for his elk hunt, but was told that it would be to small for elk. Any opinions? I thought that 180 gr in barnes would be great elk medicine, am I wrong?

I am sure that if the shot was placed correctly a .45 caliber with the right projectile could take down an elk. The question really is if you want to hunt elk why limit yourself to a .45 caliber. Since I am sure you're talking an inline rifle, there is nothing a .45 caliber can do that a .50 caliber can not do better or at least as well. Also in some states the .45 caliber is not legal for elk hunting. They reasoning behind this is with an inline shooting a sabot, you are already down to loading a .40 or .357 caliber projectile to shoot from the rifle. If a person was going to shoot a .45 caliber perhaps a .451 caliber pure lead conical in the 395 grainor bigger range, like those made by No Excuse Conical would be a better choice then a small sabot. The .45 caliber conical has some excellent BC and down range energy.

Personally if elk were on the menu I would go with at least a .50 caliber. The recoil is not going to be any worse then a .45 caliber. Also the selection of projectiles will be much better in the .50 caliber class. The .50 caliber will shoot just as far and hit a little harder which is really what we want with a projectile in the first place. The bigger the bullet the bigger the punch is my opinion. I would personally get your son a .50 caliber rifle and load it down if your concern is recoilas abig factor. Then he would have something to use against anything he wanted to hunt, no matter what state and for the rest of his life.

I do want to go on record that I have never hunted elk with a muzzleloader. When I do, it will be with a .58 caliber traditional sidelock or .54 caliber flintlock, both shooting roundball. I think that would be the real kick, to bag one with those. What ever you decide for your son, good luck.

I wouldn't say that it would be too small depending on what load you used but it will be too illegal in many states.

I wouldn't go after elk with a 180 grain ML bullet of any kind. If the 45 is legal in your state then I would highly suggest bullets like the 285 Hornady Great Plains or buffalo bullet, 250 grain precision sabots or just about any of the PR conical bullets, or 275 grain power belt.

A;so take into consideration that 50 caliber "stuff" will be much easier to find, usually cheaper, and offer much more choices in accessories and rifles.

How old is your son?

Go with a 50 cal. you will be buying one for him in a few years anyways

Go with the .50 cal and if the recoil is the thing you are concerned about try using some Black Mag'3 powder or one of the other ascorbic acid based powders like Goex Pinnacle or American Pioneer. These powders in the three F version deliver high velocity with very little perceived recoil compared with Triple Seven which has a sharp and uncomfortable (in my opinion) recoil. You should also consider installing a limbsaver recoil pad which I did as I don't like recoil either. With the limbsaver and Black Mag'3 I think anyone that can lift my rifle can shoot the 300gr. bullet with 90gr. of BM3 which killed my cow elk this last year. Personally I would not consider a .45 for any reason as you can shoot the same bullets in a .50 with the right sabot selection if you want to shoot light bullets fast and then you can shoot the heavier ones for elk.

Hey, Mike, drop me a PM. I have a .50 that I have been shooting for about 4 years now. It is pretty light, but we can work up slow, and see what your boy can handle, maybe meet in the middle somewhere. I would say the .50 would be a min for elk too, but what do I know, I haven't shot one yet...YET... (hopefully going to change this year, only a week or two before your son gets a shot at a bull!!!)

.50 caliber is the minimum for elk in Colorado. I have the same dilemna - my son, which I had late in life, is old enough to hunt elk this year. 5'2" and 107 lbs. I took some 348 Gr. Powerbelt and started working down with fffg Triple 7. Got down to 75 grains before accuracy took a dive. Recoil is about like a 20 guage field load.

Roskoe

Get the boy on a steady diet of 75 gr. Pyrodex and 295 Powerbelts hollow-point coppers. Less recoil coming from both & enough umpth to get the job done.

Thanks - I'll give that one a try. 100 yard elk load?