Elk hunting load ??
 

My son Cody and I are going to hunt Elk For the first time here in Utah.
I shoot a Tradition pursuit pro with 100 grns of Phrodexand 300grn xtp hp. This load works great with my gunandis VERY VERY accurate1''-1 1/2'' groups with a steady rest.. Is this a good load for Elk?Is a 100 yrds the max range that I should shoot a Elk? I will be using open sights and my son Cody has a red dot on his and also is very acccurate.

Thanks you for your advice.
Rob

RE: Elk hunting load ??
 

IMO, I believe any good hand gun bullet from 260gr to 300gr and 100 to 120grs of powder fron a .50cal ML, will take elk at resonable ranges.

RE: Elk hunting load ??
 

id be willing to bet it would be fine out to 150 yards, im putting in for a elk tag this year and if i get drawn im gonna use a 295 grainaero tip powerbelt bullets over 120 grains pyrodex. with my cva hunterbolt im getting 2 inch groups at 100 yards with this load combo next weekend im gonna see how it does at 200 yards

RE: Elk hunting load ??
 

Is this a 50? I would loose the hollow point and go with something not hollow.

RE: Elk hunting load ??
 

UtahRob

If the animal is at the right distance and the shot is placed where you want it - that 300 XTP will do just fine. The confidence of the shooter to make the shot is the biggest thing and you certainly sound comfortable with your set-up

I myself, for elk shoot a 300 grain also, but I have been shooting a .458 (45-70) Nosler Partition in an MMP .458 Orange sabot. The price of lead is going up steeplyso the price of Noslers is climbing also - I am now experimenting with a .452 Speer 300 grain Gold Dot. It is a bonded bullet that should stay together in an elk.

Good luck on the hunt - just remember when hunting elk - the work really begins right after you pull the trigger.

RE: Elk hunting load ??
 

I would certainly think the 300 gr. XTP would work well - I have used the 250 grain and 300 Shockwaves on elk with good results the past couple of years; and have been lead to believe by several on this board that the Shockwave/SST bullet is nothing more than a Hornady XTP with a plastic tip.

Best proven-from-personal-experience bullet of all, from a terminal performance standpoint, is still the 250 gr. Barnes Expander MZ. I have used charges from 70 grains of loose all the way to three 50 grain Pyrodex pellets - all with good accuracy. Only thing about these pricey little bullets is that you may have to get some aftermarket sabots if they go downyour barrel too firmly. I have used the regular Harvester 50/45 with good results in my T/C guns. Others have reported easier seating with some of the MMP sabots. Good luck. Hope they let you hunt during the September rut like they do here.

RE: Elk hunting load ??
 

Thanks to all for the info.
My ML is a.50and the txp bullets are .452 .
This is the best shooting gun I have ever had.
My son Cody and I have been shooting from mountain to mountain in the hills behind our home. I will not shoot at any distance that I have notpracticed at and hope to keep it under 100 yrds.

RE: Elk hunting load ??
 

I would think that the 300gr. XTP would be a fine
choice for elk. I shoot them in my Omega with the
Harvester crushrib sabots. I did some testing with
wet phonebooks but lost pictures when old camera
went south. But I can tell you that at 30yds. I had
about 10 inches of penetration when using 100gr. of
APP in stick form. Also the 300gr. XTP looked awesome
when dug out out the wet phonebooks. It mushroomed
perfectly. So I'd say it would definately take an elk.
But as sabotloader said shot placement is a great part
of the hunting equation. Good Luck & God Bless
Danny

RE: Elk hunting load ??
 

You certainly have a lovely place to hunt!!

RE: Elk hunting load ??
 

Thanks every one for your replies !!
We moved to Utah from California 7 months ago and love it.
I never thought I would live in a place that I can see Mule Deer and Elk from our back Yard. I gave up hunting with guns in 1975 after almost getting shot while deer hunting in California. So this year we will be hunting both Deer and Elk with our Mozzleloaders here in utah. This photo below is one I took ofsome Mule deer on a hill behind out home.

Thanks again and God bless
-Rob