Best caliber?
 

What is the best caliber for elk hunting. .45 or.50.

RE: Best caliber?
 

What is the best caliber for elk hunting. .45 or.50. Never hunting elk but my choice would be the 50cal. or better yet a 54cal.

RE: Best caliber?
 

You will benefit from a bigger bore like the 50 or 54 but alot of it depends on the bullet size too!

I would be tickled-pink to go elk hunting with a 45 cal White M98 with one of those 460 grain Powerpunch conicals.

On the other end of the spectrum, I would not desire to hunt elk with a 50 cal roundball or with a 195 grain sabot/bullet in it.

If you' re undecided on which caliber to buy, the 50 offers the largest inventory of bullets & accessories & with the proper powder charge, bullet grain & bullet placement combination, it will kill an elephant.

RE: Best caliber?
 

First check the regualations, if your state allows a .45 for Elk, they will have a minimum on the projectile weight.

In general I would say a .50 or a .54 for elk, this isn' t to say a .45 shouldn' t or couldn' t be used. A big bull can easily tip the scales at 800 pounds - so I' m inclined to say bigger is better.

Another arguement for the .50 would be rilfe and bullet selection. You' ll find a lot more options available by going with the .50

RE: Best caliber?
 

Due to the type of projectile available, I would say between the two offered, the .50 caliber is the better choice. If it were me, I would take my .54 caliber. The first rifle I bought was a T/C in a .54 caliber for elk hunting. There used to be states out west that required a .54 caliber or bigger. I am not sure that is the case anymore. Many people who purchase black powder rifles do not even consider the larger .54 caliber and I have yet to understand this. It is a great caliber.

RE: Best caliber?
 

cayugad; most people buy the .50 cal my area because of the availability of the guns and the ammunition. If there' s one caliber that small gun stores stock it' s .50.

Dan O.

RE: Best caliber?
 

I agree with you Dan O. The .50 caliber is much easier to find ball or conical for. I always buy a large amount of balls, conicals, etc when I find them on sale or in a good supply, and I make my own 300 grain conicals from pure lead for my .54. I always make sure I am never caught out of ammo when I want to do some shooting, which is a lot of the time. I also have a .50 caliber Hawkins with a 1-66 twist round ball barrel, and this is one of the best whitetail deer rifles I have. If the animal is under 60 yards (and where I hunt that is a long shot) you have meat in the freezer.

RE: Best caliber?
 

.50, if limited to those two, .54 better yet. That' s not to say a heavy .45 would not work as well, but some states require at least a .50 for elk.

RE: Best caliber?
 

With a .50 cal. you have many choices in bullets, and sabots. Good luck.

RE: Best caliber?
 

I built a new 58 cal round ball gun that hits like a freight train. It will put a dent in 1/4 inch steel plate at 200 yds. Looking at crono tables after Crono-ing it hits as hard at 200yds as a .54 hits at 100yds, or as hard at 150yd as 54 hits at 75yds. Great balls of fire.
David/Mo