Jacko

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

lonewolf5347

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.

Triple Se7en

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.

RKenSparc

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

cayugad

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.

Dan O.

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.

cayugad

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.

eldeguello

.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.

handloader1

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

David/Mo

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