Muley Hunter

A sad day when a 250 gr bullet at 1950 fps isn't enough to kill an elk.

sabotloader

Or any elk that you might encounter?

And at a 100 that will be down to around 1400 fps... and certainly for a lot of elk that would work, but then if you happened to pull down on a big bull in rut, and with one shot... it would still work - eventually.

With a good bullet I support your thoughts to 75 yards with out much of a question after that unless you limit yourself to younger animals I would question it somewhat.

ronlaughlin

When i first started hunting elk in Montana, tags cost $1. My first elk, and several after that i killed with a 7mm 160g bullet. When our son was 7, he could already shoot better than me, and it was obvious he wanted to go hunting with. So, i purchased a 6mm for him, so he could hunt without having to suffer too much recoil, and develop a flinch. I took that rifle elk hunting before i gave it to him to see how it would work on elk, because i didn't want him to be under gunned. Three elk fell to that rifle, before his 9th birthday. I even killed a nice 6 point bull with that little 6mm. On his 9th birthday, i gave him the rifle; he burst into tears when he opened the package. Using 100g Nosler partition bullets, he used that rifle to kill his first elk.

After seeing how the 6mm killed elk, i went back to the 7mm, and in the field, one could see the elk go to their demise quicker. It was obvious the 7mm was a better elk rifle than the 6mm. I think the kids at school made fun of our son, using such a puny rifle to hunt elk, because he more or less took my 7mm away from me, and made me hunt with the 6mm. I ended up getting a .280 which also killed elk. Then i dreamed up what i thought would be my 'ultimate' elk rifle for hunting in the conditions where we hunted. That rifle was a 358 Winchester made from a Ruger ultra-light. It was made with a 19" barrel, and was great to carry. From that rifle 225g Nosler Partition bullets made a strong impression on elk, and made several take a permanent nap.

Meanwhile, our son also began to play around with different rifles for hunting elk. He went from the 7mm to a 30-30 to a 458 Winchester, to a 338 Weatherby to a 350 Remington. He gave up on them big rifle, because the recoil was brutal. His 350 is one of them short, small, light Remingtons that look like a toy. For that rifle, i load him 225g partitions, and we both have learned that them 35 caliber 225g partitions hurt elk really bad. It seems to us, that a bigger diameter bullet does better than smaller diameter bullet.

Then the kid decides he had to go to Alaska, and hunt Grizzly. So, i loaded him up some 250g partition, and he used that load and rifle to satisfy his 'needs'.

When the 'boys' were younger, i benefited from their energy, and youth, whenever i had an elk down. After life took its toll on their bodies, i kinda don't hunt as hard, and 'killing' elk isn't so very important anymore. Then wife moved back to Rapid City, so i had to follow. I sold most of my rifles, including my elk hunting 'baby'. The last elk i killed, was with my 'swede', using 125g partition.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind, but what, that 250g Thor will whomp elk.

Muley Hunter

I can kill an elk with a PRB at 75 yds. Check the ballistics on that. It's pathetic, but still does the job.

The 250gr Thor will knock an elk on it's ass.

I'm going to make you feel better, because you seemed to have forgot what I hunt for. I'm a meat hunter. I hunt alone. I can't eat antlers. It sucks dressing an elk after it's been in a wallow. Bulls are too big for me to haul out.

I hunt for cow elk. Easier to haul out from the back country. Taste better. Smells better. (they're ladies) There's more of them. I use a 300gr Thor.

I can't believe you don't think 1400lbs is enough to kill an elk? It's not a water buffalo.

cayugad

In your opinion do the 260 grain PT Gold like to be pushed hard. I shot some of them a while back and was amazed at how well they shot. I really liked them. Enough so that they are on my next order list.

Rogo

I have shot the 260gr PT Gold with 80gr of BH209 and achieved great accuracy with them. 1" or less at 100 yds. I have also pushed them with 120gr of Bh209 and got about the same accuracy. I have settled on 110gr of BH209 with CR sabot fired by a Fiocchi 616 209 primer in my Accura V1. Works great for me. I do not believe pushing them hard makes much difference at all. They are simply a good accurate bullet.

50calty

Back in the day my aunt that lives in Wyo. used her .243 win with 100 grain nosler partition. She dropped an elk every year and even a moose. Out of the elk she has 3 Royals. Its all about shot placement.

builder459

Mike we agree on a lot lol.distance never had anything to do with a heavier bullet choice when it came to elk with me. be it M/L or centerfire. even cow elk have a lot more body mass than deer. it's all about quick and humane kills and a heavier bullet goes a long ways to assure just that happens.bullet drop between a .250 and .300 and recoil, don't come into play either.. i have seen my share of dead rotting elk in the woods in utah during a special rifle season they conducted every year while we were up bow hunting deer. it sickened me to find these elk, which we smelled first while stalking deer through the woods. Ray

sabotloader

amen!

sabotloader

It is not that i do not think that 1400fps is not enough, because 800 has been shown to work also... the only point that i was trying to make is that you may be setting limits on yourself for a humane quick harvest. along time ago i shot a big bull three times with a 308 using 180 grain bullet... all three shots were in the chest cavity but in the first two shots the bull stood there never moved never flinched.... after the second he turned and started trotting off that is when he got the third. 120 yards later he piled up in the creek bottom - He was actually dead on the first shot I just did not know it and he gave no sign that he was even hit.

From that time on I always professed that the bullet needs to cause enough internal shock and trama to devastate the animimal on the spot - everytime... not just sometimes..

In that same decision I made the choice that I wanted to be over prepared vs under or marginally prepared.

I agree the 250 Thor from a ML will work if you use it within its limits. For me i would like to have a bigger margin of error, but that is just me.