25-06 D0 U Thinks ITS big Enough for ELK

i had a 270 weatherby mag and didn't like its performance on elk. i went to the 300 win mag and never had a elk take a step again.
frying pan canyons all over where i hunt and in just a few yards the elk can bail off to no mans land.
i catch heck because i shoot elk behind the ear. they all end up drt on top the ridge. people say i shouldn't head shoot elk but at 80 yrds if you can't put one behind its ear or between the eyes you need to go back to the range.
the elk i shoot with a rifle never hear the gun go off.
when i hunt muddy I've never had to use a rifle i use my bow its easy country not like the encampment river valley.
depending on the area as to if you can let them run a hundred yards I'd take a heart lung shot with a 25-06 but one behind the ear works every time but between the eyes may bounce back out it happened with a 270 weatherby.
perfectly between the eyes entry and came back out one inch above it the elks head snapped back and he kept on walking it took 4 more shots to put it down at 75 yrds.
300 mag pushes right threw only had one that didn't exit.
the 300 buckles their knees in their tracks
 
My dad shoots his elk almost every year with one. My mom has shot 4 with a .243 One shot. And my ex-wife shot 2 of her elk with .243 then changed to a 25-06. Personally with todays bullets I think its very good gun. Everyone talks about knock down power and stuff but how much knock down power does my 50# long bow have? A bullet is just like an arrow. It makes a hole so that it will bleed and die.

Also here is a thought for you 30 cal boys. You want to knock that elk right on its butt. No you want to knock him off his feed. Take a 50# sack of bird seed hang it up and shoot it and tell me how much it moved. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

If I can kill my elk with a .357 and an 8" barrel you can kill one with a 25-06. Remember quaility bullets is the key.
 
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Just a conclusion that I reached; the minimum caliber for a given game animal is usually not the best choice. And yes, a lot of people disagree with me. But although my 222 Remington is legal for deer in this state I wouldn't be caught dead triing to use it for deer.



Kinda funny cause one of our favorites is a 223. But we are also ethical hunters and don't try the Neck shots, threw the left hip out the right sholder, ect. We also know its range too. Not saying its for everyone. But here again if I can kill one with my bow I can easily kill one with a .223.

I guess it all boils down to what you think hunting is. If your the guy that wants to shoot that deer at 1000yrds because he is huge you better get the magnums. To me I think you can get a little closer. Also if you want that challenge some times the smaller guns make you work a little harder to get a nice shot.

Now that I'm done I'm sure this will all start a nice argument. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
to me its boils down to terrain if the elk can run a couple hundred yards and not end up in a hard spot to pack it out.
there is a difference between deer and elk one man can get a deer out of just about anywhere before the meat spoils. elk meat spoils faster and will work your butt off if he makes it down into a hole. elk will always run downhill after the shot.
bow season here in wyoming its critical to shoot them in a place you can get them out fast due to temperatures elk will spoil and turn green in a few hours with the hide on them when the temps are 80 and 90 degrees.
early October you start getting 70's that will buy you a few hours if it gets cold at night. middle October its getting cold enough for hard packing bulls.
where i rifle hunt there is allot of area you can't even get to with a horse so you have to pick and choose where you shoot a elk or plan on deboning and backpacks I'm to old to do that on purpose. i can hunt smart and take them for a easy pack but you wont them to be dead in there tracks from the shot. take them on the tops of the saddles on the razor back ridges 80 yard shots and you can get the horse to them
 
I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer but to say, “A bullet is just like an arrow. It makes a hole so that it will bleed and die” goes against everything I have ever read or learned about killing any critter.

An arrow, or better to say a broadhead, kills by cutting tissue that causes bleeding. Bullets kill by shock. When an arrow hits an animal - enough energy is required to penetrate into the lungs or heart, which will cause the critter to expire in short order. They either bleed to death or drown in their on blood. To have the required energy, an arrow’s impact must take place at a relative short range.

Bullets on the other hand, must expand after they hit the critter. Expansion is a result of bullet design and speed at impact. It’s all about energy at the point of impact and the amount of cutting the bullet does after it gets inside. You would not want to shot anything with a non-expanding bullet any more than you would with a field tip on the end of your arrow.

In my view the difference in a 25-06 and a 300 mag (assuming the same bullet design) is the amount of energy left in the bullet when the bullets meets hair. Like some here said, a 25-06 used within it’s effective range will do the job. It would seem to me the hunter using a 243, 25-06, etc. is only handicapped by a shorter effective range. The hunter using a 300 mag is extending his or her effective range. Kind of like the bow hunter has to lesson his effective range.

For the bow hunter the range is limited to 50 yards or so. For the 25-06 hunter his effective range might be 100 to 150 or so yards. For the 300-mag fan, he might be good to 400 yards or more.

One last thought on energy. If you factor in something getting in the way of your projectile, like a bone, the more energy you take to the animal the better. Having to choose which one to take into the mountains makes it all that much more fun, don’t you think?
 
shrek, those are some very bold statements! I sure would like to know what your state requires as a min. for cal. to hunt large game. Head shots are one thing and even that, the range had better fairly close. Your comment about shooting an elk and hitting it in the "hip and it traveling all the way threw to and thru the shoulder" first of all let me just say that... that is one well placed shot /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I mean c'mon think about what you just said /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif!

Awe forget it... this is a waste of time.
 
For cows and spikes it'd be ok to 500 yards with a good bullet such as the 115-120g partition, or barnes tsx, IMO. For the bigger bulls, I"d limit myself to around 300 yards.

I"ve seen and used the 25-06 for coyotes, deer, black bears, and elk. I"ve had 1 shot kills to right at 600 yards with mine on deer and coyotes, and 450 yards on black bears with 115-117g bullets..

My sister used the 100g NP @ 3300fps and it worked on a big fat cow at 300-350 yards. She took 2 shoulder shots and folded...

I heard of a guy last year who killed a raghorn with 1 shot at 625 yards with the 110g AB and had no complaints.

There is definately better cartridge for the bigger bulls, but if its all you have, then get some 110g AB, or 115-120g NP, or TSX's and you'll have your elk the same as you would with a 7mm or 300 mag...A .257" 115-120g bullet has a pretty decent SD, which in relevant terms, is how well it will penetrate. Its comparable to the bigger bullets if you look at the numbers..

I"ll still take a 7mm or 300 or 338 mag of some sort for elk hunting though. I"ve shot close to 10 elk (spikes and cows) and everyone has been with a 7 RM, 300 Win Mag, or a 300 RUM. They all worked with the same effectiveness. Shoot the biggest gun you can comfortably is a good motto for elk, IMO.
 
CDENTON, This year will be my first year hunting elk but I have hunted deer in Kansas with my 25-06 and it will do the job every time. I know elk are a lot bigger and stronger but I really think my Remington 700 sps 25-06 will work. I am thinking of shooting 120gr. bullets. I say go for it because I am. Please message me the bullets you will be using for elk because I still might switch to 117gr. or something else if needed. Thats just my thoughts. THANKS
 
Please don't FLAME me.... But a 25-06, with a good bullet, will effectively kill anything in north america. I wouldn't trust my life to it while hunting dangerous game, but anything else is fair game.
 
Shot one cow elk, broadside, 250 yds., with 120 gr. Nosler partition @3100 fps mv. It was right after sunset. Hit a rib, didn't work out well. Had to leave her overnight, and lost most of the meat as a result. I vowed never to repeat that mistake. Sure, I could have been luckier, it was a gimme shot, prone with bi-pod, heavy barrel varmint rifle that drives tacks. But there is always a chance of things going wrong, and definitely, bigger is better.
 
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An arrow, or better to say a broadhead, kills by cutting tissue that causes bleeding. Bullets kill by shock.



Okie, I'm glad you said it...I was just about to go there! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowingsmilie.gif
 
If I had to-yes. With the right bullet (X-bullet, A-Frame, Trophy Bonded, Partition etc.)and limit the distance to no more than 200 yds.Oh, and make sure it hits the heart/lung area.
 
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