[bibedo]

That was in the '60's, and now one just "has" to have a 338 or the elk wont fall down, right? Wonder what steriods they've been feeding the elk? The Col's load was a 160 gr swc, at 1550 fps. There's loads for the 5" barreled 1911 that achieve those numbers, and the .45 swc cuts a bigger hole, too.

[mete]

There's a big difference between possible and appropriate. Wesson was trying to market his 357. The 44mag is twice as effective as the 357 for hunting [not the numbers but comment s from actual experience from Elmer Keith and others]. Of course the 44mag is ok for short range . Longer range ? Then a rifle and a big one at that.Elk or moose at 600 yds ?Well there is at least one hunter who got a 338 Lapua for that!!!.

[mustanger98]

I shoot .44mag and I read both "Hell, I Was There" and "Sixguns, by Keith". I observed that Elmer Keith shot his .44s to kill animals at long ranges. He also commented that many times he shot an animal with a revolver, he was wishing he had a rifle with him. However, there were photos in "Hell, I Was There" of some of the first deer killed with the S&W .44magnum and I figure he used the .44magnum on those on purpose. Elk, though, are a different story because of their obviously larger size, but at close range, a 240-300gr JSP or HP-XTP over about 20gr of H110 or 23gr of 2400 should be the ticket.

Mr. Keith also advocated getting as close to big game as possible even with a rifle to try and eliminate the chance of the animal running off from a longer more difficult shot.

And regardless of caliber, it all comes down to bullet placement.

As for Grizzly, last I heard, most folks in Alaska were still packing S&W M29's. With the advent of stuff like .454Casull and .480Ruger, I don't have current info on most popular calibers for sidearms up there.

[Art Eatman]

The Alaskans who've posted at TFL and here generally regard the .44 Mag as marginal on big bears--at best. Something like the .454 Casull is preferred.

With some critters, stopping is far more important than the killing...

Art

[Yooper]

I think it all boils down to effectiveness relative to conditions. Elk were killed before firearms were invented, but not as effectively. You could argue that it is possible to kill an elk with a .22, but only under certain conditions. The argument of the most effective handgun for rhino or elephant presumes that there is an effective handgun for that purpose, which I doubt. By utilizing the progress in cartridge performance we are broadening the spectrum of conditions under which it can be used.