Exactly, if you poke a hole in an elk's lungs they're going to die. The early settlers wiped out the elk population with calibers that would make a 6.5x55 look like a .338.Fella's;
"You cannot hunt elk with reduced recoil ammo." That there is what there's a lot of out in the bull yard. If we're talking reduced .30-06 loads, then you most assuredly have to hunt smarter, and limit ranges. If you use something like my suggested 6.5 Swede, there are very few limitations as to what you can accomplish.
Elk are not armor-plated, they're just big deer. They get taken with all sorts of calibers every year here in Montana. Which is not to say that every caliber that could be mentioned is a good choice. It really depends more on the hunter than the gun in my opinion. Which brings up the question of the hunter's physical condition, which was mentioned earlier. Around here, you really can hunt both sides of the same acre. If you get outta the truck & off the ATV that is. Success is fairly easy if you get off the beaten path. Getting the critter out can be it's own adventure though.
Adventure is defined as finishing field dressing the carcass at 5:30PM on November 12, it's starting to snow, you're 680 feet down and two miles away from the truck. The carcass is at 7200 feet of elevation, and you haven't got a cel tower within 20 miles. Y'all have fun now.
900F
Barbary Sheep, Oryx, and wild hogs with their shoulder armor can be tough animals, elk are not.
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