JeffG
Member
Federal blue box, and Hornady American Whitetail are great choices.
Why would you imagine that an animal that's 500 - 700 lbs isn't much thicker than an animal that's 100 - 250 lbs? Even run of the mill elk are much larger in every dimension than whitetail. I'd kill a whitetail with pretty much anything legal, but it's worth using good, deep penetrating bullets for elk, even if the Wally World doesn't have them on the rack.
I think he used hand loads but I'm not sure which bullet.What ammo did Jack O'Connor use on elk?
What ammo did Jack O'Connor use on elk?
And it's a good thing bullets and powders have improved since 1970 - because elk have gotten bigger, tougher and smarter since the dawn of the internet.I'm sure somebody'll be along shortly to tell us how bullets and powders have improved since 1970.
Bullets are A LOT better now than in the 1970's. The fact that many still get by on cheap bullets is irrelevant. No, critters are no tougher now than they used to be. It just means you have fewer mishaps that you forget ever happened. Smaller cartridges are more effective on larger game. Larger cartridges are more consistent.He handloaded. I'm sure somebody'll be along shortly to tell us how bullets and powders have improved since 1970.
IMHO, the words "inexpensive" and "elk" should never be used in the same paragraph. It's a privilege to even get to hunt elk, they deserve better than just whatever you find at Walmart.
IMHO, the words "inexpensive" and "elk" should never be used in the same paragraph. It's a privilege to even get to hunt elk, they deserve better than just whatever you find at Walmart.
Bullets are A LOT better now than in the 1970's. The fact that many still get by on cheap bullets is irrelevant. No, critters are no tougher now than they used to be. It just means you have fewer mishaps that you forget ever happened. Smaller cartridges are more effective on larger game. Larger cartridges are more consistent.
I killed my first deer (in 1963) and my first elk (in 1967). Back then, I used factory Remington CoreLokts in my 308 Winchester - 150gr for deer, and 180gr for elk. I never lost an animal to either.
After reading some of these comments, I'm inclined to go kill an elk with Core-lokt's out of my 30-30 just to prove a point. SMDH.
Yeah, I didn't realize they checked your shooter-commitment card before you bought ammo.A few minutes on the Midway website and the ammo gets delivered to your door. Doesn't get easier than that. And he doesn't have to "be into guns" to use quality ammo and equipment. Just trying to understand the Walmart stipulation.
So because not everybody tells you what you want to hear, "we" don't get it??? Sounds like we're all the way back to the OP and we've all just wasted our time. Just buy the Fusions and let us know how they work.Some of you guys just don't get it.
I appreciate the helpful responses however.
Another one I'm looking at are the 150 grain Federal Fusion.
You certainly wasted your time. I can tell you that much.Yeah, I didn't realize they checked your shooter-commitment card before you bought ammo.
So because not everybody tells you what you want to hear, "we" don't get it??? Sounds like we're all the way back to the OP and we've all just wasted our time. Just buy the Fusions and let us know how they work.
Actually, it wasn't.Everybody wasted their time, your mind was already made up. Good luck.
I ask a lot of detailed questions here, to learn from the "hard core" members, and I'm grateful for the knowledge base. In this case, I was asking for my "non hard-core" son, to address a real world practical scenario. Most folks who replied got that.One of the facts f life at THR is that most members are pretty hard core, at least the ones that post a lot. We tend to assume that others are just as hard core.