Any hunt Elk with a 44 mag or larger pistol? Any luck? How can you manage to...

[tkdguy]

get close enough to use the pistol? I think the best I can do is about 75 or 100 yards with luck. Most of my Elk have been shot with a rifle at 90-150 yards.

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[FishnhuntOR]

I have been wanting to take my ruger 44 carbine out for years. loaded with 300 grains. and I wouldn't go pat 150-200 yards with 18" barrel.

 

[The Heretic]

How do archers get close enough?

Skill and experience?

 

[Legs]

While I have taken more than a few blacktails with my 45 colt Blackhawk and 35 remy Contender, I have not pursued an elk with a handgun. That said, I did pick up a 14" Contender barrel in 45/70 that I should scope and give a try.

 

[tkdguy]

I have been wanting to take my ruger 44 carbine out for years. loaded with 300 grains. and I wouldn't go pat 150-200 yards with 18" barrel.

Which Ruger 44 Carbine do you have? I have the 44 Ruger Deerslayer circa 1983. Do you think these Carbines can handle the 44 hot loads like Buffalo Bore?

 

[The Heretic]

How do archers get close enough?

Skill and experience?

I should point out that I suck at elk hunting. Of the 3-4 times I have been elk hunting, I have not seen a single elk that I could legally shoot, at any range. In fact, I only saw any elk while elk hunting, once - and that was several cows that ran thru a place where we were taking a break. The only other time I saw elk while hunting was while deer hunting and I stumbled into a heard of elk in a foggy dense thicket of trees - they were all laying down and they stampeded out of there.

My father on the other hand seemed to be able to bring home elk at least every other time he went hunting.

 

[orygun]

For a couple of years my hunting gun was a Ruger 357 Maximum, 10.5" with a 2x Leupold on it. I had it out and ready when the two elk came right by.... Cow and calf. They came up to me in the fog and when I first saw them about 50 yards out I could only see legs and bodies. I sure was looking forward to plugging one of them.
I shot that gun a lot at 50-75 yards, usually looking for something to brace it or myself against. Same with a 41 Mag I use to have. My concern was accuracy at the longer distances more than the power to make a clean kill.
Yesterday I actually pursued a Blacktail buck with a 1911 in 45ACP! If I would have been able to take a shot it would have been in the 20-25 yard range. I wasn't concerned with either accuracy or power at that distance. If I had known I was going to have this opportunity I would have taken my 44 Mag, but I wasn't going to let it just slip by.

 

[KKG]

Do you think these Carbines can handle the 44 hot loads like Buffalo Bore?

I would be a bit concerned about one of the earlier guns just because it's a Collectable. I'm sure one of the newer guns like the 77-44s would handle it just fine.

 

[BobbyH]

44 mag 1894 did the job for a family member on cow elk many seasons. Shot distance never exceeded 100 yards and the load of choice was 240gr Fed Fusion. Understand the limits of the cartridge, and focus on clean shot placement. Big holes in the heart/lungs will put Elk down.

 

[RVTECH]

How do archers get close enough?

Skill and experience?

And by getting out of the vehicle, off the roads and actually 'beating the brush', stalking, stand hunting.

 

[The Heretic]

And by getting out of the vehicle, off the roads and actually 'beating the brush, stalking, stand hunting.

I've been doing it all wrong then!

 

[bbbass]

My father on the other hand seemed to be able to bring home elk at least every other time he went hunting.

IIRC the average is once every 7yrs... I'm fairly well below that. But the guys in my hunting party do better than me... we have several we call "Elk Killer". They beat the brush (stalk) and are very good at quick shots. I suck at stalking (all I usually see is azzhole going away from me) and suck at quick shooting too, so I prefer to still or stand hunt. There was that time that a cow almost ran me over on a trail while I was trying to spot a spike or better in the herd that was running out in the open... you should have seen the look on her face... if I'd had a cow tag I coulda killed her with my knife.

I don't get out anymore, but when I did I sure loved to hide behind a down log and build a small fire... smoke seems to calm the nearby elk. I've had them walk within 25' of me; deer would walk within 5' of me while I stood in the smoke of a bigger campfire... curious little buggers.

I could still go out and sit, but I worry about having to track a wounded animal, even once my buddies got there I would not be able to follow thru the terrain. Guess I'd have to make a spine shot to drop them where they stand. Never done that! Would a .308 do the trick?

This year I am babysitting the wife who needs surgery on broken ankle, my buddies are not going because their wives have health issues, so out of 8 there is only a guy with his .338mag and his grandson. So far they are reporting no luck in the Ukiah unit.

Sorry for the thread drift... I have no experience hunting with a handgun.

 

[Certaindeaf]

They have legs. lol. When it's shootin' time, it's shootin' time.
I shot a cow elk in Montana with my 4" M-29 years ago with a cast and loaded by me 300+gr Lee SWC (I forget the mold # and no longer have it). One shot at 60 yards offhand facing me. Through and through.. never recovered the slug DRT.