Is .50 cal. roundball enough for a cow elk?

[BE Wild Willy]

I have a 50 cal. CVA Mountain Rifle that loves to shoot roundball. I drew 2 tags for here in Northern Nevada, a mule deer buck, and one for cow elk. I know the roundball will be OK for the deer, and was planning on using it on the cow elk also. Is this a bad idea? If so, I'll have to get busy on finding a conical that my 1-66 twist will like. Any suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bill Hall]

The argument can be made that with the perfect shot placement, the .50 will be ok. But, too often, that perfect shot placement just doesn't happen. It's not something you can count on, no matter how much experience one may have.

Having killed a pile of elk with round balls myself, I'm going to come right out and state that the .50 round ball is just too small. I sure wouldn't use it. I know there are people here who have killed elk with it, so it is possible for sure. I'm just saying that you're going to be under-gunned, and if this is your first muzzleloader elk hunt, why add the extra handicap, and the chance of an unethical kill. I say use a .54 or larger, if only for the elk's sake.

Also, I'm not sure you can find a conical that will shoot accurately with that CVA. They are fantastic round ball shooters, but any conical I ever tried just keyholed on the paper. Maybe someone else has had better luck than me and can help you out.

Good luck on our elk hunt, no matter what caliber you end up using. :thumbsup: Bill

 

[wattlebuster]

The 50 will get er done if YOU do your part. A 62 ball is much better, BUT it also has to be in the right spot. Both are useless if not put where they need to be. Good luck to ya :thumbsup:

 

[roundball]

I've never shot an elk...but from all my whitetail hunting, given a choice I would not personally leave the house to go on a couple of elk hunts armed only with a .50cal PRB.
They're a big animal, plus there are always unknowns and changing conditions during a hunt, even during a shot...I'd want something with more 'mojo'.
Good luck

 

[Rat Trapper]

I also feel the 50 cal with round ball under powered for elk. No if you live in elk county and can wait and pick your shots, you could get it done, but most of us only have a week to find an elk and shoot it. I'd go with a conical and a heavy powder charge.

In my younger days I spend a fair amount of time in Colorado helping an outfitter. Even with center fire rifles, if the bullet is not placed very well, elk have a habit of going places you may wish you had never seen. Elk are pretty big critters and if they run off to some nasty palce and you have to pack them back up and out, you may want to give up elk hunting. Dead moose in water can also give you the idea to give up hunting.

 

[Sperit de bois]

People kill elk using bow and arrow why cant you kill one with 50 ca.??????
You do your part and put the ball where it has to be and you will kill elk.Now if you carry a 75 cal loaded with 120 grn of powder and hit the elk in the ham,, well that isnt where the ball needed to be and you didnt kill the elk,until you hunt it down and put the killing shot where you should have put the first one.
Nobody should depend on fire power over shot placement.

 

[roundball]

People kill elk using bow and arrow why cant you kill one with 50 ca.??????
You do your part and put the ball where it has to be and you will kill elk.Now if you carry a 75 cal loaded with 120 grn of powder and hit the elk in the ham,, well that isnt where the ball needed to be and you didnt kill the elk,until you hunt it down and put the killing shot where you should have put the first one.
Nobody should depend on fire power over shot placement.

QUESTIONS:
How many Elk have you killed with a bow?
What were the distances?
Surely you have photos to post?

 

[silly goose]

A sharp broadhead kills differently than a round ball. Apples and oranges.

 

[Goldhunter]

A sharp broadhead kills differently than a round ball. Apples and oranges.

Exactly. I've seen elk killed with some small cal modern rifles too, but me personally I'd never use those calibers. :shocked2: For me, just like the .50, they are a bit too under powered for elk. I have my minimum with them and with ML .54 is my minimum for elk.

but as always, YMMV. Happy hunting!

 

[BE Wild Willy]

Well I'm kinda stuck with using my .50, seeing how it's the only long gun I have (excluding my old .32). The tag I drew is for Elko, so maybe I'll get some good mojo and be presented with a nice broadside shot. I'll limit my shot to 50 yards give or take.

 

[longcruise]

Everybody has their opinions, but there has not been anything posted here by those who have used a .50 on elk! There are probably several here who have been using the .50 on elk for years.

I use a .54, but that is just because it was my opinion that the .50 is light.

 

[roundball]

Everybody has their opinions, but there has not been anything posted here by those who have used a .50 on elk! There are probably several here who have been using the .50 on elk for years.
I use a .54, but that is just because it was my opinion that the .50 is light.

Well said...FWIW, I was coming from the point of view if I was leaving for a special trip after large animals in big country, I'd want to have enough gun to carry longer possible distances...unless there's some sort of guarantee that all shots would be presented at short bow-hunting distances, it would take a lot of discipline to pass up a good Elk at 85yds.

And, to have a projectile weight / power to drive through big bone into the vitals if an animal turned just as the sear tripped and it was no longer a simple broadside shot by the time the shot executed and the projectile arrived.
If it was a local situation where I could go every weekend until I got the perfect opportunity I'd feel different than going on a special "all-or-nothing" Elk hunt into parts unknown.

Be Wild Willy...if the .50cal is it, consider this:
There's a projectile that supposedly does well in round ball twist guns:
Hornady "PA Conical"...weighs 240grns which is 1/3rd again heavier than a 180grn ball.
Run a few of those through your rifle with a stout powder charge, and an Oxyoke 'wonderwad' over powder to protect the base, and see if you get decent enough accuracy to hunt it.
Doesn't have to be "National Match" accuracy...tennis ball/baseball size groups will be fine...and the extra weight will give you an advantage in the .50cal.
http://www.hornady.com/store/50-Cal-240-gr-PA-Conical/

 

[russecv58]

if youre worried about projectile weight, try some 350 grain t/c maxi hunters. occasionally i shoot those out of my 50 cal cva hawken with 1-66 twist, and at 100 yds it'll hold just as good a group with those as it does with the prb. :thumbsup:

 

[mooman76]

How much time do you have before the hunt? I have an assortment of 50 conicals you could try if you want.

 

[BE Wild Willy]

My tag for the elk opens 9/17, the buck tag opens 1 week earlier.

I had given all of my conicals to my younger brother when I switched guns. I believe that he still has some of the Hornady PA Conicals, might have to hit him up.

 

[Browning_68]

I hunt elk with a .50GPR, well I would be if I wasn't working fires all summer. Now I'm doing a late hunt with a longbow. My advice stick to the 50ish yard range you mentioned, closer is always better. ONLY take quarter-away and broadside lung shots. If you can/want, do try the PA Conical, they are heavier and shot great for me. Old timers shot what they had back in the day PRB, just held to strict rules on when they shot. Do the same and you'll have no trouble bringing down a cow. Good luck!

 

[Kentuckywindage]

make it easier and spend $100 on a new 54cal barrel from deer creek and just swap them out on the hunt :thumbsup:

 

[Sperit de bois]

Point I was trying to make is;;;;You dont need a belted magnum to kill an elk.

 

[Sperit de bois]

With proper shot placement,,,which one kills more dead???????
Must be the Native Americans didnt eat elk,,,, before the Settlers showed up with rifles over 50 cal,,they only had Bows/arrows/spears or just run them off a cliff.luck for them the settlers come along.
We dont have elk,,got Moose, in Maine I'll have to go back in the past issues of The Maine Sportsman,and find the picture of the Moose that a young hnunter took with a muzzle loader.
Even got it to lay still for pictures!!!!!
Havnt shot a Moose yet,it's done by lottery draw,got a better chance to see moose fly than get drawn.

 

[William O.]

Is this a bad idea?

No, you will be fine. If you can shoot it well and practice with the same load you will be hunting with then go for it.

If so, I'll have to get busy on finding a conical that my 1-66 twist will like.

Keep in mind that a heavier conical will have a different trajectory than a lighter PRB so if you find one that is accurate you're going to have to know where it's going to hi at what yardage, so that means more practice in a limited amount of time. If your PRB load is accurate and you're using a moderate powder charge then be confident, limit the yardage and go get that cow elk. My 50 caliber Cabelas Hawken shot very nice groups using only 65 grains of 3f Goex behind a PRB, but I would not use that load on anything larger than a whitetail deer inside of 100 yards. For mule deer and above I would increase the powder charge to the point that the groups just started to open up a bit, but still keep the yardage under 100 yards so I could be sure that I was going to put the ball in the right spot.

Good luck!