My son is looking to go on his first elk hunt this fall and is looking at the Savage 110GXP3 in the 30-06 Springfield. The Savage is available also in 25-06 Remington, 270 Winchester, 7mm Remington Mag, 300 Winchester Mag and 300 RUM.
 
Curious of minimum centerfire requirements for Colorado, I pulled my Colorado regs to find the minimum is .24 caliber(6mm) and a 70 grain bullet for deer and 85 grain for elk and having impact energy at 100 yards of 1,000 foot pounds. I was actually surprised the minimums were that low.
 
Is there anyone on the forum that has killed an elk with anything close to these minimums?
 
Maynard

They kill elk here with a .243 regularly in NM.
I'd not hesitate to shoot one with mine....

Rockin'

A few years ago a girl in the camp next to us killed a small 6X6 bull with a 243. She had to put 6 rounds into it to do it but she did it. While it's legal I personally would not do it, especially if I was coming in from out of state. My reasoning is that you would need good shot presentation and placement and while I can control the latter I have no control over the former. I would hate to have to pass on what may be my only chance because I was using a less than optimum cartridge. I personally won't hunt elk with anything less than a 30-06.

Rockin'

It has been quite awhile since I loaded the .243 for deer, but our load, that did a great job was a Barnes X bullet of 100 gr with 35 gr IMR 3031 and CCI 200 primers. In looking at bullets I don't believe that Barnes makes that bullet any longer.
 
I was just thinking that a bigger caliber was required for elk. I really didn't pay much attention to the minimum for my first Colorado hunt in 2003; I knew the 300 RUM that I won was certainly big enough. My oldest son is shooting a 270 Ruger MK77 left hand for deer and elk. He has yet to harvest an elk, but hopefully this year. I suspect my youngest son will choose the 30-06 for this year's hunt.
 
Hunterbug-
Thanks for the input. Even though I have never had any experience with the   30-06, I know that it has had a good reputation for a long time.
 
Thanks guys,
 
Maynard

Most elk hunters in my area use a 30-06, it is by far the most popular for elk in my area.  Although some people think you need a 300 WM or more to bring down an elk the truth is they are often put down by much less with great success.  Myself I would use either my 7mm Rem Mag or 280 Rem.  Other popular elk cartridges that Ive personally seen used include the 270 win, 264 mag, 25-06, 308 and 7mm-08.  It is in fact all about shot placement.  But if you plan on long shots you would need a something that has the enough punch at long ranges and in that case a 7mm Rem Mag or 300 Win Mag are supreme.  
 
 -Richard

We've gotten one shot kills with the 243 win. with 100 grain Speer Grand Slams, and Sierras. Also with the 25-06 with 120 bullets. They aren't hard to kill if you hit them right. Some of these animals were taken at 200 to 300 yards under ideal conditions. The heavier calibers penetrate better when you must angle the bullet into the vitals. It's hard to find elk to kill and it's hard to pass up a questionable shot when you know you may not see another bull.
 
Mark

I like the idea of the .358 caliber bullet as a prime elk caliber....either .358 Win, 35 Whelen or .350 Rem mag.  But the question wasn't which is the "best"...the question was...what is the minimum?

Jeeze....all depends.  The .35 Rem at 100 yards or less would be fine I guess.

A 45/70 at 100-150 yards would be ideal.

Even a 44 Mag at less than 100 yards would do the trick.

I have no personal experience killing an elk with a .264 caliber...but I understand the 160 grn slug is lights out when you need deep penetration and do not prefer the kick and heft of a Whelen or one of the magnums.  6.5x55 Swiss, 6.5x57 Mauser or the .260 Rem could work at ranges out to 200 yards.  

The .270 would work well except where can you find bullets heavier than 150 grns?  

The 7mm-08 would work...but can you push the 175 grain slug fast enough to give it a useful trajectory?

Stick with the .260 Rem for the all-around minimum.

Quoteand it's hard to pass up a questionable shot when you know you may not see another bull.

THAT is the key issue.
 
Paul

When I said questionable I meant questionable for a minor caliber not a major caliber. Nosler is the only one I'm aware of making a slug heavier than 150 grains for the 270. They make a 160 grain semispitzer partition.

I use a 300 savage with confidence.  I can't stand shooting rifles that belt the bejesus out of me.  I know some older fellas that swear by the 250-3000.  I am going to try that this year.  Have a new Savage 1899H in 250 i am dying to try.

Personally I know someone who killed a Grizzly with a .22 cal but was it ideal? I think we owe it to the animals to kill them quickly and with out making them suffer. I think a .270 and equivalent should be the minimum. I killed 3 cow elk with neck shots with a 6.5x55 swedish but at around 60 yrds and I would not do that again. This year I shot a bull at 500 yrds (rangefinder) with my 8mm mag and I think that is a great elk gun.
 
Eric

I have Killed Many Elk with a .270 when I was younger, but these days I prefer the Magnums.  I have a new .300 Ultra that I will be trying this year

Just remember that a poorly placed shot determines death or exercise.......I've seen 338's poorly placed at close ranges that require a chase and 270's at 250 that anchored them......make the correct shot placement..........
 
Thanks

Thats is what it is all about, if the firearm belts you too much you can't shoot it accurately. I can shoot big bores aquite well, but prefer my smaller calibers that i can keep in tight groups out to 300 yards, thatway if I aim for the heart, by golly I am going to take the heart.  Les

I wouldn't hestitate to use my .270 Win with a good bullet as it has the power to do the job if I do mine and place the bullet in the basket.  One point though that a lot of hunters today seem to have trouble doing is knowing their (and their rifles) capabilities and staying within them.  
 
Thought this was an interesting subject from the chuck hawks site:
 
http://www.chuckhawks.com/placement_kay.htm