Peterson 's Hunting - Small caliber article

[BuckSmasher]

Number one reason people fail to harvest elk on guided hunts is poor shooting. For everybody who cleanly misses, there is somebody else who shoots the elk in the guts. JVB is even advocating for that if 'you have enough gun'. Terrible advice. Majority of wound loss during rifle season is from big magnums. Mostly because that is what people use after being told so by gun writers romanticizing the western hunting experience and the mythical elk. Have him come back and talk about all the failures with big magnums and limited expansion bullets. Pot meet kettle.

Thats a bunch of guesswork with ZERO to back it up.

One thing I do think the smaller is better crowd on here has got right is bullet placement and practicing with your rifle. That we can agree on. They myth that anything bigger than a 223 hurts so bad that a grown healthy adult will shoot it inaccurately is just that, a myth.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I don't think anyone believes .05 diameter is a big deal, in fact, I don't think YOU think anyone else does either.

So a 25cm or a 6.5cm or .243 is an adequate elk round? Or it has to be 7mm or up?

 

[omicron1792]

This thread proves all the .223 is adequate crowd already knows that there position is indefensible. So they ad hominem and straw man while relying on their clique for support.

Has anyone even replied to you yet?

 

[BuckSmasher]

So a 25cm or a 6.5cm or .243 is an adequate elk round? Or it has to be 7mm or up?

Certainly heading in the right direction from a 223. Dependent upon bullet selection and the shooter, and what shots he/she is willing to pass up or take.

Philosophically, how small a rifle combo CAN kill an elk is the wrong question. How big a rifle can I shoot comfortably, carry easily, and be accurate with? That is a better question. Fine if that doesn't land you on a 338-378. But it won't land you on a .223 either.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Certainly heading in the right direction from a 223. Dependent upon bullet selection and the shooter, and what shots he/she is willing to pass up or take.

Philosophically, how small a rifle combo CAN kill an elk is the wrong question. How big a rifle can I shoot comfortably, carry easily, and be accurate with? That is a better question. Fine if that doesn't land you on a 338-378. But it won't land you on a .223 either.

I think we agree on a lot of that, I also think most folks don’t shoot enough and really over estimate the amount of recoil they can handle on a light hunting rifle in field conditions. Personally I like being able to spot my shots since I often rifle hunt alone so typically I land somewhere around quarter bore mas or minus