Occasionally I save things that others have said in the past here on AR. I always get a kick out of this one because I own a 6.5x55 and if I didn't have alternatives would use it on an elk, plus it reminds me of a guy I once knew. I didn't record the author of it unfortunately. Maybe if he sees this he can elaborate.

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I had an old friend that used a swede rifle cut the barrel to 18 1/2 " reduced mag to hold three rounds, bent bolt handle drilled out on back side of knob, modified trigger, full length stock, scope was a weaver J-2.5 cross hair post. First time he showed in Colorado to hunt all the guys laugh at him, but after that rifle killed the first three in camp, he took orders. The old ranch verified this me that he had killed a elk at 600 yds with that rifle using Hornady 158 gr. round nose bullets. I know most of these guys will make a joke of this, but with 22 trips to Colorado he killed 19 elk.....

The bottom line is its all just conversation, and changes nothing, there are those who are going to hunt with small calibers and swear by them and those that will not..

And some of us who don't swear by them nor swear at them. I would like to think this group of folks simply observes, thinks and renders an adequately reasonable opinion.

Cougerz;
A dear friend many years ago now, made his new daughter in law a sporter-ized Swede 6.5x55 and loaded up 140 Nosler Partitions for her. She has since killed many elk as she is both a good hunter and a good shot.
Happy hunting to all!

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Originally posted by Willie B:
Would a 260 be adequate with the proper bullet?

Absolutely...with proper bullet placement.

Arrows kill monster bulls every year.

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Originally posted by Atkinson:
The bottom line is its all just conversation, and changes nothing, there are those who are going to hunt with small calibers and swear by them and those that will not..

Cartridge is nowhere as important as shot placement.

Nothing living remains in that condition w/o topside oxygenated blood supply. Destroy the largest bull's oxygenated blood pumping apparatus, and it will hit dirt. What destroys it is immaterial. That it is destroyed is.

Fun thread. Reminds me that 50 years ago the question was, will a .270 kill elk. O'Connor said hell yes, while Keith et al, said God, no!

I think if you have to ask the question the answer is no because the doubt is already placed.

Find a cartridge where the shooter doesn’t immediately question its effectiveness.

But that’s just me.

I would not use the .260 for elk - unless I could load a long-for-caliber 160 or so grain, well stabilized, hard bullet and were willing to pass on oblique quartering shots.

Hey a 22 hornet will kill and elk, so counting kills means little or nothing...

I would say you need a caliber that will shoot thru the vitals of an elk from any angle..same on deer etc..The 260 will not do that everytime, even though it has a big reputation for penetration It got that rep with solids and in africa...With a soft in doesn't penetrate anymore than a 6mm..great deer gun, a little shy on elk, unless you know your capabilites on range and with good bullets, much the same as the elk I killed early on with the 25-35, 250 Sav and 30-30..I watched many a big bull walk off without me firing a shot, but at 100 yards they all worked..Just saying elk hunting isn't cheap under any circumstances and they are tough and can get away from you..A 7x57, 308 is minimum IMO, and a 30-06 to 375 is just a better option..

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I would say you need a caliber that will shoot thru the vitals of an elk from any angle..same on deer etc..The 260 will not do that everytime, even though it has a big reputation for penetration It got that rep with solids and in africa...With a soft in doesn't penetrate anymore than a 6mm..great deer gun, a little shy on elk,

I have to disagree here respectfully. A premium bullet of 130 grains or better will penetrate just like a 140 to 160 grain 7mm. They are hard to stop. And just as I said before, no matter what your shooting, the cost of your hunt, or the time remaining in that hunt doesn't give anybody a pass to take bad shots. To compare the 260 to the .22 hornet is ludicrous. I put a 140 Partition through 3 feet of bear including a scapula and a pelvis. That bear traveled the 20 inches it took him to fall down. A bear isn't an elk, but it ain't no white tail either.

I never compared the 22 Hornet to the .260..My intent was to allow that a person with a Hornet that can get up to say 50 to a 100 yards and make a brain or high spine shot, will kill and elk very well indeed, but using light caliber requires extra skill in stalking, and for one to be a very good shot and know the limits of his skill..Like I said I killed my first half dozen elk with a 25-35 all one shot kills mostly dead right there, some went 50 yards..I never shot one much past 100 yards and the little Winchester did its work with that long 117 gr. bullet...

Sounds great, but the catch was I had to watch some monster bulls walk out of sight at 300 yards so if one can do that with a 243, 260 or any light caliber then good for him..I'll take a 30-06 or 338 today and not have to pass on those good bulls, the big boys are a lot smarter these days and you can make book on that..

But to each his own and I will defend your right to chose with my life..

Shooting thru the vitals from any angle on an elk: Elmer opined on some calibers that should do that but stated the only one that he had actually proved reliable on big bulls was the 45-70 and the 500 grain government load.
Premium bullets in a 6.5 at 2650+ Muzzle speed are adequate for most angles just like the bulk of the medium bores. In my experience the 6.5’s well out pace the 6mm crowd in penetration. Maybe better bullets and maybe a more optimal velocity, read slower. Btw, as I recall, Bell used mostly softs in his meat rifle the long barreled 256.
I walked about 30 miles over 6 days in my old hunting grounds this year carrying my 10 pound 25.5” Springfield 35 whelen g&h scope mounts and steel heinsoldt. Saw one bull for two seconds in heavy brush as he stepped through an opening at close range. I did not have the rifle in my hands and did not get a shot. My bad. We were 1/2 day behind the migrating elk every day. That and the elk herd is a 1/4 of what it used to be where we hunted. Thought of you Ray both times I drove through Walsenburg. Hope your doing well.

Fury,
I have not hunted Walsenburg in a couple of years, but reports are the herd has gotten smaller and success rates are down...Elk hunting today is about a 10% success rate in most states it seems, with a guided hunt the success is a little better at 19%, or those are figures I read someplace?? I know shots are longer, elk are smarter in that they seem to come out after or near dark these days and they bush up in the thick stuff and stay there until the shooting stops or go high into the hell holes of Idaho..I recall some 50 or 60 years ago they liked the sagebrush best and came out to feed about 3 or 4 oclock...and the numbers were higher, and most everyone got an elk, we always stayed until everyone killed out. Was better back then.

However with the planting of wolves in the mountains of Idaho, elk have moved out into the sage brush of the Owyhee desert in large numbers and the wolves so far have not followed that I know of..

As to Elmers quote of 45-70 and a 500 gr. bullet as the only penetrator is just pure BS...A 338 or 37g will penetrate an elk form stem to stern and even the lowly 30-06 with a 200 gr. Nosler will end up in the base of the neck or shoulder from any angle...Elmer tending to say anything on any given day...I liked Elmer as a person, but he was pretty damn windy IMO, but in all conscience I was always in Jack O'Connors corner..

Ray
Elmer did not say it was the only one that “could”. He said it, the 45-70 and 500 grain, was the only one that he had done it with reliably. One would have to call Elmer a liar not wrong to refute that. I won’t do that. In fact I believe him. No reason not to.
I too think I could get a 338 or 375 or a Barnes 200 up through a big bull but I have not done it. I have shot one cow in the flank through paunch out throat dead right there at 350 yards or so with 338 and 275 Speer. I also chit a yearling straight up the rear and out the throat with a 300 Barnes solid but neither is what Elmer said. He was talking his personal experience on big bulls from the rear.
Best regards,