In 8 of the 17 states that have elk hunting .223 is not legal, and most hunters would consider it unethical outside of survival situations.
To be legal for elk and bear hunting in every state a rifle would need to be at least .27 caliber, carrying at least 1700 ft-lb of energy at 100 yards. That basically matches the recommendations in the picture.
Also in straight-wall states (DE, IA, public land in IN, MD, Southern MI, OH) hunting is restricted to cartridges of at least .35 caliber. Of these only Michigan has elk hunting. That's through a lottery, though, and this restriction doesn't apply in the upper peninsula where I'm guessing most of their elk are taken. The straight-walled cartridges that are required in these states generally aren't recommended for elk hunting because they drop too much, lose energy too quickly to make a long range shot.
So, say I have a .223, should i not expect to take elk or bear with it? Would it be necessary to get something bigger?
I don't have any plans to hunt right now, but I'm just trying to get some perspective
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In 8 of the 17 states that have elk hunting .223 is not legal, and most hunters would consider it unethical outside of survival situations.
To be legal for elk and bear hunting in every state a rifle would need to be at least .27 caliber, carrying at least 1700 ft-lb of energy at 100 yards. That basically matches the recommendations in the picture.
Also in straight-wall states (DE, IA, public land in IN, MD, Southern MI, OH) hunting is restricted to cartridges of at least .35 caliber. Of these only Michigan has elk hunting. That's through a lottery, though, and this restriction doesn't apply in the upper peninsula where I'm guessing most of their elk are taken. The straight-walled cartridges that are required in these states generally aren't recommended for elk hunting because they drop too much, lose energy too quickly to make a long range shot.