Elk Hunting - Colorado

Has anyone hunted elk in Colorado with a handgun? If so, what caliber were you using and load? Do you think the 44 mag would be enough gun with the right load?

2 Bulls..1 6x6 BC 315 with 375JDJ and 1 5x5 with 35 Remington. I'd use a 44 with heavy bullet hand loads but know your range will be limited. I shot the 6x6 at 175 with 285 Speer Grand Slams and got complete pass thru on Broadside shot. The 5x5 was taken at about 125yds with a 200 Hornady spire point and got full penetration but slug was under the off=side hide. It also travelled ~200 yards. The 6x6 and 375JDJ only went 25 yards!

Hunted elk in SW Colorado with XP's, both cow and bull.
Hunted one year with a FA 454, but never had a shot that year.

Yes and yes.

If memory serves me correctly, I have killed nine bulls and five cows (elk) in Colorado with handguns; using single shots and revolvers.

But only five (big) bulls with "revolver" type calibers. This is the part of my experience that is relevant to your question. And the answer to your question can be very general or very specific. No harm meant, you are asking a very fair question, 4MAG4.

The general answer: The .44 mag has been used to kill big bears (including at least one Polar Bear) and even elephant, so of course the .44 magnum will kill any elk on this earth with the proper load placed properly. The more specific answer would be the range, bullet, load (velocity etc) and shot placement experiences of a hunter that has killed several elk with the .44 magnum.

I do not have that experience, mine were all taken with larger calibers (.454, .475, .50) So I will repeat Bullelk Hunter's answer: "I'd use a .44 with heavy bullet hand loads but know your range will be limited."

I would think that GlennS or Whitworth (or others here) could give good advice on a heavy and elk-worthy .44 mag load due to their experience with the .44 magnum. Off the top of my head, I would say a heavy WFN cast bullet pushed hard would work, or maybe a Hornady XTP pushed hard.

However, let me add this: Out of the five, there is only one instance where I would have felt comfortable with a .44 magnum. The rest of the shots I was glad that I had "more horsepower" on my side, because we all know how ugly Murphy can get.

Thanks for the feedback.

My experience with Elk and the .44 is limited to two kills so take this for what it is worth. I would defer to the folks with a larger set of data to work with. Both shots were in the 40 to 50 yd range with 23gr of 296 and the pre XTP 240 grain HP. One shot was behind the right shoulder with Elk quartering away. It hunced up and then started walking away. I watched it until I was concerned that I would lose in the timber and finished off with a rifle. I found the 240 HP in the off shoulder under the hide. The bullet passed through the lungs and would have been a fatal shot. Since this was my first Elk with a handgun and not wanting to have a wounded animal suffering I used my rifle to finish it off. The second Elk provided a better broadside angle and with more confidence in the .44 I waited for it to run and collapse as I was trained to do as a kid. That bullet went straight through the lungs and rib cage and I never found it. In the second instance there was snow on the ground so tracking was not a problem. I would hunt Elk again with the .44 as there are better bullets today. The XTP,Swift A frame or a gas checked Hard Cast come to mind. I would go with a 300 gr to get all the .44 has to offer. Other things to consider is the terrain in which you are hunting, weather conditions, time of day because tracking and recovery may be a challenge. Not to mention the size of the rack. A well placed bullet from the .44 will definitely result in the death of the animal but I wouldn't expected it to drop where is stands. Even the ones I have shot with a rifle tend to run a bit. John Linebaugh told me that a 300 gr bullet at 1100 FPS would handle about anything. He was referring to the .45 Colt. The .44 can do this and the Elk won't know the difference.

If you have a Kindle, or add the Kindle program to your computer, there is a fairly cheap (I think it may have been 10 bucks) book called "hunting Elk by Handgun, a Primer for beginners, and a Refresher for others" by Gary Marbut. It is a pretty straight to the point and simple book, but still worth the read. The author's handgun of choice is a Ruger Redhawk in 44 mag. He covers loads and guns etc., but also goes into tactics and chapters like "hunting with rifle hunters".

Check it out, it may help you or give you a bit of confidence you are looking for.

I shoot my .44 and .45 Colt a lot, but being an out of state and spending big bucks for a tag, I decided not to let my hunt be limited to real short range. I felt very comfortable with my TC JDJ and 35 out to 150, but knew my 44 was outclassed. I'm not really into tracking a big elk for great distances. They can go very far with a fatal hit. Do you research and good luck!!
If it were and wanted to extend the range a little, Greggs advice is sound. A big heavy LCSWC doesn't need to expand , it just plows a big hole through it.

I've yet to have the chance to hunt elk but hope to change that in the future. If so I plan to use a handgun as they are all I've used since I was 17 or so. Years ago there was a hunting video out by Dave Emory or Emery if I recall correctly and he had several on camera kills using a Smith and Wesson model 29 with a 6'' barrel and open sights. The 29 didn't seem to have any trouble putting elk down in this video. I was a little surprised when he said his elk load was the Winchester 210gr. silvertip factory load. I tested this bullet on hogs later and found it would rarely exit medium size hogs. Type in 10mm hunting on youtube and you'll see a couple videos pop up where they are shooting elk with 10mm auto pistols. Today there are a lot of good 44 bullets to pick from that should serve you well. Hope you tag a nice elk with your 44mag.

I`am sure the 44 with good bullets would be plenty for elk.. Its closing the range with your revolver that counts......

Elk hunting is expensive and the meat tastes really good. Shooting one with my .44 would be my first choice but I admit that I would have my rifle along in case a proper handgun shot never presented itself. I would play the cards I was dealt.

James, I agree (the obvious) is the .44 will work. I just like to allow "real hands on experience" weigh in if possible, before the "extrapolators" bring it on.

I have killed two Colorado elk and one Arizona elk with handguns. Two of them with a 338-06 JDJ with 250gr. Hornady bullets. Both dropped in tracks, one at 153 yards and one at 114 yards. I did shoot one Colorado cow with a .44 340 gr hard cast bullet from Buffalo Bore...dropped that cow like it was struck by lighting and complete penetration. Took the top of the heart right off.

Buffalo Bore 340gr hard cast is a great elk load.

I habe done so and hunted elk in new mexico and texas. I would either run a swift a frame flat out or run a ceb solid or barnes buster but cast would work. For the 44 mag, not even a remote problem if ya hit the vitals but that goes for every caliber dont ya know!

So since i saw my brother take down a bison with a 44 mag hornady tipped expandable 225 gr bullet with complete penetration thru the shoulders inwould say a 300 gr xtp, a 270 gr swift, a speer deep curl or any hardcast of your choice will bring one down handily, then again i know cuz we've done it. A 280 gr hardcast at 1200 fps will exit i know firsthand.