The 30-30 has been used to kill animals such as hogs, deer, and antelope since it was made in 1895. It is one of the most popular hunting cartridges in North America, but can it kill elk, and if so, how far can it kill elk?

Here is the short answer:

The 30-30 can be used on elk if you’re in a pinch. It has enough energy that with a 160-grain bullet, you could kill an elk at 200 yards. So you could use the 30-30 for elk, but it should be avoided. If you plan on hunting elk with a 30-30, you should get a high penetration bullet.

Now let’s look at what circumstances you could use a 30-30 for elk, why you could or could not use a 30-30 for elk, and the best chances you would have at killing an elk with a 30-30.

Under what circumstances could you use a 30-30 for elk?

While it may not be an ideal elk hunting cartridge, there are still times when you would have to use a 30-30 for elk.

Let’s say you were hunting deer with a 30-30 while in elk country, and you find yourself lost. Because it’s rifle season, it’s cold out, so if you killed a deer, you could keep its meat preserved for a few days. You happen to stumble upon an elk while looking for food. Because you’re lost and need food, you shoot the elk. Now obviously this would be a rare occurrence, as you would have to bring out your 30-30 and get lost in the same day.

A more likely occurrence would be if you were hunting deer and found an elk. Because you have an elk tag along with your deer tag, you shoot the elk. Now depending on the range, you could, in theory, kill the elk with your 30-30.

I would say that the circumstances in which you would need to kill an elk with a 30-30 would be in a survival situation, or you stumble upon an elk while deer hunting. But while the second scenario is not so far-fetched, both are still unlikely.

How far could you kill an elk?

So let’s disregard the first option mentioned above, and you are about to take the shot on that elk you stumbled upon; but you start wondering: is that elk in range? For the answer to this, we need to look at the ballistics.

If you look at the ballistics, the 30-30 could kill an elk out to 200 yards. Now you have to take into account that is just on paper. On a real bullet, in the real world, I am not sure you would want to take a shot much farther than 150 yards. So on paper, that is a dead elk, if it’s under 200 yards.

How to increase your odds of killing an elk with a 30-30

So you can kill that elk 200 yards away, but let’s say the elk is bedded down, so now you have all the time in the world to increase your odds of killing it. What do you do?

Get close. I hear this a lot when I talk about “underpowered” cartridges for big game; people often say just get close. While this is proposed a lot, you have to get a great deal closer to make a difference; but how far is this great deal closer?

If you spotted an elk at 250 yards and wanted to get closer, before you gain just 500-foot pounds, you would have to get to 50 yards. That is a long way to stalk just to gain 500-foot pounds. Not to say you shouldn’t get as close as you can to said elk, but you will have to get really close. So with the not-so-flat trajectory of the 30-30, it would greatly increase your odds of killing an elk by getting as close as you can.

Shot placement. One of the most important things you can do when you shoot an elk is to shoot it in the right spot, this applies to all calibers used on elk, so it should be followed strictly with a light caliber, like the 30-30. The best thing you can do to increase the odds of your bullet getting to the vitals is to stay away from the shoulder. Hitting the shoulder blade with a caliber like a 30-30 is sure to stop your bullet.

Conclusion

If you stumble upon an elk with a 30-30, you might just be able to kill it. As long as you have a good shot, are under 200 yards, and have the right bullet, you could kill an elk. But if at all possible, use a bigger caliber on elk, it’s just a better idea.