38-55 range for Elk

[pollohombre1]

I changed my hunting weapons. This year we are going to hunt with iron sighted levers. What is the effective range of the 38-55 shooting the 255sp? I also have a 348, 358, 45-70, 375win.  Three of us are hunting cow elk and the other 2 guys will be using 45-70's.  I would like to use something different. We are very excited to make this hunt challanging. The 38-55 has a tang sight and the others are standard or buckhorn. My concern is the power of the 38-55 vs the other cartridges.  Any input from the pros here would be appreciated. We are hunting in Arizona and are use to using bolts with high power scopes.  Rick

[Sure-Shot]

Your 38-55 will do fine on elk as long as you hit the spot. Rather than give you a yardage figure I would suggest you hang a 6 inch paper plate.  The distance you can consistently hit it from is the range you should try to get within.  Bottom line there are people that can hit regularly from a long ways away, question is can you?  I would also suggest you practice with the round you will hunt with so you will be consistant.  If you are going to shoot through a shoulder then you should use nosler, barnes or hard cast to insure the bullet will penetrate.  It may cost more but what is a couple of boxes of bullets compared to a full freezer.

[WD45]

Check the back issues of sixgunner.com. Paco Kelly has a couple of good articles on the 38-55 and 375 winchester.
It'll bring home the bacon... errr ELK in this case :-)