What Is The Best RIFLE To Stop an Elephant?

Question

For the frist time I was looking at the horrific video of the 1994 Rampaging Elephant name Tyke who killed her trainer and busted out running the streets Hawaii. Police where shooting at her with 9 millimeters handguns, shotguns, finally a police officer used a .45 caliber repeating rifle to cripple her, then he continued to shoot dozen of more shots into her until she bleed to death and hour or so later. What a sloppy inhuman kill. Surely there are super-power rifles out there than can kill and Elephant much more quicky. Perhaps a 50 caliber rifle or some sorts. Does any one know of a rifle that is very effect against a 10,000 pound Elephant. Please include the details of the rilfle, weight of the bullet, if possible.

Great answers so far. Looking for a Rifle that a every circus and zoo should have on hand just in case of a rampage by a 10,000 pound Elephant. Some rifles can fire with almost with 2 to 3 tons of force behind the bullet.

Super anwers, but sixtus gave the best. I think I would go with the .458 magnum Winchester 500 grain. The question was only for killing Elephants on a rampage in emergencies at a zoo or circus.

Answer 1

Killing an elephant most 'normal rifles' will do... eventually,as you saw.

Elephant guns and dangerous game rifles are what are designed for doing it as quickly as possible, yes preferably with one shot, especially if it is charging.

The legal minimums in africa to hunt elephant are the 9.3 x62 and 375H&H class of guns.

The real speciality dangerous game guns start with the 400cals, like the 416 remington, 416 weatherby, 416 rigby, 404 jeffery.

Up through the heavier guns such as the 458 winchester magnum, 460 weatherby, 470nitro etc.

To the most powerful rifles of all which are the true elephant guns or just called 'stopper rifles'

Like the 500 A-square, 577nitro express, 585 gehringer, 600overkill and 700nitro.

All of these will drop an elephant on the spot with a frontal or side brain shot, and kill them within a minute or less with a lung or hear shot from the side.

Its also possible to kill an elephant with a much smaller calibre, you just need to have very tough bullets(no hollowpoints and quickly expanding deer bullets and anti personal softpoints like the cops were probably using) and know where to hit it.

Most the problem is those guys blasting at it were shooting it in all the wrong places. If they knew where to aim they would have taken it a lot quicker.

As a side note 'the test of an elephant gun' is the frontal brain shot on elephant.Bullet has to get through about 18" of cellular/structured bone, and sinuses, plus possibly break the huge back superhard molars or tusk roots to make it to the brain.

To do that the minimums are a solid or FMJ bullet with a sectional density of .300 and a velocity of around 1800fps or more are needed.

Sectional density means weight per cross sectional area-very basically how loooong the bullet is. The longer it is for the calibre the more it penetrates.

This rules out almost all handguns/pistols, shotguns, most lever action cartridges since they have stubby bullets of sectional density usually around .15-.25 and even when they load very long heavy bullets velocity then is rarely above 1500-1700fps.

Its possible to kill elephants with a side brain shot much easier and some handguns and normal rifles with softpoints can do this.

I think if those cops had a regular issue 308 winchester in the trunk they should have been able to do a better job.

Couple of shots in the lungs, where its only skin and ribs protecting them, and it would have been finished a lot quicker

Answer 2

Minimum caliber for an agitated elephant would be a .375 H&H Magnum. I'd not feel real comfortable with my ability to stop a charge with a .375 H&H, but it would be fine for killing with a side shot.

For a stopping full out charge, I'd want a .416 Rigby or larger, preferably much larger, such as a .470, or .500 Nitro Express.

But let's face, I know of no police agency in the USA that has elephant guns in the arsenal. A few do have .45-70 rifles of one sort or another. I'd not feel totally naked facing an irrate pachyderm with a Marlin M-1895 .45-70 rifle loaded with Garrett Cartridge Company's 540 grain Hammer Head Loads.

Doc

Answer 3

RE:
What Is The Best RIFLE To Stop an Elephant?
For the frist time I was looking at the horrific video of the 1994 Rampaging Elephant name Tyke who killed her trainer and busted out running the streets Hawaii. Police where shooting at her with 9 millimeters handguns, shotguns, finally a police officer used a .45 caliber repeating rifle to...

Answer 4

Of course there are rifles for the purpose, but there's very little shooting of elephants any more. The classic caliber was 450 Nitro Express until it was banned in some of the British colonies, at which time a plethora of substitutes appeared. Of those, perhaps the most popular that's persisted has been the 470 NE, and you may want to look at the Searcy website for an example of a modern American double available in that caliber (and others). More common still, because of the lesser expense, are bolt-action rifles in chamberings like 458 Lott. You can find examples on the web at CZ USA and Ruger among others.
It's pretty obvious that the need for such rifles isn't going to be great in HI. On the other hand, one would think that as a matter of prudence all zoos should keep something adequate for the job on hand, just in case.
http://www.searcyent.com
http://www.cz-usa.com
http://www.ruger-firearms.com

Answer 5

A .600 Nitro Express Double Rifle and it weighs 15 Lbs.* Hand made from raw steel and the best walnut wood and they were and are extremely expensive.* Making one could employ a Gunsmith working full time on a single rifle for many months, even for a whole year.* A high-grade specimen in good condition, will cost in excess of $100.000 Dollars.* The weight of the bullet is 900 grains.* Velocity is 1,950 feet per second.* Energy: is 7,591 foot Lbs force.* It was first introduced in the year 1903. Very harsh recoil.*

Answer 6

It takes a whole lot to stop an animal that is that huge when it is pumped that full of adrenilin. In open country when a clean shot taken it can be done with some of the .30 cal magnums and super magnums. I have heard tell of Mr. Weatherby doing it with less back in the day with smaller ultra velocity rounds. But for the most part .40 cal and up are used for hunting them. Some guides carry rifles as large as the .577 T-REX to stop a charging one. Then it gets bloody on both ends.
http://www.firearmsid.com/A_featurevideo.htm

Answer 7

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uhh well this might hurt the feelings of animal lovers but a .470 Nitro Express caliber or larger double rifle loaded with solids fired directly into its brain.

Answer 8

.458 Winchester. 500 grain Solid bullet-non-expanding. This is perfect for elephant. Killed a nice bull elephant with one shot in Zimbabwe with this combo. The meat was donated to a local tribe. I ate some with them that they roasted over a roaring fire, it was good, something like beef.

Answer 9

There are quite a few out there,

.458 winchester mag
.458 lott
.375 H&H
.600 Nitro express

are just some of them,

a lot of these "elephant guns" were produced as double barrel rifles

Answer 10

David Moore and Mike Williams posted the same question. You should read the answers side by side.