Jack O'Conner
New member
Killing power with rifle cartridges can be compared to pick up trucks used for ranch work.
A Dodge pick-up with 6 cylinder Cummins diesel does okay most of the time. But hook up a goose neck trailer full of cattle and it struggles to make it up a long grade. The Cummins can be compared to a 30-30. Great cartridge for mule deer but doesn't have the power for long shots at elk.
A Ford power stroke deisel performs great with all tasks. Versatile and popular! The Ford can be compared to a .308 or 30-06; great all around cartridge(s) and quite useful for elk.
A Freightliner big rig hauls heavy loads with ease but is far too cumbersome for general ranch chores. The big Freightliner can be compared to a 338 magnum. It's a specialty cartridge originally marketed in the model 70 Winchester as The Alaskan. Just as a Freightliner driver needs a special license to drive this rig, a 338 magnum owner needs additional credentials as well. This magnum focused hunter must ignore the painful jolt every time the rifle is fired. Expensive ammo and pounding recoil are two very good reasons that the so-called average elk hunter should avoid this cartridge. I've witnessed misses and wounding shots made by green elk hunters who simply did not master their rifle prior to the hunt. A foolish mistake that is repeated each and every year.
Plenty of Wyoming residents I know kill their elk each year with 30-06 rifles and plain Jane 180 grain factory ammo. Several hunters in my family hunt elk each year with so-called deer rifles such as .308, 7mm-08, 6.5mm Swede, 270, 35 Remington, and 300 Savage. Their bullets do not bounce off!
Jack