cartridge for elk?

or

for what it' worth...years ago I thought about a single cartridge I could hunt with for Deer size and larger game. I was getting ready for a 2nd Alaskan Moose hunt and was browsing my gun cabinet..
After some thought I settled on a .338 win mag. Lots of reasons, it's a good cartridge.
By the way, a 30-06 has killed a lot of big game in North America. So have .270's, 7 mags, .300 win mags, etc etc. And, it's not how large of calibre but where you put the bullet. My uncle told me when I was a kid to shoot behind the near shoulder and try to bust the far one. That piece of advise has saved tracking and suffering. It's a win win.:D
Good luck,
if you really realy like 'em....buy two:eek:
 
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If you like to shoot I would stay away from the magnums. 308 and 30-06 are plentiful and cheap to shoot without the kick of the magnum, on the wallet and shoulder.

I bet it would be surprising to know how many trucks have at least one 30-06 shell rattling around in them somewhere.
 
I would recommend a 300 Win Mag, but it sounds like it may be a once in a while rifle and recoil may be an issue if you aren't use to it. So I would go for a 270, 7mm-08, .308, or a 30-06. Too many guys think because they head out west that they will be lobbing shots across a few section lines and the need a magnum to kill anything.

One thing I was taught with elk is if you pull the trigger, keep shooting until you don't have another shot, you run out of ammo, or they are down. They don't wear armor, but can go a long ways even with a well placed shot, so put a few extra holes in their lungs.
 
A friend of mine goes out west every year to hunt elk. He brought back some pictures of one that was taken with a .243 (neck shot).
 
The '06 is only about 150 yards behind the 7mmRM and 300WM. I'm with the others who recommend the best fitting and most comfortable rifle. With premium bullets, the elk won't know the difference between a 180gr @2750 or 2900.
 
There are a couple of criteria I consider.One is the max point blank range.I think if you check the tables you will not find a 150 yd advantage in most magnums.
Another criteria is the bullet.HiVel magnums require premium (usually tougher) bullets to perform well at 75 yds.Then way out yonder,you must consider the lower velocity the bullet will perfom with.It may be 2100 fps,just to pull a number.A modest round with more conventional bullets may perform at 1900 fps.That somewhat compensates for a couple hundred feet of MV.
 
Elmer Keith recommended going large. He felt the 338 was the best factory elk round out there although he did put away a wounded bull with a tree branch and swore he would never try that again. Actually, the branch didn't do the job and he had to wrestle it like a steer while his companion cut it's throat! He killed a few with his six gun. Hated the 30/06 for elk.
I've killed an elk with a 7mm mag, 160 grn Nosler partition and 375 H&H, 300 grn Sierra. In my humble opinion, 7 mag is fine as long as you use proper bullets, like the Nosler parition or a Barnes TSX either the 160 grn or the 175 grn if your rifling twist is 1 to 9" or faster (175). You want the most powerful round you can handle recoil and "accuracy wise". You want to make sure that the bullet hangs together and penetrates. I'd say the bullet construction is most important. All the calibers mentioned are sufficient if you place your shot but remember, you may get only a "quartering-away" shot so the pill must penetrate!

My dream would be to bag a big bull elk using a Sharps either 45-70 or 45-110. There is something to be said for those big bullets!
 
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I have taken elk with a 300 Win Mag, but found myself taking "shooter shots" instead of "hunter shots." I am a good rifle shot, I want to be a good hunter.

I will use a 30-06 if not my flintlock rifle. I won't sight in for the long stuff with my '06, and simply am limited to 75-100 yards with my flinter. I dont want to find myself tempted to the 350 yard shots, and sight my '06 in accordingly.

I see a lot of folks from back east come out here to the west and hunt with cannons - I suppose I understand, since they only get a short time to get way out here to hunt. But do we really see more success with the bigger calibers? It would seem that most guys/gals would rather not spend lots of time behind a 338 on the bench at the range. To me, a 30-06 can get tiresome. But I submit one would do best with a rifle one shoots a LOT, and WELL. In my case, that's one of my BP rifles, my '06, or even my 30-30.
 
+10!!!!!

We see more mislead hunters who believe this crap that Elk are bullet proof and are shot at 500 yards. They end up with rifles that scare them and scopes that are useless at typical Elk kill ranges (100-150 yards) (check WY, ID & MT game & fish websites).

If you can shoot 3" groups @100 yards from a 308 Winchester with premium bullets and a good 4X scope from improvised (real world) field positions you can kill any Elk that lives.

For an Eastern or Midwestern hunter, getting in shape is priority #1, horse experience is #2 and good boots is #3.

A good friend who has been outfitting for decades keeps a beat up 721 270 with a K4 Weaver in camp. Why? To "gently" regun the dudes who show up with a 340 Weatherby and some 6-20x56 zillion dollar scope. They usually fail the "in camp" test which consists of hitting a 6" bullseye @100 yards over a log with your pack under the rifle. Give em' the old 721 and they pass (and kill their Elk).
 
Somebody once pointed out that the elk in the United States were pretty much decimated before 1900. I don't recall that all of them elk were killed with a 300 grain bullet going 3000 fps at over 500 yards. As a matter of fact, smokeless powder didn't even exist till darn near 1900. It makes no difference to me if somebody wants to shoot a canon. But to give somebody else advice to buy a canon because you think that is the minimum for elk hunting is possibly taking them down the pathway to hating shooting.

A 308 or 30-06 is great for elk. For a person getting a first gun for elk, that is a fine place to start. Then, if they want to get experience with harder kicking louder more expensive guns and ammo, more power to them. If they do that, then my advice is to keep the 308 or 30-06 cause after you get a chronic flinch and go bankrupt buying ammo, the old gun will look pretty darn good.:)
 
I am about like Abel the 06 is just fine, and will do the job. If your just looking to spend alot of time just for elk I would step it up like he suggested, but I sure dont know much about hunting elk, and it looks like you got some good input. Good luck.
 
For my AZ bull hunt last Nov-Dec (2009) I used my 6.5x55SE (CZ550 American) with some homerolled 160 grain Woodleigh's Protected Point Weldcores. I brought my M1 Garand as a backup rifle shooting 180 grain Federal's. I installed an after market adjustable gas plug and used a 5 round clip for that rifle in case I needed to use it. My CZ wears a Trijicon Accupoint TR20-2G and my M1 sports the original aperture sights. I wasn't able to get a shot on a bull, just giving you some different ideas.

I shoot a lot and practiced a great deal before the hunt from field-expedient positions, mostly hasty sling kneeling and sitting; some offhand, some prone with a pack for a rest. My 6.5x55SE was zeroed to MBPR for my handloads, which I believe was around 265 yds or so (assuming little to no wind). I had explored the area of my unit I was planning to hunt with my laser rf the summer before my hunt and felt confident that most any shot I'd have would be inside of 250 yds, more likely 50 - 100 yds.
 
I like a 300wsm w/ 180 grn game kings. Feels about the same recoil as 30-06, packs the punch of a 300 mag, short action, little cheaper to reload than 300 mag.
 
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