Help with cartridge selection for elk, white tail and moose..

Fuzzy I wonder if the warning might be more less due to super high power than fear of bullet deformation in a semiauto?

My recollection is that semis really slam the shell home after a pretty rough ride up the feed ramp. In a bolt action rifle you generally close the bolt with a nice smooth motion.

Back on topic, my vote is for the 30-06 between the two. A person needs to get a rifle they can still shoot in 30 years when they'll be a better shot but a bit arthritic.
 
Well, I have only squirrel hunting to speak of, but I can say I went through the same decision a few months ago, and decided on the '06 - partly from the overwhelming support on this board.

Seems to me, under 300 yards (a loooong way for this boy!) the difference is only how much hold-over you have, not which kills better.
The '06 has much less recoil than the 7mm mag, and it's an old-time favorite of many hunters I respect.
According to my old man, the only reason it isn't even more popular is that it's such a great all-around that there's nothing special about it.

If I were in your shoes (and I sort 'a am) I'd get the '06, then if I thought I'd be trying to take 300yd+ shots at big game, save up for a .338 or .375, like H&H,hunter said.

But then again, I wouldn't get a semiauto.
Your choice, but I'll leave you with Craig Boddington's observation about them:
You can't dependably drive the bolt closed manually, when you're trying to be quite, since they are made to slam shut on their own.
That leaves you with the choice of either walking around with a round chambered (against which he strongly advises) or chance scaring off your game.
The bolt-action can be closed quietly, and with practice cna offer a follow-up about as fast as you can assess the need for one anyway.

Your game, your choice.
Of course you don't need a reason; I want a .378W, which is about as impractical as it gets for me.
(But, ahh! the BOOOM!!)

youngun
:p
 
Younggun,
The .378 W is one of the few guns that I've ever fired in which I can say the recoil truely bothered me. They do have a snap to them. But if you must have the baddest dog in the whole darn town that's it.
 
I can shoot either weapon the same. Its about 1 moa at 100 yards. The 06 I had and the 7mm mag I have are both boss equipped rifles. Recoil really isn't much of an issue to me due to the break. Now, if I were to shoot either without the boss, I'm not sure which one I'd pick since I have never shot the 7mm before.

I remember talking to a Browning area rep last year who told me he liked the 7mm cartridge over a 30 caliber cartridge because the 7 had a flatter trajectory and it had a different (better) recoil than the larger 30 caliber round.

I like the way the Browning Bar feels as I shoulder it. No other auto feels that good. It is a very natural pointer to me.

I do not subscribe to the "spray and pray" method of shooting, it is just that I don't practice enough with long guns to become as proficient with a bolt action gun as I would like (I prefer handguns as I shoot in competitions all the time). So the obvious choice for me is a high quality auto. Maybe some day I will get into alot of rifle shooting, but I'm just not there today.
 
The 30-06 will cleanly harvest deer, elk, and moose out to ranges most folks consider reasonable.

Even in Colorado, where most hunters are well advised to stalk closer, despite what ammo marketers might have you believe.
 
Are we talking an old military BAR or the newer Browning Semi-auto? I assume it's the latter. If it's the former, you certainly would get some funny looks from a guide (aren't military BARs full auto?).

There are a ton of Rem 740-type semi-autos in the northern MN woods (you bet'cha!) and no one looks sideways at them. I'm the only Browning guy in my deer camp, but mine are an A-Bolt and a Buckmark.

The Browning BAR is a very sweet gun and you certainly can't go wrong with a 30-06.;) Get the Browning and shoot it forever.
 
HA!, it is the new Browning Safari BAR (and I picked up the 7mm Rem magnum cartridge with the boss). It is a very nice gun, seems to be some crepe in the trigger and it has a heavier break than some other guns that I have sampled in the past....

I wonder if that will get smoother over time?
 
Wilson, the odds are that it would take a competent gunsmith to make the trigger "righteous". I've never gone inside the Browning, so I don't know if the trigger is adjustable like the Remington 700, e.g.

You might ask George, in the "Smithy" forum.

Art
 
I'm very much a traditionalist and the 30-06 is my caliber of choice. All game I hunt = 1 Rifle, 1 Cartridge. Thats true for antelope, black bear, mule deer and elk. I use a handloaded Sierra Game King 165 gr SBT bullet at 2800 fps. If you don't handload use federal premium 165 bullets (that's the load I try to duplicate)

Honestly, if I drew a tag for moose I'd get a bigger rifle. In a pinch I could up-load to a 220 gr round nose, but I'd feel MUCH better with a .375, besides it would give me another reason to buy another rifle. The 30-06 is a great "all around" gun, it doesn't shoot as flat as the 7mag, but it gets the job done and is a lot easier on your ears.

As far as "long range out west shots" well it depends on the terrain. On the front range you can have a wide variety of terrain compared to the high altitude meadows of the western slope. Most elk I've shot at, or seen shot have been within 50 yards, then again, I hunt mostly in dark timber.
 
Do you know what 7MM actually means?
Click to expand...

Yeah, it means "the mighty .30-06 will copy me!" :D (Since the '06 was copied from the 7x57mm after the Spanish-American War.)

Wilson, how often do you see moose? Either caliber is a great choice, given good shots and quality bullets. If I was dead set on a moose, though (given your choice of the BAR), I reckon I'd get a BAR in .338...can't have too many Brownings, anyway, right?
 
SO, if I were to say that I would feel comfortable with my .260 and stout bullets against elk and moose, would I be crazy to actually go hunting with that combination? Thinking that a 140gr Partition or A-frame would do the job on anything not likely to make me dinner or part of the landscape. Opinions?
 
Not crazy at all, p-990. The Wife hunts with a 7-08 & Barnes XBT 140s.

I do think though that there's a proportionate relationship of power/penetration, distance & care in the shots that should be taken. Lower "power factor" = closer and better placed shots.
 
I hunt with four guys out here in Colorado. Two hunt with 7mm Mag bolt guns (a Rem700 and sumthin' else), two others hunt with BARs in .300 WinMag, and I use a WinM70 in '06. The BAR guys aren't spray n pray, they just like the fast followup shots. Myself, I think the BAR is a bit heavy, plus I just like the '06. The 7mm guys were from North Carolina before they moved out here so they were mostly deer hunters who made the occasional trip out west.

Near as I can tell, none of the elk and deer we've shot can tell the difference one little bit. Or if they could, they all expired before they could tell about it...;)

I admit I've never gone after moose. 'Course getting an out of state moose tag out here seems to be a bit of a challenge, and it costs a bloody fortune.
 
Labgrade & Dr. Rob,

Sorry for the OT, but where do you guys practice? The only range I know of within an hour's drive is Cherry Creek and they only shoot from the bench. I live south of the Tech Center.
 
labgrade,

Thank You for the voice of experience and confidence. You mentioned that the lower PF of the rifle, the closer a hunter should be and the more careful she/he should be with the shot. That is exactly why I was thinking that my .260 would be adequate for the job if necessary (like I'm ever gonna get lucky enough to draw a moose tag or go on an elk hunt, but, hey, I can dream). I have faith that I can place those little slugs with precision, and I figure that that is all that matters. Provided the animal won't rearrange me if it doesn't die on the spot. Thank You again.
 
Interestingly enough, friend of mine just returned from Africa. He was on a plains game hunt and used a 6.5 x 55 Swede for everything to include Kudu. Bullet was a 140 grain Sierra, worked fine.
 
P-990,

Betcha. Far as doing an elk hunt = no biggie. CO at the least has over the counter non-res tags - you just plops yer money down & out you go. ou can get more indepth by choosing certain areas, sex, etc. & then start getting somewhat iffy, & more complicated.

Our hunts are basically pitch the stuff in the truck & go to the woods where elk are, eat well, hang out, kill a couple & come home ...
 
labgrade,
I wasn't just refering to getting the tag but also oppurtunity and means are a problem. Still only 18 so I have plenty of time. No worries, I'll just use the thing that make me an OK hunter: my patience. That and falling asleep against trees in a nice breeze! But it all sounds like fun. Now if only I can convince my family and GF that grizzly hunting would be a good experience for me before I die......

Note: In February I begin 6 years enlisted in the United States Navy. Time to get out of NE! (But I hope to be back, at least for a moose hunt!)
 
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