What cartrdge for Rocky Mountain elk?

[Rugdoc]

I might join my friends for an elk and whitetail deer hunt to the Kootenays in September.

My choices in rifles are:

1. 270 shooting 150 grain Hornady Interlock handloads,

2. 7x57 shooting 139 grain Hornady Interlock or 140 grain Nosler Partition handloads or;

3. 280 Remington with 140 grain Federal Fusion cartridges or handloads with 140 grain Nosler partitions. I might be willing to be talked into using Federal 150 grain Vital-Shoks. Haven't shot this gun yet.

 

[sheephunter]

Any of those will do just fine. Go have fun with the one you have the most confidence in!

 

[jaycee]

Like sheephunter said, any of those will do. However, seeing as how it's elk, if it were me, I'd go with either the 270 and 150 grain Partitions / 130 or 140 TTSX, or the 280 with a 160 Partition / 150 TSX or TTSX. The ammo will be the cheapest part of your hunt. Good luck!

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Guess I'm gonna differ, as most of the time. .270 minimum, with a heavier bullet. .280, actually a 7mm, might be marginally better with heavier bullets. I'm using a 7mm Rem. with 162 grn. hand loads, probably still on the light side. They get away from you, likely gonna be a tough search. I don't shoot them in open fields from 500 yards like some people, whose names we won't mention. Won't find many guys in the hills around here with lesser artillery.


Grizz

 

[Ardent]

All of those listed will have identical performance on Elk, I'd just chose the rifle you are most familiar with and shoot best.

 

[Iron Sighted]

I can't imagine any of those not doing the trick with ease as long as you make a decent shot. I have a 7mmRM that I've loaded rounds for with 145gr copper monolithic bullets that I plan to use when out looking for elk, moose, deer, and goat this fall. If I have time to work up a load for my Ruger Scout rifle in .308, I wouldn't hesitate to shoot any of them with it either.

 

[hoytcanon]

Take your pick of those three... use a good bullet and a load chosen for accuracy first... energy second... put it through the lungs, sit down, eat a sandwich and have a coffee, then go get your winter meat...

 

[BigBraz15]

Elk are tough. Use the biggest rifle you can handle that you can get. I have a lot of friends that swear by the 280, but they have all at one time or another lost elk even with a good hit, especially in rugged terrain. Not too bad late season, but in the rut all hyped up they are one tough critter.

Elk are a great animal for using 300 mags, and 338's. If your recoil shy try a heavy loaded 30-06, 338-06, 338 federal358 win or 35 whelen.

 

[1899]

I like them all - but have not hunted with the .280 so I can't say anything about that. The .270 with 150gr Partitions are excellent for big game. I also had good luck with 130gr XBT (those were the pre-TSX days). The 7x57 I generally used with heavier bullets, and I shot a really nice bull moose with factory RWS loads using 162gr KS bullet.

 

[Nicodimous]

All should work fine. Bring your favorite, a sharp knife or four, and keep in mind you will likely have to hike at least as far as you bullet did.

 

[Eagleye]

I have shot Elk with all three of those chamberings. [All with 140 or 150 Partitions]

There is not a whit of difference in the way they perform. A properly placed shot with a decent bullet, and Elk steaks will be on the menu!!

That being said, I have been carrying just a bit more firepower lately on elk hunts. [308 Norma Magnum, 30-338, 338 Win Mag]

If an elk gets going after a marginal hit, he will take you into the worst place imaginable, and maybe die there, if you are lucky.

Otherwise, he may be gone forever. They are a tough animal, but I have never seen one go far shot through both lungs with any decent bullet.

There may be others on here that think you need a cannon to kill an Elk, but after 38 or 39 of them, I cannot agree.

Regards, Dave.

 

[Eagleye]

Elk are tough. Use the biggest rifle you can handle that you can get. I have a lot of friends that swear by the 280, but they have all at one time or another lost elk even with a good hit, especially in rugged terrain. Not too bad late season, but in the rut all hyped up they are one tough critter.

Elk are a great animal for using 300 mags, and 338's. If your recoil shy try a heavy loaded 30-06, 338-06, 338 federal358 win or 35 whelen.

Hate to disagree, but if the elk was not recovered, it was not a good hit.

Impossible to know what sort of bullet placement it was if the animal was not recovered. Dave.

 

[Tikkam65]

i have a cabin in the Rockies , i start scouting for elk in April and spend 2 months hunting elk annually . all of the guys are right .
i have been hunting elk for 25 years now and taken many .
the fellow that said he has seen elk run off with good shots is right.
with elk you need to break the front shoulder spoiled 1/4 is better then spoiled elk
they will run with a heart and lung shot,farther and fast / down into the ugliest hole you can image.
if your to close with a big 300 / 338 it will punch and cauterize at the same time.
your bullet will be moving too fast to open up and a heart and lung shot wont help .
if you hit bone your bullet will open up and drop him.

drop the elk
runners make for gamy meat
mine dont walk away

lesson well learned

 

[RMG]

I wouldn't worry about having enough rifle for the elk. Worry about the grizz that's gonna come looking for a free meal after you pull the trigger.

 

[sheephunter]

=Tikkam65;10355435
if your to close with a big 300 / 338 it will punch and cauterize at the same time.
your bullet will be moving too fast to open up and a heart and lung shot wont help .

Actually, virtually all expanding bullets expand more rapidly and violently at high velocity.

 

[1899]

Actually, virtually all expanding bullets expand more rapidly and violently at high velocity.

You don't understand - it will punch AND cauterize. That is no good. Why do you think doctors used to cauterize wounds - to stop bleeding!

 

[Tikkam65]

Actually, virtually all expanding bullets expand more rapidly and violently at high velocity.

i think you need to read up on that

 

[Tikkam65]

You don't understand - it will punch AND cauterize. That is no good. Why do you think doctors used to cauterize wounds - to stop bleeding!

http://www.fieldandstream.com/artic...-cartridges-dont-kill-any-faster-and-actually

just one of hundreds of articals do your own test

 

[sheephunter]

i think you need to read up on that

Interesting reading in the link you posted.

Second, when you get bullets traveling at 3000 fps and over—these days, way over—even the strongest and slowest-expanding of them makes a mess of whatever it hits unless the shot is long enough to let some of the velocity drain off. If you are a trophy hunter and don’t mind an acre or so of hamburger around the entrance hole, this is not an objection. But if you like wild meat and are disturbed by the waste of same, it is a problem.

 

[Eagleye]

I do not buy the "going too fast to open" argument. Shot too much game over the last 55 years to swallow that theory.

As for "cauterizing" the wound channel..That is laughable! The bullet would have to be red hot to do so, and lead melts at much lower temp than red hot.

While I have broken the front shoulder of several elk when the presentation demanded it, I do not take that shot on broadside, or nearly broadside shots.

I simply tuck that Partition in as close to the front leg as possible and 1/3 of the way up in the cavity. No Elk has ever gone more than 80 yards with that shot.

Elk are tough animals, a bull can be quite a size, but they are far from armor plated. Take away their ability to breathe, or interrupt their circulatory system, and they are done!

Regards, Dave.