whats the cheapest elk cartridge to reload?

If you want to cut your expenses in half, you will have to cut your range in half, and your game in half. Shoot deer at 200 yards max. Buy an SKS and pull the bullets on surplus ammunition and replace with same weight hunting bullets.
Now you're hunting with cheap. Good luck to you and the deer.
 
To the OP, how much shooting have you done so far? The recoil issue may not be as bad as you think after you do a bunch of shooting. If you are thinking about reloading just to save money, forget it until you figure out how much shooting you are going to be doing. You can buy good factory ammo at a reasonable cost.

You also said, "so what cartridge is the easiest to find and cheapest to buy for hunting elk out to 400 max yards????" I still say the 30-06. 150 grain bullets will keep the recoil down a bit.
 
how many elk are you gong to shoot? Get a beater 30'06 and buy 3 boxes of shells. you will not live long enough to eat all the elk that will shoot, however, if you want int this hobby, it costs the price of a rifle to get going...
 
Bolt action rifle chambered in 30-06, 7mm Rem mag, 300 winmag, .308, or 270 winchester. 4 power scope.
Winchester Powerpoint ammo in any of them, and you're an elk hunter.
Learn how to shoot your rifle and become competent with it - and you might be a successful elk hunter.

The rifle isn't the most critical component of an elk hunt. You are. :)
 
Well you guys are right that I have no idea how reloading works. Thabks for all the info. Not sure why I thought it might be so hard. Now im just wondering where the best place to buy reloading parts are for a calgary boy?

I keep saying cheaper cause i do plan on shooting alot. I wish to aspire shooting out past 600 yards one day at targets. But also want to hunt elk so am trying to have one rifle for both.

My uncle, cousins and father shoot 7mm mags and my uncle reloads for all of them. So I figured I could use the same equipment and have 3/4 or less the recoil with the 7mm08. id guess iv shot 200 rounds through 7mm mags and some 308s In my life. With 20 shots a trip being the most at one time. So maybe if I shoot them a whole bunch more I will get use to it. But why bother if a different cartridge can do same and be easier to shoot?

Thanks for the discussion guys
 
stubblejumper said:
Exactly. The people that are obsessed with cheap, are almost always the ones that never practice, and as a result, their shooting skills never get developed, and they never really get to know their firearm, or the trajectory.
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I guess I'm one of those obsessed with "cheap" guys. But I'm going about it a different way: Keep the costs low to keep the volume high and balance it all out in the end in terms of money burned, but at a maximum of trigger time. I have a "cheap" rifle that shoots quite well, with a "cheap" scope that does the job quite nice and I'm not worried about scuffing either one. I shoot a "cheap" calibre that's commonly available, easy to reload for, and in a pinch good factory ammo is available. My savings on the gun and optic translates to more money spent on components/ammo and gas to go to the range. I'd rather have a cheap turd of a gun with a good load that I can hit everything I aim at than a custom-built rig that I can't afford to shoot.

But the way the OP plans to go about it... unless he's taking my approach (I'm dubious of this) then he's doing it all wrong.
 
I would pick up a 30-06.
Load 57gr of h4350 and a good 165gr bullet. Then shoot as much as you can.

This is also my only big game rifle and shoots excellent with this combo.
 
Actually I've found that owning a .30/06 is fairly expensive. I want to shoot it all the time, and being of weak character, I frequently give into this craving. Like any addiction, owning a .30/06 becomes expensive; I can walk a few hundred yards from my house and start shooting, particularly in the winter. Think about the cost of a rubber-maid full of brass. Bullets are getting more expensive all the time, and the cost of shipping powder and primers to a remote area is not for the faint of heart.

Of course the advantages for the OP living in Calgary who has some excellent gunshops within easy driving distance mitigates some of this. His cost of shooting is cheaper as he doesn't have to have his components shipped, and if getting to a shooting area is less convenient, he will be less inclined to do it several times a day.

I was going to say that the '06 can be a handful for someone who doesn't like recoil, but a 150 gr TSX handloaded to 2700 is mild in both recoil and blast, while having the authority to slay any elk that has ever lived. For your handloading and rifle needs, check out P&D Enterprises, who I'm sure will provide you with advice you'll need to get setup for handloading and steer you towards the purchase of a suitable rifle if you need to purchase one; just click on their banner at the top of the page.
 
In the interest of Costs of reloading one bullet compared to the next similar type bullet, it makes very little difference and the effort is the same.


Cartridges similar in energy and range such as: 308, 30.06, 7.62x54r, 8mm Mauser, 270, 280, ect, the ONLY real difference is the capacity of powder used in the case, which is actually only pennies difference in cost.
 
Grizz Axxemann said:
I guess I'm one of those obsessed with "cheap" guys. But I'm going about it a different way: Keep the costs low to keep the volume high and balance it all out in the end in terms of money burned, but at a maximum of trigger time. I have a "cheap" rifle that shoots quite well, with a "cheap" scope that does the job quite nice and I'm not worried about scuffing either one. I shoot a "cheap" calibre that's commonly available, easy to reload for, and in a pinch good factory ammo is available. My savings on the gun and optic translates to more money spent on components/ammo and gas to go to the range. I'd rather have a cheap turd of a gun with a good load that I can hit everything I aim at than a custom-built rig that I can't afford to shoot.

But the way the OP plans to go about it... unless he's taking my approach (I'm dubious of this) then he's doing it all wrong.
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Thats exactly what iv done so far. My rifle was 360 and am using a scope from another gun and will sell that other gun. My gun isnt here yet and was worried that my caliber chooce might be more of a pita to reload than others. I would have switched rifles if this was the case. Turns out, not so much. Thanks to people like fiddler who explained it well for me.

its unfortunate that when I said I wanted to shoot cheap people assumed I meant cheap compared to all other things you can spend money on in life, instead of within the sport itself and to then tell them they will therefore be a bad shot...but I guess people do come on here comparing apple to oranges all the time so I should have been more clear with my intentions.

Again thanks for the help tho. It looks like now I just need to shop around for the supplies. Anyone wanna share their favorite places to buy them?
 
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