Elk hunt - what cartridge

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My Elk #1 was a cow - with 165 grain 308 Win - perhaps 300 yards. I went back to the same area many times - with a new-to-me 338 Win Mag. I got Elk #2 - a bull - perhaps 100 paces - 225 Accubond bullet. Elk #3 was also a cow - shot in the head - maybe 15 or 16 feet (5 meters) away - also with 225 grain Accubond bullet. Through that time, my Dad carried his 30-06 - 165 grain bullets, towards the end, I think - 180's prior to those 165 grain - he had got several elk in that time - I distinctly remember fishing a bull elk that he had shot, out of a small river..
 
I believe the real elk cal's and cartridges start at the 7 , as mentioned above ,
and go up into the .308 .. great post and history
Hard to beat the 308 , 30-06 ,7rm or any 300 mags if you can shoot them ...The Kraz to race to the bottom of cal's and recoil makes some sense , or is it a fad ... Recoil is something you hafta handle in certain hunting situations

I see you are a potash miner .. It would be kool if you made a thread and a story of that .. I went on a tour to a Sask mine down down a long ways and its a memory for life
 
obsessed1b said:
You don't specify HOW or WHEN your hunting elk.. hight of the rut it's a 45/70 w hard cast or a carbine 9.3x62 for big holes and bone crushing energy without wrecking all that great meat. For later season open long range stuff 30-06 up to 300 magnums. I generally hunt thick timber though so I'm either Calling or tracking. I like heavy slow bullets.
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I used my 45/70 this year for an elk and moose. It was a lot of fun, 2 shots, 2 big animals down. Hard to argue with that, the moose was 80 yards with hardcast bullet I poured, the elk was 10 yards with a reloaded remington core-lokt.
 
It was the 405 gr, went from front shoulder all the way to the opposite rear quarter (the elk was running down a trail towards me, shot at 10 yards). I found a perfect mushroom bullet under the skin on the far side, still weighed 403 gr.
 
Of the rifles I now have in my stable I consider 3 of them as being capable of taking elk out to my self imposed range of 500 yards, there are the 6.5 PRC with 143gr bullets, the 7mm PRC with the 175gr and on the top of the list is my 300 RUM with the 190gr ABLR which has accounted for many moose and elk in the time I have owned it, it just flat out kills. That being said I did take a beauty 6 x 6 bull in 1993 @ 542 yards with my 338 WM and a 225gr Hornady SP interlock bullet, of the 7 elk I have taken over the years the smallest caliber I used was the 7 RUSM with a 140gr core lock bullet, all those elk were dead on their feet, never had one go more than 75 yards after the hit.
My only advise is shoot the biggest caliber you can comfortably shoot good with a good bullet that will hold together, practice until you are confident you can put that bullet in the right place and you won't be disappointed, there is a huge difference between ringing a steel plate @ 500 yards off a bench than hitting an elk when the adrenaline has kicked and shooting from a field position.
 
I have taken elk with a big variety of cartridges
I am pretty much convinced that as long as you stay in the mid size 7mm or 30 cals you are good to go. I am not sure of how many elk I have seen or been part of that have had zero issues with them he 7x57 or 308 I've used the 257 Weatherby The 375 H&h the 416 REM mag
And I believed that 7mm is where elk cartridges start you will be happy if you have too include the 270 win as it also works ! Practice Practice that s the bottom line
 
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