Elk hunt - what cartridge

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Luke60

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I just booked a $12,000 elk hunt , ranges will be 450 at most ..
What would you take for a rifle / cartridge combo/ terrain is average hilly flat
Lots of tree cover so a shot elk could disappear quickly

Sounds like 223 , 6.5 range may be the way to go ?

or is it
 
Luke60 said:
I just booked a $12,000 elk hunt , ranges will be 450 at most ..
What would you take for a rifle / cartridge combo/ terrain is average hilly flat
Lots of tree cover so a shot elk could disappear quickly

Sounds like 223 , 6.5 range may be the way to go ?

or is it
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What do you have available now that you are comfortable with?
 
How Good are you for shot placement?

I'd Recommend a 30-06 Springfield or 7mm Remington Mag for 100 to 400 yards. 270 Winchester could also work.
I don't have any experiences with the 6.5 creedmore, I'm sure it would work with proper bullets and shot placement.

If ranges are leaning more towards the 400+ range a 300 Winchester Mag would help at longer range.

( In no particular order)

Recommended Newer Rifles:

1. Sako 75 or Sako 85
2. Tikka T3 Hunter
3. Winchester model 70
4. Ruger 77 or Ruger Hawkeye
5. Browning Xbolt
6. Remington 700
7. Weatherby MK5
8. Kimber 8400


Recommended Budget Rifles:

1. Savage 110
2. Ruger American Gen 2
3. Weatherby Vanguard
4. Stevens 334
5. Parker Hale 1200

My experience elk hunting I used a Kimber 8400 tactical in 308 Winchester. (A little heavier than I would recommend)
I used regular Winchester white box 180 grain soft-point bullets.
Elk Bull dropped like a rock at about 170 yards. I hit both lungs and part of the heart. Bullet mushroomed and stopped in the hide on the far side.
 
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I wouldn't want to shoot something at 400+ with a 223 or any of the smaller 6.5s. Even 30-06 is on the edge for me, I like 2k fps impact velocities as a minimum and 30-06 drops below that threshold with some bullets before 400.

300 and 325wsm are good options. 7mm rem mag, 6.5prc, 7mm prc would be the options I would look at if you want less recoil.
 
Luke60 said:
I just booked a $12,000 elk hunt , ranges will be 450 at most ..
What would you take for a rifle / cartridge combo/ terrain is average hilly flat
Lots of tree cover so a shot elk could disappear quickly

Sounds like 223 , 6.5 range may be the way to go ?

or is it
Click to expand...
My goodness, $12,000?!?! I hope that they will guarantee you at least a 350 B&C bull. I shot my last bull with a 270 winchester while hunting whitetails. Out of the 9 elk I shot, 7 were with the 30-06, 1 with the 270, 1 with the 7mm Rem. Mag.
 
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