Elk rifle caliber

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Rogue_wave

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Hi to all. A small group of us are contemplating a horseback elk hunt in the next year or so. I don't know where yet, but the one guide my buddy talked to said we need to be accurate with our shots to 300 yds. Sounds fair, now I need some advice from those have hunted elk as to what caliber should I be looking at. I do currently have a .270 and a 30/06 that I use for deer. Elk being a larger animal and the longer possible distances, what would you recommend. Thanks in advance.


cheers


R/W
 
Your .30/06 will do (depending on the platform)... but this is a good excuse to buy a new rifle. Any of the 7mm/.30 cals will do, but if recoil is not an issue, and particularly if you reload, there is no good reason to "not" choose one of the .30 cal magnums, .300 WM would be my choice of these, but the WSM, RCM, RSAUM, RUM etc... or even .300 H&H would be good choices... you may not need that extra horsepower but it certainly won't hurt you... the 7 RM would also be a good option.
 
Unless you're looking for an excuse to buy a new rifle, just use what you have, and it wouldn't matter much which one. Take the money you would have spent on the new rifle, buy ammo instead, and practice, practice, practice.
 
Use your 270 or -06, but if you wanna just buy a new rifle you mise well step up your game to a 338 win mag. You got a 30-06 and 270 you said, and a 7mm rem mag or even a 300 win mag isnt a huge increase, I mean its enough of one but why not go big and then your set for alaska if you ever choose to go.
 
You could just use what you have, but if you want another rifle consider a .300. It's hard to find a condition or an animal where it isn't a first class choice. The only downside is that at campfire rifle discussions your turn is going to be very short. Very few people will argue whether it will work or not so there is no need to talk about. Then they can go back to explaining how their choice is almost as good, or kills better than the numbers say, or kicks less. Some will go as far as saying that a .300 Win is a performance caliber for hunters who aren't that interested in guns.

The potential downside is that the recoil is a bit much for casual shooters.
 
I've harvested elk as far away as 255 yards with a .25'06.

What's the conundrum and trepidation all about?

I'm not suggesting the .25'06 is a be all elk cartridge. What I'm saying is it will work, if you are proficient with it.

May I be so bold to suggest, more time spent shooting therefore becoming proficient with what you already have on hand.

Of course if this hunt is justification for another gun in the cabinet, by all means try something else, but just make sure you become proficient with it.......
 
.30-06 or .270 will both work fine to 300 yards.

One thing to consider is the length of rifle if you are hunting off horseback. If you're foot hunting out of a spike camp it doesn't really matter, but if you want your gun in a spot that is ready to go quickly a short handy rifle is ideal.
 
Lefty #### said:
May I be so bold to suggest, more time spent shooting therefore becoming proficient with what you already have on hand.

Of course if this hunt is justification for another gun in the cabinet, by all means try something else, but just make sure you become proficient with it.......
Click to expand...

Best answer yet, IMO.
 
A boat with a hole in it will sink, but a boat with a bigger hole will sink faster.
I can't remember who said that. Robert Ruark?
 
I would us your 270 and shoot it a lot before you go ,make sure you do some practice out to 300 yards so you know first hand what yur gun is doing at this range ,.I have a beauty bull elk hanging in my front breeze way that was shot with my 270 pump in golden BC and he died just as dead as if he was shot with a 50cal ,elk are not really hard to kill and there ribs are not bullet prof ,270 or your 06 will be just fine D
 
Your .270 and 30-06 used properly are the right tools for the job. Get comfortable with 300 yard shots or further, and when the opportunity comes its all a matter of shot placement. I myself use my 7mm rem mag and it does great job with a 160gr TSX.
 
Anything in that .270 130gr with a MV of around 2900-3000 ft/sec or 7mm 140gr at 2800+ and proper bullet selection will do just fine IMO as a reliable choice.

Smaller will work too as distances close.

A boiler room hit is a boiler room hit and a miss is still a miss, no such thing as missing less.

And like others have said, practice and confidence in your tool will trump all chambering choices, within reasonable common sense uses.
 
If you're going to buy a new rifle, get the. 300Win Mag and practice with it a lot. My advice, having been elk hunting in Colorado twice, would be to use either your. 270 or. 30-06 with premium bullets and use your money to invest in good binoculars or a good spotting scope, or both. When you have to count tines or estimate brow tine length, you'll need all the help you can get.
 
And the other advice that I would highly recommend would be to take the time to get yourself in top physical condition before you go. You will get more out of your hunt and more out of life in general.
 
Here is my advice based on a fair bit of elk experience. My family and friends have taken more than 70 elk on our hunts. All kills have been recorded. The most common cartridges used have been .270, .308, and 30-06. Some have been taken with 7mm-08, some with .375H&H. And most everything in-between. They all work when shot well and with good bullets.

If you are a competent hunter and not just a shooter, there is seldom any reason to take a shot over 300 yards. When we find a distant elk, we stalk closer. We have wounded and lost very few elk, but the four I can recall were a calf shot in the leg with a .308, a bull hit in the hump with a 30-06, a bull hit in the guts with a 300 magnum ( at about 350 yards! ) , and another bull gut shot with a 35 Whelen. A relatively "big" rifle doesn't guarantee a clean kill, good stalking, and good shooting with good bullets does.

An elk won't drop at the shot like a deer or even like some moose will. They often run hard and may show no sign of a hit. Always reload immediately after shooting. If you know you hit the first shot keep shooting at the running elk!

You already have two good elk rifles. Just don't use light and fast expanding deer bullets in them. Or buy a .300 mag, or a .35 Whelen, .338 or 9.3x62. All are excellent if you practise with them and can handle the higher recoil and still hit what you aim at from hunting positions. Don't try "iffy" shots, and place your bullets in vital organs. Hunt hard, stalk close, shoot well, and you will be successful. Have fun!
 
30-06 has so many bullet choices it would make more sense to use that rifle, leave the 270 at home.
Spend the extra cash on quality optics and go over your clothing, boots, pack and see if yer lacking in those departments before worrying about an upgrade in rifle caliber.
30-06 is an extremely versatile caliber and with the right ammo will cleanly and efficiently kill any beast in north america if the shooter is up to task.

My 2cents
 
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