Elk rifle.

Might consider a.375 H&H Magnum. It's within the spectrum of popular rounds and has plenty of wallop and range. Here's my Sako 85 Kodiak with a Leupold VX-2 Ultralight 3-9x33mm scope (but about 30% more than your budget) -

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I'm surprised there is no 7mm Rem Mag. Never hunted Elk but was looking at going next year. Our dollar sucks so might wait as I will go with an outfitter. I was planning on bringing my Sako A7 in 7mm Rem Mag with a Bushnell 4200 2.5x10 and shooting Federal 175gr TBBC.
 
Norma said:
I'm surprised there is no 7mm Rem Mag. Never hunted Elk but was looking at going next year. Our dollar sucks so might wait as I will go with an outfitter. I was planning on bringing my Sako A7 in 7mm Rem Mag with a Bushnell 4200 2.5x10 and shooting Federal 175gr TBBC.
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There's no reason not to use a 7mm rem mag it's a good hunting round and if your happy with your rifle
 
I 99% of the time use my 338 win mag, but this past season I used my 270 win with very good results. I say for dedicated elk gun I would go 30-06/equivalent or something with more power. Elk are a lot tougher than people realize. I used my 270 with 140 accubonds because the shot was less than 90 yards and perfectly broadside. He only wobbled ten yards and fell over. If it wasn't good conditions I most likely would have past on the shot using my 270. Elk have been taken with less than ideal calibers, elk have been lost with less than ideal calibers. Same said for guns that make you flinch. I like to use a tough bullet and enough gun, find a gun you can shoot well, get used to it and the only thing left is to find the elk.
 
Never hunted them but I did go to a .338WM Win CRF for Moose. I think there is an advantage to the bigger bullets when compared to the .300WM. I found the .338 was more pleasant to shoot as well compared to hunting friend's .300WM and .300 Weatherby.
 
Norma said:
I'm surprised there is no 7mm Rem Mag. Never hunted Elk but was looking at going next year. Our dollar sucks so might wait as I will go with an outfitter. I was planning on bringing my Sako A7 in 7mm Rem Mag with a Bushnell 4200 2.5x10 and shooting Federal 175gr TBBC.
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There was one above and that was me. The 7mm rem mag is a great rifle for Elk. I have a 1975 Winchester M70 that is my Elk rifle.
 
I faced this very question last summer, but I wanted a moose/elk gun. Basically same criteria.

I ended up with a Leupold V-XR 3-9x40 sitting on top of a glass-bedded Rem. 700 action, Ron Smith barreled .338/06 with a Timney. Rifle cost me $1600 and the scope was, yep, close to $900. Probably payed too much for the scope but I needed it at the time and there were no sales to be had, but I have no regrets, the Fire-dot is just excellent in low-light conditions!

Haven't had a chance yet at a moose or elk with it, but a nice whitetail buck met his end this past season.
 
Mauser98 said:
These are my two candidate cartridges for elk or moose.

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Both excellent cartridges, that will get the job done, but I don't feel it's necessary to go that big? Personally, I feel a person is better off with alighter caliber they can shoot unflinchingly and accurately. But, I guess that's like debating whether Ford, Dodge, GM or Toyota make the best truck. It's all a question of druthers. Whenever I give someone advice, I always point out that you're better off with a smaller caliber that you can consistently hit the critter in the boiler room with than a cannon you hit them in the hoof with because it makes you flinch.

Another lesson that was painfully driven home after I moved to Ottawa was the importance of practicing in fairly accurate hunting conditions. Before moving here, I fired thousands of round per year offhand, snap shooting, etc. I could consistently hit grouse in the head out to about 25 yards with my Kentucky rifle. Then, the range I started using was basically BR only. At the club, I could shoot some pretty darned nice groups. When I got back into the field, however, I could barely hit the side of a barn. I switched clubs, and fire a lot of offhand shots at varying ranges, and so on, and now, I'm pretty close to being able to shoot as well as I used to.
 
A sucker born every day soon all the young guys will be packing 338 lapua to hunt rabbits because it's new and trendy
Rabbits are tough to kill if you shoot them wrong But 338 lapua will up the odds I your Favor Haahaa
 
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Worry more about getting the rifle/platform you want than cartridge selection.... .264's/.270's/..284's/.308's/etc. will all do the job well. I'd be focused on something of reasonable weight to carry all day, stainless, good synthetic stock, etc. A fixed 6 leupold makes a good choice for an all around scope.....even in close range hunting. I beleive using a cartridge with less recoil and that is less powder hungry equates to more trigger time in the off-season which has a way of increasing "luck."

Giving a thought to having a good pack, good footwear and good clothing that allows one to hunt all day, go wherever the elk go and not be afraid to have to pack one out of somewhere s&@$!?y is something to consider as well.
 
bollox said:
It is (and what I have used for elk in the past) Doesn't get me a new gun though. ;)
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Big Jon said:
Worry more about getting the rifle/platform you want than cartridge selection.... .264's/.270's/..284's/.308's/etc...
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But according to the OP, he owns a 270 and has used it on Elk but wants something new. The specifications for the new rifle depends on how and where he hunts.
 
Slamfire said:
But according to the OP, he owns a 270 and has used it on Elk but wants something new. The specifications for the new rifle depends on how and where he hunts.
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Yes. I read it to mean that he already has a good elk gun, but just wants a different one. The .270 is a great elk gun. Pretty hard to beat a .270 with a 150 grain Nosler Partition to take an elk. I would slightly prefer a 6.5 mm caliber though due to the wider variety of bullet choices, and perhaps a bit lower recoil, depending on the cartridge chosen.
 
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