"I'm going elk huntin'"

G

gobigorgohome

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Super GunNutz
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Saskatchewan
Here's the idea,

You finally draw that elk tag of a life time or you get invited by friends to head up north and hunt open season. Your coolers are packed, your hunting clothes are packed. Your bugle and mouth calls are sitting in your hunting pack by the door. You see your friend's truck pull up to your place. Quads loaded, everything ready to go. You head into your gun room and open your safe.... what gun do you grab? What's your go-to, know you're going to kill an elk gun and what round?

I got invited on an elk hunt in Northern Sk this fall. We sat all of archery season, no luck. But headed up again for rifle. I have recently down sized my "big game" rifle collection and only have a 260 left to use, so I got some 140gr partitions and loaded them up. If successful this fall though, I think I'll be purchasing a new "elk" gun for next fall, I'm just curious what everyone else's "go to" is, it'll help steer me in the right direction!
 
A .300 WM or WSM would be about perfect... loaded with a premium 165-180 grain bullet, AB or Part or mono GMX or TTSX and off you go... that rifle and your 260 cover anything you might want to do, from coyotes to grizzly bears.
 
Anything from 270 Win and up I would consider a proper choice. Before I get jumped for the 270 min, they can be killed with lesser chamberings, that's just where I'd start with Elk as a primary choice. My one gun for the job is 300 Win Mag, but I've shot a few with the 270, and it worked very well with 140 tsx.

The monometals have made the smaller cartridges more acceptable, as long as you have the velocity to open them. You may have to choose your shots a little more with the 260, but it'll for sure work.
 
I bought my Bear/Elk rifle earlier this year.

M700 CDL SF in 35 Whelen

2 scope setup. VX3 1.5-5 and VX3 3.5-10.




I still wish it was a Stainless M70 though.......
 
I dropped an elk bang-flop with a 260 and 130 gr TSX. Nothing wrong with it, just keep ranges reasonable. Killed a bull with a 7x57AI. Today, I'd grab my -06 for an elk hunt with my 165gr Swift Sirocco handload, but would feel totally comfortable with my 7x57AI and 145gr LRX.
 
GMC403 said:
I know,
But I like the M70 CRF action/safety + the extra round a little more. The M700 fits me better though.
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I have a like new 35Whelen in a 7600 as well. You might like that better yet. I've never hunted elk, but think a 35W would be a good choice for such critters.
 
SuperCub said:
I have a like new 35Whelen in a 7600 as well. You might like that better yet. I've never hunted elk, but think a 35W would be a good choice for such critters.
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I actually bought one last year and I did like it, it was surprising accurate too. But I just can't seem to be ok with lugging around a wood/blued rifle in the slash/rain out here.

I like the Whelen for what it offers inside 300y. A 30/06, 308, 280, 270 would be just fine by me as well. If I felt the need to try and push it to 400-500y, I would likely go with something a bit flatter (300wm, 338wm).

Elk are big creatures and I would prefer a stouter cartridge vs a just adequate one (more to help my inexperienced butt anyway possible).

I've been charged more often, and have felt more threatened by Bull Elk than any bear (black) to date. If you stumble across a herd and startle a bull during their rut..... watch out. I've been close to wearing antler tips a few times now.
 
GMC403 said:
I bought my Bear/Elk rifle earlier this year.

M700 CDL SF in 35 Whelen

2 scope setup. VX3 1.5-5 and VX3 3.5-10.




I still wish it was a Stainless M70 though.......
Click to expand...

Nice looking rifle! I've got something similar, a 700 stainless in .338-06 wearing a VX-R 3-9x40. Seeing as you're running a 2 scope setup, which one do you find yourself using more in the field? I've looked through that 1.5-5 VX3 and was really impressed.
 
Prairie Plinker said:
Nice looking rifle! I've got something similar, a 700 stainless in .338-06 wearing a VX-R 3-9x40. Seeing as you're running a 2 scope setup, which one do you find yourself using more in the field? I've looked through that 1.5-5 VX3 and was really impressed.
Click to expand...

I've actually only had the opportunity to use the 3.5-10 for load development and zeroing. The 1.5-5 is an excellent scope that is really all I need out to 300y. I went with the #4 reticle and it works very well in low light/heavy timber.
 
The 260 is adequate. Seeing as you found the 300WM a little much, I would consider the 270 or 280 as an alternative if you feel the need for a new rifle. Just use good bullets ( accubond, partition,A frame)
 
GMC403 said:
I've actually only had the opportunity to use the 3.5-10 for load development and zeroing. The 1.5-5 is an excellent scope that is really all I need out to 300y. I went with the #4 reticle and it works very well in low light/heavy timber.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply! I'm not a long range hunter by any means, and more often than not I found myself wishing I had a little less magnification. To close to hunting season to start playing around with something new, but next season I do believe there will be some new glass to look through! :)
 
I'm using my 7mm Rem. Mag. this autumn for bull elk, utilizing 150gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip handloads. If I get lucky, I'll let you know if that combo is good enough.;)
 
My own choice for big game is a 30 calibre rifle. I've got them in 300WSM, 308Win, 30-06Sprg and a 338Fed and 358Win. Quite a bit of overlap and redundancy in these. As each is sighted for a POA of +/- 250 meters with either 180, 200 or 210 grain Partitions, which one I grab for a hunt is a pretty much a moot point. My current favourite is this one:

Browning A Bolt II Stainless Hunter 30-06
aboltsh30061.JPGaboltsh30062.JPG
 

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