Its 2023 and you're going on your first elk hunt. What rifle/cartridge do you choose?

I took my first elk with my Winchester Model 70 in 308 Win - 165 Federal Premium factory ammo - might have been a 250 yard shot - it did need a second round to back of the head after several hours tracking - I did not hit it with the first shot where I thought that I was aiming. Second and third elk were taken with 225 grain in 338 Win Mag - again, likely Federal Premium ammo, but I do not recall exact bullets. One was about 100 yards, the other about 15 feet. So, in hindsight, I could have used my deer rifle / deer load for all.

Throughout that time, my Dad took three with his 30-06. Might have used 180 grains for first - was 165 grains for other two. And, advice given and heeded - is NOT deer - keep shooting with whatever you have until four hooves seen in air - a single "kill shot" can have the thing eventually fall down 2 miles away - unbelievable and amazing amount of crap possible over two miles in bush, and virtually always it is going down hill. Learn various killing shots, or at least immobilizing shots - like Texas heart shot. And very little beats familiarity and practice with the scope / rifle that you are carrying - makes me shake head to think someone would consider to buy "new stuff" a few days before leaving on a hunt. For sure, I can tell you that when you are several miles from pavement, and then several hours of pavement to town with Post Office, a "warranty" means about nothing, at that time.
 
I'm poor, so my choice would be whatever I find at a good price in a left hand magnum - 300 mag/wsm, 338mag, 325wsm, something in that ball park. 325wsm would be my choice simply for the uniqueness but I could live with the others if the price is right.

A 30-06 or 7mag would work too if I couldn't find a 30+cal magnum in my price range, but they're so vanilla and I don't really want another 7mm...

Actually this is the next purchase on my list, I'm currently hunting with a 7mm08 and while I'd not hesitate to use that on moose or elk I'd like to have a bigger option in the safe.
 
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Suther said:
I'm poor, so my choice would be whatever I find at a good price in a left hand magnum - 300 mag/wsm, 338mag, 325wsm, something in that ball park. 325wsm would be my choice simply for the uniqueness but I could live with the others if the price is right.

A 30-06 or 7mag would work too if I couldn't find a 30+cal magnum in my price range, but they're so vanilla and I don't really want another 7mm...

Actually this is the next purchase on my list, I'm currently hunting with a 7mm08 and while I'd not hesitate to use that on moose or elk I'd like to have a bigger option in the safe.
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Was my thinking as well - after our Son "inherited" my 308 Win, I got myself a 7x57 - took about a bazillion deer with that one - so I was happy to get a 7x61 S&H - if only to say that I owned a "larger" 7 mm. I also did a pressure series with 160 grain Partitions and Weatherby brass in an acquaintance's Weatherby Mark V rifle in 7mm Weatherby Mag. I have never taken the 7x61 hunting - not doubt, at all, that it would be adequate. Another acquaintance took a moose with a single shot from his - using brass cases that I had re-formed from 7mm Rem Mag and using Hornady Interlock 154 grain bullets. I did buy a bunch of previous fired 7mm Rem mag brass - I do not own a rifle chambered for that one - but have been "blowing out" that brass to make brass for 458 Win Mag cast bullet loads.
 
30-06 165 or 180 gr
7mm Rem mag 160 gr guality bullet I hate this cartridge but it works
300 mag of some flavour 165-180gr bullet
All these are capable of killing elk out to 400 yds
Unless your a experienced shooter you likely should not shoot much 300yds with a 3 " high site in a 100 yds you could basically hold dead on out to 300 yds
I have killed many elk 308 win 30-06 300 h&h 270 win 280 Rem 280 ackely
 
SuperCub said:
117 years later and the 30-06 still checks off all the boxes.

Our trouble is is that we're too cool to shoot something as common and mundane as the 30-06. :)
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True. I use to be in that camp. After using the 'o6 for a number of years, I came to realize it just works every time, and that isn't mundane at all. :)

For that first, or once in a lifetime elk hunt, make mine a M7o in 3o-o6 Sprgfld.
 
LittleBoyLefty said:
True. I use to be in that camp. After using the 'o6 for a number of years, I came to realize it just works every time, and that isn't mundane at all. :)

For that first, or once in a lifetime elk hunt, make mine a M7o in 3o-o6 Sprgfld.
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In our family our Dad used 30-06 and factory ammo from 1948 until his last hunt (2010?) - it was the only centre-fire that he used for any game hunting, for a lot of years - white tail, mule deer, moose and elk - I do not think he ever deliberately hunted for antelope or black bear. In 1976, I bought a new-fangled 308 Win - and started to hand load - so with 150 or 165 grain bullets - not a lot to chose from between 308 Win and 30-06. I think 30-06 starts to pull away about 180 grain and heavier bullets - that is, factory loaded 30-06 versus hand loaded 308 Win.
 
Well depends on the terrain that I am hunting in. Thick bush I pack my 358 Win BLR. If I am in an area that is more open with the potential for longer shots, the 300WM comes along.
 
Northern Shooter said:
It's 2023 and you're going on your first elk hunt. You've decided to buy yourself a new cartridge/rifle for this task. What do you choose?

I know the question of "best elk cartridge" gets thrown around a lot. With each passing decade both the variety and popularity of ideal cartridges seems to change.

I went into this with the classic 338 WinMag in mind but have since found both the selection of quality rifles and in-stock ammunition to be quite limited.

Having the capabiility of being effective on elk at distances of say 400m while also proving versatile enough to be used on other game (bear, sheep goat etc) where opportunity presents itself.

In the 2023 Canadian context (price, availability), what rifle and cartridge are you choosing for this kind of hunt?
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Remington 700 LA rifle, 26" barrel, aftermarket Two Stage triggger, caliber .340 Weatherby (250/275 gr. Swift AF bullet), handloads, no Norma brass. In prehistoric times, I had a Sako L-61 Finnbear in .338 Winchester Magnum for some years.
 
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Snowy Owl said:
Remington 700 LA rifle, 26" barrel, aftermarket Two Stage triggger, caliber .340 Weatherby (250/275 gr. Swift AF bullet), handloads, no Norma brass. In prehistoric times, I had a Sako L-61 Finnbear in .338 Winchester Magnum for some years.
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I ended up going with a Ruger M77 in .338 WinMag.

Now I'm trying to source as much ammo as possible to see which 225gr and 250gr loads it prefers.

Do you not like the Norma Brass? I was considering buying some of the Norma 230gr Oyrx loads.
 
Easy enough. Weatherby brass = Norma brass. 340 Weatherby brass is Norma brass. Too soft for handloading at acceptable pressures - about the same pressure as the .338 Winchester Magnum.
Reference: Handloader - November/December 1968 (page 30-34): In the History of .33 Calibers Here's Roy Weatherby's, by Bob Hagel, who has given that very same information in other articles, regarding the .340 Weatherby and its soft Norma brass, for many years.
There is not that much of a difference between the .338 Winchester Magnum and the .340 Weatherby but the upper hand goes to the .340 Weatherby, due to its higher muzzle velocity, in order to keep the bullet impact velocity above 2,000 f/s as far away as possible.

And I forgot to add about the rifle. No scope. Receiver sight (yes, I know, heresy). Barrel heavy enough to set the weight of the rifle at about 10½ pounds with a shooting sling (military style 1907 leather sling).

All in all, I shot 800 rounds in my Sako L-61 Finnbear rifle, most of it handloads. No muzzle brake. And I would not have a muzzle brake on the .340 Weatherby neither. (But I had a scope on the Sako L-61 Finnbear rifle).
 
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Bob Hagel - I have heard of him - your argument is that the Weatherby / Norma brass that he was using then, is the exact same brass that a hand loader gets in 1983, 1993, 2003, 2013 and 2023 - I would not bet too much on that.
 
Of the rifles in the cabinet currently, I would bring my M77 Mark II .358-375 Ruger, shooting 225 Accubonds at 3150 fps... confidence at every conceivable range. However, having said that, I have only ever hunted elk with a bow.
 
Potashminer,

Maybe you are right. I don't know. But I would not spend a token on Norma brass for the .340 Weatherby, even today .

If I had to go back to . 338 caliber rifles and if I had to handload for a .340 Weatherby, I would choose Peterson Cartridge .340 Weatherby brass cases. Maybe the Weatherby/Norma brass is now up to par. I will let others find out.
 
Snowy Owl said:
Potashminer,

Maybe you are right. I don't know. But I would not spend a token on Norma brass for the .340 Weatherby, even today .

If I had to go back to . 338 caliber rifles and if I had to handload for a .340 Weatherby, I would choose Peterson Cartridge .340 Weatherby brass cases. Maybe the Weatherby/Norma brass is now up to par. I will let others find out.
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I have become particularly suspicious about most brand names - I do not think they mean the same as 20 years ago. I recently got 3 bags of 7.62x39 brass - bag says they were brand RUAG, USA. Made me to think that was made-in-USA stuff. Turns out that company is wholly owned by parent RUAG in Switzerland. Every brass in the bags is headstamped "MFS" - which is a brass / cartridge maker in Hungary, I think - so about nothing whatever about who made them versus who sold them.

Even if "brand" stays the same, the quality sure is different - I certainly went through several bags of W-W blue label stuff in 1980's through early 2000's - 308Win, 7x57, 338 Win Mag - a latest purchase of a couple bags of W-W 22-250 with red-black label bags - just horrible - about 20% in the first bag that I worked through, needed attention just to load them - "spout" shapes on case mouths like pitchers, shoulders with creases and folds, and so on - there was more "problem children" found in that first bag of 100 brass, than I had run into since mid-1980's. My "warrantee" - I will not be buying any more red/black label bags of W-W brass - with that product, W-W took themselves out of consideration for me - is all I have to go on - the red/black label by W-W - if I find out who made those, they are out of consideration as well, and whichever other head stamp they used. It would be a pretty sad state of affairs if that was someone's first purchase of brass to reload, or someone thinking that is "normal" and usual for this game.
 
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BigUglyMan said:
I'm not optimistic that anyone makes a synthetic stock with an inlet for a BSA. So I guess I'll have to stick with highly figured walnut!

Yi2yWoP.jpeg
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I agree. A BSA in a synthetic would look kinda weird to me even if a good stock supplier offered them. This is me former one in 458 Win Mag.
Me 458 Herters U9 BSA.jpg
 

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