what caliber for elk
- Thread starter westerner
- Start date
- Location
- Lumby Town!!
elk stuff
The search function is your friend, just search "Elk". 270 is enough with a good bullet and good shot placement. However 30-06, 35 whelen,338wm,.300mags are the more traditional elk rounds.
The search function is your friend, just search "Elk". 270 is enough with a good bullet and good shot placement. However 30-06, 35 whelen,338wm,.300mags are the more traditional elk rounds.
Last edited:
Pudelpointer
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Lethbridge, Alberta
I am assuming that you meant .270 WSM. If so, it will kill elk just fine.
- Location
- Smithers, B.C.
Personally, for Elk, and Moose, a well placed .303 British Round loaded to the top is very potent medicine for any large game.
Iv persornally bagged atleast a half dozen moose and deer with my dads .303 No1 MkIII growing up, using mostly 180+gr. One moose did get away after i shot it, and another went about 100m before it fell. Persornally i prefer 30-06 for just about anything. Its worked good enough for big game im half tempted to use it for bird season too 
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There's more than one answer to your needs. However I think 6.5x55 Swede is the best answer. Very light recoil, awesome penetration, and capable of far more than it gets credit for. It is a great round to reload, and inherently accurate.
Just remember, when you kill your critter with a 6.5 to whisper into it's ear, "you were killed by a whizbang magnum", to reduce it's embarrassment.
Just remember, when you kill your critter with a 6.5 to whisper into it's ear, "you were killed by a whizbang magnum", to reduce it's embarrassment.
- Location
- Saskatchewan
The answer is simple. you have a good elk rifle already. you are bothered by the recoil. You have two options if you do not want to buy another rifle..... but buying another rifle is always a good option.....
1. learn to shoot your rifle by practising lots! Handloading helps keep the cost manageable.
2. handload your rifle down to .270 win or slightly lower velocities and the recoil will be minimized. Hodgdon has many good reduced recoil handloads published on their website.
I wonder though, if you can't handle the recoil of a .270WSM, if you should be hunting elk? Keep in mind I am only moderately experienced, have killed only about 15 or so elk, mostly with .35 Whelen 250 gr. and .308 180 gr. My suggestion for the bare minimum low-recoil elk cartridge is a toss up between medium - heavy rifles (7.5-8lbs) chambered in the 7mm-08 and 6.5x55 swede, both with 140 gr. bullets. Good luck!
1. learn to shoot your rifle by practising lots! Handloading helps keep the cost manageable.
2. handload your rifle down to .270 win or slightly lower velocities and the recoil will be minimized. Hodgdon has many good reduced recoil handloads published on their website.
I wonder though, if you can't handle the recoil of a .270WSM, if you should be hunting elk? Keep in mind I am only moderately experienced, have killed only about 15 or so elk, mostly with .35 Whelen 250 gr. and .308 180 gr. My suggestion for the bare minimum low-recoil elk cartridge is a toss up between medium - heavy rifles (7.5-8lbs) chambered in the 7mm-08 and 6.5x55 swede, both with 140 gr. bullets. Good luck!
- Location
- Saskatchewan
One other suggestion. I have mentored a few first time hunters who were shy of recoil. I get them to the range, and they shoot a magazine full of .22 LR from a rifle with the same type of action that their big game rifle has, so everything is familiar. Then I switch them to one shot with the big game rifle. Back to the .22 for 5 or 10 shots, then one shot with boomer.
Repeat.
This method works wonders with beginners, and builds confidence in experienced shooters too!
*BUT* you must NOT shoot off the bench! hunting positions only, at gongs or other visible targets, or the practise will be wasted.
Repeat.
This method works wonders with beginners, and builds confidence in experienced shooters too!
*BUT* you must NOT shoot off the bench! hunting positions only, at gongs or other visible targets, or the practise will be wasted.
Elk aren't nearly so tough as they're made out to be. People (including me) have been killing them with 303 Britishes and 30-30's for years. Just shoot em in the heart/head/lungs/spine (and not the ass or the elbows), and they'll die from the resulting wound from just about any caliber you care to use.
That said, though -- I don't recommend you go buy a 243 or anything that small -- my personal choice if you're looking to tone down the recoil a bit from the 270WSM, would be what I currently use -- a 308 Winchester with 150 grain premium bullets (Nosler AccuBond's is what I use currently, but Barnes TSX's or Partitions or what-have you would also do fairly well). You can go to a 260 Rem, 6.5x55, or even 7-08 to reduce recoil even further, but the step down in recoil from a 270WSM to a 308 is significant -- the step down from a 308 to a 7-08 or 6.5/260 is not nearly as big a jump down.
YMMV.
That said, though -- I don't recommend you go buy a 243 or anything that small -- my personal choice if you're looking to tone down the recoil a bit from the 270WSM, would be what I currently use -- a 308 Winchester with 150 grain premium bullets (Nosler AccuBond's is what I use currently, but Barnes TSX's or Partitions or what-have you would also do fairly well). You can go to a 260 Rem, 6.5x55, or even 7-08 to reduce recoil even further, but the step down in recoil from a 270WSM to a 308 is significant -- the step down from a 308 to a 7-08 or 6.5/260 is not nearly as big a jump down.
YMMV.
