Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Backup elk rifle input

Going to use CTR .260 as primary arm because I'm told shots may be longish but pondering which of several other rifles I should take. Also getting a black bear tag.

Should it be something for longer shots also, or more compact and lighter for close cover in case of poor shooting by our group or that's where the elk are?

Got following for longer: .308 LTR, .270 MR, Tropical .375, Tang .300 WM.

Short/light: .358 Frontier, .45/70 GG, 50s 760 '06 w/19-in. Bbl.

Know the MR could straddle both duties, but kinda like idea of 200+ grains
in close cover or for wounded critters.

The elk are likely to be in the thick stuff after opening morning. But the thick stuff often opens up to broad expanses and you may well find elk along the edges or even trotting across the open space.

Point is, elk are where you find them and they often surprise you.

Take whichever rifle you like. Your .45-70GG would, to my way of thinking, be the most fun. But it is also the most range limited.

The tanger .300WM would be my choice.

I own a .260, a 7x57 and a .300 wm , any will work , but the .300 wm is the first choice. If I were you I would start with it and take the CTR as a Backup.

Tang 300wm for open country
760 '06 for brush

These two have you covered. But if you a WANT another rifle, you can find a niche in there somewhere that needs to be filled.

My primary is a .338 WM. My backup is a 375 H&H. Ended up using the secondary for the entire season two years ago after dropping it twice on opening morning.


I'd carry the one that shot the best of those listed.

Doesn't get much better than that CTR for packing around the elk woods. Love the steel mag that hangs down. I'm sure it doesn't affect balance and carries well... NO need for a backup when you have a rifle like this one..

With 200's the .300 can do an outstanding job near or far.. You don't even need to go that heavy bullet wise..

Oh and my .300 wm is a Tikka T3 and my 7x57 is an old tanger 77. So we are on the same page there.

Any of the rifles mentioned should should within 1 1/2 MOA, so picking the one that shoots the best might not be the best way to choose.
There are other factors, like which one is most reliable in a blizzard, which one holds zero best, is the weight conducive to carrying up and down a mountain all day, and what scope do you have mounted on it.
I think a rugged scope is one of the top priorities. Also, I want a generous eye box, and the thing sitting in as rugged a mount as I can find.
If you plan on shooting at distance, I would take each rifle out and see how close your first cold barrel shot comes to point of aim at 300 and 400 yards. A half minute of angle group doesn't mean much if is a foot away from point of aim.

Can't beat a 300 wm for a versatile western deer elk bear rifle.

300 WM is the classic elk cartridge and depending on your marksmanship & wind conditions gives you an elk stopper out past 400 yards. I'm partial to 180 grain TTSX bullets going as fast as they shoot well for elk.

Having a back up rifle on a rough country hunt is a smart thing to bring ready to go. I missed the biggest buck I have ever seen through s rifle scope when I knocked my scope around on an elk hunt in Colorado.

A 300 Magnum in a rifle that is too heavy to haul up a mountain, or that won't put it's first, cold barrel shot on point of aim, or that has some imitation of the Hubble telescope doesn't make an elk hunting package. Elk hunting is not a game of marksmanship, it's a hell of a lot more like an endurance contest. And you can kill elk quite easily past 400 yards with a 270.
More elk are missed by over gunned hunters, than are lost to under gunned hunters-.

You can make a nice .300 of suitable wt. with a 3x9 scope or 6x if you prefer that weights no more than a .270.. My .300's have always put the first shot from a cold bore right to the point of aim.. They pack a lot more punch than a .270.. I have shot elk with both, the .270 kills, but the 30's put elk down with authority.. At times like this I would like to know how many elk people have put one the ground and with what calibers..


the old .270 fan John Jobson said the perfect elk rifle would be a .300 with 180 gr. Part. If you can shoot it.. You may not be able to handle that combo, then you have to be satisfied with something less.

.300 Win mag ( 180 or 200 gr Nosler Partition) and the .270 (150 or 160 gr Nosler Partition) as back-up.

.300 is the way to go.

The original poster is not making a rifle for the hunt . He is taking a set up that he already has- Very important point.
Another point that I would have thought a coyote hunter would know, is that whether a rifle puts it's first shot dead on or not is not dependent on the cartridge, it has to do with bedding, barrel characteristics, etc.
Profession guides have said on here that about one out of ten hunters that show up with Magnums can handle them.- Another bear guide has had to follow up more bears that were wounded with magnums than with 270 class cartridges.
And I have shot elk with the 270, 300 magnum, 35 Whelen and been around a few more shot with other calibers.
Just so we are getting a fair comparison here, how many elk have you seen killed with each, the 270 and the 300 magnum, and with what kind of bullets.

50+ with my old 270 and 130gr partitions. 2 with a 260 and 130 tsx.

Id take the 270 mountain rifle.

They'll all kill elk. I've killed elk with 30-06, 30-30, 300 wm and 270 wsm.

It's really about what you can shoot with confidence and that you can stand to pack in a couple of miles.

[quote=Royce...
Another point that I would have thought a coyote hunter would know, is that whether a rifle puts it's first shot dead on or not is not dependent on the cartridge, it has to do with bedding, barrel characteristics, etc.
Profession guides have said on here that about one out of ten hunters that show up with Magnums can handle them.- Another bear guide has had to follow up more bears that were wounded with magnums than with 270 class cartridges.
And I have shot elk with the 270, 300 magnum, 35 Whelen and been around a few more shot with other calibers.
Just so we are getting a fair comparison here, how many elk have you seen killed with each, the 270 and the 300 magnum, and with what kind of bullets. [/quote]

Everyone knows that NO ONE can shoot a .300WM with any accuracy. Just look at my .300WM target below for proof. The first shot was from an oiled bore so while its placement is understandable. There is, however, no excuse for #3 except poor marksmanship.



In 2010 I took more or less identical Ruger rifles to the range for a last check before my elk hunt. One was a .30-06 and the other my .300WM. I set clay pigeons up on the 600 yard berm and took a total of 5 shots, two with one rifle and three with the other. I don't recall which was which, but it is irrelevant - what is important is that while I got a pigeon with both guns, I MISSED with three of the five shots. Probably should have just sold both rifles right then. Like a fool I kept them but had the good sense to hunt with the .30-06, which dropped my elk so fast it was on the ground before I recovered from the recoil. In 2012,though, I reverted to stupid and hunted with the .300WM. I shot my elk at 399-400 yards (measured via GPS coordinates and Google Earth) and, as anyone with any brains would expect, it failed to go down at the shot. Instead it went about 5 yards total before piling up just as I was getting ready to fire a second shot. Got lucky on that one...

Here is a pic of the elk and the Ruger MKII .300WM, exit side:


The cow was down inside the circle:


Sure wish I'd used a non-magnum...

The OP doesn't say whether or not he can shoot all of the rifles with the same accuracy. In fact, one would expect that not all of the rifles are equally accurate, regardless of the shooter's skills. In lieu of information to the contrary, though, I'll take it on faith that the OP shoots each of the rifles mentioned well enough to have confidence in considering them for an elk hunt. While you rant about magnums, you know nothing about how the OP shoots each of his rifles or about their individual capabilities with regard to first round shot placement. One would think you would know that "whether a rifle puts it's first shot dead on or not is not dependent on the cartridge".

How many elk have I seen killed with a .270 Win? None - no one I hunt with uses one. That said, over the years I've seen multiple elk that were killed with a .270, I just didn't witness the killing personally. From 1982 until 2002 the only bolt gun I used for elk was my 7mm RM. Since 2000 I've taken 13 elk using a variety of rifles, including my 7mm RM, multiple .30-06s, a .300WM and a .45-70. In addition I've hunted them with .257 Roberts, .30-30, .375 Win and .44 Mag rifle and pistol, but with no shots taken. My hunting buddies have used .30-30, 7mm RM, .30-06 and .300WM rifles. This year Daughter #1 will be going on her first elk hunt and will use her .308 Win. If her by-then hubby buys a non-resident OTC tag it will be his first elk hunt as well and he will use a .30-06. My current plan is to use a .280 Rem.

Funny thing, the .280 Rem doesn't shoot any better than my 7mm RM, .300WM or even my .338WM. Here's a group from said .338WM. First two shots were cold bore, after which I marked the target while allowing the barrel to cool before taking the 3rd, unmarked shot. Pretty crappy repeatability - the 3rd shot missed both of the previous holes.


I don't know what possessed me to think it was accurate enough for hunting elk, but in 2013 I did just that and used the .338WM to take my elk at 487 lasered yards, the longest shot I've ever taken on big game. The elk continued on for 58 yards before going down. Sure wish I'd used a non-magnum...