Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Just for grins - pick the ideal rifle for this situation

I thought this might be a fun twist on gun selection... Instead of picking "the best caliber for deer", or "the best antelope rifle", I'll lay out a situation, and you pick your ideal rifle for those conditions.

To avoid a pisssin' contest, let's all just assume the shooter is someone who practices often and can make the shot presented.

Situation:

Quarry: Bull Elk (let's shoot for the moon and say he's 380"+)
Animal's demeanor: feeding & calm
Animals orientation: ever so slightly quartering towards you
Terrain: Open sage country (assume you can't get closer)
Distance: 510 yards
Shooter position/rest: Prone across the hunters back pack
Shooter demeanor: Calm as one could be when shooting at a 380" bull
Wind: little to no wind, assume 0-5 mph
Temperature: 30 degrees Fahrenheit
Other weather notes: No snow, but the weather man says that it will (they're never right... or are they?).

Well, there you have it... I have my own opinion, but let's hear which gun/ammo combo you would you want in this situation...

30.06

Hopefully the one you can shoot accurately with confidence with a verified dope past the specified distance.

Personally I would like to have a .284 or larger entry hole propelled from a long action cartridge.

It has been done countless times with less but that is what I would prefer.

Favorite include: 280AI, 30-06, 7RM or the big 338LM if I humped it up the mountain.

222 magnum.... Oh wait, no one shoots magnums well...

7mm Remington Magnum, 150gr TTSX. Similar situation on my 2015 moose hunt, love it when a plan comes together.



Cheers!

Ruger 77 HE All Weather 338 WM. I'm intimately familiar with this rifle and and cartridge. It's accurate and flat shooting enough and carries plenty of steam upon arrival.

I'd use any of my following rifles and existing handloads without concern:

7mmm RM, 140g Barnes TTSX or either 140g or 160g North Fork SS
.30-06, 150g Nosler AccuBond or 168g Barnes TTSX or 165g North Fork SS
.300WM, 180g Barnes TTSX or (now unavailable but I have some left) Barnes MRX or 180g North Fork SS
.338WM, 225g Nosler AccuBond

I'm not good enough to make that shot. But if I were I'd pick my 300 WSM. It could be done with a 30-06 and good loads, probably even a 308, but the WSM adds a little insurance. I don't think any of the other 7mm or 300 mags would be a bad choice, but that is what I have.

I would be more than happy with my 338-06 throwing 210 gr Partitions at 2800 fps.

Well except the 550 yards and It was only a 370+ but this happened for me this year.
Hs Precision 300wsm shooting Berger 168's and a Zeiss Hd 3x15x42 with lockable target turett with Kenton cap.
Worked great!

If I knew ahead of time the situation would come up- 7Mag
Since it's unlikely to know such a thing I'd have my usual go to rifle-Remington 700adl 338-06, 210 Nosler.
510 would be a reach for me, but I think I could make it work.

50 BMG in a ring mount.

7mm-08, 140 Partition. I'd aim waaaaay up high so the bullet would hit the ground about 10' away from him on the off side. He'd spook in my direction and I'd drop him at 100 yards.

Simple.



P

300 Bee

I've made that shot on bull elk (more than once) and the rifle was a 300 Win Mag loaded with a 180 NPT.But the bulls weren't 380"...

Another time the bull WAS in the 380+ range,550-600 yards and the rifle and load were the same. I did not shoot due to very windy conditions (probably in excess of 30 mph) and I did not want to risk wounding him,so passed on the shot after sitting behind the rifle for about 45 minutes.

Obviously I'd be very comfortable with the same rifle and load,but today I'd likely have my 7mm Mashburn Super. That rifle would it do for me. I'd also do it with a standard 7 Rem Mag.

There are others I'd be comfortable with, assuming I was comfortable shooting an elk at all at 500 yards,in the first place.

A 300 Win mag with 200 gr Swift A-Frames- after I worked at least a couple hundred yards closer. I could make the shot but not with absolute certainty (or as close to such as I am capable) and have no desire to possibly lose an animal by a slight (or not so slight) mistake on my part.

I pretty much feel there is always a way to get closer but it may not be quick nor comfortable. Much more often than not, my inability to get closer was a result of my impatience, carelessness, or lack of desire to go through the pain to get the result I wished. For a 380" bull I could probably control my impatience and up my pain tolerance a bit.

I lost a deer once, it is not something I wish to repeat. My stomach still twists at the remembrance and I would have an even worse time with a real trophy if I were to have a similar mishap. So, I would pass on this situation and hope for another crack at the bull when conditions were more favorable to me.

Of what I currently have, 300 H&H comes to mind first. But then the 270 Wby and 325 WSM would certainly be up for the task...

I've not shot one that far but my M70 EW 300 WSM shooting 180 Partitions. I've shot over my pack out to 600 with that rifle. The key words in your sentence to me are "no wind". With no wind, I'd try that shot. A cross canyon shot with a wind, I'd likely pass - and have.

I'd also likely feel up to the task with a big 7 of some flavor flinging a 160 Partition. I carried a 7 RM shooting 160 NPT for a couple years and shot it out to 600 in field conditions. Again, no wind and I'd do it.

Interestingly my buddy shot shot a 330-ish bull this past fall in about exactly the same situation, distance was 502 if I recall correctly. 2 shots on target with his 300 WSM/180 NPT that I helped him assemble resulted in a very dead bull. The crappy ole Party somehow worked <G>

AC 130 H Spectre

I would be fine with either my 7 Mag or 280 with 160s.