For me, number one choice and the one I’ve taken all my most difficult shots on elk with is the 6.5x284 Winchester (now standardized by Norma).
Second place goes to the .270 Roy. Although I haven’t taken as many elk with it, if push came to shove I’d say it’s the best ever.
Shot a bunch with the .338 Win Mag and .300 Roy and my experience with those tells me the two above are superior. More bang/flop kills with the 6.5x284, .270 Bee and .270 Win, for sure.
What could be a sadder way to end a life than to die having never hunted with great dogs, good friends and your family?
In this hypothetical, I've opted to pack a 45 Colt Blackhawk loaded with 315gr LFN bullets at 1100. The easily 400+ bull steps out of some timber at 110 yards, and I whip out my improvised rest. He takes the first shot though the lungs, takes three steps forward, and gets the next shot though the shoulders, dropping right there. Other hunters seem to show up out of nowhere to congratulate me, help me cut this guy up, and help me pack him down and out to the truck. I get photos of each with the bull, and have acquired new lifelong friends.
Amazing. I have just successfully completed the hunt of a lifetime. I'm pretty proud of myself. When I get home, my wife and kids are there to shower me with congratulations and hugs, tears of pride welling up in their eyes.
It's Miller time!
LOL, that's awesome and so true. thank you for posting that.
Here's a good read when it comes to the OP's question. It reflects my experience as well with different calibers and cartridges. personally I junt with a .308 suppressed shooting 168 gr berger VLDs. it's poison on elk, most drop within feet of where they are hit. This article breaks down the science between cartridges and the give and take of a few popular cartridges.
I did find it amusing that so often I hear about guys not taking long shots because that's not hunting, or they like to get in close etc. we've all read them and some of us feel the same still, and that's ok. The article shows difference under 400 yards between cartridges is negligible from a practical standpoint. no doubt someone will go off on a tangent disagreeing with me and pointing at the difference in energy etc. that's why I put the word "practical" in there. and the article pretty much says the same thing showing there's not a whole lot of difference in what it takes to kill and elk and what they deliver. the cartridges are 308, 300wm and 338 wm for those who are curious. spoiler alert, the magnums really only shine at extended ranges and poor shot angles with mono bullets. granted you can't always pick how the animal is standing and I absolutely get that. But the practical reality is that it's pretty unlikely that you often get a texas heart shot (yes it has happened to me once and no rifle choice is going to make me want to take that shot ever, I ate that tag). I've only killed 16 or so elk and magnum or not wouldn't have made a difference on any of them when it was said and done. 4 were shot with magnums the rest with everything from a .243 to 30-06.
Good thing I found this thread after all of these years for you guys. The answer to the question is a Kimber Montana in a 325 WSM. Y'all can thank me later!
My friend who is a guide in Montana, with about 50 years of Elk hunting says he is happiest when a hunter shows up with a rifle with worn bluing and a scratched up stock chambered in 270 Win. I've used it on a dozen or more elk and works just fine with 150 Partitions. or back in the day with 150 Core Locks. Used a 300 H&H loaded with 180's as couple of times and could see no difference, they ran out of oil pressure and fell over, same with the elk I killed back in my Magnum Days with a 338 Win.
Been elk hunting the last 5 days with a Rem 280 loaded with 150g AB at 2898fps. At the altitude I'm hunting it retains over 100fpe at 550 yards. I was whacking steel with it at 600 before I left home. Good enough for me.
As a backup I have my .300WM and 175g LRX. Might carry it next season when Daughter #1 and her hubby join me.
THe question asked by the OP, though, is a pretty dumb-ass question. There is no universal "best".
Last edited by Coyote_Hunter; 11/13/20. Reason: 1500, not 1600fpe
Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!
No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.
In this hypothetical, I've opted to pack a 45 Colt Blackhawk loaded with 315gr LFN bullets at 1100. The easily 400+ bull steps out of some timber at 110 yards, and I whip out my improvised rest. He takes the first shot though the lungs, takes three steps forward, and gets the next shot though the shoulders, dropping right there. Other hunters seem to show up out of nowhere to congratulate me, help me cut this guy up, and help me pack him down and out to the truck. I get photos of each with the bull, and have acquired new lifelong friends.
Amazing. I have just successfully completed the hunt of a lifetime. I'm pretty proud of myself. When I get home, my wife and kids are there to shower me with congratulations and hugs, tears of pride welling up in their eyes.
It's Miller time!
LOL, that's awesome and so true. thank you for posting that.
Here's a good read when it comes to the OP's question. It reflects my experience as well with different calibers and cartridges. personally I junt with a .308 suppressed shooting 168 gr berger VLDs. it's poison on elk, most drop within feet of where they are hit. This article breaks down the science between cartridges and the give and take of a few popular cartridges.
I did find it amusing that so often I hear about guys not taking long shots because that's not hunting, or they like to get in close etc. we've all read them and some of us feel the same still, and that's ok. The article shows difference under 400 yards between cartridges is negligible from a practical standpoint. no doubt someone will go off on a tangent disagreeing with me and pointing at the difference in energy etc. that's why I put the word "practical" in there. and the article pretty much says the same thing showing there's not a whole lot of difference in what it takes to kill and elk and what they deliver. the cartridges are 308, 300wm and 338 wm for those who are curious. spoiler alert, the magnums really only shine at extended ranges and poor shot angles with mono bullets. granted you can't always pick how the animal is standing and I absolutely get that. But the practical reality is that it's pretty unlikely that you often get a texas heart shot (yes it has happened to me once and no rifle choice is going to make me want to take that shot ever, I ate that tag). I've only killed 16 or so elk and magnum or not wouldn't have made a difference on any of them when it was said and done. 4 were shot with magnums the rest with everything from a .243 to 30-06.
Been elk hunting the last 5 days with a Rem 280 loaded with 150g AB at 2898fps. At the altitude I'm hunting it retains over 100fpe at 550 yards. I was whacking steel with it at 600 before I left home. Good enough for me.
As a backup I have my .300WM and 175g LRX. Might carry it next season when Daughter #1 and her hubby join me.
THe question asked by the OP, though, is a pretty dumb-ass question. There is no universal "best".
Didn't get a chance to use either rifle. Did manage, along with my SIL, to get Covid-19. He only stayed 3 nights total and hunted opening weekend before going home on Monday. We believe we contacted COVID at one of the two restaurants in Craig where we ate supper as our other meals were in the trailer or was food we prepared in the trailer and took with us in our backpacks. A week later, in 4th rifle, I wasn't feeling good and got a COVID test that came back positive. By then another SIL and Daughter had joined me, and they later came down with Covid as well. When the test came back positive, Daughter and SIL got me back home as I was in no condition to drive, let alone do so pulling the trailer. Got home and entered the hospital the same day. Turns out I had pneumonia on top of Covid. The good news is that now all the Colorado residents of my family have had Covid except for my wife.
Noticed and error in my post that I quoted, too late to edit it. The .280 Rem load I was using, given the altitudes we were hunting, retains 1500fpe at 650 yards, not "100fps at 550 yards"..
Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!
No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.
Coyote Hunter, sorry to hear about your bad case of the “china flu”. Glad that you’re making a comback! memtb
You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel
“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
I'd use the same 30-06 with 180gr Interlocks that I used on this public land bull. Anything under 1/4 mile - but, if I'm hunting on a private limited tag/access ranch I would expect the shot to be under 200 yards.
A true sportsman counts his achievements in proportion to the effort involved and fairness of the sport. - S. Pope
WTH is a B-29 ? I googled "B-29 Rifle cartridge", and all i got was an airplane.
Very special rifle cartridge envisioned by our own John Barsness, aka Mule Deer on this very forum. You can find it in the Ask the Gunwriters section. Not many manufacturers chambering it yet.
"For some unfortunates, poisoned by city sidewalks ... the horn of the hunter never winds at all" Robert Ruark, The Horn of the Hunter
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