Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Am I Overthinking My Elk Rifle?

Between weight, accuracy, and chambering the only thing you could improve on much is weight.

That being said there isn't much left to think about there. The rifle itself will work fine.

Elk country is highly varied. Usually getting closer than 250 is possible but not necessarily. Either way, 250 isn't a long shot at all. Practice a bunch at 300 and you'll find it to be fairly easy if you can get a good rest. Most elk hunters I know sight in at 200.

Seriously.....Do you know how many elk are taken each year with bows, and muzzleloaders with open sights?

If your outfitter can't get you closer than 250yds. I'd look for a new one.

Thanks for the offer Mauser_Hunter but I'm going to hang onto the Savage. My wife looks at the small stash of firearms and asks why I NEED that many. Can't say I have a solid answer If she would just substitute the word WANT into that sentence, then I could talk for hours!

I found out a long time ago that I didn't need another wife. Just me and the dog, and he lets me buy as many guns as I want.

You don't want to get teh wife involved in the gun procurement program, she'll mess it up with logic.

+1

If you like the rifle, keep it. If 2 pounds in a rifle is the difference between getting up the mountain or not then there may be other issues to resolve. I hunt everything with an old M70 30-06. It's a heavy bugger weighing in over 9 lbs but with a decent sling or better yet a pack with a built in scabbard it's no problem. Then when you get ready to shoot, the extra weight is a plus.

Nailed rather nicely.......what they said

Yes, keep it simple.

Winchester Model 70 Classic.

For a dedicated Elk rifle .338 Win Mag With 200gr-225gt BT/AB

For a GP rifle that also kills elk nicely, as above but in .300 WSM or 30.06 with 180gr NBT.

Reliable 3-9 or 4.5-14.

I normally hunt elk with a muzzleloader but if I was using a scoped bolt action rifle and my outfitter got me within 250 yards of a nice bull, I'd shoot it. But before that, I'd become proficient with the rifle and utilize it to its full capabilities.

If I was the type to use an outfitter. I would too.

Ive seen a whole lot of different rifles used in our elk hunting club over the last 45 years and theres been fads come and go,in what was considered the ideal elk rifle type and caliber,the 300 mags and 7mm mags were hot in the 70s the 338 win and 35 whelen still have guys who believe they are the best choices,
the fact is that your 30/06 will do the job just fine! especially if YOUR familiar with how to use it and use good ammunition, and the BAR is a bit heavy but its certainly a good accurate and dependable choice that Id have no issue using.
IVE LOADED AND USED THIS FOR DECADES
30/06............200grn speer....215 fed primer......48-49 grains win 760
http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=000212211

Id suggest forgetting about changing rifles and concentrate on rather extensive practice shooting from field position's, learning to use a sling and bi-pod and use of a good 180-200 grain bullet.
what your armed with will have far less effect on your results that how good you are at using it, knowing your games anatomy and how effective you are at finding and getting well into range of a decent elk, and believe me when I say on most hunts its that finding and getting into range thats difficult, not killing an elk, especially with a 30/06, its just not that difficult once your in reasonable close, and with a 30/06 , a good bi-pod and sling even 350 yards or more is do-able

I've owned two BAR's. Both rifles the bolt got sluggish when then temps were in the teens and below. Also if you carry with an empty chamber, its going to make a bit more noise than a bolt when you load one in the tube. You can get around the first problem by using a different lube. As the temps where I used to hunt were usually in the 30's and 40's this wasn't much of a problem, once or twice a year. But say a 4th season hunt it can be a factor. As for the empty chamber, there is no way to do it quietly and be certain that the rifle will go off when you hit the trigger. At least not the two BAR's I had.

you bring up a valid point if you use some lubes and don,t winterize the semi-auto action, but in 45 years I can,t think of a single time I heard of a properly cleaned and lubed BAR having issues.
I can see where it might happen, but I can tell you,
the dry graphite based lubes and a good intensive solvent cleaning then limited application of dry graphite based lube helps.
thats what I used on my 338 bar and 270 BAR, in Colorado and it seemed to work out well.

A synthetic oil should do well.

Clean all lubes of, then lube with Mobil Synthetic, Zero to Minus 20. A person will never have a problem with temps using it.

I don't consider the BAR all that heavy. What was heavy was Browning 1886 reproduction that weighed 13 lbs loaded and a M1 Garand that tipped the scales over 10 lbs.
Even the old TC Hawkins and Senecas muzzle loaders in 50 cal were heavier than the BAR

I was going to buy a BAR 7mm mag from my gunsmith, but he sold it before i could get to it. I had asked him to weight it, and it said it was 8 lbs without a scope. It's no lightweight.

One of my nephews uses a BAR in 30.06 with 180gr NBT.

The only problems he has are the result of insufficient practice.

Never used one myself. And that fact alone would keep me from advising others on when they need to get a new one.