Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Your elk hunting rig

Pretty good question I think.
I suppose that if your carry was uncomfortable it really could turn to misery after a few miles.

I've hunted in a new unit each year for the past few years due to being displaced from my traditional unit. Most everywhere I've gone I've had to get a few miles back in before I felt I had any chance of an elk encounter. All-in-all I've hunted elk in 11 units in Colorado. Long hikes and short shots seems to hold true anywhere I've gone.

My rig is nothing special - far from it.
It's a levergun, 7mag, 4x fixed power scope that has lost some of it's brightness, plenty of scratches, not very much blueing left. I vaguely recall it weighing ~8.5 lbs.
I like it because when I hike with it I hardly know that it is there and because it comes on-target quickly.

Seems like once I hike 90 minutes or so and pay my dues to get there then if the elk are around it is obvious. If not, more walking.

with the possible exception of the 7mag caliber,in that lever action, damn near everything else you mentioned sounds all too familiar among all the guys I hunt elk with, and I doubt the caliber selected, has much effect on the results, theres several BLR and marlin lever actions in calibers from 308 win , and 358 win,thru 45/70 and 450 marlin on the shoulders of many of my experienced friends when we hunt Colorado, in fact I purchased a BLR in 450 marlin a few years ago just because I think it will be very useful in the thick aspen slopes, and brush in the canyon floor areas

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?fid=003B&cid=034&tid=006

Awesome handwerk!!! I'll be using my custom pre 64 (1957) 338 win mag built on an H&H receiver. It's topped with a Swarovski 3-9x36, holds 4 in the mag box and 1 in the tube, Brown Precision stick, weighs 8 pounds all up. Seems like it will be a joy to pack around. I'm hoping to get a picture of it on top of a bull this year too!! But for now, here's the plain old rifle just sitting there doing nothing ... :




It will be loaded with some old Hornady 225gr. interlocks, which seem to shoot pretty well in the ol girl..

As far as other rifles I've used successfully on elk:

Ruger m77 mkII 338 win mags.
CZ550 American 9.3x62mm
2008 Limited edition 300 WSM model 70

All have done the job when the right bullets are put into the right place...

BSA, that rig has elk written all over it, nicely put together for sure!

Remington 300 RUM XCR RMEF edition with a VX3L 3.5-10 B&C. Not sure what bullet I am going with but I am leaning towards the 200 grain AccuBond or the 180 TTSX. I am planning a trip out West for 2017. I am thinking Jackson Hole Wy but I am still doing the research.

My first elk taken was with an Oneida Eagle bow with custom limbs at 80 lbs.

My first rifle bull was with a Japan 270 WBY with a 24 inch light barrel. Still have that great gun. Went a while with a front heavy 26 in. Mod 700 stainless 300 RUM which was very accurate with 150 or 180 Scriccos. It took a big bull and some nice whitetails and a 32 in muley, but the long barrel made me let it go. Stalking while holding it low with fingers around the scope and between the muzzle was always getting into mud, snow, logs, brush or rocks and even with electricians tape it was a PITA.

I guess now it would be the lightweight Nosler custom in 270 wsm or Matthew Drenaline dropped down to 62 lbs or Thompson Center Hawken.

Id like to take a cow through the lungs some time with my 243 pre64 ftw.

I have one rule that I always try to follow, and that is ( hunt up & not down ). I've packed two out of hell holes and really don't want to do it again. Two years ago I lost 10 lbs. after spending the better part of 3 days getting my bull dressed, deboned and packed out. Last year I had help and a much shorter pack ( downhill ) & we got it done in a little over half a day. These packs and many others were all done between 10,000' and 12,000'. I wouldn't change a thing with any of these experiences, that's elk hunting and I love it.
All of our hunts are DIY on public land.
Used to do allot more walking,3 to 10 miles a day, & have killed probably 75% of my bulls in the dark timber. My favorite rifle for that is a first gen.Rem. Ti. in 30/06 with a few lightening tweaks, Talley lightweights, Weaver fixed 4.75 power Grand Slam & Black Ice coated. 150 gr. TSX'S are it's preferred load and it weighs an even 6 lbs.
All but one of my rifles come in at 7 lb. 3 oz. or lighter & that includes a lightweight long range rig in 300 RUM. The heavy one is a 338 RUM built for long range.
Like Mule Deer mentioned, I like to give them all a try, after all , that's why we have them.
During the last 5 years or so I've found that by watching the far side of a canyon and covering an 800 yd. wide hill side with shots in the 500-700 yd. range, vs a small meadow somewhere during late afternoon, that my odds have been improved.
I don't take shooting that far for granted and spend allot of time working on loads and shooting out to 1000 yds.
I use Barnes bullets in all of my elk rifles inc. TSX, TTSX & Long Range, they have always performed well.
Wear the best boots you can afford,travel light, stay in shape, know your rifle and it's ballistics inside out & don't give up.
By the way, I have hunted Grizzly canyon, that is truly a work out. Also a S&W 360-1 Scandium in 357 is always with me when packing meat out or exploring new areas. It has a 3" bbl.with laser grips and weighs 12 oz. empty, you don't even know it's there. It's not much fun to shoot often but that's not what I bought it for.
Just a few of my thoughts and opinions. Ron

Much depends on the terrain to be hunted, hunting method (ambush, stalk, etc.), and distance to be hiked. It could vary from a .444 Marlin shooting 310 gr. FPGC bullets all the way down to a .280 Model 70 FWT PF shooting 154 gr. Spire Points. Weights vary from 7 lbs to 8.5, and scopes vary from a fixed 3x to 2.5-8x. I "only" have about 8 elk rifles to choose from...

Well, I use a 338-06AI. It's based on a Rem 700 mated with a Gaillard barrel. Boyd's laminate and IOR 6X. The rifle is not a light weight. It comes in at around 10lbs. A little on the heavy side but a pleasure to shoot. We usually cover between 2-6 miles per day. I'm 6'4" 230lbs so it doesn't much bother me. Some it might. For mountain hunting not.

You asked about armament, and have plenty of answers. Aside from the gamut of rifle choices, which your choice falls well within, there is other good information here. I’ll add a few comments of my own for your consideration.

To answer the questions you asked, it depends. Early on, I used a Ruger M77 in .270 and a fixed 4X; elk fell to that. Now for elk I use the same model rifle in either a 7mm Rem. mag or .338 Win. mag depending if I am expecting griz or not. They have worn Leupold VX III in either 1.75-6 or 2.5-8, but I prefer the 1.75-6. Nosler partitions and Swift A-frames respectively. These are closer to 9 pounds full up and loaded. My rifle stays in my hands when I am hunting. After a few days it just feels normal, when I return to work it feels weird not to have the rifle. The 7mm mag does a fine job on elk, and actually I think it is one of the best choices (but I am an old throwback and it is my pet rifle). On the other hand where griz are, especially in thick dark timber, the .338 mag is more comforting, and has the likelihood of dropping an elk closer to me, as long as I put a bullet in the right spot. Not having an animal running a long distance before expiring is preferable. That way maybe I can get to it before the bear does. I generally don’t take long shots, with the average well under 100 yards. BTW, dragging a dead animal through woods where griz are is leaving a clear scent trail indicating a reward at the end of the trail. Scary idea. Especially when you, as another hunter, blunder into that fresh, bloody drag trail. It makes you perk up and wonder if there is something large and furry following it in your direction.

How far, depends on terrain, how deep the snow, how ridiculously steep the footing, how bad the blowdown, how much elevation gain and loss, what I cut for tracks, what I see across a valley, what other hunters are doing. When you are in elk country, distance is not so much measured in miles as it is in hours - how long does it take to get to point A? Still-hunting is not a race; speed is not always your friend, it can blow out the elk you worked so hard to get to. In a less productive area, and when I knew less about elk, 8-13 miles per day was not unusual. Recent years, more like 6-8 in better country with more elk. Last year, not so much (3-4 max), but I was walking on two very recently replaced joints. I still got into elk, however. (I should listen carefully to that statement myself! Hmm.)

Now to questions you didn’t actually ask:

“Another consideration is that dropping an elk 5 miles from the truck will result in at least 4 trips out (maybe 5 with gear). 4 round trips, at 5 miles each way, is 40 miles... half of which is loaded down with a heavy pack. Depending on weather, this can be stretched out over a couple days, but a lot of folks don't fully understand how much work is in front of them when they pull the trigger.” Very good point here. Let me just say that if your camp is 4 miles from the truck, and you shoot your elk 3.5 miles downhill-uphill-and downhill from camp, well do the math. How many load/miles and days will it take you to get the meat and your camp out?

“As to mileage, I think you are spot on. I'd also add elevation to the equation.” Elevation is a multiplier to mileage, not just additive. Either up or down adds considerable strain on knees, thighs, and feet.

Finally somebody mentioned good, supportive, well broken in boots. Get them this year and use them all broken in next year.

340mag has had some real experience and has practical insights. While his innovative solution for a meat pack may not be everyone’s choice, it actually looks like a very practical solution. It is in effect what I use, which is an old REI/Kelty aluminum frame with a pack that has a single large compartment. I carry drum liners to line the pack (and for use as emergency shelter), and worry about game bags once back at the truck. That pack once carried out 125 pounds of boned out meat in one load without failing + emergency gear and rifle – I was younger then. My day pack will hold a boned quarter or backstraps and tenderloins on a first trip out so I don’t lose all the best meat to a scavenger before I return with the real pack. How you plan to get the meat out to the trailhead is a consideration, and should be thought out before you put an elk on the ground.

A handgun, well, maybe in some parts of Colorado where the risk of trouble is lower you may not want one while packing meat. I generally carried my rifle while packing in CO, mostly because I didn’t have an appropriate handgun yet. These days in grizzly country I never go back for meat without a gun and bear spray and caution and noise. If there are two of us, we may only carry a couple .44 mags and bear spray. Even with a rifle, handgun, and bear spray at hand, it can feel a little lonely gutting an elk without backup in that country, especially when you know the griz are in the immediate vicinity.

One other thing. I noted one comment about stripping down to minimum gear for the return to pack meat. Be careful about that. You would be wise to take minimal emergency gear such as lights, water, food, raingear, first aid, and a way to make fire. Things don't always go as planned. If you or your partner is hurt while cutting meat or packing, you may spend the night out. That is one place a handgun can make you feel better, even if it is a minimal solution to a bear coming in for your meat in the dark.

Sometimes It's just better to pack a fork and some pepper...

I posted this awhile back on another forum asking a similar question. I have 3 rifles that would get the go for most elk situations. The heaviest weighs in at 8 lbs 9 oz all up and the lightest 7.5 lbs all up. I also use these rifles for the majority of my hunting situations. I usually walk between 5 to 10 miles a day, but spend most of my time looking through glass.

Excellent post Jaguar.