Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Elk hunting out west

I have to ask this,I'm from eastern orygun.why is it when most folks on here talk about coming out west to hunt they automatically think they need a magnum rifle?i don't understand the eastern thinking here

Mostly because it is what they read or see on TV and of course if you read or watch enough TV, it makes you an expert now days. I have a friend from Indiana who has been Elk Hunting every year since the 70s out in Colorado and he always uses a 270.

It may also have something to do with the long range craze too. Every thing has to be extreme in caliber and distance to be interesting I guess.

Lots of "westerners" think they need a magnum rifle to hunt in their own back yards, too.

I've met plenty of "westerners" who think you absolutely have to have a .300 Magnum at the minimum to cleanly kill a bull elk. I've met some who insist that the .338 Win Mag should be considered minimum.

It's not an "eastern thing," in my view...

"Magnumitis" is just a thing.

Roy Weatherby did his thing in South Gate, California. That's pretty far west compared to, say, Ilion, New York.

Can't tell you how many guys I've run into in Oklahoma that swear that you NEED a 7mag as they call them, to shoot our 125 pound whitetail deer. 9 times out of ten they know nothing about bullet construction or trajectory, just that their mighty 7EMEM shoots flat and they had a hell of a deal on Remington shells at the WallyWorld the week before deer season.

With Joe Average thinking like this it is no surprise to me that folks think they need at least a 30 caliber magnum to kill an elk. Afterall, the ones the guys on tv shoot are all at least 1000 pounds.

You should see the guys up here in AK that have to have a 375 to hunt black bear and moose. Nevermind the ones of each species I see killed every year with 243s, 270s, and 308s.

I agree with TeleCaster...it isn't an "eastern" thing...(although if you're from Oregon I guess almost anything is "eastern", even Montana).

I've showed up in plenty of hunting camps out west with a 270 where the "locals" were lugging everything from 7mm to 338 magnum caliber rifles,and my 270 was the smallest rifle in camp.And hunted in some places where western outfitters told the clients "we like to see our hunters shoot a 300 magnum".

All this stems from the notion that if you come from east of the Mississippi you don't know anything about rifles, shooting, and killing BG animals....which is silly.

Being from PA,I've sat in on several conversations regarding "elk" rigs. Unfortunately here there are folks that believe if the only opportunity they have is a quartering away shot at 800 yds,they have to take it.There are a lot of old pissed up notions still floating around about heading "out west". Fortunately sites like this one are getting things turned around through discussions like this one. I've been to the Gunny National twice now. I've had one shot opportunity at a running herd bull. I passed. To our camps credit,we have taken 5 bulls out of there in 2 trips. All shot within 100 yds,and all good clean kills. Not all easterners fit the profile. I may never be up in there again,or connect on an elk. I have the satisfaction of knowing I did the right thing. The idea that one HAS to be success full because they may never be back,or the folks at home are watching,still exists. I have 2 pristine elk tags in the gun safe. Never used and in good condition. It doesn't keep me up at night because I got to experience the Rockies. There is nothing like that for folks that live at 2,000 ft.

On a lighter note. It just may boil down to a good reason to go shopping. Fill the time between the tag and the trip. We all know the prep for a hunt is half the fun. Buying rifles is just plain fun all the time. Kinda makes an event out of it. "Yep! Headed to Montana for elk." "You need to come over and see the new rifle I picked up to take." "Pretty sweet!" You get the idea. Justification and lots of fun to boot.

Maybe the thousands of hunting magazine articles, advertisements from manufacturers of rifles and bullets, TV shows extolling the virtues of new flatter shooting and harder hitting calibers has made an impression. Following that with an internet full of stories of bullets having to break shoulders at off angles from 400 yards to get that bull of a lifetime and that new magnum sounds like a necessary expenditure.

As a teenager I bought my 7mm Remington Magnum because the Physician who owned all the cool guns and shot at my uncles place used one for elk and sheep. My fathers 30-06 was just so boring by comparison.

But it could be the same reason we by sports cars, high performance optics, computers, clothing, tools, golf clubs, BBQs and everything else under the sun. Who doesn't want the best most efficient gear for their sports and activities.

People plunk down hundreds of dollars for girls softball bats so why wouldn't you get a bigger badder rifle for an animal 4 times the size of your local whitetail.

Some good reasons are that when distances are spread out triple what an Eastern hunter is used to shooting it is nice to have a flatter trajectory to keep required thinking about trajectory to a minimum. If all you need to think about is "center of the lungs right behind the shoulder" you are more likely to be more effective than thinking about drop calculations.

I use a .308 on our little Idaho elk..

^^ This ^^

Is it because you can't handle recoil?

Inexperienced "Eastern" hunters on here who hunt elk with magnum cartridges have included shrapnel, rosco, Dober,JohnnyB,John Burns,greenhorn,Alan Day from the past....and a host of others I can't recall at the moment....but that'll do to make the point.

Most of these guys are from Montana so I guess that's the East...except Alan Day who was also from Oregon as I recall.

Most all of these have used standard cartridges as well and understand the differences.

I figure if you have to ask "why use a magnum?", you might not have enough experience with anything to answer your own question.

Just another horseshidt thread.

have you hunted outside or oregon?

I killed a bull elk in eastern Oregon with a 308 Winchester AND a Nosler Partition. I'm located pretty far east.

I have been an Colorado "Out west" hunter since 1964. I guess I don't run with the big boys that Bob mentioned. I hunted with a .308 for a lot of years, then briefely with 7mm Rem mag and 7mm Weatherby mag. Then I switched to 30-06 and have been using that for a lot of years, probably killing as many elk as those others mentioned.

I got to thinking way back then why was I using 20-30 grains of more powder and beating my shoulder up when the .06 does just as good as job of killing elk and I saw no differnce in killing ability.

I run into a lot of PA, WI an MN hunters every fall. Buy and large they are carrying Remington 7400 or 7600 in .06 or 35 Whelen or whatever they hunt whitetails with in there own state.

I grew up in SW PA and the 30-30 Win 94 was the rifle of choice in the 50's . Now the few times I go back I see the same guys using 375H&H,300 mags, 308 norma mags and 7 mags for 150 pound whitetails

The Campfire is one of 2 extremes, magnum or deer cartridge. I don't hunt elk with a 7-08, yet there are lots admonish such a gun and even fast twist 22 calibers. I have killed plenty of elk with a 30-06 but choose a 300 WBY for most of my elk hunting now...

People just need to know how to shoot their damn rifles. And be in shape..

"Run what you brung, take what you won".

I know you were commenting tongue in cheek, but there is a glimmer of truth in it.

I have noted that I can shoot substantially better with cartridges that are not hard kickers. I would rather be able to shoot a 3/4" group with a .308, than a 1.5" group with a .338.

I find that I can place .308 win rounds with precision, with little fuss.

In fact I popped a cow elk a couple years ago in the noggin, at an extended range. The herd was standing bunched up, milling around. There were no clear shots that did not run a risk of shooting through and hitting another elk.

Finally one cow stuck her head out away from the group and I put one in her ear. I was proned out, had lasered the elk repeatedly and was shooting my Sako TRG, which is a true sub 1/2 moa rifle.

400 yards and closer are chip shots with that gun. It pretty well shoots itself.

To be clear, I am NOT an advocate of head shots. This was a unique set of circumstances, and I had a heavy target rifle, which made the shot a high probability one.

I once heard a guy in MO proclaim that he felt under-gunned hunting whitetails with anything less than a 300 Wby. Another regaled me with tales of dialing his 300 RUM in with a 600-yard zero and slaying whitetails from a lofty perch. I can't imagine what either one of these apex predators would tote on an elk hunt.

I went on my first elk hunt last year in southern Colorado.

I was shooting a 7x57 with fixed 6, my friend has a iron sighted Mosin in a ramline stock, and my other friend had a 30-06 with a 3x9.

We got 2 elk. There was no drama.

I will say that my friend with the Mosin is an exceptional shot. Far better than me, or almost anyone I know. That is why he uses iron sights.

I live and hunt in Oregon myself for years now.

And I don't know for sure what it takes to kill an elk every time but I have killed plenty with a sharp broadhead on an arrow. I have seen teenage girls kill elk dead in their tracks with a .243. At distance.

I think the whole magnum thing is a phase most go through. If you are only shooting a couple times a year you could surely handle it right?

My group all went through it about 15 years ago. They all went out and bought 300 mags in different configurations. After getting beat to death by factory stocks and heavy loads they all switched back to their .270's

I shoot a big mag on critters I want to stay where I shoot them. I do not have a bunch of rifles that are heavy hitter because I do not feel I need them in most situations. Some situations, I do feel, require a thump to get the job done fast.

I have shot heavy loads accurately in rifles designed to shoot that type of load for a long time. No they are not light mountain rifles, they weigh in at nine pounds plus, the stock is designed to fit me, and they have great triggers.

So when you decide to "come out west to hunt elk" worry about shooting whatever you bring - well. Expect to fail at finding elk and have to work harder than you ever had to at being successful. Have good boots and a backup pair. Be ready for any kind of weather. Have trusted and tried gear. Bring an attitude that shows a sense of humor and tenacity and you will have a great experience.

Oregon is beautiful and bountiful take the time to enjoy it.

I sold a rifle to a young man today that wanted a big magnum. I sold him a customized .338 Win Mag, built for the mountains. I offered him a .270 WSM initially, but he already had a .300 WSM and said it just didn't have the knockdown power that his .300 Win Mag had, and he wanted something bigger than the Win Mag anyway. This rifle will do him well, and I hope he enjoys it for sure... but I sure don't feel under-gunned with my .30-06.