The 260 Rem will take a elk at over 300 yards (the 6.5 likes the hollow point match bullets best) I use eather a 120gr or 140gr. eather one works well. If you do your homework and read up on the gun they compair the 120gr 260 to a 30-06 180gr. so learn your gun and go hunting.

Trickie

Well I'll be a monkey's uncle, never would have thought in a million years to use that little girls gun on a big ole elk.

Welcome to the fire

I'd say, yes. In the right situation, although I'd say not with a non-hunting bullet. I've got a friend that took one with a 22-250. Key is "right situation", and you've got to be able to put it in the right place. Certainly you'd better not think of real long shots w/ a 260 in my opinion. Power wise a 260 (with a 140+ bullet) is very similar to a 270, 7-08, etc. in similar bullet weight. They all have the ability to take an elk within the appropriate limits of the caliber you're shooting.

BTW, welcome.

go nosler and do great. love mine, a ti remington.

NTG-sorry but I just have to do this, but what are you thinking in terms of being too long of shots?

Thx
Dober

The one my brother shot with a 6.5x55 and 140 partition did not seem to notice he was undergunned. Bullet went through one shoulder and out the ribs on the offside and poor cow made it all of a couple of feet.... Shot was only about 195 yds. though.
Same ballistics to most .260s so it should yield same results....

I dont care what 120g bullet you use in a 260 it aint the equivilent to a 180g in a 30-06

You can kill elk with a 260?

Say it ain't so....

If a 243 will work for griz, a 260 is ample for elk.....

And vice versa as well...

Dober

Mark,

Your 260 -- did you remove the speed bumps and float it?

I don't believe there was any speed bumps and it is floated



Dober

I picked up a Mountain Guide SS in 7-08. The stock has the two pressure points. Thinking I should float it....

I'm RELLY liking the mountain rifle contour!

Mark, I wondered if someone would ask me that. I don't think there's an exact answer to the question. With the calibers I mentioned above I'd generally say keep it under 300, with the 270 having a little more ability, but all of this depends on the each actual load. Some say, you got to hit them with X amount of energy, I look at that, but don't stick to it. It would also depend on the accuracy of the rifle and load that I have for it. The further out the shot was, the more I'd like to have confidence in knowing I could put it in the lung/heart. Some say/think you've got to have some super mag and with a super-duper buttet that they want to bust through both front shoulders. I don't think that's the best route, genereally speaking. Hell, last I heard they killed elk with 30-30, etc. long before modern calibers like the 270, and much longer before for the supermags of the last 30 years (roughly). One more thing, since you're asking my opinion. I've seen many that are not very accurate shooters w/ a "super mag" simply because they're hard to shoot accurately, mostly due to recoil fear type problems (and funny how many of them say they don't have an issue w/ it). I don't own one because frankly they're not fun to shoot. I have an old .270 Rem 721 (1951 vintage) that is my main go to "big gun". I can do everything I want and need to with it. Sorry...I guess you go my two bits and some extra.

It's closer than you think if you look at BC and SD values. Using a Speer bullet to keep things equal the 260 isn't a sloach. Now granted, the 30-06 and the 180 SP has a BC of .441 and a SD of .271, but the 180 magtip or grand slam has a BC of .374 and the 180 RN is .312.

The 120gr Speer SP in a 260rem has a BC of .392 and a SD of .246. I bet that is closer than most people thought. If you use a 140gr Speer SP [.498 and .287], the 30-06 is left weezing. You would have to shoot a 200 gr SP to beat the 140gr 260rem, and that bullet weight in a 26 caliber gun is noted for LONG RANGE accuracy.

A better comparision would be to say the 260 rem with a 120 SP is the equal, or better of the 30-06 and a 165gr SP [.342 and .248].

Don't EVER sell a 6.5 caliber gun short. They are killers WAY beyond peoples expectations. History over 120years has proven it all over the world.

Oh jeez, not this shidt again.

If ya don't stretch it, the 260 is fine, elk aren't made out of stone

yup...too often it turns to this. I'm not interested in pissing matches. A 260
can take an elk. Next topic....

With all due respect, B.S. That's one of the silliest things I think I've ever read here on the fire. Unless I missed an important caveat, or you have found the perfect storm bullet for comparison.

I own the .260Rem, Sako 75, and the .30-06, pre'64-M70, and have shot a lot of .30-06 and some .260 and .243. Though the .260 retains energy, the .30-06 is capable of delivering measurably more energy.

I have found that those who like to quote statistcs of various chamberings and bullets on forums usually have less experience in killing elk than they do of shooting.

I have yet to meet an elk reading ballistic tables or bullet specs. I can kill elk effectively with a 2 2RF,but I don't.

Retaining energy and the ability to penetrate while placing an accurate shot is what kills game. The 6.5x55 [260 like ballistics] has been killing game a hell of alot bigger than elk for over 100yrs in Africa, Asia, and Europe.

There is a reason the 6.5 calibers win the long range matches. They are accurate beyond reason and easy to shoot well. Those are two major factors in killing game too. I do believe some gun writer posted a video on this very forum showing him killing an elk at 650yds with a 129gr Hornady SST superformance ammo in a 6.5 Creedmore.

I guess I didn't see what I saw on that movie.

DAMN INGWE!!! Old, grouchy cuss still won't paint me up a stock! Even tried to convince him it was for the mighty 7x57....that stock is cooooool Dober

I wouldn't hesitate a bit to whack an elk with a 260!

http://www.federalpremium.com/products/compare/rifle_compare.aspx

While i dont doubt the Rem. 260 is capable of taking elk comparing it to the 30-06 is like comparing apples to oranges.

The link above shows to identical bullets ( SGK's ) the 260 is 140g the 06 is 165g @ 300yds. the 06 still has 350 ft. lbs. more energy. The OP was comparing a 120g to a 180g.
The heavier 30cal,180g more than likely has a thicker jacket than the 6.5mm.

A 260 will kill an elk
A 7x57 will kill an elephant
A .22 mag will kill a whitetail............

some folks want to kill'em, some folks prefer to anchor 'em

Some folks know how and when to shoot, some don't.

Learning that is half MAJORITY of the battle.

Would I "like" to have something a touch bigger...SURE.

But am I going to pass up a reasonable shot opportunity, with a premium bullet and load/rifle that I know in and out because I have spent the proper time with it just because its a .260..not hardly! Same old argument...put it where it counts..when the times right...

Trickie- were you just wanting to let your presence known or what? IF so just get on and say hi. Maybe you did with your first post and I missed it. Welcome, but I gotta say this is one of the strangest postings. It isn't a posting, its an exclamation. Lot of 260 fans here- none bigger than myself. I doubt many of us need to read up on it thank you. No one disputes your basic premise but you tell us to do our homework in the same sentence you tell us to use a non hunting bullet to kill what could be a huge animal. You say the 6.5 likes hollow point match bullets best - well...so do most calibers. They call them 'match' for a reason.

Sorry to sound cranky and I do hope you enjoy this place. Feel free to PM if you like. I just think it works best when folks come with an attitude of gaining knowledge rather than distributing it. BTW- my last buck was shot with a 260 nbt. Nice deer , especially for this part of the country - but it didn't exit. Pretty sure a 180 grain out of a 30-06 - same bullet- would have.

then "they' are stupid and ignore the laws of physics.

laffin !!!!

It's silly to think a 260 can't kill elk...too may have been killed with it and similar cartridges to think otherwise.On the world wide front it's true that historically lots of animals have been killed with the ballistic equal of a 260 (6.5x55 and similar).It's also true that lots o fexperienced hunters stopped turning them against large truculent beasts because the bullets did not hold up under the stress of impacting heavy bones,and penetrate as they should...even solids were badly bent like bananas and even William Bell had to go to the 318 with 250 gr bullets late in his carreer because solid 7x57 bullets were bending over on him...you don't see that mentioned very often

What gets lost in the din and blizzard of ballistic equations is that they don't tell the whole story...bullet weight, construction,jacket thickness,and expanded frontal area (where energy is "used")are never mentioned....That you get more of these things with a 30 caliber and the right bullet design than you do with anything as small as 6.5 is pretty undeniable.For those who don't believe this,go chase bullet wound channels through 40-50 mature bull elk shot with 30 calibers and then do it with the same number shot with smaller stuff.Patterns will emerge.

It's also one thing to slip a bullet through the thin ribs of a cow elk (or even a big bull for that matter)on an open hillside at any distance,than it is to take a big herd bull through the shoulders at spitting distance in order to try and reach vitals, hold him there as he stands quartering on or away in black timber...While we all know that bullet placement is critical(do we need to even mention it any more?), it's also true that some calibers and bullets are better at this sort of thing than some others."Numbers" don't tell you any of this.To read some of the stuff on here, you'd think every elk killed in North America was sniped on open hillsides at lazered distance over a bipod.

Sort of makes me laugh when guys piously state, in shooting BG animals "...just stay away from heavy bones...." like they aren't part of the animal,somehow?

This is unreaistic....bones and penetration from reasonable angles are hunting "facts of life"...if you do any reasonable amount of it.

Killing elk with a 260 seems to me a pretty sure bet,but if the 260 and the 30/06 were true "equals", or the 260 were truly a better all round BG cartridge than the 30/06,people like Phil Shoemaker would carry 260's into alders after wounded brown bears...and people like JJ Hack on here whould recommend it over the 30/06 for the wide range of plains game over in Africa....I don't see them doing either one.

There are very good reasons for that not contained in any ballistics table.

BobinNH- good post. I love telling people that I get exit wounds by aiming between the ribs. They nod...look kind questioning at me....but don't ask. I know damn well some of them have then went off to expertly tell others to do the same.

KensJ: Yeah....what's that all about?

This a very true statement IMO .

It has been calculated by mathematical geniuses that to kill an elk at 300 yards requires a .249 caliber, 116.7 bullet retaining 2303 fps.

This bullet will bounce off an elk at 301 yards, but kills them DRT at 300. This has been proven many times by computer models, as well as super-models--but only super-models who can shoot AND know elk anatomy.

So JB -- A 257 Roberts at 301 yards using a 120 Partition would work?<grin>

Why use just enough when it's cheaper to shoot enough?

Why walk to your treestand when you can drive a golf cart?

Have the greatest respect in the world for bow hunters, but its just not for me as i dont care for the process to be drawn out..
have shot plenty of deer with 243, 270 and 30-06 that were "dead on their feet", but still gasping when i got up on them...never had that experience when i used a .340.. just getten softer as i age !Looken to get another one now, but no one wants to cough one up !!(or at least the one i want..smile ! )

I know people who have said they have killed them with a 22 LR. Does that mean its the right cartridge to use? I think not. Do yourself and the elk a favor. Step up a couple of calibers. Killing is much different than killing cleanly, and ethnically.

Id like to meet that super model.

Edit- As long as that super model is a woman

A 260 is a killing machine. Killed a lot of game with mine in 140 grain Hornady Spire pts and never any trouble an yes alot of people who dont undestand BC and SD will argue out of ignorance to what the physics are behind bullets. I didnt sleep at Holiday inn last night but I do undersatnd a lil physics and energy.

Enjoy the information that is given in these forums. Ive learned alot from many of the posters here and Ive also had many of the ideas Ive had busted by the practical facts given here. Have to be open minded to learn knew things and absorb knowledge. I definitely dont know everything just a little and I appreciate the ideas and info shared here.

So just how many elk have you killed with that?

Physics has nothing to do with bullet placement.Someday if you have not done so already,you are going to screw up and that perfect bullet with the perfect SD and BC is going to hit a shoulder knuckle or such and you will find out it isn't so perfect after all.

This thead--what a waste of electrons.

Please expound on this. I'm interested in meeting a super-model who can shoot and knows elk anatomy!

Alright! The fire is alive and well.

fook the elk. i wanna know about this supermodel's anatomy.


...and i hope i have enough "gun"...

If the 6.5x55 Mauser will kill an Elg, also known as a Swedish Moose. Then why shouldn't the 260 Remington be able to put down an Elk over here?

Huntsman22 killed a nice bull a few years back with a .260 and a 130 grain TSX at 2850fps. You can't argue with real life results.

Ron

Wondering how many elk have fallen to the .30-06? The .260 is an ok buy dying deer cartridge. It won't be missed.

Wonder how many elk you've killed with anything?

Lovin' the new Avatard, Swampy. Is that the Pedophile of the Black Lagoon?

I already told you thousands....remember?

How big are some of those "pretend" bulls?

Big enough to require something more than a mouse gun.

Too big to put on the back of a golf cart, no doubt.

An excellent question, as I have posted here, more than a few times, I know of more elk lost to 6mm/243 calibers than any othe caliber. I am not a guide, do not have a huge data base, but a very long time hunter and that is what I have seen.

I've carried a 7-08 elk hunting, so I'd carry a .260 without losing sleep the night before. However, I'd want it to be loaded to my satisfaction. That'd be a heavier bullet for caliber with a decent BC, like an Accubond probably (not familiar with 6.5mm bullets)..

That being said I'd sure prefer more rifle for elk. 30-06, 7-mag and on up.

Hi all - New to this forum, have been hunting whitetail here in the midwest for 30 yrs., planning first elk hunt in Colo. in 2014. How does the .308 stack up as an elk round ?

And I've seen more bang-flop dead in their tracks elk killed with a 260 than all others, combined, and haven't seen one lost yet. Mainly because we hunt elk with 260s, regularly... with nary a worry about the impending result.

Just fine. After all, it's just a necked up .260.....

Seen a Wapiti or two smacked with a 308, and none of them shook it off.

Yup, with the heavier bullet, you do lose some velocity, but they still work.

It's a good bet they weren't using 130 or 140 grain bullets.

130g/140g in 6mm?

The .308 is better than the .260 or the 7mm-08.

How do you know?

Jeff O told him.

Precisely. I thought we were talking about the .260. I'm not sure though, the title of the thread may have confused me.

Same way he knows an elk won't fit in the back of his golf cart.

I think we are, but I made a comparison that was perfectely clear to me at the time, (and upon retrospect only me). I feel that there is little difference in a 115 gr. 6mm bullet going 3000 ft per, than a 6.5 120 grain bullet going the same speed. And I have known several elk lost to the above. Both calibers are at best marginally adequate at western game ranges. We have all seen an elk that absorb energy like they were sponges, and walk over the rim of the ridge down into the deep dark. I recovered a bull this year that was hit well but I believe would not have been recovered with a light rifle. After over 2 1/2 feet of penetration the 180 PT, broke the rear leg bone 8 inches below the hindquarter ball socket, (in two)and then exited the bull. This was at 540 yards, with a smaller rifle I doubt that bone would have been broken and the elk would not have been recovered. My ballistics calculator shows that the bullet still had over 1700 ft. lbs energy at that distance. The caliber under discussion generates that at 300 yards. How many will limit the distance of thier shots, and can make the perfect shot each and every time. I am sure there are a few but not many. As I said in another post, rocks and spears will kill them, but to do it time after time ethecially and cleanly ones needs some insurance.

I've used them all......the .308 is better, and the .30-06 is even better.

Elk are beg animls. 2 or 3 thosend pounds and well kill you wit the horns.

Use a magnumb if u are smart.

Curious, which 115 grain pill were you shooting 3000 fps out of a 243?

I forgot about all those pretend elk you've killed.

I forgot about you. I'm glad I did.

Jealous much?......why post in the elk forum about cartridge selection, when you have zero experience with ANY elk hunting?

Maybe you just like to show these folks what a tool you are.

FWIW, I've killed lots of bull elk with the 30/06, .308 and the .260.....not a single one was pretend either.

I'm sure glad these elk with super powers have not made it to NM yet.

Swampy is off his meds again..........

Laffin.....

You tell 'em Swampy!

That dumbazz scenarshooter, he don't know [bleep] about shootin'.

Ain't no "scenars" to shoot in Montana anyway, they all live in Africa! He thinks he fooled you!

You go Girl!!! Uh hu!

All I've said is why pay more for less.....If the .260 is good then the .223 might be better.

Swampman, in the past you seem to be very adapt at showing us pictures.

Lets see just one picture of you with an elk kill. Just one.

I still seem to have missed the part of life where killin' elk was a miracle...

Nope. He's simply so full of schit he stinks up the place. Been on ignore at my house wholly thru 3 brands on his avatar... I toggle a post once in a while hoping he'll graduate high school or discover females and go away until his testosterone levels subside allowing his frontal lobe to resume function.

So..anyone anxious for the Wyoming draw results?

Jeez, the stress of what gun/bullet I will use if I draw is killing me! (rolleyes)

Not even a little bit...

Don't squeeze the sharmin grin

Still no answer??????

Laugh about facts all you want. For me it's easier to laugh at pretend.

It's an ignorant question that doesn't deserve an answer. And if answered, you'd just toss out another stupid question. So why bother.

Because for certain things,a 260 may not be "less",and the shooting world today is comprised of things other than the 30/06 and Remington 700's.

Better chance of hitting the powerball lotto

Perfect reply, Robert.....you did forget to mention 180gr bullets though.....grin!

corelocks to

Pat: I may have my own preferences....and strongly held and baseless opinions....but I ain't closed-minded.

..and as for the 260 dying and not being missed - just check out the longest running threads on the 'fire.

Still no answer. The .260 is an ok but unpopular cartridge. It's not even close to the .30-06. I've never seen a box of .260 cartridges for sale nor a rifle chambered in .260. Considering how much time I spend at gun shows & in gun shops that seems pretty amazing. The .260 is slightly better than the .243 making it a pretty good deer round.

You say that based on ZERO experience hunting elk... Pretty pathetic.

You guys are talking about elk. I'm talking about cartridges. Try to keep up.

Look at the title of the thread you Gun Shop Guru

There, now it's complete.

No I don't let that stop me. Everyone here (including you) knows I'm right. They just won't admit it.

Ignore Swampman, his head is stuck in swamp mud, and it's filled his chamber between his ears.

No, I just wait it out, as a Resident and go buy my general tag , like buying stamps at the post office..... And good forbid take my 7x57 looking for a Bull.

Got it, you're blind. That explains a lot in regards to your poor shooting ability and you choosing to take azz shots! That actually makes me feel better for you. All this time I simply figured you had not talent....

George

Your partly correct (fully correct about the f-o-s), but missed diagnosed his testosterone level I'm afraid. I think we're actually witnessing the effects of male menopause-------------still a lack of interest in females, but no chance of changing. He has posted a few well composed photos of handguns, which gave me a false hope that he was maybe learning to cope with his "life changes," but alas........

I take comfort in knowing that I've likely seen more elk slain with a 260, than he's seen slain at all...

One being a cross-canyon bang-flop finisher on a cow wounded with the first shot, and subsequently missed till fully two magazines were expended, with a 30-06.

It was a WIDE canyon. Hence the recovered 140 NAB.

Isn't Swampcrotch the one that suggested BC doesn't matter and his 700 30/06 with 180 Core Lost's would hang with Pat's GAP rifles?

On the other hand, Swampy does know an awful lot about trolling. He almost never fails to hook somebody.

I think it's more like snagging. No one bites by choice, they're just hooked suddenly and have to yank back on the line for a bit... LOL

Yeah but you can spit it on the first jump....

I think he's got himself hooked. Crescent wrenches are the best for dispatching striped bass, I've found...

Actually...I think the best troller in this thread was the OP. Me thinks he made the post somewhere in between watching Big Bird and his afternoon nappy...

But, I could be wrong...grin

Dober

The tiny Anemic 260 does not have the Energy to penetrate the tough membrane on an elk's lungs and/or heart after passing through it's thick hide.

Yeah....I think that Pat and I should maybe go back to Swifts and 22/250's to get er done...

Dober

No doubt he's developed skills in that area. You've got to be lacking in useful things to do to take up acting a fool in order to attract attention to yourself. Sad really.

Just pointing out that the .260 is nowhere near the cartridge the .30-06 is. We all know this. The .260 is a deer rifle for kids and women. The .243 is cheaper to shoot and just as good. The .260 is an answer to questions never asked. Like the 7mm-08 just not much pumpkin.

Someone who plays dress-up, commenting on the masculinity of a certain cartridge.

Priceless..

Nice!

Reminds me of Finn Aagaard's penetration test with the 140 NP from the 6.5 x 55 (essentially a 260 Rem) vs. the 180 NP from the 30-06... the 140/6.5mm Partition out-penetrated the 180/.308 Partition by a fair bit.

Deep penetration is something that's never a bad thing on elk IME...

And with the volume of shooting you do, you must save what, $5 or more a year?

I guess it keeps the golf cart gassed up.

.260 is $12.00+ a box more and then you have to pay shipping because nobody sells it. The Gator is electric. I wish it were mine. It belongs to the lodge.

You keep spouting about factory ammunition, when 99% of the people on this thread probably haven't taken factory ammunition into the hills to hunt for as long as they've been pursuing game.

BTW... selling the golf cart would likely fund all the factory Core-Lokts you could locate, and you could start winning 1,000 yard benchrest matches again.

What's factory ammo?

Why would anyone use something as powerful as the 30-06 on 165 lb deer taken at woods ranges?

Yessir -

He lives for trolling and he's had a good day fishing -

Exactly the reason that I have had him on "ignore" for I can't remember how long. Maybe once or twice a month I toggle one of his comments to remind me that I made a good decision.

Those 6.5mm 140s are flat freakin' wicked in several flavors...

A guy really has to jump to 338/225 to solidly trump it in my book... which a 338 RCM does nicely in my sample of exactly one.

yep the 260 ( 6.5) will NOT penetrate an elk

So unless one gets pounded by 30-06 or more recoil I am a kid or a woman. Got it. What else do I know but won't admit?

That Flinch is an internet myth and that using bigger calibers will make up for any less than perfect shot?

The thing is, if you don't shoot much, recoil is never a problem.

not really, ive seen it in most gun shops in BFE Montana....actually have never had a problem finding a variety of loads, everything from Corelokts to TSX's.....

Must be winter, I think to myself, when I see this kind of thread starting again. Surely it's winter, I think to myself, when I find that I am actually reading it. Good for a few grins anyway! I wont waste time arguing the obvious, but I do have a question for you .260 shooters. In any .260 thread, the 155 grain Lapua Mega bullet never seems to enter into discussion, and I always wonder why? It's been my go-to hunting round for a couple of years, any of the rest of you use it?

Many .260 rifles are twisted too slow to stabilize the heavy bullet.

Low velocity and looping trajectory? Not trying to be a smart-ass, it just seems that there are better cartridges to deliver a 155, like the. 308.

I always find it interesting that folks are willing to arm their kids and wives with rifles and cartridges that they consider inadequate for their own use........

I'd surely have to beg to differ with you on the "looping trajectory", unless you want to go long range, then I mightn't argue. However, out to 300 yards with a Mod 7, I was surprised how little it did drop, considering the weight and design. Sighted dead at 200, it's just a bit high at 100 & a bit low at 300. Depending on one's hunting needs, it's worth looking at. Sighted in at 100 yards, it prints right in the same holes as the 120 TSX, both of which are extremely accurate out of my rifle.

What velocity can you get with the 155 in a .260? A quick check of Lapua's website shows 17" of drop at 300, with a 100 yard zero.

My .260 is a long barrelled open country rifle. I actually built it for the 130 gr. bergers. I believe that 155 gr mega must be a penetrating S.O.B. as we have shot 140 gr. partitions in both 6.5x55 and .260s and they have not failed to impress. That mega does interest me. For mountain side hunting and short to mid range(300yds.) it seems to be a great choice.

Funny, I've killed more deer with my 260 than any other gun, and I'm 230pounds. I like accurate cartridges that get the job done with little fuss. Why burn 60 grs of powder is a cartridge burning 45grs will do the job?

X 1,000,000

Penetration seems to be very good with it. If I were set up for open country like you, it wouldn't be my choice either. I played with some of the Bergers and they didn't shoot well for me, or I didn't find the right combination to make them do so. Wish they would, good bullet.

"What velocity can you get with the 155 in a .260? A quick check of Lapua's website shows 17" of drop at 300, with a 100 yard zero."

I've never put them through my chrony, good question. I usually work for accuracy and results, a lot of times I don't chrony my loads. I'm getting nowhere near the drop you quote from Lapua, or I wouldn't use them. What load did they use in that test? When it warms up a little, I'll set up the chrony and check mine out.

"I always find it interesting that folks are willing to arm their kids and wives with rifles and cartridges that they consider inadequate for their own use........"

That's a whole mouth full of truth right there.

my all around, go to rifle is a 260.....my wife chose a 7-08

They just give data for the 6.5 X 55 and a velocity, no load info. I'm sure the 155 Mega is a good bullet for elk. The way I look at it, there are lots of good 130's and 140's too, and you can put a little more zip on 'em. Like the 130 Scirocco. No wrong answer though.

Yeah My son wanted a 30/06 when I gave him his first rifle for himself to use for his 14th birthday.. he's like 5ft 9 now, and 125 lbs... I still down load it to 300 Savage specs, but he had to have a "30/06"...

My main go to round is a 260, and for deer, a 100 grain bullet... which have never failed me...

I do have to chuckle, when guys say they won't work on an elk or even deer... when you ask them can they say that from personal experience or are they saying that from speculation.. they pause a few moments and then tell you that they don't have to try it, as they know better without ever "having to try it"... plus they always know of someone either online or "personally" who has used it and had it fail...

same guys always want to see something like a 260 fail, instead of seeing someone succeed with it...

I maintain, especially with a 260, most folks who defile them, have never used one...

it will run with the 25/06 with 100 grain bullets, and is equal to a 270 on the other end, minus say 50 yds ( max) in the trajectory dept... not bad for a short action round...

and then compare the bullet selection for a 6.5 bore, vs what is available in a 25 or 277 bore... certain reason for that...

Yup.. they're called internet blowhards,no shortage of them on here.

Gotta love the 6.5's whatever the flavor.

But I have to say they will not kill anything except a muskrat at close range.



As you can see there was very little blood trail and I had to track him and put a finisher into him. I would not use a 260 for anything bigger.

just curious here, how many of you experienced elk hunters, say three or more, just for fun,choose your .260,243, 22-250, .223 every year, over your 30-06, 7mm mag, 300 mag etc..for your annual elk hunt ??
gotta be at least 6 of ya i'm guessing ????? Of course if your a "one gun hunter", be glad to hear from you also...

heres what the rookies use, but then again, they dont hunt elk as often as the east coast boys do...

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth..._Colorado_Wyoming_Hunters_Wh#Post6102423

I do.

and i suspect you know what your doing...kudo's to you !

I'm a one gun hunter.

Who are the "east coast boys?"

Okay, now you guys are making me feel bad for using the big, bad .338 and forcing the .300 H&H on my son for elk. In fact, I'm feeling so bad I may have to sell all my "elk" rifles and buy a closet full of .260's and hunt with them the rest of my life just to feel adequate.....
I'm sure I'll be a better hunter for it...

Bob

I guess they must be the guys who don't know what they're doing,and carry either very big or very small rifles, can't shoot,and may(due to distance,scheduling,cost,etc),only get to hunt elk once every 3-5 years or so....maybe not that often,since an elk hunt for them is a "big event"....

I do know they hunt elk a lot more frequently than the western boys hunt Maine or NH whitetail bucks,both of which will make any elk look a bit challenged by comparison.

Like any innuendo couched in broad generalities,and fabricated with slanderous intent, this one falls flat on its face....kinda like me saying ..."all westerners are crack riflemen,and great hunters ..." unlike the 50+ year old Wyoming chap I helped guide to his biggest mule deer that he killed at 300 yards(longest shot he ever made)...and stood speechless as I watched him pass on a 15"+ pronghorn because it was "too far" at about 350...This contrasts with the outfitter who,having watched 5 of those "eastcoasters" take 5 elk in 7 days,commented.."You guys from New England sure can shoot!" Yeah...we have a range, and we use it.

Cartridges carried by those clueless eastcoasters(and I have been with a cadre of them) traveling west on their elk hunts have tracked pretty closely what the "experienced" western hunters have lugged, and include(off the top of my head),the 7x57,270,280,7Rem Mag,30/06,300 Win Mag,300 Weatherby,300 RUM,338,340,375H&H.

But what do they know? They don't get to hunt elk that often....

as far as east cost boy's go, that was sarcasm...we all know if youve hunted elk enough that if you shoot one in the bottom of a canyon it will die there... if you shoot one at the canyons rim, it will run to the bottom of the canyon before it expires...i dont like the process of expiring and i want it to be lights out upon contact as i like to sleep at night at not think about the shoe being on the other foot..not judging anyone elses morales here , but when you have taken thousands of lifes , you think differently...

BobinNH....this wasnt a slam on easterners, it was a statement about an out of state hunter spending big bucks to come out west and hunt elk...are you really going to take a gun chambered for optimum conditions or are you gonna give yourself some insurance when the only shot offered is across the canyon at 600 yards ?
why spend several thousand dollars to come out here and fullfill your dream and then handicap yourself ?????????

I want to shoot at your place, next weekend, prone off a pack.

You got that 800-yard gong up yet?

Oh yeah, with no wind.

Last year it was 100 grain Thunderheads.

Year before that I didn't hunt as I was in Iraq.

2010 it was 300 Shamwow, 300 Ultra Mag, 7mm Shamwow, 270 win and 300 Win Mag. The guy with the Ultra mag has killed less than anyone else. The guy with the 270 has killed more Elk and Deer than anyone else.

Intellesting....

For me its about the hunt in its entirety and the kill is only a part of it. I guess the same can be said of why i hunt with my bow. Then again i used to live out west and had the opportunity to hunt more than someone that didn't live there. I guess its the thrill of the chase and matching whits.

You can shoot the 700 yarder, from up on the hill behind the deck. You can get it out to over 900 thatta way. Trouble is, the whole hill is cactus. Going prone will get steckers in yer picker......

What are we comparing to here Bob? Your typical ranch or outfitted draw elk hunt vs. your public land whitetail? You shot many general tag public land bulls,if so were you guided? I mean if we are taking everything literal here, lets go apples to apples shall we..

Well, as someone mentioned earlier , "the troll" who started this post with a couple of sentence statements is likely very entertained by all of this !
Guess elk rifles fall into the same category as politics and religion...strong opions and passionate debates !!!
All is good here on the fire! (smile..why i am here at this hour of the morning ??..I gotta get a life !)

rosco I've hunted elk guided/unguided;public and private;up to 10,000-11,000 feet.Elk live in some tough country,use black timber and rough country for security and that makes them pretty hard.The country will wear you down and I have found the deeper I get into elk hunts,I seem to get up earlier and earlier every day...I can recall quite a few times tacking up at 2:30-3:00 AM,for a long,cold ride to get into position early enough to intercept them on the move,and worn myself out getting to them.

They are smart,spooky animals and cover a lot of rough ground when spooked.I have had a tough time with them in some places...seeing and killing.But they are not in the class of a mature New England whitetail buck from the standpoint of being difficult to see and kill.

They are also big,visible..and IME easier to punch a tag in general, than a mature NE whitetail buck.I also think they are easier to approach in heavy cover than a mature whitetail.

In northern Maine and Northern New England, whitetail buck hunting,generally there are no "public/private" distinctions in animal behaviour,size,difficulty to hunt.A guide does not "help" you at all.The chances of you having a guide at your elbow and killing one of these animals is about "nil"...you are better off on your own.

Those distinctions of "public/private, guided/unguided" common in the west simply do not apply to New England whitetail hunting....the bucks do not get "easier" even in far northern, remote country (public or private)where there is little to no pressure,and that is true no matter where you go in New England;from the bedroom communities of southern NH(where the state record was taken about 4 miles from my favorite gunstore)to the big remote country of Aroostook County and northern New Hampshire.

There is no animal I have run into continent wide, tougher to kill on a consistent basis than a mature,3.5+ year old New England whitetail buck(the closest thing I have encountered is a truly big mule deer buck).There are a very tiny percentage of hard core whitetail hunters who do kill them consistently....they are mostly trackers,and loggers,and others who work the north woods,know it well,and know how to hunt on their feet.For most others, they don't stand a prayer.It si common for a camp full of hunters on guided hunts here,to have 15-20 hunters scattered through the country in tree stands,and for a single buck to be killed in 7 days.Put boots on the ground, it gets worse...

There are solid reasons that Bill Jordan and the other camera crews never come here for filming. ..you will never see a TV show on hunting northwoods bucks here except by people like the Benoits,who are easily,likely,the "best" whitetail hunters on the continent(and I don't use that superlative lightly....they DO kill mature New England bucks here consistently...and so do some others who hunt in a similar fashion.But relatively, very few people are capable of hunting the way they do.

One thing I have noticed about people who are consistently successful on mature animals of either species....they are all stubborn,hard-headed,and hard working.

Still looking are you?

I'm speaking for myself and my situation only.

If I ever get the chance to make a trip out west for elk I will bring 2 guns. One would be a 35Whelen, and the other would be my new 6.5x284 T/C Venture. the reason for the venture instead of my 260, is the type of gun. My 260 has a very short barrel and would loss too much velocity. If I owned a 22-24" barreled 260, I wouldn't hesitate tobring it along. Loaded to 2800+ fps with 130gr bullets, it would do serious harm to any elk.

As to BobinNH comments on New England deer and deer hunters, he's 100% correct although I'd add Adirondack Mountain hunting to his comment. Our shots come quick, and they can be from 20 feet to over 100s of yds in a short distance. We hunt on foot and take the hunt to the critters, and don't sit on one ridge glassing the other.

And what caliber is it that brings the insurance?

Bob, agree 100% with your assessment of elk hunting vs. Northern Whitetail hunting (I know you're referring to still hunting, not stand hunting).

IMO, the hunter that can consistently track and kill a mature buck in the North Woods is a hunter in an entirely different class.

Most Westerners have absolutely no idea how hard it is.

I've never hunted NE whitetails, and certainly wouldn't venture a guess on how hard it might be to get a shot. The simple process of natural selection means the bucks roaming the woods are the descendents of likely the most consistently pressured deer herd in NA since the 1700s or so.

I am reminded of a recent conversation with a first time Coues hunter, regarding tactics and areas, in which he alluded to the tactics he would use. He said deer were deer and how much different could it be from mule deer or eastern WT. I think his opinion might be much different now.

I'd be a fish out of water hunting NE bucks until I had a few or many years in... just as a NE hunter may go an entire DIY elk or coues hunt and never see a legal animal, much less a representative mature sample. That said, given the opportunity, I'm quite positive I could handily dispatch any north american whitetail with a 260...

I've never hunted there, but have known quite a few guys that have. My best friend friend grew up in Vermont and hunted there every fall. He describes it as very difficult. Especially the dragging the entire deer back to camp, or your vehicle through deadfall and dense undercover. I believe it's mandatory to check the complete animal in with the DNR there....Not only deer, but moose and black bear as well.

I've been invited, but had never made the trip. Too hard for me to get away in November. I would love to see that country in mid October for the fall colors....someday.

Pat, you'd love it. Falls in Northern New England have to be seen to be believed.

Packing out a whole deer is a chore, and is a ridiculous law. I've made a "knapsack" out of them and humped them out whole... no fun. But it's impossible with a truly big buck.

Brad yes I was refering to hunting them on foot....not that a guy can't kill one up there from a stand, but I long ago found the practice so inconsistent up there that I mostly gave it up anywhere north of Augusta... My success in seeing them went up a good deal when I started trying to track and still hunt them,although they were still tough to actually kill.

They are simply too unpredictable to waste a week in a stand, but for some people,it is the only option.


Don't want anyone to get me wrong....Not saying that elk hunting anywhere is "easy"...it is more physical because the country is BIG,and rough,and the elk negotiaite it effortlessly(unlike me!),and know how to use it and hide in it.My hat is off to anyone who can kill them consistently anywhere short of a fenced enclosure. We used to refer to them as "whitetails at 10,000 feet"...

But big northern New England whitetails are (IMHO)worse because the country(while not as big)is still rough,and the animals them selves operate at an entirely different level of wariness,and even those subject to very little hunting pressure are very difficult to even see.These bucks make swings of 10 miles or more in a single night during hunting season, checking does during rut;bed in tough, remote places like deep swamps and high mountaintops,making "patterns" tough to nail down...I'm convinced that only the rut makes a big forest buck vulnerable.Otherwise they are pretty bullet proof.

This is pretty famous Big Buck country;but what many do not realize is that success rates on ANY deer runs only about 10%;mature bucks are a far smaller percentage of the total harvest...it ain't because there aren't plenty of them. It's simple because they are so hard to kill.

I am pretty convinced that the single best attribute a hunter can carry into the mountains and woods with him for successful elk hunting,and for northern whitetails as well, is a head as thick as a brick wall,and shear stubborness seldom encountered in the human species.

dms bandit: Yes you can certainly throw the Adirondacks right in there in the mix,though I have never hunted them there(ony driventhrough it).One look is all I need to know what it's like.Also include most of Quebec and New Brunswick as well.

Apologies for the hijack.

ive got no problem with someone using larger rifles, hell ive got a 338-06 and have packed a 375WSM....nothing wrong with a 338WM for elk hunting, its a fine round.....just think its idiotic that some think the 260 bounces off them....my go to rifle right now for everything from yotes to elk is a 260 cause i love the gun.....i would carry my 338-06 alot more as its stock fits me like a glove and balances dead nutz perfect in my hands but it was my first custom build and i made some mistakes like making it to heavy and it becomes a beast to pack around the hills at 9.5 pounds....

not a damn thing wrong with a 300H&H or 338WM when chasing elk, but my 260 isnt gonna bounce off them and cause me to loose a wounded animal cause its some how inadequate....the round in 6.5x54 disguise made a hell of a reputation for itself shooting large antelopes and such that out weight our elk cause with the simple cup and core bullets of the time it would penetrate the vitals every time.....\

i think its a bit loony that some relied upon it for dangerous critters that liked to hit back where even a fatal hit can give a critter with its blood up enough time to get to you and kill you before it bleeds out a few seconds later....but it was more effective than some of the bigger rounds back then that had piss poor bullets that wouldnt penetrate....a 260 with good bullets has no problem getting to the vitals of an elk even with some bones in the way....

As I recall Minnesota has the same law, if there's some white then on a sled it isn't the end of the world. But then again a bit of white helps in most ways for us.

Dober

6.5 swede which is ballistically the same as the .260 has only been killing elk sized critters for over 100yrs. so i guess in some peoples mind it's not proven yet.

That's a great question Dober. It wouldn't surprise me if MN had a law like that. I always use the cable on the skidder whenever possible. seems to make short work of the drag.

I've never hunted in New England either, but i've been there a few times and it certainly dont look like easy country to hunt.I would love to try someday, but falls are pretty busy here.

yea, but all those african animals and scandinavian moose don't wear kevlar like the North American elk does.

I've said it before and I'll repeat it here again. millions of elk and mule deer have been killed by cartridges like the 30-30, 303 savage, 35 remington, 30-40 krag, 32 special, 45-70, and 38-55 not to mention conicals and patched round balls out of muzzleloaders. The only thing that has changed in the last 130+ years is the ability and effort of the people carrying the guns. Too many hunters today are lazy and look for the easy way out instead of getting out and GOING after the animals. They would rather snipe away at them at long range and then have the gumption to say they hunted that animal even though they shot it at 600-1200yds away.

A hunter will never have an issue with a gun like the 260rem, but a sniper might.

rant done

We used to use wheelbarrows in VA. Of course, you still need to get 'em to the trail. The only buck I ever had mounted has a fist-sized patch of hair missing from the brisket, from where I dragged him uphill about a half mile. The taxidermist asked me if I wanted him to fix it with another piece of hide and I told him to leave it like that as a reminder not to do that again.

Apologies to the OP for the hijack...I was just trying to answer Rosco's question....suffice to say New England is purty tough in general.

My 2 cents on JWP's post above....I'm not sure.

JMHO,but I like to think intuitively that larger calibers,heavier bullets and higher velocities than those generated by standard rounds bring "insurance",but I think it's important to put it in some context.I have seen some very dramatic and convincing kills with the 7mm,300 and 338 magnums and the like,but thinking back it was always very well placed bullets that gave those results...and those few times they were not well placed,problems arose,elk stumbled off,ran away,and sometimes were recovered and sometimes were not.

IME their heavier bullets penetrate deep and break bones reliably,and I think this sometimes helps reach vitals from less than ideal angles.They seem to hit harder at distances and elk seem to react to this.

I wasn't there but two years ago a friend hit a bull at about 400 yards with a 300 RUM and 180 gr TBBC,up in BC...the elk hit the deck hard,writhed around on the ground behind brush,never offering another shot,scrambled to its feet and took off into the thick forest.They had sparce blood for a distance,lost the trail,and they never saw it again.

He asked me what I thought had happened,and I "guessed" the shot had been a bit too high,above the vitals,never getting into the chest cavity and vitals.No major bones broken and the elk was able to escape.

This was a classic case of a 180 TBBC and 300RUM NOT doing what a 270(or 260)hitting more precisely through the vitals would have done.

Would my pal have gotten the elk if he had been shooting a 338 or 375 RUM with the sane shot placement? I don't really know, but I doubt it.

This and other "experiences" have taught me that if I am going to use a bigger rifle, I better be able to shoot it as well as a smaller one if I want good results.

IMHO BobinNH has hit the ball out of the park!!!!!!

But, Pat had the first dinger of the game.....

Oh for [bleep] sake, Swampy forgot to take his frackin' Prozac or whatever.

My friends Pat and Johnny are right again. Use a decent bullet, hold halfway well, be patient enough to let the elk position itself and KILL IT. Simple really.

Hell, I even killed an elk once ... a calf, but what the Hell.

Uhhh, if my weak little wifie can slay elk deader than a cow turd with a lowly .250 Ackley using 100Ballistics, the .260 should be considered a cannon.

It's amazing how folks who have killed less than thirty or forty elk (or maybe NONE at all, in Swampy's case ) have a frackin' opinion about what it takes to kill elk. Trust me, they may have an opinion, but that does NOT equal knowledge.

God Bless,

Steve

Yup,seems simple enough but some people have a real hard time comprehending it.

In Minnesota you can register your deer online and by phone.
Dragging a deer in after field dressing hasn't been a problem especially with the advent of ATV's and snowmobiles.
Even a plastic sled drag isn't too bad. But right now? You can phone it in!
Big Game Registration locations have dried up because the DNR stopped giving out a small monetary stipend. A couple of gas stations and beer joints in my area said, "screw it" and take your blaze orange sign with you!

This went the same way with the "venison donation" system. The DNR demanded all butchers who were doing this for free, attend a 1/2 day session on "how to butcher" a deer to minimize lead particles in the meat. The butchers told the DNR they were nuts and the program died.

Oops, sorry, I recommed the .260 for all elk hunting and even for warning shots if you can't get to your double barrel.

a decent bullet, hold halfway well, be patient enough to let the elk position itself and KILL IT. Simple really.





No [bleep]. Simple, based on experience, any cowboy knows how to kill critters with most any cartridge and bullet ... just get close, aim fairly well, wait for the shot and KILL.

Pretenders, like fuggin' Swampman et al, do not know and cannot imagine. Mostly because they have not been there. Not their fault, they spend most of their time on the computer and not in the bush.

God Bless,

Steve

Good post, Bob.

People might as well get out the pillory-sticks.... or pillory ropes... or pillory stones... or whatever is is people pillory other people with.... BUT....

I do believe I see a tangible added degree of "insurance" when stepping from 7mm to .35 cal, with both at sane moderate speeds, at woods ranges.

I suspect similar differentiations could be made between velocity categories. 1500 fps isn't 2500 isn't 3500, all else equal.

I also suspect that the BULLET used can create tangible separation. I have to think your buddy would be eating elk if he'd been using, say, a 180 NBT from his RUM. Of course that bullet might have cost him an elk in some other scenario.

I get a little annoyed at the Internet pablum that says that everything is equal, just man up and shoot the animal exactly high-heart every time and quit obsessing over this stuff, etc. Half the fun of this hobby is jockeying around with the endless variables and then, going hunting. Rinse and repeat.


I think this post can offend about anyone who desires feeling offended, but it's not intended that way.

That bears repeating, though the density of the noggins it was targeted at will no doubt allow them to carry on, beginning with "I suspect...."

OK, so did I get this right? (Read the whole thread, ya know)

If ya wanna hunt NE big woods whitetails ya need a .482 nitro Megawhacker.

Or did I miss sumpin? I'll email VP Joe, he'll know.

Who said that?

JeffO: The point in all this is, you can't get sloppy with elk and get good results...whatever cartridge and bullet you use, you have to hit them right.

Curious why you think a 180 BT would have gotten my pals elk when a TBBC did not?

I have been on exactly one elk hunt.

Guys camped next to us were from Idaho. Rifles ranged from 257 Roberts to 30-06. They went 6 for 6 on Oregon bulls with the biggest bull being killed by the oldest guy who hunted with the 257. When I asked him about it, his response was, "It ain't f'n rocket science." true words.

I killed my bull with a 308.

Yes, but you no doubt had an insurance policy.

I guess that I am the only one here who "never makes" the perfect shot! I must also be the only one unable to kill all of my elk, standing broadside in an opening at 200 yards or less. After over 60 years of elk hunting with very high success, I must be doing something wrong.

a extra millimeter of diameter isnt gonna make much difference in penetration or wound channel between a 260 and a 30-06....a 260 with good bullets has no problem penetrating in other than pure broadside shots....hell it older brothers made their reputation penetrating bigger critters than elk like eland stem to stern with cup and core bullets and bones getting in the way....100 years of time havent changed anything in that reguard....

There are a handful of guys who are truly good at this. I am not sure how the Benoit's hunt, but a local family by the name of the Weigold's actually run mature bucks down. Sort of like how hounds run coyotes. These guys are true woodsman in every sense of the word. They hunt areas with low deer densities and extremely rough country.
http://www.outdoorlife.com/articles/hunting/2007/09/snow-tracking-whitetails

heckola, with my knee's I'd feel lucky to run down a hamster @ Petsmart...

Dober

The cookie in our Hell's Canyon camp used to kill her elk every year right in camp. The elk used the same deer pool in Temperance Creek as we did to water our stock. The elk quickly learned that the pool was "busy" in the pre-dawn and post-sunset hours, so they'd arrive after we'd left to hunt (don't that just gall ya )

Anyway, our cookie had a Savage 99 in .250-3000 that had been drilled and tapped for about every scope mount, peep sight and thingamajig known to mankind.

At some time during the seasons, she'd whack an elk at the watering pool or in the large opening just to the east of camp.

Yep, one shot ... dead elk, dead right there.

xxxxxxxx

Different subject.

One day, we were just leaving camp and about to enter the large opening just east of our camp. The outfitter was in front and he danged near ran into a large herd of elk. He about-faced in a nano-second and we got our six or seven hunters off-horsed (I took them back towards camp and got them tied up to trees).

Meanwhile, the outfitter got the hunters kinda lined up and told them to shoot a single cow each and stay on it until it dropped dead. If your elk does not fall, shoot it again and don't go ahead and shoot a second cow.

Only clear cows were to be shot ... don't want to shoot clear through and hurt another.

They were incredibly patient elk, the likes of which I never saw before or since.

Anyway, I was just about back to the "firing line" when the firefight began. And it was a total cluster****. Guys shooting rapidly, some critters falling, some wounded and not. I looked on in horror.

Soon, maybe a little too late, the outfitter hollered "Cease fire."

The snow was covered with blood, gut stuff and fallen elk ... like two or three too many. I'll never forget the scene and my poor power with words are inadequate to describe it. The smell of gun powder, blood, the licorice-urine smell of elk and the greenshit from blown-up bellies. Holy crap.

Anyway, the "hunters" walked the couple of hundred yards back to camp for a day of coffee, cards and whatever in the nice warm cook tent.

The outfitter and I proceeded to gut, skin, quarter and hang the elk. We worked out the tag situation in a way best not mentioned.

Friends, please ponder the situation; it takes two hours for a single man to gut, skin and quarter an elk. I suppose it can be done quicker, but I've done well over 150 elk surgeries and I've never been able to break the two-hour time.

A single man is only a little slower than two gut-pullers, so the outfitter and I did our elk individually. I can honestly say that it was dark-thirty when we stumbled back to camp with the dirty job done. Exhausted, totally exhausted.

The hunters were due to go out on the jet boat the next noon, so we were up way before sunup. We got the elk pieces loaded, the "hunters" loaded and had them down to Snake River just as the boat turned in to shore.

That night, we got drunk.

God Bless,

Steve

You'll need more gun than a 260 to kill one of them

imo A 260 AND A 270 are pretty damn close and we all now a 270 works just fine.

This particular sequence of events unfolds more often than a guy would think....

I swore i was gonna stay away from this post, but i cant help it !
So if you are the 82 year old man, that sits in the willows 15 yards off the game trail (i know him)with a book the entire season waiting for one to pass by, he's a sniper or the 10-20 people that sit off of game trails in the black timber , hoping they are on the right one.. are they snipers because they didnt "go after" their elk or does that not count because that was within 20 yards ? Is the guy that sits on a canyon rim with his laser range finder and a magnum rifle lazy because he shot it at 600 yards knowing he's gonna have to 1/4 it and pack it out over the next three days up and down the mountain ?
Guess just about every bow hunter out there must be a sniper as they dont go chasing there quarry around ?
The mountain I hunt on has black timber on it so thick with deadfall that it takes you 15 minutes to travel 100yards and anyone foolish enough to try an traverse it never even see an elk as they smell you or hear you before you can even hope to ever seeing them... the other side is open sage flats that run 1000'yds in either direction and you cant sneak up on a blind turtle..this is bordered by a very deep canyon (known as the little grand canyon) with well over a 1000' drop in elevation mingled with aspen and boulders and the remaining section is private property..the guys with the lever actions and pumps with there 270's, 30-06's and big bore marlins sit in the timber and hope for something to come by so they can "snipe it"... the lazy guys in the flats with there laser range finders and big magnums sit and scan at dusk and dawn hoping they are in the right place at the right time...here in colorado, last i heard, was you are gonna harvest your elk on average once every 7 years... was that a bull, a cow, private land or public..over the counter or draw i dont know and cant say if thats still the case ...I've hunted elk for thirty years now.. took me the first four to ever even get a shot and i lost it with three shots to the boiler room off a bipod at 265 paces..granted it was a big herd bull and i screwed up using the wrong bullet, but it got into the dark timber with dozens of game trails and no snow... the last elk i killed was first shot through the heart at about 75 yards walking, and then shot running in the hip and didnt drop for another 100 yards..got in the dark timmber and took several minutes to find it..no snow, ground covered with pine needles so cant easily see blood.. had i not heard it thrashing around and gasping, i might have lost that one also...that was an overkill 300win mag with 180's...dead on its feet, but not dead in its tracks...i'm sure others have dropped them in their tracks with a neck shot, spine shot or maybe even through the heart with a .223 or .243 but not me an my experience tells me, where i hunt, bigger is better.. and thats the end of MY rant !! (please forgive me !)

Ben, there are old-time Northern New England deer hunters that "still hunt" in just the manner you describe... pick up a buck track and settle in to a light jog... apparently it's very effective as the buck isn't spooked by this as much as by a most hunters "silent" stalk. There's a curiosity factor involved for the buck with the unknown noise of a hunter jogging!

elkivory: A 300 Win Mag isn't overkill for an elk...

Just Like Dogzapper's cook,my rancher pal in Wyoming had killed a slew of elk with his old Savage 99 in 250-3000;I even dug some of the bullets out of the carcasses years back to see what they did..This until I gave him a 270,which he still has and thought it was a magic wand,light, portable and lethal out to 400 yards.He used it on a very big 7x7 this year.Couple of 130 Bitterroots and that was that.

I left a 300 Win Mag M70 on the ranch a few years back,and he used it on a few cow elk(I have used that cartridge myself on bulls),and a nice 6x6.His impression is that the 270 kills them, but the 300 smacks them harder.

Seems like nothing causes a stir like a discussion of elk cartridges.

And Jack Atcheson,whom many a gunwriter says has probably killed more elk than any other man,says the .338 just numbs 'em.

I love to hear the oldtimers talk.It just isn't the same anymore in the new hunting era.....

Jayco

I can't speak to how they do it in New England but can to the Great Lakes...

FWIW it is probably more a matter of them having to lay down to chew their cud every so many hours and it makes them nervous knowing you are behind them. If you stay right on their ass they can't take a break.

If you find a spot where they can see their backtrail, you can find a whole lot of tracks where they waited a bit to watch for you. Pacing in the snow like a nervous father waiting for his 16 year daughter to get home from a date...:) They definitely get spooked this way, but it doesn't matter if: you are in condition, have all day, can identify THE track, and are in big country--you will eventually see him...or her, if you screwed up.

It doesn't take a lot of imagination to see why this method hasn't a big following--personally prefer slow still-hunting...lower mileage...:)

Funny how people are quick to critique others methods of hunting, especially if they've never tried that method.

How does all this whitetail talk relate to 'elk with a 260'?

I dont know, but since we are off topic, how far away are you from Anshutz ?
Have you ever got to hunt down there along the river or is it all pretty much "no trespassing" ?

Who's he?

I don't know, have never shot an elk with a 260...but considering today's selection of bullets if the 260 isn't enough for elk than its probably not enough for whitetail either.

http://www.atcheson.com/

Jack Atcheson Sr was one of the first worldwide hunting consultants and a frequent hunting companion of Jack O'Connor who some say has shot more elk on public ground than anyone else,if you believe everything you read.

If enough people say it,then there must be something to it as in Jack's case.

Jayco

Hell that got covered in the first couple pages...it kills them just fine!

Never heard of him, but if he's got Ron vouching for him, well then,
he's got Ron vouching for him.
I know lot's of folk here LOVE Jack O.
Specially, me and Ingwe.
I'll check out the provided link. Thanks.

Exactly.

Threads are like any conversation... they twist and turn in different directions.

Although when Logcutter is involved they mostly twist...

It does if everything is perfect but Elk hunting is never perfect and the .260 is not a .300 Mag or .338 Mag or even a 30-06.The diameter difference of .044 does make a difference between the '06 and 6.5-08 aka the mighty 260 Rem

To say energy or bullet diameter makes no difference in non perfect shots,is crazy talk.

Jayco

Here is one for you Slave...Jack O's last hunt written by Jack Atcheson Sr whom was with him on it.

http://www.sportsmanonline.com/magazine/jack-oconnors-last-hunt/

Jayco

Thanks, Logcutter.
Keep sending them.
I'm like a sponge, so I can get up to speed.

I don't recall that anyone said it doesn't make a difference....

But it's equally true that there are far more examples of "bad hits" than we could describe on an Internet forum;and for some "bad hits",a bigger rifle simply won't help you.My pal's BC bull is a perfect example.

If this were not true, we could randomly hit elk anywhere with a more powerful rifle and kill them every time...we all know we can't do that.

And yet so many people try... over and over... LOL.

Indeed,that's true and we all no that larger does not make up for bad shots...My point is,where does it end?We all have seen Elk posted on the net shot with a .223 and we all no that a .22 rimfire will kill Elk with the right shot and net talk is always lighter/faster and smaller....So,how small is enough..Well...On a broadside it don't take all that much but on other type shots it does.Is the .243 equal to the .257 and is the 257 equal to the 264 or is the 264 equal to the 270 and the 270 to the 7MM(only .007 difference in diameter)....

The 264 has a .044 diffrence from the '06 and the .300 Mag has .030 less than the .338 and the .338 has .037 less than the .375 H&H which in turn has .041 less than the .416
which is less difference than the 6MM and 30-06.

So where does it end,is the 375 H&H in the same category as the .416 Rem Mag?

The .260 will kill Elk,no doubt and so will the .223 but is it the best choice for any
oppurtunity thrown at us these days?

Awe,the net.Lord help anyone that don't agree with the mass's.

Jayco

"If enough people say it,then there must be something to it as in Jack's case....Awe,the net.Lord help anyone that don't agree with the mass's"

In time, if you find yourself coming around to argue with an earlier position, there may be less credence to the argument than you first believed...

I can't legally use a 260 for elk in Kentucky if I'm ever lucky enough to get drawn. Must be .270 caliber or bigger. I can use a .30-30, but not a 260. I can use a 6.8SPC, but not a 6.5-06. I can use a 300 Whisper, but not a 264 Winchester Magnum. The list goes on and on...

I guess the "magic" starts at .277<grin>.

Here is an interesting read on the .338 versus the .375 H&H with mention of 7MM/'06 from someone who has killed boat loads of game and seen even more shot.

On what diameter difference means.....



Jayco

I suspect we all know this....

But there is still no mention of what difference it all makes with poorly placed shots.

What I see in no mention of bad shots or angles from posters and why more gun is a plus...Boddington said when he lost his Brown Bear with the .300 that if he had more gun,he may not have lost it.I can only assume he has seen that happen or he would not of wrote about it admiting publically,he made a bad shot.

Everyone keeps telling the new to hunting croud,smaller is just fine,it's not if you want to take home meat and have to take a quartering or not perfect shot.I'm not perfect/your not perfect and we don't always get the perfect shot hunting on public land self guided.

Lifes a beech then we die but there is always "Two sides to every story"....

Jayco

What does a sniper do? They sit in one place and shoot at targets a long way off. A sniper in my post is someone who goes out with the expressed intent of sitting one place, and shooting an animal in the next zip-code.

There are very few reasons to shoot any animal, that isn't wounded, at some of the ranges people do these days. If you want to sit on ne ridge and shoot things 600-1200yds away, fine. Just doen't try to pass it off as hunting, it's sniping.

Hunting is involves getting down and dirty with the animals and using that knowledge to get as close as possible before pulling the trigger.

"Hunting is involves getting down and dirty with the animals and using that knowledge to get as close as possible before pulling the trigger."


So you only bow hunt?

I thought your rant was done.....

dmsbandit ...Different situations/conditions lead others to use tactics that i dont. I respect that, as i do your opion. I am not here to ruffle any more feathers, just entertain "tricke(?) with his 2 post count !

Sorry, just trying to explain myself.

I bow hunt, handgun hunt, rifle hunt, and muzzleloader hunt. I've killed quite a few deer with the rifle at bow range, and probably have killed 40% of my deer while still-hunting. I hunt from ground stands, tree stands, and my two feet and any other way possible to put venison in the freezer.

What happened to Trickie the Troll???

The problem I have with this argument is that lots of guys think a 200 yard shot is hunting but a 500 yard shot is not.

To a bowhunter, a 200 yard shot is a joke. To a traditional bowhunter, a 40 yard shot with a compound is too easy.

And so on and so forth.

I wonder what Elmer Keith would say?

He would call it a "coyote gun"....Just like he called the .270 that for all those years.

I guided precisely two hunters who were armed with .375 H&H rifles and one with a .416 Rigby. Frankly, I ended up hunting down and killing four wounded elk for the three gentlemen (one wounded TWO and I had to kill them). My poor ol' .30-'06 and .280 Ackley did the job; that and a bit of dropping down into canyons, getting cut up in the hackberries and huntin' up.

I absolutely know for a fact that lots and lots of folks are absolutely dead shots with the .375 and bigger rifles, but I've just not guided them.

In fact, I truly have not ever guided a good shooter with the .338WinMag. And only one good shooter with the .300WinMag. I guess my friend Allen Day was the vast exception, or at least that is what he said.

Hey, the fuggin' fact is that most guys don't shoot much and they are afraid of big rounds. Getting the [bleep] pounded out of a fella is an accuracy killer. It's fine to act macho, it is another to be able to kill elk consistently, in position, with the rounds that kick hard.

Hey, it ain't no macho thing with me. Whatever works is the best and what doesn't ... well, it ain't.

My best guided shooter shot a .308 Winchester with 150-grain Remington Cor-Lokt bullets and later 150 Hornady InterLockeds. He never shot beyond 200-yards and killed the crap out of elk. Good hunter, decent shooter and a privilege for me to guide in the bush.

If I was forced to choose a good elk cartridge today, it would be something like the .280 Remington through the .30-'06 and would include the .308. I've personally cleanly killed several bulls with rounds down to and including the .243 (the .25-'06 was a sheer killer) and the deadest bulls I've ever killed were two 6X6s with my 7SGLC using 120Ballistics.

Setting up the shot and placing the ONE bullet is way more important than cartrige or bullet choice.

Your mileage might vary, and probably will ... what the hell do I know??? I just strung guts and dealt with clusterf***s for lotsa years and killed client's elk when they couldn't. Ain't much, but it's the truth ... That's all.

God Bless,

Steve

Grinning Steve, I hope you are doing well.

Hunting with daughter last year, holding one of her 7-08 rounds in my hand along side of a long-throated 06AI, pondered whether I may have had too much gun...

maybe I am over-compensating...:)

So I am now over here in Oz and am considering the lowly 30-06 (I think I own three or four but have never hunted one) as my one rifle piece. Ya think it will work?

Just get real close...:)

Pretty one?

I bet it will.

Never did a survey,and can't recall one but I'd bet a few bucks that the overwhelming majority of elk killed on this continent every year fall to something of 270 to 30 caliber,slinging bullets weighing from 130 to 180/200 grains,with MV's from 2700-3100 fps.The 30/06 falls flat in the middle here, if not in bullet weight then certainly in velocity.And the bullets are so good today,the elk don't stand half a chance.

If it works on elk it'll work on a bunch of other stuff as well.I think we have them surrounded.

IME most guys cant shoot rifles accurately that have more recoil than a 30-06...."fire" members excluded of coures

Laffin'...."Paper Rifles".......they look great on paper, not so much on the range. I've never seen a guy lay down and put 100 rounds downrage in practice with a large magnum. I don't know how they get so good with them shooting them that little.

It's the internet senarshooter...that's how!

There's a name for that......it's either circular logic......or a cirle jerk, I forget which.......

Call me a pussy but last summer I put 40 rounds through my 06 and another 20 in a 270 in one practice session. That was more than enough for the day.

What's up with no buddy can shoot anything bigger than the 30-06?Chris Kyle was one that prefered the larger magnums for sniping...

From these elevated perches, he exploited the great reach of his favorite rifle, a custom-built Remington Model 700 bolt-action chambered in .300 Win. Mag. During his final tour his favorite rifle became a .338 Lapua Mag., which offered great reach and impressive barrier penetration

I own a .300 Win Mag and I can shoot it just as well as my other rifles.Just like the fear of dogs for some,once you get past the fear,they become your best friends.

Really?

Jayco

Didnt say "nobody" i said most. Cant compare a sniper rifle to hunting rifle quite a difference wieght wise.

Like i said "fire" members excluded

Weight is the issue with most here as well as recoil.More weight means less recoil.Want more thump,then you have to belly up and practice and just because someone cannot shoot a .300 because of recoil or weight,doesn't mean everyone wears that shoe.

The .300 hits harder than the '06 as does the other medium bore magnums.Any shooter worth his weight can learn to shoot a .300 Win Mag or larger,if he really wanted too.

Look at all the guys shooting the 45-70's out there,just about the same recoil as the .338 Win Mag with the big factory loads.

Jayco

And a 500 Nitro Express hits harder than all of 'em but so what? And who cares what a sniper prefers for "barrier penetration?"

I have a few medium bores like the 375 Ruger and 358 WSM. There is no doubt that they hit harder. There is no doubt that I can shoot 'em accurately. There is no doubt that shooting them is expensive, and shooting them a lot is more expensive and not very much fun. And no doubt that when my new .260 arrives in another few weeks I will shoot it a lot and it will be more fun. It'll also be light enough that carrying it all day up and down the mountain along with the rest of my gear will be fun.

I ain't lookin' to breech any barriers, and I don't want a muzzle brake. I'll find an accurate load at a good velocity with a good bullet and not worry about what Ray Atcheson says.

[/quote]

IME most guys cant shoot rifles accurately that have more recoil than a 30-06...."fire" members excluded of coures[/quote]

I'd venture to say, more folks would HIT vitals better with 6.5x55, 260, 275 Rigby, 7/08, 270, 280, than the 30-06. If Vital's shot placement scores went up for a hunter, there is only downside by trying to offset poor shooting with a higher recoiling round w/more foot pounds, IMHO.

I choose a 260 over the others b/c I enjoy using it, and it works.

My gut tells me the American public has found favor in the 06 for many reasons, it's widely available, versatile, effective, and its probably about at the end of the spectrum of tolerable recoil for many....though truth be known, I'd be willing to bet upwards of 20-50% of those users would shoot better w/less recoiling rounds.

Modern bullets inc. JB's fave - the Partition, allow accurate flat shooting rounds of modest recoil to be used effectively (on the bulk of the more commonly hunted animals in NA) w/maximum field accuracy w/o recoil induced flinching adversely affecting a shooters ability to punch vitals. Lower recoiling rounds also allow more practice, never a bad thing. If anything, '06 users - many are 'Joe Blow' types who have spent little range time learning their gear which gives little shooting experience.

Stories like Steve aka dogzapper are likley pretty common, hunters using 'too much gun' than they can shoot satisfactorily well. Perhaps a combo of too much recoil and too little range time. Either way, less gun can be more if the vital hit ratio soars, which is frequent.

That is stereotyping just like most can't shoot anything bigger than the '06.

What I get a kick out of is when people say this stuff,I wonder what it is based on?Magazine articles/personal experiences they have seen in person or just what a guide says after he books the rich bitch that goes out and buys that big ole magnum without any shooting history....

Where I live the Magnums are very common but these old farm boys (and girls) grew up hunting/work hard physically every day and just don't notice an extra pound of rifle weight or alittle more recoil....

If someone is going to stereotype other shooters,please tell us how you came to that conclusion...

Jayco

I shot a 300 Win Mag exclusively for years. Coues to elk, it was a great tool. Lacking a laser rangefinder, it also shot fairly flat, allowing hits to several hundred yards by guessing.

I got tired of getting the [bleep] dogschitt knocked out of me. Tell yourself what you want. 75 grains of powder and 200 grains of lead exiting the muzzle in the neighborhood of 3000 fps generates recoil, IMHO, hard and FAST. 20 round practice sessions were exhausting, at least for me. If you like this, you should have been a professional boxer or cage fighter or some schit. I could shoot it well, but when I found a better way, I jumped on it...

I certainly don't look in the rear view mirror, with longing eyes for how I used to handle the business of killing, before I knew a better way.

Though I do have to admit the 338 RCM is a fun little [bleep], and so far 225 grainers appear to arrive with significant authority when launched at pretty modest veloctiy... recoil calculations be damned, it kicks quite differently than a 300 win mag. Hard to explain, but it's more of a long firm shove from where I'm sittin...

100% agree. And it works much past 200 yards.

It seems, on average, the guys that don't like the 260, or think it won't work, are the guys who haven't used it...

Very specific stories of elk wounded and lost to magnums are easy to come by.

Ain't had a story in this thread yet of an elk wounded or lost because the lowly 260 failed to provide the horsepower to reach vitals...

another view point on recoil:

Rifle Recoil Table
By Chuck Hawks



For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction; that is one of the physical laws of our universe. This means that the momentum of a rifle's reaction will exactly equal the momentum of the bullet and powder gasses ejected from the barrel. In the shooting sports we call that reaction recoil or "kick." It can be measured or computed empirically, and has been for this recoil table.

However, perceived recoil, what the shooter feels, is a highly subjective matter. It is influenced by many factors. One of the most important of these is the fit and shape of the rifle stock. A good recoil pad can help soften the blow to the shooter's shoulder. Gas-operated semi-automatic actions reduce apparent recoil by spreading it over a longer period of time. These sorts of things cannot be accounted for in a recoil table. Also, please understand that there are dozens of loads for any given bullet weight in any cartridge that will produce the same velocity, but a different amount of recoil. So the figures in any recoil table should be taken as approximate. Never-the-less, the table below should give a reasonably accurate comparison of the recoil of most popular rifle cartridges.

It is worth remembering that the majority of authorities agree that recoil of over twenty foot pounds will cause most shooters to develop a serous flinch, which is ruinous to bullet placement (the prime component of killing power). Fifteen foot pounds is probably about the maximum recoil energy most shooters feel reasonably comfortable with, particularly at the shooting range, where most serious marksmanship practice occurs.

While recoil energy determines how hard the blow to the shoulder feels, recoil velocity determines how abrupt the blow to the shoulder feels. My subjective impression is that, with a well designed stock, recoil velocity above about 10 fps begins to feel like a sharp rap on the shoulder rather than an abrupt push.

I estimate that fifteen foot pounds of free recoil energy and 10 fps of recoil velocity represent the approximate upper limit of the comfort level. Above that recoil becomes increasingly intrusive. Also, the effects of recoil are cumulative. The longer you shoot, and the harder the rifle kicks, the more likely you are to flinch. These are good things to remember when comparing rifle cartridges, and at the range.

In the table below rifle weight is given in pounds, free recoil energy is

The lightest recoiling rifle I own is a Sub Moa 30-06 other than my .223.I also love shooting my 45-70 with those big ole 550 grain bullets at 1550 fps,that is a hoot and even funner out of my BFR 45-70 revolver,the same load clocks 1300 fps out of my hand.

I believe the difference is,some think there hunting rifle has to be there play mate also,kinda like the old .....This is my rifle and this is my gun,this one is for hunting and this one for fun.

That's the way I play,one for hunting and one for fun.If I go out before hunting season and put three in the bulls eye with my hunting rifle,I'm good to go..Don't need to shoot that particular rifle all year long,but I can others that are far cheaper to use.

To each his own....

Jayco

For me i donated time to the Republican Party in the township i lived in,that town owed the rifle range,that's where i donated my time. Seen alot of shooters,some can handle the heavy recoil."MOST" couldn't

Therein lies the theory that a high percentage of elk hunters use to wound or lose elk with their 270 or '06 every year.

Then they go buy a 338 WM cause they "need more gun"...

Last guy I know that lost an elk with a rifle was "hitting coke cans at about 300 yards" with his 300 winchester magnum. He proceeded to gut shoot an elk under 200 yards and never got it. Same guy told my son his 25-06 was too small for elk. Son then killed his bull at 150 yards, nice 5x5.

These threads are worthless other than making me want to kill my next bull with my 6.5-06 and a 140 berger.

Really?...Based on what?

You would be surprised at the number of people "out west" that do that,infact,I don't know anyone who uses there hunting rifle year around...One could,but why when most match caliber to species..You don't need a .300 Win Mag for coyotes,so why use one when smaller calibers like the .223 are cheaper to use but using a .223 on Elk,is iffy..Everything has to be perfect and it will work,not so with the .300 Win Mag...It will plow through any part of the Elk and reach the vitals with ease.

Everyone thinks they no why there are wounded Elk whether it be recoil/buck fever or just bad judgement followed by a bad shot but unless you were there,you have no idea....

There was a thread here on who has lost game and you would be surprised at the number of fire posters that have and I do not remember one that said because of recoil...Could be wrong but I can't search it out....

Jayco

Yup a little different shooting @ game than it is shooting @ targets.

"not so with the .300 Win Mag...It will plow through any part of the Elk and reach the vitals with ease."

BS statement of the day.

Logcutter, do you know what the word "irony" means? Do you understand that stereotyping people and then in the next sentence complaining about others who stereotype is ironic?

But it did give me a good chuckle. I have no doubt that you don't notice an extra pound of rifle weight, because you have to get at least a hundred yards from the truck before weight matters.

You can argue back and forth about cartridges all day long but it's a fact that in elk hunting, putting miles on your boots and getting to spots where others don't go will get better results. It's also a fact that no matter who you are, carrying less weight in the mountains will allow you to go farther, climb higher, and move faster.

Only a moron carries more weight than he has to, no matter the headstamp.

Laffin!! I'd be willing to bet that none said they missed because they didn't practice enough or were lousy shots either....

It was said to much recoil makes people lose or wound game.I started a thread "Who here has lost game"..Someone look it up and either post the link or show me how many of the many that lost or wounded game,was because of recoil or using a caliber to big for them.

I can't search/ignore or see profiles but I do have my box back.

Jayco

I found it via google...Go through this 24hrcampfire thread about losing game and see why people lose game from our own members and there experiences that lost or wounded game.

Not seeing one that said because of recoil or rifle weight...

http://24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/6460352/1

Jayco

Who said game was lost because of rifle weight? Wasn't me.

But it's like you said before, if you weren't there, you don't know. Asking that question is like asking single women why they don't get more dates. How many do you think will give you an honest answer.

Guys will blame the cartridge, the angle, the weather, the bullet, or anything before they'll admit that they're flinching due to recoil and making bad shots.

Logcutter, do you still have that .375 H&H Model 70?

Just curious, I know you liked that rifle.

Guy

All this talk about the recoil being a problem with the magnums brings up something I tell most of my hunting partners. The best practice you can get is take a .22,.223, 30-06, or something else comfortable to shoot and get out and shoot at something, anything- cans, squirrels, rabbits, crows, etc.... just for practice. The more you practice with ANY rifle, the better you will shoot the magnums when the shot counts.
It isn't necessary to do all of your practice with the magnum you hunt with (and I hunt elk with a .338, son hunts with a .300 H&H) since technique transfers over from one rifle to another, IMHO. I've always found rabbit and sage rat hunting to be about the best way to get good hunting practice. Most of the time the things are moving, you're seldom shooting from a bench- though a bipod is sometimes handy- and ranges are constantly changing.

Once you get enough practice with the smaller rifles, if that makes you more comfortable, then a few shots before hunting season to check your zero is good enough to go hunting, IMO.

Apples to apples, a good shot with a .260 and a good shot with a .338, I'd put my money on the .338 to have a more pronounced effect on a big animal like an elk and I've seen it with my own eyes. Not that the dozen or slightly more elk I've killed or the roughly equal number my hunting partners have killed is a big enough sample to really judge by, but it sure seems that way to me.

Bob

I do, Guy.And like yourself,I have a bunch of 260 Nosler Accubonds loaded to .375 H&H factory velocity.Got a bunch more to load that old Norm gave me in 260 Partition and 300 Partiton and some 270 Speers Wyo sent me.

I love that Winchester but it is so heavy I can't lift it out of the truck bed let alone go off walking with it. (Kidding ofcourse)

Havent't shot anything but a deer with it though.Didn't see much difference on deer than the 45-70..he he he.Gotta love the net.

Jayco

Yeah - I do like that .375 Number One. Hoping to haul it out again for bear this year. More power than I'll ever need, but it's accurate, fun to shoot and great to carry afield on a hunt.

Likely to try archery for elk again this year. I don't think my ol' recurve has as much punch as a .260 though.

Regards, Guy

Ron,
What does Jack A. Use?
Thanks
Slave

There's no substitute for shooting a lot with the rifle you're gonna hunt with.

Who told you that?That's a bunch of bull..Once the crosshairs are on target from my 45-70 down to my .22 rimfire,the bullet is going where the crosshairs are at ignition.


Jayco

That's some epic humor right there.

Let's see the dead tarp pictures!

Loco

Glad you showed up buddy.We were talking about losing and wounding game..Fill us in on all the ones you lost and why.Did recoil have anything to do with it or was it just a bad shot/bad bullet or buck fever?

Jayco

Ron,

Does this mean you don't know?

I've never lost a tarp!

Lets see..Think/Think/Think..Owe that's right,you shot one in the ass with a bow and never found it and another with an '06..Gotta ask..Did you shoot the other in the ass too?

Awe heck Loco...Chit happens..Right?..Got wood to split while my android Man Pad charges..Splitting wood is always easier after talking to you.

Thanks buddy.

Jayco

Try to stay sober and out of lockup.. you've almost made it a week this time without another trip to jail!

I did once. Granted, winds were gusting to 80+ that day. I felt sick to my stomach...

Here is a cow elk killed with a .338 RUM,AFTER I missed a cow earlier in the hunt with a .338 win mag. Know it's not a tarp,but this is all I have.

When do we get to see pics of the bad a$$ Chevy that can go anywhere?

It's under the tarp.

No, 'slave is hiding under the tarp.

You bastid.
You caught me.

If I moved in next door to LC we could all hang out together .

He loves me and you.

Yup. "Crosshairs" on a 45-70, epic.

The notion that NOT practicing with a killin' rifle is beneficial, is pure logsniffer gold.

'slave,is that how elk are hunted in Idaho?

.260? No problem at Idaho elk hunting distance.

Neither is the 243ai and a 105.

Were you hiding under the tarp when you killed the bull?

By the way nice bull.

Yes.


That is what we wear for camo.

Great,do you think that'll work in New Mexico?

That guys got some goofy thirds.

Stunt shooter.

I am just learning at the feet of Logcutter right now, but............
I'm sure Jayco will have alot of pics, tips, opinion, experience and .22 rimfire kills to share with you from his time spent all over the Southwest.
Either that or he will call Jack.

Jayco wants me to try the 223ai on one next.
I'm torn.

Sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the info!

heres the results of a campfire members "guns in camp" survey from january of '12..there werent any .260's mentioned here, but there were a couple responders that had .243 or 25/06 in their camps....no one was asked if they saw anything , shot anything or ???? JUST what guns were taken into their elk camps for the 2011 season...hers the copy and paste :

#6098847 - 01/27/12 09:39 AM Re: Colorado/ Wyoming Hunters.. What calibers were in this years camp ? [Re: Coyote_Hunter]
elkivory
Campfire Ranger

Registered: 12/13/08
Posts: 2367 To date :
36 different chamberings (called all muzzle loaders as one) in 145 different guns..
Top three chamberings :
30-06 ..16%
7mmrem...13%
300win..10%
If you want to lump things together, say all 30 caliber magnums, all 7mm mags vs. 30-06..then it goes just the opposite....
#1-30 caliber mag
#2-7mm mag
#3 30-06
........
Another observation is diameters..61% use .30 caliber or larger

I'm not drawing any conclusions since you can talley things up in a variety of different ways and make a case for what ever your particular bias might be


Edited by elkivory (01/27/12 09:39 AM)

Top Reply Quote Quick Reply Quick Quote Notify Email Post

Jack Sr used a 338 Win Mag;last time I spoke with him, Jack Jr used the same thing.The 338 WM was the Atchesons favorite NA BG cartridge.

Maybe things have changed with those boys, but I doubt it.

If you can shoot a .338 Winchester magnum, it will sure kill elk.

Bob,

Are they still using 15x Swarovskis binos like everyone else uses 8x?

Dink

Dink I don't really know.....but you know what Jack,Jr says about optics...."Optics cost nothing, and weigh nothing".

So I wouldn't be surprised at anything they use.

No doubt about a Winnie, kills about like a 260, dead.

Yup.

Just my own observation but what I've noticed is that good riflemen/hunters come back with dead elk no matter what they shoot....260,270,338's or anything in between.

Sure, I've seen some guys get "better" with lighter recoiling rifes, but in those instances, they were not really very good rifle shooters to begin with.

Anyone who knows what they're doing will find the upper end of his recoil tolerances and operate efficiently.

I believe you can't believe what you read.So let's play "Name that Gunwriter"



I'm always into a more harmonious outcome and I hope you guys wrote him and straightened him out.

Jayco

I killed this cow with a .270 Wby,it took 5-7 rounds before I finally brought it down with the last shot at 20 yards or so in the head. Used a .277 150 grain Speer Grand Slam,the last shot to the head DID NOT EXIT!

So would I use a .270 Wby/Win on elk again,HELL YES,BUT,I would use Nosler Partitions and have at them.

Shot placement and BULLET PERFORMANCE!

Don't ask me.. I have no idea who said it

SWEET!'!!!

Bob

I wasn't asking you,you were the last poster and I just hit reply.

Jayco

One thing's for sure--with a rig like that, you're not gonna notice an extra pound or two of rifle weight. That's why all my .45-70's wear scopes with 50 mm. objectives.

Still using see thrus on all of yours?

Think of all the tarps you can haul around in that pavement queen!

Pavement queen?

Don't you see the 8" of snow?

Ok, 4".

You knuckleheads can't get anything right...This is my pavement queen all 2-wheel drive of it off roading and pulling 4-wheel drives out of the ditch..Amazing what logging truck chains cut down to fit and a bunch of wood in the back do to a 2-wheel drive truck.

.


Jayco

You're a tarp killing son of a gun!

Congrats on staying out of the drunk tank last night!!

This photo looks like it was taken using a game camera.

Ok, 10 days now and still no "Trickie" !!
Who here got bored and started the "new ID" ??
(i bet trickie really uses a 378 wby..smile !!)

Try a cell phone camera and you will be spot on.

Jayco

Yup. That's the best place to secure my cough suppressor and butt-out tool.........

Do you really believe that?

Just incase you haven't asked your cellmates, everyone in prison is "innocent" too.

Self-reporting is not reliable.

NTG-sorry but I just have to do this