Colorado, near the flattops wilderness...2nd combined season for elk/mulies......................
3-700's in .300 ultra
1-700 7mm rem
1-700 7mm ultra
1- A7 7mm rem

1-.280AI (mine)
1-.30.06
2-7RM

I'm always the oddball with my 300 WSM. The other 3? 30-06

My 300 WSM is the only one to score 2 years running but that was the luck of the draw, not the caliber used.

2- M70 30.06
1- R721 300 WBY
1-RRA AR-10 308 winny

1 - 9.3x74R
2 - 7mm Rem Mags
1 - .30-06
1 - .338 Win Mag

My 700 7saum.
A 300 RUM custom. 700 action.
A red pad 77 in 7x57.
A 700 300 win semi-custom.

2 35 whelens (7600 remingtons)
1 375 H&H (SAKO BOLT)
1 30/06 (browning A bolt)
1 450 marlin (browning BLR)

This year it was a Kampfeld 700 in 300 WBY and 700 in 7mm Rem Mag.

this was the collection of the "back-up's...
700 in 300 win
T3 in 300 win
Accumark 30-378
Accumark 338-378

What no pics? Here's what I packed around for a few days:




Packed my trusty 338 win mag around a couple days:


Rained a lot last season so I packed my cerakoted model 70 around a little too:


My elk hunting partner packed his '49 model 94 30-30 and his trusty Ruger m77 mkII 338 win mag.

.300 wsm, M70
.300 Weatherby, Weatherby
.270 wsm. Browning.

After about a dozen years and at least a dozen Elk hitting the deck, I've noticed one thing,

from my first Bull with a .280 to Bill's .300 bee, any shot in the vitals and the Elk die,

All the rest of the caliber "analysis" is just entertainment.

In ID and WA camps combined the guns were:

1 M70 - 7RM
2 M70 - .30-06
1 M98 - .35Whelen
1 Husqvarna - 9.3x57
1 M600 - .350RM
1 Firestar - .45ACP Our resident mad fisherman, he just goes along to fish and camp. He's the best camp cook ever, though.

Model 700---30/06
03 Springfield Sporterize 30/06

300 H&H
375 H&H
325 WSM

.308 Winchester in a Browning BLR, scoped. Light-weight and fast.

.270 WSM in in a Winchester Super Shadow---a tack driver but the magazine/feed ramp is a PITA.

Bang. Flop. (in both cases)

30-06 Model 70 post-64

338 Win Model 70 post-64

35 Whelen Ruger 77

22-250 Savage 16 Weather Warrior (the cook wanted to be armed)

3-30/06
2-300RUM

2 - .30-06
2 - 300WSM

Sweet.
Back-ups.
6.5 creed.
Lazzaroni Warbird
M70 pre 06
700 7rem mag

Rem 700 300 Weatherby
Rem 700 300 WSM
Rem 700 350 Rem Mag

Win. Model 70 pre '64 Fwt. 30-06 '1960 vintage. It was fun for me but the raghorn didn't like it. Nor did he like the 180gr Partition.
It was a great DIY.

416 Taylor, mine, why not!
338,06
30-06

This .25-06 Rem.


After I filled my two tags, I helped a few folks out with late season cows. There was a .270 Win, a 7 Rem Mag and a .30-06.

Nothing fancy.

M700 - .280
M700 - 7 Mag
M70 Fwt - 30-06 (mine)
2 Abolt - 300 Win Mag

Looks like a lot of 30-06s out there.

308 Ti in an Edge Classic ...

1 custom 7mm Rem mag
1 Browning 7mm Rem mag
1 Browing 325WSM
1 Kimber 270WSM
1 BLR 308

2 x Savage 110 .270s
1 x Ruger M77 .30-06
1 x Winchester M70 .30-06
1 x Browning BLR .30-06
1 x Ruger M77 .308
1 x Tikka T3 Lite .243

Expat

.30/06 (mine)
.300 Wby
.300 Win Mag
7MM Rem Mag

We all tagged out. The shortest shot 250 yds and the longest 475.

.30-06 (son-in-law)
7mm RM (hunting buddy)
.338 WM (me)

3 - 270's
1 - 300WM

700SS in 338WM
Sako Lazzeroni Warbird (stand away when it goes off!)

1 7mmultra mag
2. 280 ai
1. 338 Allen mag
1. Shiloh 45-70

2013.... we all carried compound bows.... and pointy sticks.

2014??

Tikka 270 Win
REm 30-06 auto
308 Rem 700 Mtn rifle
358 BLR

with a Savage 300 WSM on the bench, just in case.

.338 WM G30 Mcmillan
.375 H&H CZ 550

300 win mag for elk and 30/06 for deer.
Didn't get the elk but I got the deer.

1-M70 300 H&H
1-M70 7 rem mag
1-Tikka .284
1- browning 300 wm

Dakota 30-06
Cooper 270

T3 Lite stainless,7mm-08
T3 Lite stainless .30-06
2 Browning Stainless Stalkers .30-06





7mm-08



P

remington 700 300Ultra mag
Weatherby vanguard 30-06
Browning 325WSM
Weatherby vanguard 300wby mag

TC venture 300 win mag
Weatherby Vanguard 300 Wby
Remington 300 win mag

Leupold Vx 3 3-9
Zeiss Conquest 3-9
Nikon Monarch 4-16

Ruger 77 7mm RM with zeiss 3-9 as back up

2 of 3 successful

I carried a 7-08 this year. Did not have opportunity to launch.

35 Whelen mine
2 7RM
300 ultra
300 win
Only the 7RMs were successful

Weatherby 340 mag, Weatherby 300 mag, 270,and my Tikka 300 WSM. The first three took home meat all I did was pack it out for them. Lol

I didnt get much time to look for an elk this year but the guys carried an FN built Model 70 Fwt in 270, a Ruger M77 lefty stainless rebarrelled to 35 Whelen and a custom 700 lefty in 280AI....I carried a Sako 75 Finnlight in 7-08 a bit and my old reliable 1987 Rem 700 ADL/FS in 7 Rem Mag.

Elk camp this year:

243 win. Friend has shot 30+ elk with his .243 including a cow this year.

7-08 that was used to kill 5 elk this year.

6.5/284 one elk shot with it this year.

7 RM one elk shot with it this year.

30/06 (x3) one elk shot with it this year.

1-280Rem
1-300WinMag
1-475 Linebaugh

1 Mauser 9.3 x 62
1 M1898 Krag Jorgenson; 30 US Army
1 Eddystone .300 H&H
1 Eddyston .270 Win.

In our camp, the guys successfully used:
Rem 760 .308
Ruger M77 .375 H & H
Mauser 98 .280 Rem
Sauer 202 9.3x62
Browning A bolt .270 win.
And an unknown make of bolt action in 300 Win.

Since I was the only one in my elk camp, a .300 win..

7mm Rem Mag
.270 Weatherby Mag
.300 WSM
(3) .300 Weatherby
(2) .300 Win Mag

Remington 700 Ti 30-06.

Mine: .338 Ruger Compact Mag
In camp: Browning A-Bolt in .30-06
Browning A-Bolt in .325 WSM
Winchester Model 70 in .338 WM

Decent amount of sign, most seemed to be a day old, and nothing brought home besides good memories with good friends.

Mine was a Kimber Montana in .300 WSM.

My buddy's was an A-Bolt in .300 Win Mag.

donsm70

I keep hearing how elk aren't bullet proof, but it seems like most guys are toting some big stuff.

I used my 338Win.Mag. my son used a 300WSM.

I used my 338Win.Mag. my son used a 300WSM.

Woops, Sorry about the double post.

I used an ABolt stalker in 30-06
There was a Ruger American in 30-06
An ABolt stalker in 7RM
A Ruger for a southpaw in 7RM
and a .300wm and another 7RM both boat paddle Rugers.

I THINK MANY OF US BASE OUR RIFLE CHOICE ON OUR OWN EXPERIENCE AND THAT OF OTHERS WE HUNT WITH, for about 6 years MIKE who was one of the regulars in our elk hunting camp used a 7mm mag with 160 grain nosler bullets , one year he slipped and fell bending his scope on a hunt the first day and as a result was forced to borrow the camp back up rifle. A rifle which that year was a remington 7600 35 whelen loaded with 250 grain speers.
you would have thought he was being forced to bring the ugliest girl in the state to the prom,the way he looked at that rifle.
well that is until he was forced into using it, and shot a nice 4 point per side elk a couple days later, that elk was shot at about 180 yards and dropped like a sack of rocks when hit!, the result was that MIKE was VERY impressed, and bought a similar slide action 35 whelen, and has hunted with it every year since! as mike said
"the 7mm kills elk, the 35 whelen FLATTENS them"
now I,m sure a good deal of this is perception , as most of the elk MIKE shot previously with the 7mm mag ran a bit then piled up, and the first couple elk he hit with the 35 caliber dropped like damp towels,both rifles work, yet the perception was that the 35 seemed to get the job done far in excess of the ballistic tables suggested power level.

In our camp:
2-Tikka T-3 300WSM
1-Savage Axis 308
1-Mossburg 4x4 300 Winnie
2-Weatherby Vanguards 7MM Rem Mag
1-Savage 116 30-06

Cow hunting; all guns successful. All shots between 155 and 316 yds, (lasered) and none went more that 30 yds.

Elk camp was good to us this year!

.280 Remington Mountain Rifle circa 1991.

What load in the 7-08?

Load was 43 grains varget...140 grain accubond at 2880 fps.

Shots were: 70 yards hard quartering toward, 170 broadside, 210 broadside, 219 broad side, 487 slight quartering away.

One shot on each...

Ruger #1 in .300 Win Mag-1970's vintage with Burris Scope of same era.

Remington 700, .300 Win Mag with Nikon Pro-Staff 3X9, new plastic gun. Got a 600lb cow with it using 200gr Norma.

Ruger M-77, 30-06, open sights, 1970's vintage, Tang safety.

Another Remington 700, .300 Win Mag, unknown scope, 80's vintage probably. Got a cow calf, unknown bullets.

Sako, unknown model, 7mm Magnum, unknown vintage or scope.

BC

Thats good writing, and if the experiment was carried on further, it might well flip flop.
But one has to consider energy that a round has, and then how much you can impart to the animal vs how much goes through it in that formula...

Plus the fact that some of us, generally me included in that group, want to be armed for any chance. For me, elk are not like whitetail, where if I don't get the shot I want today, I will get it next week etc... but often times after elk in a week of hunting we've only seen them 1-2 times within shooting range and there fore might need to take the 300 or 400 yard shot or an angling shot or have to break a shoulder to get into the vitals and so on.

There is where I think most folks err to heavier.

And thats fine. As long as you can handle the gun well. Just the same as going with a 243, no big deal as long as you deal with its limitations.

4 - .30_06 (2 pump 760's, 1 Sako bolt, 1 Mossberg bolt)
1 - 7mm Mag (Sako Bolt)
1 - .280 (pump 760 or 7600)
1 - .260 (bolt not sure on the make)
1 - .338 BAR
1 - .454 Casull (Freedom Arms)

Utah Camp
Me-Rem 7 stainless walnut 7-08, Marlin Guide Gun 45-70
Buddy-Rem 700 .270 win.
7-08 took a bull in the thick stuff. One shot drt. .270 got taken on some nice walks and one elk pack out.
Montana Camp
Me-Howa Stainless .270wsm. Ruger UL Bob, Marlin 45-70
Dad- Howa .300 win., 1962 Rem 700 '06
Unk- MRC 1999 7wsm, Win 70 .325wsm
My 270 wizzum was the only one to draw blood.
Sometimes I goes in after em and sometimes I snipes em.

Me
300 WM Nula
45/70 GG Marlin
Others
338 WM Ruger
7mm boat paddle
30 06 Mountain light Remmy

Me
300 Win Mag
Aught 6
Win 30/30
Others
300 Savage X2
Aught 6
270 Win

7MM Mag --- Browning
340 Weatherby -- Weatherby
7MM Mag -- Remington (mine).

.300 Win Mag / Zeiss 3.5-10 / 180 Speer Grand Slams
.300 Wby / SS MK-5 / Leupold 4.5-14 / 168 TSX at 3,400fps
.300 Win Mag / SS Wby MK-5 / Leupold 4.5-14 / 168 TSX (Back-up)
.
.
.
and Bacon !

... Silver Bullet

It's the German version ... "Far-Frum-Werkun"

CZ 550 American 9.3x62 (mine)
Browning X-Bolt 338 Win Mag (hunting buddy)

I carried a first model Newton rifle in 256 Newton loaded with 140gr partitions for a few trips until I figured out the ejector wasn't working right.



Ended up killing the elk with a first Model Newton chambered in 30 Newton loaded with 200gr partitions. (Same rifle but this was last years elk)



My partner used a Model 54 Schultz & Larsen in 7x61 Sharpe and Hart

Didn't exactly have an elk "camp", it was just me this year. I think I packed my Ruger single action .44 and my trout rod more than I did a rifle.

Tom

someone earlier said that it seems people tend to use the bigger rifles in camp....well, in the western states the locals that go year after year, prefer the magnums because you know you may only get one chance every few years and it may be alot farther off then in the black timber...just saying to those .223 proponents out there that have a haystack on private property in states where its legal

Remington 721 300 H&H with 200gr, Partitions (mine)
Marlin 1895SS 45-70 325gr. Hornady Flex tip (mine)
Remington 721 300 H&H with 180gr. Partitions (partner)
Winchester M70 30-06 180gr. Core-Lokts (partner's father)
Next year will be toting my new 375 Ruger guide gun shooting 270gr. or 300gr. bullets.

Kimber Montana .338 Federal (mine)
Winchester Mod 70 .300 WSM (dad)
Savage 110 30-06 (brother)
Tikka T3 lite 30-06 (brother)
Winchester Mod 70 .270 Win (uncle)
Remington 700 .243 Win (nephew)
Ruger M77 .300 Win mag (buddy)
RBros custom Remington 700 7mm Rem Mag (buddy)

I like your style

I'm in a western state, Oregon. I carried and used a 7mm-08 this past season. No haystack on private property. Elk steaks in the freezer.




P

I carried the elk killer Wby 340, my partner Winchester 300 Win mag, other partner Brno 7x57. Ate plenty of elk liver,onions and heart.

Ruger 338rcm
Ruger 300 win mag
Ruger 300 H&H
Savage 338 win mag

My first time with a tag, usually just go along for camp/help the other guys, bloodied the RCM for the first time on a young 5x6. So jealous of how many on here get to live in/near elk country and get to experience its vastness/beauty on a daily basis.

Only two hunters in our camp.
Me:
Rem 700/300 Win Mag/200gr berger hybrid @ 2950 fps

Dad:
Savage 111/25-06/120gr partition

Rifles toted to elk camp:
.338 Win Mag
.338 Win Mag

Toted most in elk camp:
1 Snow shovel
1 Square ended steel shovel

After we got buried in the big storm back in National Forest, we needed to dig out - the tent, the gear, the trucks, the ATVs, the road - no more hunting, just days of shoveling.

Nothing exciting

270 win.
7mm-08
30-06
300wsm for the gut that needs a "magnum"

One .50 caliber rifle.

Muzzleloader, of course.

Mine is a Kimber Montana in .300 WSM.

donsm70

2. 300 win mags
1 7MM

I ran a Pre64 338 Win Mag with 210 PT's, my partner used his old, worn, beat up, ugly Post 64 300 Win Mag with 180 PT's (rifle has probably killed more elk than I will ever have the chance to) HA!. Both of us were able to score spikes this year. Best year yet.