Reading "Part 1" thread got me to thinking about cartridge selection for big game like elk and/or moose-sized critters. Even some of the larger Whitetail and Mule Deer out there could be thrown in. So, here goes...
Due to a shoulder injury, my days of shooting the various 300's and 338's and larger are over.
This past fall I elk hunted with the smallest caliber I'd hunted with since I started chasing them back in 1983 - a 264 WM. Though the range on my elk wasn't all that great - just 137 yards - I got to remembering some of the stories told by my uncles of some of the elk they'd taken over their years living in Idaho and Montana.
One uncle only used an old 256 Newton rifle he had. Another nothing but an old Enfield 30-06 with peep sights. Dad hunted them with his 270 and before that, a 30-06. My Grandfather hunted with his '30 Winchester' (that's a 30-30 to us).
In short, there were (and probably still are) a LOT of elk, mule deer etc that fall every year to hunters using smaller cartridges than the magnums and more so, taking them out at longer ranges - 400 - 1000 yards(maybe?).
When push comes to shove, why go for the larger cartridges when the smaller stuff will still reach out there to put your meat in the freezer and a head on the wall? All the tales of BC or SD or velocity aside, are today's boomers really all that much better than the 'good ol' cartridges' that are out there? Heck, a 6.5 Creedmore will take an elk out at longer ranges than the majority of hunters would be willing to even try!
Thoughts? Comments?
