Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Your Favorite Elk rifle?

My favorite elk rifle is what ever rifle I feel like hunting with on any day I am hunting elk..
I don't keep rifles I don't love, so I really like all the rifle I have and other then some small bores I would hunt elk with all of them at times, and depending on the place I am hunting. All those that were "just a rifle" have all be sold or traded off.
I concern myself with the bullets that go inside the rifle, (and lather I hope that go through an elk, if I get a shot) but not so much the rifle itself . I feel fine hunting elk with any rifle I own from a 25-06 up.
Rifles I own that I either would not hunt elk with because I think I may get into trouble making a quick kill, or just because I don't have any desire to kill an elk with that rifle are the following.

AK74. 5.45 Russian (21 caliber) and 100% of the ammo I have for it is loaded with FMJs and I am not interested in trying to find soft points, so I don't hunt with it at all. Not legal for elk and I would not care if it was.
222 Remington Bolt Action SAKO. Not legal for elk and I load with only Hornady SX bullets in this rifle so I see no reason to re-zero for a tougher bullet, so that gun/ammo combo is NOT an elk rifle.
AR15s in 5.56. Not legal for elk here, and I would not take one elk hunting in any other state because I have other rifles that I trust more as elk killers
AK47 Same reasons as those listed with the AR15s above
AR15 in 6.8 SPC. With Barnes bullets would kill elk with good hits, but I just have no desire to do it.

Rifles I own that I likely will not likely use, but I know I could if for some reason I wanted to kill elk with them are:

25-06 Mauser. My daughter and both my grandsons have killed several elk with a 257 Roberts I made for her over 30 years ago and done well, so I know for a fact I can do the same things with the same bullets loaded in a 25-06, but I just never have, and I like other rifles for elk hunting a bit better. So I will probably never kill and elk with my 25-06 but I know that I could.

30-30 Marlin. I have several friends who hunt timber with 30-30s and at close ranges the 170 grain 30-30 kills elk fine in the hands of a good shot who can keep cool. I like lever actions too, but I own lever guns in 270 30-06 and 300 Savage, so I would not choose my 30-30 because I like the more powerful guns I do have for elk hunting. But again that's personal preference, not because I think the 30-30 can't do a good job in the hands of a good hunter who knows how to get close.

My 100% original Mosin Nagant. All the accuracy and power I'd ever need for elk hunting and will no anything I want within my effective rage with iron sights, but for what ever reason I never felt any desire to hunt with that rifle.

That about it.

All other rifles I own I would hunt elk with which would be 18 others. And of that number I have killed elk with 14 of them, and with some of them I have killed a lot of elk.

These rifle I really like, and so I feel good hunting with any and all of them.

As long as I hunt within the effective range or each rifle I am happy with any one of them. I don't choose my 62 caliber flintlock to hunt in the grasslands and I don't usually take my 300 Magnum into the timber, so I choose the gun to fit the ares I will be hunting in. I do enjoy hunting with older rifle and iron sights, but my eyes are not pretty old and I don't do as well as I did years ago, so I often take 2 rifles with me these days on hunts, one with a scope and one with irons only. I like using iron-sighted guns more, but if I run short on time I "cheat" and get out the scoped rifle rather then go home without an elk. (That's the pal anyway. Doesn't always work out that way however. Last year I had 7 Wyoming tags and I killed 6 animals over iron sights and the one I missed with with a scoped rifle)