Fog
Right now, Phil Shoemaker who posts here as 458Win has a post saying that this year he used a 30/06 to back up the hunters he was guiding for Alaskan brown bears-and he didn't get et, depite having to stop at least one revengeful bear. Also, he posts some penetration tests of the 30/06 with various bullets.
Also, Mule Deer has a post about the comments of an outfitter that he talked to that was not enchanted with the customers that arrived toting 300 Magnums.
Cummilatively, in those two posts there is probably well over 100 years of intense hunting experience pointing to the concept that the 30/06 is not only sufficient for animals up to brown bear, but a BETTER choice for the average hunter.
Buy a good used 30/06, put a good rugged 4X or 2 to 7 scope on it, and do what you need to get it shooting consistently under 1 1/2 inches at 100 yards. You might have to have the trigger tweaked, a bedding job, a recrown. Get a decent rangefinder, as most people have fits estimating range. Get a GOOD 7 or 8 power binocular, and LEARN TO GLASS. LEARN TO GLASS. LEARN TO GLASS. Practice shooting over a backpack, from shooting sticks and from ofhand. Get a top notch pair of boots.
The 30/06 is less expensive to shoot in factory loads than a magnum, and that will be much more conducive to getting the practice that you should have.
Elk have a fairly large kill zone compared to a deer, and most are killed under 300 yards,so it doesn't require a Herculean feat of marksmanship or specilized equipment to kill the,. What it does take is dependable equipment that you are familiar with.
Royce
I'll go with that.
Good Post.
JW
