I thought I was high tech because my last bull was killed with an anemic 7 Rem Mag and a 160 partition,with a 2.5-8 Leupold.
Dats 21st century,right??!!
Or,(and I keep forgeting to get pics of this stuff)my rancher buddy, Bill, who calls last month and tells me he killed (another)310-320 6x6 with a 270 Remington Mountain rifle in a 25 year old Brown Precision stock and an equally old 4X Leupold,and loaded with 130 Sierra's....
...we don't know how many bull elk that rifle has killed anymore.....have sorta lost count but the number is likely up around 25-30...why I laugh when folks say the 270 Win(aka,280 Remington,284 Winchester)are chump change elk cartridges....
I'm yet to kill an Elk but it's most certainly on my to do list. When I do, it will most likely be with a 7mm of some sort and mainly because I'm likely never to own something over .284 cal as I just don't feel the need.
When I read about or talk with people who hunt and kill big Elk on a regular basis, the talk of "magnums" rarely if at all enters the conversation.
Given the "hunter" provides the mode of introduction between the bullet and game, I'd say that THE most important issue is YOUR ability and second by that of the bullet you choose. The rest is simply campfire conversation.
I believe there might be a place for big magnums for many people who can actually shoot them, but the vast majority of "magnum" owners own one as a way of minimizing there actual handicap.
Sort of like sprinkling magic pixie dust over the hunt!
