Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 30-06 vs 300 Win Mag

that should read unless you are shooting beyond 500 yards.. I don't do that with elk or other game.. Coyotes ok..

I tend to promote less powerful rounds than Wyocoyotedude...but he's absolutely right about the 500ish yard thing, and certainly the 300 or so yard limit of the OPs.

Even with today's "modest" equipment and bullets, shooting out to 4-500 is no big trick, and requires very little high tech equipment...plus that is the distance zone where a big boomer with regular bullets may actually help a guy out with range. The really high B/C bullets don't give a guy huge advantages until you're out past that distance IME.

Cross canyon shots can fool a guy though, so I still do carry a rangefinder to make sure I am within my comfort zone..

I traded for the Damara, wouldn't have shelled out $4K or whatever it listed for at the time. So, I'm in good shape there.

I did some trading for the Victory 2.5-10 with a Fire contributor, wouldn't have shelled out the retail cash for that one, either.

Been trading for a long time, keeping the keepers, herding the rest down the road. I'm now with a safe full of keepers, getting harder and harder to trade...

DF

Ok, just remember his telling the of the incident. But IIRC, he did like the magnums.

Sixteen to date. Only used two calibers, 270 Winchester and 300 Winchester Mag. I believe anything between or over would work just fine. Yes, all were harvested with premium bullets.

If you are having a hard time trading,you do have another option. It is called buying.

"Elk Hunting" is a statement takes in a lot of variety and difference.

Elk can vary from 200+/- lbs to upwards of over 750+ lbs. Those elk can be pursued on the back forty eating off hay bales in the flats, to public ground high in the mountains or deep timber.

Shooting relaxed elk on private ground where, if they run a bit is no big deal, is one type of elk hunting. A mature bull on public ground, during rifle season, in dark timber with no tracking snow is another type of elk hunt. And of course, there's all sorts of elk hunting in between.

While I have no qualm about a 243 on open country eating sized elk (or any elk for that matter), it's not something I'd chose for my own elk hunting. For me, a sensible minimum for pursuing mature bulls in timber is something like the 260 or 7mm-08. And, on big bulls, more rifle is never not a smart thing, unless you can't shoot it well, or don't want to pack it.

IMO, the "ultimate elk rifle" is a 22" bbl'd 338 WM shooting 210 Partitions at 2,950. I've taken bulls with that very rig and it works well. Ditto the 300 Mags and a 180 Partition. I just don't want to pack the rifles chambered for either anymore, so I chose much lighter rifles in more sedate rounds like the 270 or 308 Win. Big enough to break bone and penetrate from bad angles, but light enough to pack all day in the mountains.

For flat land hunting where weight isn't a big deal, and shots could be a lot further, I like more barrel/rifle weight. I've got a 300 WSM for that. 180 Partition, Ballisitc Tip, or Accubond at just over 3,000 fps is a lot of cartridge. Plenty for all elk hunting conditions.

But I doubt there's a better "every man's" elk rifle than the 30-06 loaded with a 180 Partition. If you can't get it done with that, it can't get done.

Sound thinking for sure

For danged sure. That is why my 7mm Mashburn and 338 Winchester are stoked with BBC's... Well, Bob Hagel and Bobby Farese! HA!

I haven't killed an elk too dead yet, but every fall I keep trying!

That right there is just about my favorite as well Brad. I have been running my Mashburn the most the past few years, but I love the 338 Win with 210's. It really seems to cover a whole lot of ground for me. Shoots easily out to my max ranges and hits very hard. Have yet to keep a 210 PT in an elk..

Not saying I don't NEED more guns, it's just that at this point in my life, there aren't many that interest me. Especially if I have as good or better in the safe.

NEED is a 4 letter word, don't ya know...

And, I do buy one from time to time, the latest a 28 ga. Ithaca direct from the new Ohio factory. Glad to support an American maker.

DF

I have come to a point in my life that wanting a gun is the best reason of all to make or buy a new gun.

If we try to find a "Need" we only make life to complex and open up ourselves to criticism from folks that have have no iron in the fire, no dog in the fight, but are convinced that their advice is necessary and that if you don't let them tell you exactly how to conduct yourself, you are inferior.

Avoid such folks. Many of them are fools and only seeking validation from influence of others because they have no merit of their own.

Just get a new gun if you want a new gun! Want is the best reason of all.

It's fun, and unless you are shooting to stay alive, or shooting for money, being fun is 100% of the reason to get guns. If you buy the wrong tool and you have failures, it's not much fun. Failure is not fun as a rule. That's called learning life's lessons.

Asking advice is good, but I only offer it if I am asked, and I never get upset if someone doesn't like the advice I give.
I don't care if they fail. Its not my time of my money at risk.

I find it is a better way to live my life. Let others live their lives as they choose.

So to the man asking the question, I say Get a new gun if you want it. Not that you "need' it. Get it because you want it. Use a good bullet and you'll be fine for elk hunting.

I have hunted elk with the following tools in the last 4 decades.

Bamboo/Glass long bow with wood arrows.
44 magnum handguns
454 Casull Handgun
54 cal flintlock
58 Cal Hawken cap-lock
62 cal flintlock.
270 Winchester rifles.
270 WSM rifle.
308
30-06
300 H&H
338-06
338 Mag
9.3X74R
375H&H

Were any "the best"?
Yup....all of them.

Why?
Because all were just fine.
I truly enjoyed using them all.

Get what you'll enjoy using. Enjoying the hunt is why we do it.

30-06 worked fine on this one a 275 yards. Not sure when the 30-06 became limited to 300 yards? Do 180gr bullets bounce off at 301?

Nice looking elk.

Rifle looks really nice too.

Absolutely.

Surely not when you use P64's.. Great bull and cool rifle. Love to see them laid up on elk!

Both magnums kick somewhat more than a 30-06, but what matters is how you handle the perceived increase. That perception depends on rifle weight, shooting position, stock design, bullet weight and velocity, recoil pad, etc., and on your experience, recoil tolerance, musculature, technique, etc.

I avoided owning a 338 for years because I had shot several Browning A-Bolts while helping customers get them zeroed in. These rifles weighed just under 8 pounds with a scope, which too light, and the stories of hateful recoil were absolutely true.

Then I traded into a Browning High Power in 338 right before an elk hunt last year. Recalling my experience with the A Bolts, I put a fixed 4x scope on it because it had more eye relief than any other scope I own, then sat down and gritted my teeth to get it zeroed. My first shot with 200-grain factory loads was an enormous relief. Recoil was far less than I remembered, probably because this rifle is built on a Mauser action with a walnut stock, and it weighs just over 9 pounds.

I clobbered a nice Roosevelt's bull with it a couple of months later, and now both the rifle and the cartridge are among my favorites. I have another 338 (maybe 2) headed for my safe as you read this.

And yeah, what people say about not noticing recoil in the field is 100% true. The recoil of my 338 felt like a 223 when I shot my elk.


Okie John

A little bit smaller than Centershot's but this one at 347 yards( lasered with Lieca) .06, 180 gr Nosler PT. Went about15. yards.

Where I hunt, that's your typical bull. Same as you Saddle with the 30/06, but I use 180 grain Winchester power points.

Yeah, and those Stainless Stalkers aka the "flying wedge" had very narrow butts on the stock. A friend had one in 338 and it was worse by far than my 340 Wby in a Brown Prec stock.