Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting What - Rifle,Scope, Caliber, Bullet Are You Taking For Elk?

WyoCoyoteHunter: My friend Steve and I owned one of the four foot long rangefinders back in the 60's and 70's!
IIRC it was military surplus and did some additional things we did not understand .
It was very accurate out to the limits of our shooting (600 yards or so - we "proofed" it with a 100' steel tape and lots of leg work!).
We used it for years while Rock Chuck and Prairie Dog Hunting.
It had a shoulder strap that was needed because it was somewhat heavy.
Yep "the good old days".
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Same thing I have carried and shot many elk, antelope and deer with for years. Rem 700 custom with a Dan Lilja bbl, 7mm Remington mag with 150 gr Swift sirroco bullets. Leupold 4.5x14. I did get a new sig kilo 2200 range finder.

Took the suppressed Predator, and by golly, it worked.....

My two:

Nosler M48 300WSM
4.5-14x Zeiss Conquest w/ turrets
180gr Accubond

Winchester M70 30-06
4x Zeiss Conquest
168gr TTSX

I’ll be packing a Kimber MT 325 WSM w/ SWFA 6x MQ and 200 gr Accubonds for the opener.

Not sure what I’ll be carrying for elk after that though. Too many elk rifles, too little time.

Well for the first hunt in late September/early October it was a Ruger M77/50 with a Weaver 4.75 fixed launching a 295 gr powerbelt.
For 3rd season in November it will be another M77 with a Leupold VX3 2.5x8 in 338-06 with a 210 partition.

Bellydeep: My local pawn/sport shop has a BEAUTIFULLY stocked Kimber Rifle in 325 WSM caliber on consignment sale - I have toyed with the idea of buying it.
But have not "pulled the trigger" on it as yet.
Has that 325 WSM performed well for you in the past or is it newish to you?
Good luck on the opener.
I think I will be concentrating on a giant Whitetail Buck I have scouted for the opener this Saturday - then later in the season I will get after the Elk.
Saw some Elk yesterday here in western and southwestern Montana as we made an extended trip circling around chasing guns from Butte to Missoula to Hamilton to Dillon and points in between.
Sadly many of them were on private ranches (which is much of what was observable from the freeways and highways we traveled).
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

JohnDog: Good luck to you on the second (third season) Hunt.
I have been living in SW Montana for the past 20+ years and this state does not have designated "muzzle-loader" seasons. There are a few very small Hunting "areas" that are designated muzzle-loader only Hunting due to proximity to populations, roads etc. But those seasons coincide with the general "Rifle" season.
The state I moved from had separate muzzle-loader only Hunting seasons areas - but if the Hunter chose to Hunt those muzzle-loader Hunts then they were not allowed to Hunt with Rifle or with archery gear.
Do I interpret your state of Colorado allows a Hunter to Hunt both the muzzle-loader season and then the Rifle season?
If that is correct then good for you on the multiple opportunities!
My friend Floyd here in SW Montana just loves his semi-custom Rifle in 338-06 caliber.
He killed a wonderful, big Bull Elk with it last season - and I understand it was a one shot kill!
Anyway he and his partner were coming down from a Hunt in the foothills here (maybe 10 miles from his home) in the middle of the day when they spy this whopper Bull trotting towards their moving truck!
Anyway they pull of the dirt track they were on (not even a road) grab their Rifles and ammo reload them and wait for the Bull to approach!
Boom, one shot one kill (I am not sure what bullet he uses but will ask) AND they eventually slid the Bull, whole, right into the bed of his truck.
I am "guesstimating" that Bull would score at least 340" B&C!
Lucky, yes, but Floyd puts in his time afield so he deserves "an easy one" now and then if anybody does.
Again best of luck to you this season.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VG,

Thanks for the good wishes (I'll take all the help I can get!)

In Colorado you can get what the CPW designates as a B tag, which you can have along an A tag (kinda your primary tag). And you can get them for different seasons, methods of take, etc. For example you could get an anterless archery elk (B) and then a 3rd season bull rifle tag (A). So you can hunt in August and November if you'd like. Lots of different options if, like you can just get a B tag. My understanding is that CPW does this to better manage harvest outcomes, but there are others here that can probably explain it better(or correctly)

In my case it is kinda of a moot point this year since my first hunt was a hunt in Arizona. In Colorado we can only use open sights on our MLs, so the scope is something that gets added when I head down to hunt with my friends in AZ.

I really like my 338-06. I had a local smith rebarrel a M77 that I picked up. Don't know if it kills elk any better than my 30-06 or 270, but it is my "Elk" rifle! Scratches the rifle looney itch that pops up once in while.

I'll think of your friend Floyd the next time I'm packing elk chunks out of the backcountry!,

John(dog)

Kimber Montana, 280 Ackley with a Kahles 3 X 9, BDC reticle. 150 grain Scenars at 3050. I struck out during archery season so I'll be hunting cows with a B tag like JohnDog described above.

Narrowed down to 2:

Remington 700 ADL in 30.06 w/ Leupold 2x-7x shooting the 165 gr Speer Hot Cor

Marlin 444S in .444 w/ Weaver 1x-3x shooting a 305 gr. NOE FPGC cast

70s vintage Ruger #1A, 7x57mm Mauser, Leopold VX2 4x scope, 140 gr Partition (Federal Premium).

The rifle is pretty new to me and I haven’t shot anything with it yet. Hopefully this weekend will be the christening.

Good luck to you as well.

Bently. I am partial to my custom 7 mag but the biggest elk I have ever shot was with a Ruger #1 in 7x57...

Bentley: Years ago I had a pre-64 Model 70 Winchester action made into "the ultimate" (for me anyway) Mule Deer Hunting Rifle.
I chose the 280 Remington caliber and the custom barrel was made 25" long.
That Rifle absolutely loves the Nosler 140 grain Partitions and with it I have killed a truckload of Mule Deer, Whitetailed Deer and Antelope along with one 5x5 Bull Elk using it.
That medium size Bull was killt with one shot (in full disclosure - that one shot kill came after ONE complete miss as the Bull ran past me at 300 yards or so in a fairly heavy patch of cover) and later I retrieved the bullet which performed/mushroomed perfectly.
Anyway I have had much experience with those 140 grain Nosler Partitions and they are fine bullets on game as well as accuracy wise.
Good luck this season!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Bellydeep: Thanks for the comeback. First blood then this season with it!
Best of luck to you.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

New guy (sorta). Going to Utah after cows in 3 weeks. Can't wait! Bringing my now 43 year old Vanguard VGX in 7 mm Rem Mag, with Leupy 4.5-14 scope and shooting my own ammo with 160 gr Partitions. I bought this rifle brand new in 1974. If wet or snow conditions, I will be carrying my Savage 116 Weather Warrior in 30-06, shooting factory ammo.

Bill

I'm taking my 1951 Marlin 336 in .35 Remington with 200 grain Corelokts.

Oh, and my Savage 110 in .30-06 with 180 gr partitions

Mine is pretty simple, It just goes bang and sends the appropriate amount of lead downrange to the intended target. My backup is pretty much the same but it goes bam! sending the appropriate amount of lead to it's intended target.

Thems got to be some of the fugliest rifles I've ever laid eyes on not to mention the poor inherent accuracy. How much u want for the one on the left?