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

Viking: My Elk Hunting has been mostly in the Northern Rocky Mountains and Washington state - so I am not familiar much at all with what would be best closer to Texas.
I have two friends who have Hunted New Mexico for the last several years (both archery some years and firearms others) and they do VERY well there in New Mexico and the seasons down there still allow them time to Hunt up here in Montana.
I have another friend who Hunts Colorado on occasion and does well there - with the nations largest herd of Elk there!.
Arizona would be another well Elked state.
Wish I could be of more help.
Good luck when you get out after'em.
Maybe someone else could chime in with info for you.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Varmint guy, I have the same thing. I get all my animals when I carry my 700 adl in 270 Win. It just seems I see more stuf when I have it on me, therefore I call it " my meat gun".

This year I will be taking three rifles.

7mm Winchester Model 70 Custom - Swarovski 2.5x10
168gr LRAB - H4831SC

7mm-08 Kimber Montana - Leupold 2.5x8
150gr Partition - RL15

270Win Weatherby Mark V Ultralight - Meopta Scope
140gr Accubond - H4831SC

Ruger M77 tang safety synthetic stock, 270 Win, 150 gr NP over 52 grains H4350, Leupold VariX-3 2.5-8 X 36.

Kinda boring, but gets the job done very well.

Well I've been trying to use :

Mission MXB360
440gr Spynal Tapps & Slick Tricks@ 340 fps

But that didn't work out, so I'm switching to:

Kimber Montana 6.5 Creedmoor
140gr Accubonds over RL16
Leupold Vx-3i 2.5-8 B&C reticle

Browning X-Bolt Stainless Stalker .30-06
180gr Accubonds over RL16
Bushnell 4200 3-9x40

Practiced up and ready to rock...

Model 70 extreme weather 300 wsm 165 nab stiff charge od RL17 2.5x10x40 elite 4200, back up will be my custom 280ai with 140 nab at 3150 with a stiff charge of RS hunter. 4x 16 x44 Weaver grand slam. We hunt the West End of Washington it’s wet and shots are usually between 50 -100 yards. Both rifles have B & C stocks. Guys in camp run 270, 30-06 And 338 federal.

Goodshot: I remember those "wet" days afield in western Washington (I was born and raised there spending the first 49 years of my life there!).
I will never forget how much rain water a mature fern can hold and dump on you when you pass by even a day or two after it has quit raining.
Good luck this season and stay dry.
Is that 165 grain bullet a Nosler Accu-Bond.
I used to use the 165 grain Nosler Partitions out there on the west side of Washington for Bears, Elk and Deer out of my 30/06.
Be careful out there in the rain.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Browning BLR in 30-06 and a Marlin 45-70 Guide Gun as a backup.

Weatherby 300 mag ultralite. 180 barnes factor loads. I use a Leupold Rifle Scope 4.5 X14 40mm VX3 scope.

Pretty much settled on a pair of boat-paddle Rugers - a .300WM with 180g TTSX or 175g LRX and a .338 WM with 225g AccuBond.

Next range session will determine which will get carried and which will be backup.

Mtnsnake: That sounds like a first rate rig.
I have several Leupold 4.5x14x40mm variable scopes on various Varmint Rifles, Deer Rifles and Antelope Rifles - but I have never used one Elk Hunting.
To tell the truth I have been looking for a "good deal" on a used Leupold 4.5x14 to switch it out onto my Elk Rifle (which has a Leupold 3.5x10 scope on it now).
It seems the ranges of the public land Elk I Hunt are getting longer anymore.
How is the recoil on that 300 Weatherby Magnum Ultra-Lite Rifle?
Good luck this season.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

This year I was going to take a 270 with TTSX 130 grain. Leupold 3x9 VX2

But since this area where I’m hunting is new to me, I’ve changed my mind VX2 3x9. 300 Win Mag 180 grain Partitions.

Both rifles are 700 Remingtons.

The 270 is SS so if inclement weather I may grab the 270. At any rate, both will be coming along for the ride. North East Wyoming. I’ll start carrying the 300. The 270 wears a Kevlar stock and is lighter.

I’ve lost a lot of weight this year, so a couple pounds of rifle difference isn’t a big deal.

My wife Eileen Clarke already made her choice. She used her custom Kilimanjaro (formerly Serengeti) .308 Winchester to take a mature cow at around 200-250 yards on an early elk-damage hunt on a local ranch. The scope was a Leupold 3.5-10x40 VX-III, the load a 130 Barnes TTSX at around 2900 fps. The angle was just about broadside, and at the shot the cow staggered, obviously done for, and went down in 25-30 yards. Eileen put the bullet just about exactly halfway up the chest, just behind the shoulders. (Yes, they were the front shoulders.) We recovered the bullet under the hide on the far side, and interestingly enough it lost more weight than any of the other Barnes X's we've recovered over the years. All its petals were gone, and it weighed 80.5 grains, 62% weight retention, yet killed the elk very quickly. (By the way, she took another cow on a damage hunt a couple years ago, again using a TTSX--a 100-grain from her NULA .257 Roberts. That cow dropped right where it was hit, probably because the bullet ticked the bottom of the spinal column, while also going through both lungs.)

My primary elk hunt this fall will be in the Ennis, Montana area in mid-November. Will be using another .308, a Mossberg Patriot with a 1-6x Eotech scope, and 165-grain Tipped Trophy Bondeds handloaded to about 2750 fps. But also have a local cow tag and may try to fill it too. Have several other rifles ready to go, ranging from 6.5 Creedmoor to .30-06, including my 26 Nosler. Who knows?

A Christensen Mesa, in 6.5 Creedmoor with an SWFA SS 6x. Shoots 127 gr LRX lights out,

Winchester model 70 EW in 308win, leupold 4-12x40, Fed premium 180gr partitions. I used a 30-06 or 270win for 40 years until someone gave me a gun rag containing an article by JB entitled "The 308 is Great". Since then I've used a 308 for hogs, deer, and elk.

Kimber MT in 308 ,old, and reliable 6x M8 Leupold, 165 gr tipped Trophy Bonded at 2830fps

Ruger Hawkeye SS 338 Win Mag 225 AB's at 2,925 mv

NECG open sights, no scope.

Grabbing an oldie to take. Rem 700 30-06 bedded into Mcmillan classic. 6x SWFA guiding 180 accubonds at 2800 fps. Maybe this will be the year again.

Have used the same package for several years now.
700 Remington 8x68S
3-12x50 Schmidt and Bender
200 grain Partition

Kampfeld Custom 700, 300 WBY
Swarovski Z5 3.5-18x44 w/ dial to 650
Weatherby 180 grain NABs