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Son and I hope to make our first venture out west for elk in 2019. Starting to do the research now for a do-it-yourself hunt; we realize chances of success are small, but just being out there in the high country is worth the experience. Anyway, our rifles are a Ruger Mark II in 7x57 and an M700 in 280 Remington. We will likely go with factory Partition loads unless we find the time to work up promising handloads. (Ok, one caveat, we are also bringing Marlin lever actions in 45/70 and 444 should the timber be the destination)


Curious to hear from those who have successfully rifle hunted elk with non magnum chamberings in something less than 30 caliber.


Thanks in advance, and Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

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Over 50 with my old .270 and 130 partitions.......and a few with a 22-250. and a few with a 260. and this years was a 6.5 creed.....

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Use them.

The elk won't know if it is a magnum cartridge or not.


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Take your responsibilities seriously, never yourself-Ken Howell

Proper bullet placement + sufficient penetration = quick, clean kill. Finn Aagard

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Killed the bull in my avatar with a 6.5-06.


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Killing elk out west with a 280 is too much fun. Get after it.

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Got my bull this year w/a 275 Rigby aka 7x57 and have used a 280 successfully in the past.
Don't worry about either cartridge! They will work!
And I would happily use either in the timber & not worry


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Good placement with good Bullets....no problem! Hell.....here at the fire many have been killed with a “keyboard”! grin memtb

Last edited by memtb; 11/23/17.

You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel

“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
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I put a lot of elk in the freezer with a 270 and 150's. A 280 is nearly the same thing. The 7x57 has nothing it needs to prove. It's potted a lot of large animals in it's history.


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It is not what you hit them with it is where. Magnumitis is WAY overrated.Elk are not that hard to kill unless you are shooting them over in the next county. The majority of elk are killed within 150yards and a lot of them a lot closer


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I agree. I always clinch my teeth when I hear about those 500+ yard shots. I want to know how many they wounded before they dropped one.


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You both have FINE elk rifles! Have no doubts.
And your choice of bullets/ammo is perfect. 150 to 175 grain bullets are the best and I favor the 160 and 175 grain bullets.

I used to have a 7X57 myself (used with both 160 and 175 mentioned above) and I know of several successful hunters using the 280. I have killed lots with a 270 Winchester.

I have hunting and guided elk hunters now for 44 years. I have seen a bunch killed with 25-06, 257 Roberts, 6.5X55 Swede and a few with 243s.

The thing I have learned in my many years of killing elk and seeing elk killed is that the bullet you use if FAR more important then the cartridge you fire it from and of course marksmanship is the most important thing there is.
As a guide I have had to track down a lot of wounded game in my life. The #1 cause of long tracking jobs is poor bullet placements but the #2 cause is poor bullet performance. MANY bullet used by new elk hunters are chosen because of their accuracy which is the worst reason you can choose a bullet for big game. If you have 2 MOA you have all you truly need for elk out to 500 yards and 500 yards is a lot farther than you are likely to shoot and as far as you should shoot for ethical reasons.

But I have had to track about 30 elk in my life hit in the RIGHT PLACE with poor bullets and those bullets broke up and didn't penetrate well.

As a side line, I have been with many clients that made "less-than-perfect" hits on elk with good bullets and the tracking job was easy, or in some cases, the elk didn't go anywhere after such a hit,because the bullet went clear through and damaged the innards enough to cause then to lay down.
Hits far back in the lung area that go through the diaphragm and through the liver area through the guts and out the back with good bullets will still bring down an elk in a short distance and some times a very short distance. The same hit with a fragmenting bullet often results in an elk going between 400 yards, and the worst ones I have tracked went over a mile.

One of the very worst recovery jobs I ever did was a very big bull my client hit with a 7MM Mag. He shot it from a high angle above but the bullet hit the ridge of the shoulder blade. If it has held together it would have come out the bottom of the chest on the off-side. At the angel his hit was perfect, but his bullet was not! The bullet came completely apart and not one piece of lead of jacket made it into the lungs. As I was to find out gutting it many hours later) That shot was about 30 minutes after 1st shooting-light in the morning. I and my hunter caught up with that wounded bull just before last light and he killed it with a 2nd shot into the ribs I gutted it by flash light and we had to pack out the first pieces (back legs and hams) in the dark for about 4 hours, where there were LOTS of grizzlies around. Not any fun, I can assure you.
The bullet was a Sierra "game king" of 150 grains as I recall.
I made a very similar shot with a 44 mag handgun with a 4" barrel a few years later. I used a cast 265 grain SWC bullet. The elk staggered and fell in about 15 feet. The bullet broke the shoulder blade and exited mid body. A 44 mag is a powerful gun, but no where near as powerful as a 7MM Rem Mag. All that power was of no value however because the bullet didn't use it the right way

You and your son are JUST FINE. Use your 7MMs and use the heavy Nosler Partitions and you'll probably need a sharp knife and packs too. Your guns and ammo will put elk down and you'll need the knives and pack frames. I hope for some hard work packing in your near future.
smile
Happy hunting

Last edited by szihn; 11/23/17.
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Small sample size, but got my cow last year with a .270 and 140gr Accubonds, and I got a cow two days ago with my 6.5 Creed and 140gr Accubonds. The .270 bullet busted some shoulder bones and wound up under the opposite side skin. The 6.5 CM bullet nicked the very back edge of the lower scapula, blew out about 2.5" of rib on the entry side, went through and exited. I would expect a .280 with good bullets to do just as well.

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Interesting thread. Glad to see szihn elaborate on the location of hits and the type of bullets.I've hunted elk a couple times but never killed one. Lots say the predictable response of "good placement". I'm no novice, but real world experiences would be informative. On an animal the size of an elk with the caliber someone is considering, what does that mean?
Double lung only? Frontal shots under 100yds good? Any hit in the vitals? High shoulder shots, which usually work well on deer but I'm doubting the same hit on an elk would be equivalent. Even a whitetail can go a long way with a single lung hit from an arrow or rifle.
Just thought it would be good for those using these smaller calibers (or any caliber for that matter) on game the size of elk to expand on their experience a bit for the benefit of those asking and like yours truly who never killed anything over 300 lbs.
Happy Thanksgiving.


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I'd certainly favor the 175 gr bullets in the .280/7mm class. Szhin mentioned this (The bullet was a Sierra "game king" of 150 grains as I recall).

I killed quite a few elk with 7 mags Sierra Game Kings,but they were all in the 175 gr weight class.150 gr is way to light for a 7 mag unless it is a tougher bullet. The biggest bulI ever l killed, a big 7x8, was put down with one shot using a 180 gr Sierra Game King, .06. Not saying that is the only bullet to use by a long shot, but my post above calls out where to put it is more important
Hard to go wrong with a Nosler Partition in just about any caliber.

Keep the heavy for caliber bullets stuffed in the 7mm or .280 and you don' t need to bring those 45-70 o4 .444.I've killed quite a few elk using 180-220 bullets in my .06. In the open or thick timber


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I am 2 for two shells with a 7x57 against elk........

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Quote
#2 cause is poor bullet performance.
For 8 or 10 years I used 180 gr AB's in a 300 WSM. I had some problems like bullet separation. In one case, I hit the shoulder but not the bone and the bullet came apart. The shoulder was obliterated. I found the copper in the shoulder and later found the core in the heart. I was less than impressed.

I've been assured that Nosler has fixed the problem so, to give them a fair chance, I used them again this year in a 30-06. However, I didn't get a chance to shoot anything with them so I can't comment on performance. I can say that they're highly accurate.


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Not elk, but I am 2 for 2 on bull moose with a 7mm-08 & Barnes Vor-tx 120gr TTSX !

Do not hesitate to use either of your choices.

Aim small & let the work begin.


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I have killed numerous elk with my .280 Rem. You cannot go wrong as long as your bullet placement is good. Same rule applies to magnums...


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I have used 6.8 spc on three elk and 308, 30-06, 270, 6.5 creed, on elk and several different magnums they all work within there limitations.

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Both of these fell to a .280. First one in mid chew.


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