Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Can this Elk rifle be beat?

It really seems we’ve seen what’s considered fashionable and effective for elk (big, big game) move away from the coke-bottle sized cartridges in the last twenty years or so to the more “pedestrian” ones if I can use that word without causing offense. It’s seems only reasonable, first with better bullets, then powders, platforms and precision optics. I’ve no arguments against all that as I’m also using comparatively smaller fare this year too as noted.

Still, I love the 340, and the old 375 particularly, if one can grow fond of certain cartridges and their experiences with them.

Any workman will tell you to pick the right tool for the job which in the case for elk hunting seems to span quite a range and seems a highly emotive decision.

I have only used them once, but would rely on them on anything. That bear pictured above was completely dead within a few seconds after being hit with a 300gr .375 NP going about 2,520 fps at impact. It smashed through ribs on both sides, turned everything in between into jelly, and flew off into the tundra beyond.

Alaskan/Yukon moose, Brown Bear, and Mountain Caribou is my hunting bucket list. If I really want to dream, a year to fish and hunt not only Alaska but New Zealand. Likely to go unchecked.

To all who posted on this thread: thanks for a pleasant “conversation” without the often narcissistic, personality disorder stone throwing. Reminiscent of earlier times. 🙂

You can go straight to hell pal. It is more than obvious you are directing your post here at me.

I did not start that crap in the other thread.

Apparently, no good deed goes unpunished.

Uh oh, somebody needs a new tampon.
George is one of the best the campfire has to offer and doesn't play those games

Sir, it was a general comment directed at no one specifically and with no one in mind. Just my recollection of a thread generally gone well. That’s all.

As to the other thread you mention, read my short comment carefully. All I said was, “battue does not embarrass himself.”

No Sir...Absolutely wasn’t snooping around your house. I was at your neighbors though. 🤫

Yep, a case of Big League Butthurt being witnessed...😎

The 340 Wby is a nice round. I can't tell the difference in recoil from a 338 Win so I went with the Wby.

I had Kevin Weaver build me one on a '50 cloverleaf P64 action with a 26" Krieger barrel and his customary HiTek stocks. A good rifle, but as alluded to, that 26" tube always seems to get in the way in the alders. While an OEM rifle may temper the recoil from the added weight I'd rather carry 2# more of food on my back. (I have yet to feel the kick of a 340 Wby in the field. On the bench, yes, but not in the field.)

I sold that rifle and yesterday in fact picked up my new 340 Wby built by Patrick Holehan with his proprietary return to zero mounts (part of an Africa set I had made with a 270 Win to go along with a 416 Rigby of his). We decided on a 24" barrel as the "on paper" "velocity loss" is negligible when compared to packing and handling the rifle, and he suggested the shorter barrel harmonics "may" make it less finicky. I haven't weighed it yet, but I also had him build a second synthetic stock in addition to the wooden one for Alaska. I'm looking forward to shooting it when I return from Zimbabwe.

But the perfect elk rifle is my 300 Win Charlie Sisk built me back in '04 on a Wichester Classic. That rifle has shot one holers from the get go.

That CS 300 should do you very, very well. As to the 340, yes, I found a 24” barrel to not give up nearly as much as it gained in portability. I do agree — with your crosshairs on a big bull; elk, moose, or grizzly; recoil becomes a non-issue if indeed you’ve made it so before hand in shooting technique.

BTW, please give up the porn star occupation as it’s beneath you (yes, pun intended).

My 14-yr-old son needed an adult rifle, as he has outgrown his youth model. I saw a Vanguard .243 at Walmart on Sunday for $249, and couldn't pass that up. He needed a scope, and I wanted a new scope. So, I gave him the one on the MkV .340 and put a new scope on the .340. Sighing it in after bore-sighting it yesterday, among others, I got the following groups at 100 yds:



The lower hole on the upper-right group is two shots, and the middle one is four shots (two through the right hole). Again, I wore the shoulder-pad thingy, which makes the process quite comfortable. It took me a few more rounds to sight in than I would have hoped because, at one point, I adjusted the windage left when I meant to go right. It was a rushed session (while my son was shooting his .243 in the next lane) because I had to get us back home for dinner. So, I didn't get the chance to keep the barrel cool and it likely was increasing in temperature with each group. The bottom two on the right target were the last two of those shown, and they are the largest, though still not bad. I assume that may be a barrel temperature thing. I shot one more group at another target, and it opened up to about 1-1/2". So, not having time to cool the barrel down, we packed up and left. I will tweak it again tomorrow.

For what it's worth, the 26" barrel doesn't bother me likely because of the way I carry the rifle--on a Safari-style sling; like with my .375 Wby in the pic below. The barrel is going slightly in front of me where I am going. Sometimes, the barrel is down; sometimes, it is up. Sometimes, I actually use it to push small branches or thorns out of my way in brushy areas. I don't think I have ever caught myself hoping for two fewer inches on it. I have hunted the same woods in Virginia with both my 7mm Wby UL with a 26" barrel and a .308 DPMS Hunter with a 20" barrel, and I could not have been less affected by having the 26" barrel when I carried the 7mm. I know it is commonly accepted as fact that a short-barreled rifle is better for hunting in the woods, but that just hasn't been my experience.

I've never seen the need to burn that much powder to kill elk. In fact, I'd pick a cartridge that burned about half as much powder 10 out of 10 times, in an easier to pack rig, rather than a 340 Weatherby with a bi-pod. But that's just me. There's a lot of up and down to my elk hunting, and I'd rather pack less than more every time. For long shots on elk, I can think of several cartridges that I'd pick over a 340, for short shots, I can think of even more. It's obviously entirely subjective.

One thing is certain, though: if I ran into you up on the mountain and we exchanged a few pleasantries before going our separate ways, I'd certainly respect your decision to pack that setup, and I'd respect your ability to pack that setup, MarineHawk. The cool thing about a 340 is all you need to identify the cartridge is the number. There is only one 340, and there's no AI version.

LOL, "it's all about me."

HnS, I agree with your points. I shoot the rifle at the range fairly well off the bipod. Do note that it comes off in about five seconds anytime I want, including right before hiking off to hunt something.

I am going to hunt elk for the first time this fall in Colorado. I have hunted deer there, but not yet elk. I am still planning the hunt, but likely am going to leave open the possibility several locations with which I am familiar and where I have seen elk. In some of the more rigorous scenarios/locations, I may prefer my 7mm Wby Ultra Lightweight, which weighs just over 8 lbs scoped. I likely will bring both rifles. They both have pretty much the same trajectory (my favorite 7mm load is only 2" lower than the .340 at 500 yds; only 3/4" at 350 yds). I can choose what to carry. When I go on backpacking hunts, I have carried rifles lighter than the 340. But, for day trips and not carrying a full pack, the .340 hasn't yet hindered me. So, far, I have only carried the .340 where bears can be a concern. I originally bought it for Alaskan hunts. If I was buying something from scratch for elk, and no larger, I likely would not have bought it. I have a 30-yr-old Rem. 700 BDL in .300 Win Mag that shoots as well as any rifle I ever have shot, which is about as good as anything I would think for elk. That being said, it's just as heavy as the .340, and now that I have the .340, I like its capabilities, even though I haven't yet fully tapped them.

The elk tend to be at pretty high altitudes in CO. I never hunted elk there but I did a lot of hiking between 10k and 13k altitude. My 10-15lb day pack sometimes felt like 80 lbs when I couldn't get enough air. Your 7mm WBY seems close to ideal in my mind for a CO elk hunt.

Yeah, everything is harder up there. I used to live there, and have some land (outside of the elk-hunting unit) at 10,000 feet. I've been backpacking countless times up to almost 12,000 feet, and climbed a few 14ers. You can't go as fast for as long as nearer to sea level. For part of the trip, we may hunt bear on my land about 20 miles away.

Yeah, you did.

And I’m still waiting for my insult. You threw shade at just about everyone else. What’s wrong with me? Aren’t I good enough for a snide remark or two? What are you, racist?





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