Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Semi-auto for Elk?

Heavy is relative. I only shot a couple BARs and didn't find them objectionable to hold, but I wasn't climbing a mountain with them. They are listed at 8 lbs which is what several of my rifles weigh so maybe that is why I didn't notice.

I have hunted for, and killed, elk with a 300 WSM, 300 Wby and 338 WM, but I have come to the conclusion that if I can't kill one with a 30-06, I will try again next year.

My thought, with regard to the semi auto, is to become proficient with a good bolt action rifle and make the first shot count.

donsm70

I have a small group of BAR rifles that I wanted for hunting, but I have yet to use them. There are always lighter guns to take, that are less pretty. I would not hesitate for an instance though. My newer .338 win mag is actually fairly light compared to the older BAR rifles. I have a 7mm Rem Mag that I have not worked with yet that would be another good one.

You can't beat the Garand ...

Awesome post! I love it.

Quoted just so I could look at it twice.

What load did you use in the Garand Shrapnel?

Modern factory ammunition can be hard on the operating rod in a Garand. I load 150 grain Remington Corlokt bullets with IMR-4895 powder. You need to use faster powder in the Garand, as slow powder will build up too much pressure at the port of the operating rod and can bend it.

I have killed several elk with it and many other animals including Antelope. The load works well in the 1903-A3 as well...

Thats a good report and results! Just goes to show that the "old 150 @ 2700fps" '06 load is still potent in the field! ha It also shows you were a "bull" to tote that M1 up there, ha. Back in the early 2000's, I spent some time with a few Garand's. I also used IMR 4895 but focused on the Sierra 168. I never hunted with any of my M1s, but shot them a lot out in the desert. I had bought a 1K rounds of Remington UMC 150 FMC and used them. I saved the brass for my bolt guns. This particular Lot of ammo was in the high 2700s, and never caused a problem in any of them. I later went to adjustable gas plugs and it took a lot of worry off me, ha. Great rifles.

The .300 Winchester is a proven elk cartridge, as is the .30-06. I prefer bolt action rifles for all of my big game hunting.

LOL, I have an old 1969 year model BAR grade ii in 338 Win Mag, I love that rifle, everyone else I know hates the damn thing, it fires 250gr Swifts and Partitions to 2700 fps, and averages about and inch and a quarter for three at 100, I'd love to shoot an elk, moose or big bear with it, it'd be fine for 400 yard hunting with a good rest, it wears an old gloss 1-3/4-5 Burris in Conetrol bases and rings.

The magnums are great for super long shots in fairly open country. But for shooting elk in timbered areas, 30-06, ,308, and 300 savage are quite lethal indeed!

Sherwood

Very interesting thread. I've always found that a small fast bullet placed well trumps a magnum whizbanger every time. easier to carry too. I did one time use a semi auto in 30-06 to assist on a wounded animal. it worked fine I guess. I still prefer my little suppressed 308 through the boiler room.

My dad hunted out west most years when I was a kid. He killed Mulies Antelope and an elk most years with a 742 in 30-06. The people he hunted with used Win 100s in 308 and BARs in 300 Win mag. They all tagged out most years on public land. My dads 742 shot better than my 700. It always irritated me because semis are supposed to suck. I have shot some 7400s and 742s that didn't shoot well at all though.
I bought my wife an R1 Benelli in 30-06. Hers shoots good. Recoil is light and the trjgger is surprisingly good.
I watched a guy check the sights on 2 BARs one day and he shot them both twice. Bullet holes were touching at 100 yds.
There are good Semi autos out there.
When I was growing up almost everyone ran deer with dogs and used pumps levers or semi autos.

Are these patterns from Sitka, Kuiu, or First Lite?

A semi-auto isn't what I would chose for an elk hunt. .300WM? Yup, fine choice. But so is a .30-06 and a 7mm RM and a bunch of others.

A mild-mannered, light weight bolt wins hands down. They all get heavy enough at the end of a day of up and down.

Ditto on the 30-06 if you just want an elk. My family and I have killed a truck load of elk with 06, both Rocky Mtn. and Roosevelts, at long and close ranges. You already have it, likely have it sighted in with a hunting load, and are familiar with it. Depends of course on your personal goal: whether to get an elk or to hunt elk with a particular rifle/cartridge. Either goal is legit, but work best if consciously and deliberately chosen by you.

Having said that, my son, who went to a Tikka Lite stainless synthetic in .338 about ten years ago, has toyed with the idea of getting an AR in .338 Federal. He mostly hunts Roosevelt elk in wet jungles. I don't think he is very serious about the AR in .338 Federal but he has killed most of his elk at ranges under 75 yards, including two B&C bulls. I'm thinking he killed one Roosevelt at maybe 275 across a canyon, but last year's in brush at 40 yards was more typical.

Well, the AR would be well suited to the wet jungle, ha. Nothing wrong with that 338 Federal either. Back in the late 60's early 70s, every Mod 742 user I knew just used the iron sights. The Old Phartz Tales ( they are very similar to Old Wives Tales BTW) there in the Big Thicket of East, Texas big woods, said "you can't use a scope in the woods, son, you can't see him fast enough". So, we all used iron sights. I didn't even own a scope until I was 22 yrs old!

My point is that the Mod 742 with only irons is a very nice handling rifle. Not too heavy, not too long, and by golly, 5 fast shots! I never used more than one round an anything I ever shot with the one I had in 30-06. But I never killed anything over 60yds with it either! Though mine was a "jammomatic", that first round always went off. Mine would either stovepipe or fail to strip one off the magazine. It seemed to me all the ones in short action rounds operated better. My main issue with an semi is how loud it is to load them. I suppose I never spooked any nearby game off, "but how would I know", right? ha

They are so loud like racking a shotgun in the woods. Give me a bolt every time.

If you can't load a semi quietly then you don't know what you are doing really. At least any semi I"ve shot. Silent, no, but quietly yes.

That said do you carry hot or cold? Although thats another total argument thread I suppose.

A boltoloader in 7mm-08 kills my elk.



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