Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting I might need a new gun advise

Gaiters are so over blown it’s laughable. And to think they make a top recommendation on a thread that is about a new rifle. Reread what T Inman said.

I wouldn’t be super happy about your current rifle choices. Of course they could work, but other stuff works gooder. Buy a decent bolt action that you like and could use at home that you can shoot. Recoil is over blown too. I think most hunters just aren’t that good of shots and they don’t know their rifle. For me warning signs of a crappy game shot are; bragging about group size, long range rigs, new rigs, fumbling while loading/unloading.

Buy something from 270-7-30s load it with a solid bullet, put a known scope of reasonable power and size and shoot the crap out of it not from a treestand or bench. Preferably on critters that are moving around.

Then worry about the important stuff like being in shape and your boots.

Yeah, when i hunt its always cold and wet. Some of these guys might hunt in t shirts and shorts and shoot at elk in farmers fields, but where i hunt, you got to go in after them to be successful. Success is not great either, 4% most years according to the synopsis. Ill shoot 1 ever other year, but you have to be prepared to get the job done.

Your 35 Whelen, 30-06 and 308 will all do just fine.
Of course, a first time elk hunt is all the excuse any man needs to purchase a new firearm...and you did ask for an excuse to do just that. Good luck and have fun.

Out of 25 or so elk, I've never shot one on private...let alone a farmer's field. That's not to say I wouldn't, if given the opportunity.

People have individual comforts, discomforts and phenology. Some people sweat more, all else being equal. Some people get cold easier than others. I've shot elk in T shirt weather and I've shot them at 20 below. Maybe my body type v.s. others has something to do with some gear not working for me, when it does for others...

I can see why you've got the reputation that you do around here....

As others have said the vital area of an elk is quite large. An elk will do a long dead run invariably down hill or into some nasty bush. This is why I prefer the 338 win mag for the shoulder shot so it stays where it's been shot. I use to shoot all big game in the vitals but after dead runs and nasty recoveries I quit. If the animal is 100 yards or less and I am able to get in a steady field position I shoot for the neck or spine other than that it's the shoulder. A hunting companion drilled a Moose in the heart with a 30-06 it ran through the bush with no chance of a follow up shot for about 200 yards where it expired in a swamp. Fun times getting it out of there.

You’re an idiot.

You have elk rifles up the kazoo. What you mean is that you WANT a new elk rifle, you don't NEED one.

Just up here farming in my tank top and short pants.

Yes....

It's really really easy to separate those who get out a lot and those who don't....

Another who gets out a lot....

My wife slays the piss out of elk with a 7-08, a freaking pink camo stock, and a 140 Etip at 2700 muzzle velocity...

She's laughing at a lot of you and shaking her head.....

Try some Barnes 180 TTSX factory loads in that 35 Whelen. If it shoots a consistent 2"@100, zero it where you want and check the drops out to 500. There are trigger kits/replacements for the 7600, and the 180 shoots flat, hits hard. I love the Medium Calibers and there is nothing wrong with getting a "Out West' rifle. A 35 Whelen with a 180-200 TTSX runs "along with" 300s/338s, etc. Out to 350 or so for sure. Leave that 1917 for the deer stand, ha, too heavy.

Look at the Tikka TX3 Super Lite ( or Tikka T3X Lite, whatever its called ) and if it fits you, pick a 7mm Mag and have a ball! It will work for the "beanfield shots" back home, a fine coyote rifle, and for your elk. OR, get a .270 (or similar) and do the same thing. But use good bullets....try to outfit yourself, from clothes to equipment as "light as possible". Do alot of cardio, up high and working hard, your Ol Ticker will be thumping! But have a ball!

I hear you!

Nothing at all wrong with a 35 Whelen for elk out to 400 yards with practice. My dedicated Elk Rifle is a 300 Weatherby with a Zeiss 3-15 Z800 reticle that is very accurate to 600 yards but that is with long range practice 800+ yards.

Future son-in law is getting one for his birthday Friday & will put a Leupold VX6 3-18 on it.

My suggestion for elk hunting typically is a Tikka 300 WSM to keep the short action & lightweight are more pleasant to haul up hills with a scope you like. My eyes are older & appreciate a big objective & extra power but not needed for younger better eyes, our shots average around 300 yards in the sage & oak brush. The last guy who bought the Tikka & Zeiss 3-9x40 and has killed several elk & deer with it.

I like having the extra thump of the 300 with 180 grain Barnes vs a 7 Mag with 150’s that I started with. My son-in-law switched from 7 to 300 Wby & Zeiss v4 last season and was impressed with the effect it had on a big cow just under 200 yards.

So if you need an excuse for a new rifle elk hunting is an excellent one. Comfortable light warm boots are #1 on my elk list, good glass is 2 and accurate powerful rifle is 3. If you are hauling them out on your back like we do a good pack is high priority too.

Tikka doesn't make a short action.

I’ve only shot two elk. One with a 7 mag 160 NP. One with a 338 and 250NP. One bull and one cow. The 338 knocked the cow down so fast I thought I’d missed. I’ve shot quite a few elk size animals in Africa with a real odd ball cartridge.... an 8 mm rem mag using 200tsx at about 3000fps.... it kills stuff dead right now. I doubt you’ll have much luck finding one but there are always cheap used 325wsm on the internet.... I’d get one of those. They are peas in a pod with the mighty 8 mag. If you’re not a reloader get whatever between 7/08-338 that tickles your fancy.

Exactly right. Tikka makes an outstanding rifle for the money. Guaranteed 3 shot MOA, lightweight, stainless, etc. When I spoken with Sako at SHOT show, they say it's the same barrel as a Sako, which has a 5- shot MOA guarantee. The only reason is the 5 shot guarantee isn't offered in the Tikka is so people want to pay more for the Sako. Sako mastered manufacturing economies with the Tikka. It's same action for every gun (long), even the mag's are the same, they just add a spacer for the short action rounds. If you go the Tikka route, stick with a long action cartridge and get the most from the rifle.

And then there are some that shoot them with 243w and the like. There's nothing wrong with that either, as long as you can put the animal down humanely with one shot... I use a 338wm because I know I can put them down with one shot, at any angle and damn near any distance... I also trust a good 30-06 with 200gr partitions. That combo is damn hard to beat... I'm not going to "laugh" at anyone here because of the cartridge they choose, but if it ends up a goat fu ck rodeo because you have to take multiple shots on an elk, then I get a little pizzed. You owe it to the animal you are hunting to put them to sleep fast...

I'll pass along that great info to my wife...

I witnessed such a GF rodeo about 10 years ago. Two yahoos chasing an elk across a hillside and shot the poor bull about 5-6 times before the poor critter finally expired, probably from anxiety. When they walked down the hillside to the county road my friend and I were parked on talking before witnessing the debacle, one of the lads quipped, “I guess I need a bigger gun” rather sheepishly. My buddy asked what he was shooting and he replied “.243”. My buddy replied , “maybe so”. Whether it was the caliber, poor shooting, poor choice of bullet, or all of the above, I don’t know. I didn’t question the lads or tell them what I was thinking since I learned a long time ago not to confront 2 armed men while being unarmed myself. YMMV.