Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Old Timers

I’m sure I own as many or more rifles than the average here, but I still get amused when the discussions turn to elk rifles, and trust me I own most of them. I’m amused because the old goat who introduced me to elk hunting carried his only rifle, a very well worn Savage 340 30-30 with an old 4x weaver scope. He used 170 gr bullet and took over 30 elk since I knew him. His longest shot was 125 yards, but most were less than a hundred. I suspect he knew a good deal more about hunting elk than I could ever hope to know. My favorite rifles I see on this forum are old wood stock jobs that have the bluing worn off and dents in the stock. I tend to think their owners know more than most what it takes to kill an ek

Wasn't all that many years ago, in SW Washington, between Longview, Chehalis out to the coast, when an elk hunter was well armed with a .300 Savage, usually with iron sights.

The year was about 1976 or 77.The first ones hunted the Flat Tops in Colorado. I met a local rancher there who was probably in his seventies and he told me where to go kill elk which I did. I met him on an opening day when he and his boys had put four elk down within a 100 feet or so of each other. He carried an old Winchester 94 in 30-30, no bluing left ,no finish left on the stock and it looked like he used it to stretch barbwire with.

I stopped at his place on the way out as he invited me to. He had elk antlers hanging on the barns,sheds,house,gate, fences and many more piled up here an there.

He said besides an old 22 ,that was the only rifle he had and killed all his elk with it.

My Grandad has killed a pretty good pile of elk and a train car full of deer. His only centerfire rifle is a 721 in 30/06, bought it in the 50’s when he was in the army. Chose the 30/06 because he was familiar with it from shooting the Garand.

He’s always liked 165gr ammo and prefers boat tails. Wouldn’t really matter though as every elk I’ve seen him kill was shot right behind the ear.

It depends on where you hunt. Most places out west require longer range cartridges, I killed a average sized cow with a 24" barreled 30/30 using Remington ammo with 170 grain hollow points. Two shots at 200 yards behind the shoulder eventually killed her . The old 30-30 was at the very edge of its limits. The one bullet I recovered barely expanded. I have killed 24 elk with just one rifle. A 1948 vintage model 70 in 30-06 wearing a 6X Leupold Alaskan scope. My other elk have been killed with a variety of old Winchesters.

My Grandfather died in 1958, he was 98 years old, I was with him when he died , he was born and lived his life, on the White river East of Meeker, Colorado, He killed more Elk, than most people see in a life time, when Granddad was a young man there were no hunting seasons, if you needed meat you killed what ever was handy Mule deer, Elk, Speed Goats, Bear, Sheep, Goats, and he trapped all winter. he used a 30-30 Win. for years, but his favorite rifle was a 300 Savage 99, that he bought new and wore out, about 15 years before he died, he bought a 32 special model 94, I don't remember him killing much with it except a few does. I don't remember ever seeing Granddad miss a critter, Rio7

RI07, I lived in the general area for 40 years. Could I have known your grandfather? Many old timers in my area started with a 30-30 and as quick as possible traded up to something more powerful with longer range when funds became available. The 270 Win was very popular.

In those days seasons were longer, there fewer hunters, and more elk. It was easy to pass up a shot. Lots of those fellows killed elk with a 243. Today we don't have the luxury of hunting that way.

My Dad, his brother, and I had a pretty good talk with the old guy that owned the Buford store before he passed on. Had a picture of himself when he was young holding up a monster fish. I asked him about it and it took off from there.

All of the elk hunting Ive done has been on Big Ridge below Burrow Mnt. My Dad show'd me the spot. He took alot of elk there with my grandpas model 70 Win in 308win. I used a couple of Rem 700s at first. One was 270win, the other a 30-06 sprgfld. I shot the most with an inexpensive 50 cal caplock muzzle loader. Farthest distance was 50 yards. Most inside 50 feet. A couple inside ten feet.

Nice area. I like it there.

I got my 1st elk at 15, that was in about '62, with a Win 94 in 32 Spc. I haven't seen a 32 Spc in many years. I don't know when they quit making them.

My first was shot with my Dad's 300 Savage with a 180 grain factory load when I was very young. We stopped in Eureka Nevada to buy some "elk ammo" on the drive to the place we'd all hunt . My dad used to buy 150 grain ammo all the time, which we killed deer with as well as anything else that needed to get shot on the ranch, but on that trip we were going for elk, so he bought 1 box of the 180 grain ammo and said the heavier bullet would do better.

Seemed to work just fine. One shot, iron sights from the rear of the lungs to the opposite side in the front of the chest with an exit.
That was a rite of passage for me because I was the only boy on that hunt. All the rest of the hunters were grown men, my dad and uncle among them. I and one other hunter got elk.

My Uncle also shot the same one I shot, so I can't say it was 100% my kill, but my bullet was a raking shot through the chest and his hit the neck below the bones. The elk moved about 35 yards after I shot and a bit farther after he shot, but he and the other men all said it probably my round that did the job. I was treated like one of the men after that, which for a very young boy was a milestone.
I can't say for certain if I killed that elk or if my Uncle did and they all were building my pride up, but I did make a good shot for sure, and I was proud because of that. Being "one of the men" with those guys, all 5 of them being vets from WW2, was an honor that I'll never forget. That was in 1964 or 65.'

My Dad and my Uncle both were in the Pacific, and both were in some horrendous battles. My Uncle was a torpedo man on PT boats from 1942 and 1943 and in 1944-1945 on a destroyer which was hit in the Battle of Okinawa..
My dad was a Sea-Bee who went in behind the Marines on 3 invasions and helped land tanks at Okinawa for the Army.
Mr Terry was gunner on a B24 and was wounded by flak.
Mr Lloyd flew A20s and B25s against the Germans in the Mediterranean, and Mr Murray fought in Army infantry against the Germans in France, where he was wounded badly in his legs, but he never let it stop him. He walked and hunted like anyone else, but I remember the horror I felt when I saw his scars.

I was in awe of these men, and to be treated with respect by them all, for me was like being in heaven.

My grandfather, born in CO in 1908, killed a couple of truck loads of elk with an open sight Win Model 1895 in 30-40 Krag. He also killed a huge number of deer with the same rifle as well as a couple of black bear. If he was within 200 yards of a critter and wanted to take it home that critter was living on borrowed time.

I'll be in CO for the first time chasing elk this oct. My main rifle will be a ruger no 1 30-06 and my backup will be a 1973 m94 30-30. I wanted to find a nice 1895 browning 30-06 and leave the scoped no 1 at home, but finances hadn't allowed that.

As far as 32 special, a buddy of mine has his granddads pre 64 32 special and brought it by to let me shoot it awhile back. He said his granddad killed everything with that rifle up in the UP of MI. My buddy moved back up there just before this covid crap hit. I look forward to going up there soon and hunt some

My Dads rifle-Savage 99 in 300 savage, I inherited killed lots of lopes and mulies but never an elk. He inherited it from his grandfather who was a Detroit Police Officer. Story goes, although I’ve got nothing to to back it up, is that my great grandpa was gifted the gun by Frank Navin, former owner of the Detroit Tigers, also the owner that built Tiger Stadium. Gun has a Tasco scope with a rectangular view, that’s never lost zero.

Interesting. How did they ever survive before the 6.5 Creedmor came upon the scene?

Pretty god damn well Godogs, but I don't hate the Creed cause it's popular and works. MB

Good stuff!!

I went through a period of time where I was determined to upgrade from the rifle that has served me well for many years.
I would buy one or more new elk rifle(s) and scope(s) each year.
Many of them would have some aspect better than my old rifle but I could never find one that was better overall. Year after year that old rifle that I was determined to retire still got pulled from the safe to go hunting. This year it will go again.

stuvwxyz ,
you and RIO's grandfather ,probably knew a lady I stop and see, and rent a bunkhouse, everytime I'm there. Her name is Arlene Fritzlan , she is quite a gal to say the least.

BP

So Alamosa you gonna owe up to what you use? Don't sound like your ashamed of it, not quite the same as being true to your wife. MB

I'm bettin it's the same one he kiiled his bull with last year!

I killed my first deer and elk with a 1966 Remington M-700 ADL with a Redfield 4x. I still have it but moved up to a .35 Whelen when I started hunting places with big bears and have killed more deer and elk with that one that anything else. I contracted magnumitis several years ago and haven’t used either of those rifles in a while, but I should....

my son and myself have both shot some nice bulls with a bow and arrow so i see no reason a 30-30 won`t kill elk too.

My .30-30 is still a virgin in my hands. Bought it used and have no idea what its history is.

Moved to Colorado in late 1980 expressly to make it easier to hunt elk. Went on my first elk hunt in '82 with a long-time elk hunter and his group. No one in that group was a very good hunter, but it was a start. Most in the group used and recommended a 7mm RM so that is what I purchased for my first center-fire rifle. That 7mm RM was my only big game rifle for over 20 years and has killed more elk than all my other rifles put together, No complaint, but using others is fun. So I do.

Here's a repost of a 2009 jewel from an old-timer, Ray Atkinson:

I feel a kinship to the 250-3000..I began life with a 25-35 shooting deer and elk, My dad used the 25-35 and later the 250 savage and he killed probably 40 or more elk with it..None of us ever lost one btw..

How dad came about the 250 Savage is a funny story...We hauled about 30 or so mules to Colorado every year from our Texas ranch and hunted elk then sold the mules at Chimney Rock when we came out. The Colorado packers would be waiting for us..One year the Game Warden was waiting for us and he took dad to the judge for using a 25-35, dad was mortified because he believed in obeying the law...He told the judge he had been hunting with that gun for many years and never gave it any thought..The judge dismissed the case and warned him to get a bigger gun..As soon as we pulled into our hometown he went into the Hardward store and bought the Savage 99EG in 250-3000 Sav. I said, "Dad, that gun ain't very big and not much bigger than the 25-35..Dad looked at me like I was nuts and told me I didn't know what I was talking about, so I shut up pronto..On the way to the ranch he also told me that he had checked every caliber in the store and most had 4 numbers but the Savage had 7 numbers, therefore anyone with any since at all would know it automatically was the most powerful rifle in the store! I kept real quite, I knew then that I had been outmatched! smile smile To top it off that little Savage killed elk like the hammer of Thor...all you had to do was stick one of those factory rounds in the heart lung area and they died..I shot a number of elk with that rifle, but elk hunting was different back then, the elk came out on side hills in the sagebrush. We shot at under 200 yards, got in close, only took broadside shots, so it worked..

As for deer, both whitetail and Muledeer, the 250-3000 is a match made in heaven.

Today I use a .338 Win with 300 gr. Woodleighs in the timber and the 210 noslers on the more open areas. todays elk are more skittish and head for the dark timber at the first shot of the season. Most of the elk I have shot in the last 30 years have been going away from me at a fast pace on a dark timber sidehill.

I had better edit this post to say that I still have that 99EG 250-3000 in fact I have two of them and I still use them from time to time..A great saddle gun and yes I would feel Ok hunting elk with it today but its not my pick..For deer I still use it and the 25-35

I also like to occasionally pull out the book "Elk Tactics" by Don Laubach, who probably qualifies as an old-timer himself. As I recall, he starts it off with a description of how, when he was a kid, his dad shot a big elk with an 87 grain bullet from a 250-3000 Savage 99 at around 200 yards and dropped him with one shot - and it wasn't a singular experience, it was typical of his dad's hunting at the time.

Maybe a little ashamed. Maybe some wonder why I carry that POS with the choices I have available. Browning lever 7 mag. Worn bluing, gouged stock, hazy glass, rust, way too many rounds down the tube. I went so far as to buy that same rifle brand new and added much better glass. [bleep] old BLR shot better groups than the new one. I would not share a photo but that rifle tends to find a way to photobomb pictures of dead animals.

As an Old Timer with lots of years and game under my belt, I love these conversations. I particularly love those regarding "head shots", which I commonly refer to as "chump" shots. My long dead uncle used a 250-3000 to take a fair number of elk. In fact under the right conditions most any centerfire will kill an elk. However killing one and taking them cleanly are not always the same thing. I have know several elk lost to 6mm caliber rifles shot under 100 yards, as well as a couple shot farther with 300 mags. If you are able to limit your shot distance, and presentation (which most hunters cannot) just about any cartridge will work. However out past a couple of football fields, with the animal quartering away from you, many of those cartridges listed here will not get the job done, time after time. My first elk was in a clearcut on the Coast Range of Oregon not in the deep dark and not at close range. My longest was a measured 540 yards across a canyon in NE, Oregon, where close shots are the exception. I started with an 06 as did my dad, he moved up to a .300 mag as did I, after crippling a a cow by breaking her knee joints, while shooting across another canyon in NE, Oregon. My average shot is close to 300 yards, and taken while I am laying down, with the rifle resting on a bipod, or pack. I believe in the 2,000 ft lbs of energy requirement, if the shot can be well placed. Any less and the odds of a disaster go up.

About as classic an elk rifle as there is - Pre64 Model 70 30Gov't06 shooting 180gr Hornady Interlocks.

Well said, thank you. As Bob Hagel said, "You don't want a rifle that works when everything goes right, you want a rifle that works when everything goes wrong."

What a great pic

great picture centershot, beautiful bull

great picture centershot, beautiful bull

Thanks for this pic, it was worth the stoppin' by.

🎶🎶...I got evuhthang I need to kill an Elk, I got evuhthang I need to kill an Elk. But, I don’t got Elk & that’s the thang I need the most.🎶🎶

I got my last elk in '18 (weather didn't cooperate last year) with my dad's old Rem 721 30-06 with a 4x scope. It was only a 75 yd shot and open sights would have worked just fine even with my tired eyes. I don't hunt with that one much because it's so darn heavy. I have a RAR 30-06 that's at least a pound lighter.

I also got my last elk in 18 which ran away after a 175 yard chest shot with a 7mm Mashburn Mag. While exiting the area he was accompanied by a large number of elk, who completely ruined any opportunity to trail the bull... I looked for three hours, to no avail. Two of us looked again, last fall and found no sign, hopefully he made it OK. However I did punch my tag and ended my season... This season I am using a Kimber lightweight, in 7mm AI, and will once again take a look at that same area. Hopefully I will get another opportunity.. Lots of lots of years have gone by since I moved from the 06, and I have not regretted my choice.

I own a Savage M99R 250-3000 that came from my Sister in Law's Dad. He used it on about everything in Wyoming while feeding his family. When I got it he gave me a partial box of 117 Sierra Pro Hunters, said they were his elk bullet. He used 87s for deer and antelope but liked to get up close and shoot elk in the neck with those 117s. Once I got dies and started working up loads I found out why he liked to get close, at 100 yards the 117s were hitting the target sideways.

This is my favorite elk rifle. My .35 WCF. I was lucky enough to score ample brass for the old beast back when Jameson’s was still making it. I should have enough to last me for a while.

200 grn. .358 Hornady RN


Old 250 grn. .358 Hornady RN


Old son and I headed out for Colo 2nd rifle in a few weeks. I’m not hunting this year due to conditions here at the house have put a damper on wild game. Long story and I will not get into it now. But I intend to do some fishing and enjoy my time in the mountains with the son and another buddy.

Nice pics kaywoodie and have a great time in the mountains! Last time I got to hunt up there was 2013 and I sure miss it.

There's been a fair bit of talk of the 99 Savage so I figured I'd put up this pic from last weekend here in AZ. Rifle's about as old as me - 60. It's a .358 Win. I hope the 1-4X scope is not considered too much cheating - it's pretty old too if that counts. When I combine this rig with the 200 grain Barnes TTSX at 2700 FPS with 51/TAC (a little lower than Mule Deer's load), it's actually a pretty darn sophisticated elk rig, and not just for the woods. Shoots plenty flat to 400 yards, only 19" down when sighted 3" high at 100 yards, and still going over 2000 FPS. (That's at 7200' elevation where this hunt happened.)

Cheers,
Rex

Great picture!
Next time smile! Looks like you had damn good reason to smile.....
Love the rifle. Congratulations.

I am smiling...


OK, went back and found this. Maybe a little better?

But it was last year I REALLY had something to smile about!

Some great pictures and stories here! Just about a year ago today I punished a cow with my old 721 Magnum 300. I squeezed the trigger, she slowly turned her head and them just crumbled. My next one will be taken with a pre-war model 70 in either 06 or Magnum 300.

Some good pics, gentlemen. Some good chewin there!

Killed my first elk in 1971 with my Grandfathers 30WCF 1894 made in 1917...Still carry it occasionally. It's old but it shoots pretty good..

Arizona guy here also. Ive always used a 270 or 7mm08 for elk. I have a Winch 94 30-30 that my dad gave me for my HS graduation in 72 but I've not used it for any big game. I'm going to have to get it out for deer this year.

My dad took a job on a surveying crew based near Leadville, Colorado after he was discharged from his WWII ETO service. He hunted with a "bring back" Mauser 98 open-sighted 7x57 rifle and 175 grain round nose bullets. He took one elk with it during his two years in Colorado. Don't know details of the hunt, but likely it wasn't too far (<150 yards???). I do remember that the elk was taken with one shot.

It worked.

I’ve got my Grandpas 94’ in .32 win spl, I’ve been debating on using it one of these years for a nostalgia hunt of some sort.
Only tag I drew this year is a mule doe, I want it to be a bit more memorable then that . This one according to serial number was built in 1904. I don’t know how many miles, hrs and days the ol girl spent in the scabbard on the side of a horse but if the ol girl could talk I bet there would be some fantastic stories.

I got my first elk in 61 a cow in NE Oregon, and have missed three seasons since. I have been blessed with great success. I started out with a 30:06, then moved up to 300 WM, and have experimented with a few other cartridges. Last week I took a cow at 266 with one shot, from a 7 mm AI. I frequently feel blessed to have spent all of those seasons in the woods.

It was argued for decades about which was better, the 32 Spc or the 30-30. There's very little difference. Most of the difference is that the 32 had a slower twist to reduce fouling so it could be used with black powder. After smokeless powders became readily available, it was no contest in popularity in favor of the 30-30.

So far this year, the group that I hunt with have killed three elk. One at over 400 yards, one at over 600 yards, one at 266 yards. The shot at 600 + was atypical, but I would guess my average shot distance over my life time to be around 300 yards. Not country and ranges for 30-30, 300 Savage, 250, nor other old time popular cartridges.

Thanks for all the stories Gents...they were good.

This was probably the last bull I will ever kill 2018. Probably about 11,000 feet,..06 , 180 gr, partirion, Pre -64 Win. with a stock I made.

This was my first bull, 1966, Latir Lakes region of NM .308. Model 88 Win , 165 gr Remington Bronze point



And a lot in between.This was a bull I took in Unit 201,CO about 2007, after applying 21years. That .06 killed a lot of elk.

Great thread! I keep coming back to it to see new posts..

Some nice bulls Saddlesore! That bottom one is a dandy! Also nice picture of your 1st one!

My dad is 90 years old. He killed his first elk in 1955. He has had three elk rifles in that time, a M721 that the horse eventually bent the bbl while in the scabbard, a one season affair with a slammin', jammin, M742, and since 1970 a M77. All of them chambered in 30-06, always loaded with factory 180g Core-lokt RN. His scope is a late 60's Bushnell Scopechief 3x9 with the flip up "Command Post". The Command Post stopped flipping up decades ago. The magnification ring is frozen on 3x. He "temporarily" repaired his sling with athletic shoelace 15 years ago. The rifle is hysterical. Until this year it still had the factory hard, thin red pad on it, but because my dear old dad has shrunk a bit and was having trouble getting the rifle to his shoulder with his hunting coat on I shortened the stock and put a Decelerator pad on it. I hated to cut that all original factory stock--even as dinged up as it is. I don't know how he shot that thing with the original hard pad on it for so long.

Dad is perfectly happy to draw a cow tag most years, and most of those years he still kills an elk........

Nice!

This is a great thread, I've really enjoyed all of it. I've never hunted elk and probably won't ever get the chance, but if I did I'd want to do it with one of my Pre 64 70s.

That's a heart warming story alpinecrick.

.


Nice bulls saddlesore! The old, some say boreing, .30'06 seems to always get the job done!

Thanks for sharing everyone. Enjoyed this. Only elk I took was a cow with a plane Jain remington 700 ADL
.30-06. A rifle grandpa gave to me when he retired from hunting. He had bought it in the 90s to replace a Krag that was stolen from him(wish we still had that!) He had used that Krag, .30-40, for many years hunting pennsylvania, wyoming and colorado.




I did load up some 220s to use for it though. Have used them on a cow elk and a PA Black Bear so far, a handful of deer too I suppose when I was testing them


-Jake