Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Which Rifle to Take?

I hump 11lb every year on rough country public land hunts

I live here in the Mtns of CO

Big scope, bipod, can, 10 shells on the buttStock, 50” 30-06

Not that big of a deal, having a proper sling is critical, sounds like you do

Ducking under brush is where it can catch,

your other gun isn’t exactly petite

Go w the suppressed gun if that is the one you want to use

Even if I was a Navy Seal, I wouldn’t carry an eleven lb rifle on a hiking elk hunt. In fact your 300 is trending too heavy IMO but it would be my choice of what you have; my view on the big 300’s or mediums for elk in the mtn’s is 8.5 lbs all up. Even if you are all sinew, muscle, and bone, the mountains are tough enough on an elk hunt; even the high hills are will wear on you without carry extra weight.

Additionally, if you have very good binoc’s from 8x up, you can see those pale yellow bulls for some miles. A spotting scope is even questionable unless you are evaluating inches of bone on their heads but if you have not been on many elk hunts any bull is a trophy. In fact, for me it is still that way.

Hope your elk hunt is a good one.

its your back take the rifle you want too ? my choice would be the 300

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to take the heavy one....it would be lighter if I didn't take the can, but I have my load and drops set with the can on and don't have the ability to go back to my buddy's 530 yard range to redo everything without the can before the hunt. I will loop back after the hunt and let you know if I regretted it or not

BTW, its a Christensen Arms Mesa I won through the Wyoming F&G over the summer.....the raffle was actually on my birthday and they called and emailed me the next day, so it also has some good juju and I feel like it needs to get some experience. Scope is a Meopta Optika6 2.5-15x44. 20 MOA rail, Spartan Bipod, and Sig SRD762-QD Suppressor.

Exactly. Id chit can the whole works and buy a Tikka superlite or stainless T3x lite. And no, it wouldn't be a 300wm either. 7mm08 witha good bullet is all you really need and a good set of binoculars. The bino's id use wouldnt weigh much more than a pound either. Less is more on a hunt like that.

L to R: .300WM, 30-06, .338WM

Don't forget the 22-250 ammo to with the 7-08.

Run what you want. Inman nailed it. I’d honestly have both in camp myself if that’s possible but your 300 looks darned good as well.

Good luck on your hunt. I’m sure if either rifle isn’t perfect you’ll have another rifle built in your head before you get home. I know I do that about every year.

The weight adds up, rough numbers:

Rifle 7.3lb
Scope/ rings 1lb
Bipod 1lb
Ammo .7lb, 10 on the stock, 5 in the gun
Can 1lb
Sling in there too

I would take both to camp, decide there.

I'm a big fan of 30 caliber hunting cartridges. My elk rifle is a Savage 99 in .308 fitted with a 2-7X Vortex scope. My longest shot for elk was about 225 yards taken within the Bear Lodge Mts. of Wyoming. The bull was downed with two quick shots into the chest organs firing 180 grain Core-lokt ammo.

Your 300 MAG has plenty of juice for long shots.

Sherwood

That's not my idea of a hunting rifle, to each their own.

Just got back..... When I first got there, we went to check zero.....my shot didn't hit the target or anything on the bank behind it. We looked at each other and I got up and looked at the end of my suppressor and it had exploded....baffle strike. Still no idea what happened....thankfully I did not just load another round and try to shoot again....not only could you not see daylight through the suppressor due to all the destruction and loose metal inside, some metal shrapnel also became lodged in my barrel. So we went back to the house and got a cleaning rod and removed the shrapnel, reinstalled my factory muzzle brake, went back to rock pit and had no problem ringing the steel at 300 yds. So without the suppressor it ended up being only 8# 7oz.

Whenever we were working our way through timber, any barrel length would have been too long to leave in the pack as we were constantly ducking under limbs. So rifle in hand......not to mention there was fresh grizzly poop and tracks everywhere, so having the rifle in my hand was just fine. Looking back, I would not take a suppressor on a future hunt, but if I did it would have to be significantly lighter and also be on a very short barrel. Hopefully the manufacturer can help me replace or repair the can without too much hassle or expense. Sucks to wait for 8 months and then it blows up.

Ended up taking a nice 6 pt bull at 267 yards.....I was shaking like a leaf but dropped him in his tracks with a single high shoulder/spine shot.

Happy to get my first elk, and to have a freezer full of meat as we go into the winter. Thanks for the opinions

Congrats on the bull! Sounds like everything worked out great, other than the suppressor.

KISS. Any piece of gear can go titz up, but the more complex it is, the more likely to fail. Luckily, no one was injured with your fragmenting can. My opinion is that suppressors, muzzle brakes, and the like are not needed on a hunting rifle. If you need all that, you might have more gun than you can handle. JMNSHO

Ignorant statements right there with many assumptions on your part. My 300 win (greater recoil than 7mm rem mag) has no brake or suppressor, and I shoot 200 gr accubonds out of it at 3000fps with no issues, have taken sheep, caribou, deer, and hogs with that rifle.

As I stated earlier, the 7mm rem mag I won (did not pick it out) from Wyoming fish and game earlier this year. And Christensen Arms did not call me and ask if I "needed" a brake when they designed the specs for the Mesa rifle line. (A growing number of production rifle makers....Kimber, Browning, Tikka, Christensen...are putting brakes on their lighter weight hunting rifles. I guess in your opinion anyone who buys those rifles is a sissy?)

On the suppressor, I have an infestation of feral hogs on my farm, and sometimes I shoot near the property line where neighbors are within earshot, and also shoot at night, so that's why I have that. I had worked the load up with my 7mm mag using the suppressor.

Ok, bud. I DGAS where you got your toy. All the brakes and suppressors have a time, place, and purpose. Just not on an elk hunting rifle carried afield in my opinion. Next time ask your guide how he feels about brakes. Most hate them.

A big assumption on your part is that I implied that you are a sissy. Not so. There are many guys that shoot big magnums that are certainly not sissys, they just can’t handle them and subsequently don’t shoot them well.

Maybe not a sissy, but a Karen indeed. Here’s an “ignorant statement “: GFY

Congrats on your hunt.

300 mag due to weight. Ounces equal pounds and pounds equal pain.

A few years ago I swapped from a 300 WSM to a 30-06 to save a lb. It was worth it. I've never shot anything with the 300 that the 30-06 couldn't handle just as well anyway.