Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Best Elk Cartridge in the World??

I'm in this camp no doubt....

Now that is one of the smartest answers so far. This man knows how to hunt!

Just to interject some of my experiences once again. That majority of the elk, that I have seen lost have been shot with .243's and 6mm., caliber cartridges My uncle (way back) used to shoot them with a 250, until he lost a couple that made it into the deep dark, on the Oregon coast. I agree that some are lost to poor shooting, but that happens with all cartridges, not just those that can reach out and touch them several football fields away. I feel no recoil when shooting at game, my concentration is on the shot, not which of my rifles I am shooting. I truly believe that my Kimber lightweight recoils significantly, especially prone, however I never feel the recoil I am so focused on the shot. There are truly people who should not be hunting, but who and why is not my say, or do I want it to be.

I think many hunters shoot very well at the range but not in the field because at the range they concentrate on a small spot, "bullseye", on the target and when they shoot at game they aim at the animal and do not pick a specific spot on the animal they want to hit, therefore the hits are sometimes marginal.

I think the best elk cartridge is the largest one that you can shoot well, within reason.

Well shucks,, I've got a pair of 243's that have killed 14 elk between them and have never lost an elk (I wasn't the shooter most of the time but I have witnessed every kill). Of those 14 elk 5 or 6 were broadside, the rest quartering away or quartering towards. Think 100g Partition.

It has NOTHING to do with the cartridge, it has EVERYTHING to do with the bullet.............use a stout bullet and shoot them in the front half. It's that simple.

alpinecreek, Sorry you have not figured out Elk are bullet proof to about 90% of the fire that have killed, wounded lost, shot at one and missed, You need to go home and drink the Elk are Bullet proof KOOL- AID that all the real hunters drink. laughing !! Rio7

From another forum, what's your take?

".... shooting a 300wsm with 180gr Trophy Copper. My dad shot, the bull fell down, got up, shot again, bull fell down, got up and started walking.... we debated on following the bull or letting it go and not push it. Thank God we decided to follow it!! It went about 700 yards with no blood trail. Even after we got the bull, I rewalked the path back to where we started and no blood, no exit holes."

End of quote

I'll add I got no dog in this loonyism thread, this chit gets old and deep.

The boy showed me a video of a gent killin a Cape buffalo with a 6.5-284, 147 eld.... 😂

No shiit.

1 shot.

This.

The argument that you don't feel recoil when shooting at game, doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Mental aversion to recoil is developed in practice at the range, not while hunting. If a person gets beat up by their rifle while zeroing and practicing, subconscious fear takes root and bad shooting while hunting can result.

Do you have scientific data to prove this, or a “hunch”?

My brother is a whitetail outfitter in Texas. His hunters kill 150+ whitetail a year. They come from all over the country. He tells me about every group and where they are from, shooting skills, rifle used, etc. 95 % of the time it goes like this.

He gives them his .22-250, parks their .300 magnums, let's them shoot 5 times at a target after multiple misses at deer under 100 yards. They go how it this gonna work? He then says trust me. Then watches their mind get blown as they center punch a deer on the next shot and it it dead in 5 seconds. They go home and downsize their rifle.

Few lessons in this tale even related to elk...

PS - his .22-250 is on its 4th barrel, he's 30 years old, shoots 55 grain soft points of various makes. Can't shoot a paper target to save his life but will shoot a glowing set of eyes farther than most can see let alone what most will want to shoot. Best field shooter I've ever seen.

I’ve been killed/been around a couple elk kills. If I was goin to the white mountain or Mescalero tomorrow morning, I’d grab my 338 stoked with 225’s.

This coming from a guy that’s killed elk with 243 up to 338. Carry on boys. 👍

"Beat up"???

Lol.

Look at the .340 Wby, it's beating me up!!!! Ridiculous.

https://i.imgur.com/xMUu4AG.mp4

It's pushing on my shoulder before I ignore that while gently squeezing the trigger. Never a single bruise. No beating. What a myth.

Okay, another experience quoted from another:

" As we caped him, we found a 1" fibrous mass forward above his right shoulder, below his spine, and just under the hide. After cleaning it out we discovered that it was a copper jacketed bullet. This bull had been shot years prior and the wound had healed over, sequestering the bullet in fibrous tissue- tough old bull."


Thoughts on above? What would O'Conner say? Aagaard? Hagel? Mule Deer? You?

I’m so scared of the boys 340 Wby, it’s shoots stupid good. 😂😂

I definitely couldn't shoot this bear at 97 yds off hand with the .375 Wby because I would get "beat up."

You got really lucky there!! Didja close your eyes when you yanked the trigger?? 🤣🤣

---Different question. I have another Model 70, a .300 Weatherby. It shoots 5/8 groups most of the time. With 200 grain NPT it is my nominee. It isn't my choice currently as I haven't shot it enough to get used to it yet.

My wife killed her first elk with a .243 Win., and will readily tell you, that a lot of luck was involved. She does not advocate a .243 Win for elk! She has since worked her way up to a .338 WM, because she likes to “get beat up”. She also likes to kill elk with authority....most of her elk were one shot kills. You can also add bear and moose to that list! I guess that she must be closing her eyes and flinching just right! Everyone knows that a hunter cannot accurately shoot a heavy recoil rifle.....well, maybe a lot of men hunters can’t! memtb

So I guess the next question is, why doesn’t Everybody just hunt bucks with a 223?? All these reliable scopes, epic bullets, should be a no brainer??? Good lord