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

Thanks 1. Ditto. So far, I've gotten way more out of this country than I have given it.

We were just "bear hunting," which around here without dogs this time of year, is basically camping and hiking with rifles with the implausible hope that a non-denning bear will appear within firearm range. Still, good times.

A well placed shot trumps everything else. Usually those who aren’t capable of a well placed shot exacerbate the deficiency with a bigger caliber and cartridge.

He shot perfect just by telling him the rifle kicked less? Never seen that happen.

A lot of this recoil terror seems like a myth to me. I got caught up in it a little bit back in 2009, when I bought the .340 Wby. I had been shooting that 300WM well for decades by then. But the writing on the .340 Wby was mostly that it had such killer recoil that only a few elite persons overdosing on steroids and Percocet could handle it. When I was waiting on the rifle to come, and choosing a scope and rings, etc., I was contemplating having a 1lb mercury tube installed in the stock to reduce the recoil to something along the lines of a 155mm artillery piece.

I couldn’t find a gunsmith that would do that in a timely manner. So, reluctantly, I took it to the range, donned the recoil pad, and let loose with some of the lighter, 200gr – 210gr loads, expecting my shoulder to be instantly dislocated. Bang!!! Wait? What? That was nothing! Loaded up the 250gr Partitions, and kept going for about two hours. I had been influenced by decades of magazine and internet writings about the — to me-nonexistent — crazy recoil of that cartridge.

It just seems like a self-fulfilling dialog. If people read hundreds of times about how a normal man can’t handle a 300 WM, but he can shoot a 6.5 Creedmoor with NASA-like precision, many will believe it. I don’t anymore.

After my 16-yr-old son first shot the 300 WM and 7mm Wby this year, with sub-MOA groups, I told him that, supposedly, some men can’t do that. He said: “Really? Why?”

Given all of that, I did start him off with the .243 from ages 8 to early-16 to get him really good at shooting before he moved up. My 13-yr-old still uses the .243.

Elk threads are always a hoot.

Put me in the smaller camp. Not scared to say I don’t like heavy recoil.

I don't think the issue with bigger cartridges is that folks can't shoot good groups, its that for many of us we won't practice with them the same way we will with the little stuff. Yesterday I took my little 250 ack to the range and fired off about 90 rounds at steel at various ranges, standing, sticks and prone. Easy peasy, physically I didn't couldn't even feel I had been shooting. Sure I can shoot some good groups with my .375, but I am not going to go bang away with it for two hours. For me proficiency requires doing and for me at least I can do a lot more of it with my little guns and it cost less too. Sure some of what you get from practicing with a little guns helps with the bigger ones, but the more the guns differ in set up, the less is transferable

About like writers saying that short barreled revolvers kicked less than shorter barrels, that's never been my experience

I'd guess a .300 or .338 Win mag is the best elk cartridge in the world, but after having to deal with a concussion and rotator-cuff surgery, I'm not interested in shooting anything bigger than a .308 Win in a rifle that I care to carry in the field.

I think it also depends on the type of elk hunt. Based only on what’s in my armory, if I was backpacking-hunting deep into the high-elevation mountains in the NF, I might grab my lite 7mm Wby ULW.

However, if I walk out of the cabin on my mountain property in Colorado, I can walk about 150 yards to a big rock that overlooks a meadow that is about 600 yds deep and 1/2 mile wide, and often see mule deer and elk calmly grazing below at ranges from 200 yds to 600 yds. For that, I certainly would grab my .340 Wby with its ridiculous 4.5-27x 50mm scope.

But last time I did the former, I still chose the .340 Wby.

I'm glad you make sure to use effective gear to mitigate recoil-related shooting issues. I've got a fair bit of experience with Past recoil shields, muzzle brakes, bench-mounted vises, etc, but of course the majority of hunters don't use any form of artificial recoil reducer. My previous comments about my observations were in reference to mostly average hunters that simply shoot their rifles. And without the Cabelas pad, a muzzle brake, bench vise, etc, assuming a sporter-weight rifle, I'd probably win the bet about the bruising. Either way, the effect I described is real, and while it can be mitigated with effective choice of equipment, most people are either unaware of those options or just choose not to use them. There's nothing wrong with using magnum rifles if you can manage the recoil and muzzle blast without developing an aversion to firing the rifle, but lots of people that I've observed shooting magnum rifles simply can't/don't manage it well.

In terms of factors that affect "killing power", I think most serious hunters would agree that between shot placement, bullet construction, and caliber/bullet weight/velocity, the ranking would be placement first, then bullet construction, then caliber/weight/velocity. Ideally, maximizing all three factors would produce the most "killing power", but in the real world there are trade-offs. Even if a person can handle shooting magnum rifles, it's more enjoyable for most people to shoot a rifle with less blast, recoil, and ammunition cost, so people tend to practice in higher volumes with smaller rifles, and as a result they tend to shoot better and have more confidence in their rifle when using a smaller cartridge. This especially holds true for the average hunter that doesn't invest in becoming proficient with magnum rifles. So when I say that I've seen more people lose critters by being over-gunned than under-gunned, it's because they traded the most important factor (precision in shot placement) for the least important of the three factors ("rifle power").

I don't know about perfect, but yessir he shot well enough to hit center-chest. Ever see somebody bothered by the recoil or blast of a larger rifle shoot better when you hand them a .22 or .223? It's the same effect. The fear/anticipation/aversion to recoil and blast is a mental thing, and is all in their head.

Exactly.

"What 3 dozen elk cartridges taught me."

https://gundigest.com/more/how-to/three-dozen-elk-cartridges-taught

I know it us a mental thing and I've seen people shoot better with firearms that weren't intimidating them but. I've only seen that work after a shot or 2 to accept that they aren't being hurt with each shot. I've never seen it work just by saying "this one doesn't kick as bad"

Welcome to the “new optics forum”!!! 😂😂

Regardless of how it takes place, if a person becomes convinced that a rifle won't cause discomfort, they can focus on placing the shot instead of on the perceived pending pain. In that particular case we had a bull in front of us, and I guess the word of his guide was enough for the hunter to become convinced that my rifle wouldn't hurt him.

Wonder how well these waterfowl hunters that shoot boxes of 3 1/2” mags handle a rifle?? 😂😂😂

Unless it was a Creedmoor, they almost certainly would curl up into a fetal position and cry like a baby.

Most people cant shoot light kicking cartridges either.
And while shot placement is important a 300 mag placed well trumps a 22lr placed well every time.

I bet some of you drive lifted trucks as well.

We still have to wrestle Jud.😆