Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Deer & Occasional Elk Rifle

I`ve not killed an Elk with it, but it sure works well on deer!
I cleaned it up, checkered the nice walnut stock, and still use it.

Tikka T3 stainless synthetic in a 6.5 Swede. shoots lights out, and kills like Covid, and carries nice and light. 120, 130, and 140 grain slugs. Works on moose and bears too.

It’s really quite simple to figure out......”Even a Caveman can do it”! 😂 Perhaps best stated by Bob Hagel, which coincidentally is my signature line! 😉

“You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel


memtb

[quote=memtb] I am an unapologetic “one gun” hunter!

I too grew up that way Mem, (poor as dirt, .22, 12ga, 30-30 lever) and in SE Texas it was fine. It was only around my 40's that I started gathering up a few purpose built (designed/bought that way) rifles. Young families, finances, hard times, etc are really hard on a mans' gun gathering ability!

I have killed elk with 7mm-08, 308, 30-06, 338WM, 375HH even a few with a.54cal muzzleloader. If I was to go now, it would be either the 7mm-08 or 338Fed. I do not take shots longer than 300yards. I prefer sneaking through the timber and rarely watch meadows. Those two are great deer cartridges as well!

. I prefer sneaking through the timber and rarely watch meadows.

I like the edges of dark timber and aspen groves. I like to find a game trail that goes into the timber and ease along, chirping a cow call every now and then. Most of the areas I have hunted were very "weather dependant"...meaning as soon as one snow flake falls "everything" heads to Wyoming! ha. You have to "know your trees" there...gotta be standing by the right one when they come by!

Given the current state of ammunition availability I'd go with a 30-06, with a 270 close behind.
I'm a huge 280/280AI fan, but haven't seen any of that ammo on the shelf for a really long time and the same goes for the suitable magnum cartridges.
I wouldn't go smaller than a 6.5mm bore for elk unless you are certain that you can place the bullet in the proper location.
Now if you handload, the options open up significantly.

I agree. If I only had one rifle (cartridge), that would be it, even as much as I like the 338WM.

I deer hunt with a 300 Weatherby. I don't notice the recoil hunting. I do notice that most deer I shoot with it seem dead before they hit the ground. So my tracking skills have suffered. I don't see any more meat damage than the.people I hunt with shooting 100 grain bullets out of smaller rifles that always seem to involve alot of tracking.