Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Honest elk rifle opinion.

If I were a young guy starting out to buy a big game rifle for everything we have to hunt in this country I think it would be a 30-06. For all practical purposes considering the newer powders we have and better bullets to load with it's even better than it was 40 years ago.

And that, is the definition of a timeless classic!

The first elk hunt I was on I carried a 600 Remington 308. I felt that was power enough. But I came within 20 feet from a grizzly. It was following me. After that I carried a 338 Win Mag with 250 grain partitions or a 350 Rem Mag with 250 grain partitions - nothing smaller
Last year I took a 270 with 160 grain partitions - first time with a smaller rifle since the 308 some 50+ years ago. I shot a lead cow at 350 yards and the cow dropped.
So my advice is that a 270, 280, 30-06 or similar is plenty of power with proper bullets. It’s up to you if you will be in grizzly country, As for me, I’m chicken when it comes to something that might hurt me after I shoot it.

I chase the next best thing, too. These days, it's a 30-06 with high BC bullets. But even Partitions still work well within your 400-yard limit--and quite a bit farther.


Okie John

Why would you shoot honest elk?


I always tried to focus on the ones whoring around.

This ^^

I’m bias to the old 06.
168 ttsx is my go to for elk, tikka. The ttsx little expensive for range time, but 180 tipped game kings are moa shooters, cheap to shoot and can also be used on elk, deer or ring steel.
270 is my favorite deer round, but is always with me as a back up for elk loaded with 130 ttsx. I load up 140 sst just shy of 3050 FPS for deer and range time.
I don’t think you need 7mag for under 400/500 yard shots. Especially the Extra recoil and expense.

I think you need to decide if you like a short action or a long action.

If you like long actions do you like belted magnum cases.

If short action ……308,358

If long action w/o belt …..3006, 280; 270, 338/06, 35 whelen or 9.3

If belted mag 7 mm or higher

If lever gun…..300 sav, 356,358, or the others listed above

I personally hunt elk often with my Dads 8 x57; pre war Mauser

I ain’t familiar with the newer calibers. But I do believe newer rifles are extremely accurate…..very inexpensive in many cases.

Best of luck.

I can't think of a better rifle for elk than a 338-06 shooting the 210gr Nosler partition. powdr

I suggest you spend your mental energy and dollars looking for the perfect elk and becoming the perfect elk hunter.

In grizzly country, I’d want a 338 Win mag.

Wisdom in these words.

I knew a guy who shot a charging grizzly in the center of the chest with a 130 Speer out of a 270. Folded him up like a lawn chair.
I also know a couple guys who have killed about 30 elk with their 270s.

I’ve killed or seen them killed with bullets from .224 on up to .323s both standard and magnum cartridges. The one thing in common is with good placement they die quick and easy. Shoot a leg off and it gets ugly.

I have used a 300WSM,338 Win Mag and 25-06
55-415yds all have great with good stout bullets

Kudos to the firearm industry for producing and marketing their latest and greatest. It keeps the wheel rolling. The paper punchers and long distance competitive shooters, need every advantage to accomplish their goals. When you shoot over 500 yards, that’s where higher BC bullets excel. Paying $5 per cartridge or more is not a recipe for lots of practice unless you have deep pockets. Finding the right ammo at a fair price is a challenge. Getting belted by a .300 PRC or it’s ilk is not fun. The competitive shooters have heavy rifles to absorb recoil but are not practical for chasing elk in the mountains, you can, but do you really want to. As a young stud, you can do it as a challenge, but do you want to when the years add up. What are you gaining.
The cartridges you have already, such as the .270, .30-06 , 7 mag etc.. can do the job and do it well. If you are a skilled shooter the only variable is the rifle. Take your rifles and shoot them at 400 yards and see their accuracy potential from field positions. Tweaking them to get your desired accuracy and function to your satisfaction. Whether in replacing some parts, skilled gun smithing, optic change etc… don’t feel you have to spend lots of money. 1 moa rifle will give you 4” at 400 yards, that’s plenty for many. Maintain your skill and stay in shape. The elk in the mountains are challenging you, go get them
Best of luck to you.

If you are limiting yourself to 400 yards you realistically will not get your moneys worth out of the high bc bullets. Plain old cup and core will work just as well at 1/3 the cost.

You certainly don't need a new chambering as your 30-06 is more than sufficient. Put that money that's burning a hole in your pocket toward a first class guided hunt. Take lots of pictures. Over the years the pictures will take you back to the hunt. Having another rifle in your gun safe is just that, another rifle. Ymmv

I currently shoot 7x57 and a 9.3x62. Both would be adequate elm rifles and the 06 sits in between them. Anything on that spectrum would do with good bullets and good shot placement. Me? I want to be within 50 yards of them.

Where will you be hunting, how will you be hunting. There's all kinds of elk hunting and it's not all created equal.

Shooting an elk in a pasture off hay bales isn't the same as climbing in the mountains all day. A DIY hunt on your own two feet is different than a guided horseback hunt, etc.

What are your current binoculars?

How are your current rifles set up (scopes, stocks, weights, etc)?

There's no way to really answer without more details... but as has been rightly pointed out, this is the right place to come for enablement as noted by most of the above posts

An no, you don't need a 338 WM in grizzly country...

When assessing various chambers for elk and shooting distances you could assess PBR and cartridge use. The first thing I would assess is all up rifle weight as roaming high altitude terrain for several days does make a difference, especially with greater age. When looking at various popular chambers and PBR with modern powders, bullets and velocities the 270 Win with 140 gr load is about 310 yards, the 30-06 with 165 gr. load is about 295 yards, the 308 Win with 165 gr. loads is about 276 yards, the 7-08 Rem with 150 gr load is about 288 yards. All will kill an elk quite satisfactorily. Again most elk are shot inside 200 yards and close to 90% no more than 300 yards. All the previous mentioned chambers easily reach 400 yards with aplomb and deliver more than sufficient energy at that distance with right bullet choices and the right placement. For me the lighter carrying the better. But that’s just me. Some would consider only magnum use and that’s fine as well. The 7mm Rem Mag is a great elk cartridge, but in reality at the distances most elk are killed it doesn’t perform any better than the aforementioned chambers.