Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting New rifle for 1st Elk / Mule deer hunt

Just booked my 1st western big game hunt. I have 1 center fire rifle - vanguard 257 wby mag. Thinking I might need to step it up a little for elk sized game.
Very interested in the Bergara Wilderness Ridge in 7mm rem mag or 300 win mag. Seems like a total package for $850.
Should I go with it or buy another vanguard since that is what I’m used to?
I know my 257 would work, but I’d rather have a heavier bullet for elk.
Just wanting to know if the Bergara is a quality rifle and if 7mm or 300 is the way to go.

It's a good excuse for another rifle but in all actuality that 257 with quality bullets is an excellent elk rifle unless you're hunting a bunch of dark timber. The optics to best utilize a 257 aren't the best for the deep woods. If I was getting a 2nd rifle in your situation I'd lean towards a bigger bore shorter range "timber gun" with minimal optics or open sights to cover a wider range of hunting conditions. My 2 cents.

Rusty75: I have actually killed Bull Elk with one of your option calibers - the 7m/m Remington Magnum.
I recommend it as a "do both" caliber (Elk and Mule Deer).
I use the wonderful 160 grain Nosler Partition in my 7m/m Remington Magnum.
Maybe a better solution would be to take along both Rifles (your 257 Weatherby Magnum for Deer and either a 7m/m Magnum or a 300 Winchester Magnum for Elk/Grizzly).
Among my friends and acquaintances here in Montana, that I consider to be very SERIOUS Elk Hunters, the 300 Winchester Magnum is the preferred caliber and has been for some time.
One of my "serious" Elk Hunting friends/partners has me sight in his 300 Winchester Magnums (he has 3 of these!) and his 300 Weatherby Magnums (he has two of these!) every year for him!
And believe me "recoil" becomes an issue with these 300 Magnums (at least with me!).
Best of luck with whichever you choose and on your Hunt.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Always a good argument for buying another rifle. Certainly no need for 7mag or 300 though, but go for it if you can handle the recoil. People have been killing elk with .243's for a long time. So the .257 with good bullets will do the job.
As always, it doesn't matter what is stamped on the case head,but how well you place the bullet in the elk where it needs to go.Taking a marginal shot or poorly placed bullet will yield the same results it if is a .243. .257mag or 300mag.

That Weatherby ammo is getting pretty pricey now, if you can find any. I'd look around and see what ammo is readily available before I chose.

I’d think an elk hunt is a great excuse for a new 7mm Rem myself.

Personally.....I’d prefer a bit more than a .25 caliber on a quite expensive guided elk hunt, or any elk hunt for that matter.

If you like and are comfortable with your Vanguard’s .....go for it. I’d be looking at a 7 MM and up for the hunt your paying for! memtb

Your rifle is fine for elk--just use a good bullet. Partition, TTSX, E Tip, etc.......

Any of these will work great on elk. To say the least, this isn't a complete list but these should be readily available and ammo not too hard to find. If you don't reload, factory ammo in the magnums will be pricey, probably $2/round or more.
The x'd ones are calibers that I've shot 3 or more elk with, all with very good results. On the lighter bullet sizes, I've shot a lot of elk with a 270 using 150 gr bullets. They work very well.

7mm Mag
7mm-08
270 x
308
30-06 x
300 WSM x
300 WM

Bergara and 7mm Mag are both excellent choices for elk and mule deer. I have a B-14 Woodsman in 6.5 Creedmoor - fantastic rifle. I consider it a Rem Model 70 done right. Good trigger, smooth action, great barrel, excellent accuracy in a rifle priced for the working man. Have to admit that I bought my B-14 mainly for the wood, but have been very pleased with it overall.

Choose whatever you like, but marginal hits with a bigger rifle can turn out ok. I have seen it numerous times... Placement is #1, but as Bob Hagel said choose a rifle that will be successful if things go wrong, and they will. They have been killing elk for years with a .243 and crippling them too.
Your ,257 will get things done, but depending on the country you hunt, you might want more bullet wt. at longer distances. If you are hunting heavy cover, big slow bullets are wonderful. If you are hunting open country, faster bullets from a .270 on up is what I would be looking at.
A rancher friend of mine shot over 100 elk with a 243.. All out of his hay fields. When he hunted otherwise the .270, 300 and 338 were his choices. You need to know what conditions these recommendations are made..

In most hunting instances the 257 Wby covers a great deal of the same characteristics as the 7mm Rem Mag. High velocity, long range capability, and specialized use. As stated by others, both platforms with their specialized optics are less desirable for close in work. Depending on where and what rifle season you’re hunting, big bulls in mid to late October and into early November are bedding in deep timber and remain close to heavy timber/deadfall areas through December from previous hunting pressures. The only thing that gets them moving out of cover is a tremendous snow event forcing them to lower elevations and forging. Neither 257 Mag or 7mm Mag is ideal for heavy timber hunting condition, however a 4x scoped 308 WCF or 30-06 with 165 gr or 180 gr loads are superb inside 200 yards and easily punch deadly holes at 400 yards. Will the magnums with variables in the 4x-16x/56mm scopes work, yeah, but not as versatile and handy as a 20”-22” barreled, 4x fixed scope in a 30 cal non magnum.

Comments like this always make me chuckle. Elk are hit bad and/or crippled every year with a plethora of cartridges, even the “respected” elk cartridges.

My first centerfire rifle was a .30-06. For many years it put an elk and a deer in my freezer, and all with standard cup and core Hornady and Sierra bullets.

Years later I was hunting sheep in one of Montana's unlimited bighorn sheep units using my .257 Ackley and 117 grain Sierra GK bullets. The morning of my planned last day in there I was going from my tent to where I wanted to find a ram when I heard a loud elk bugle close by. I hadn't seen a ram yet, and since elk season was open in the wilderness portion of that unit, I just hunkered down, and when that bull stopped about 75 yards in front of me, I put one of those little 117 grain Sierras just behind his shoulder, and he dropped in his tracks. He turned out to be my 2nd best 6x6 bull elk out of the 30 or so bulls that I've shot.

My favorite elk rifle now is my .300 Weatherby, but I have also killed elk with my 7 mm RM, my .30 Gibbs, a .30-40 Krag, and even a sharp stick. Bullet placement is the key!

Going on a new hunt is always a good reason for a new rifle, but many times, the rifle that we already have will work just fine. Instead, spend the money for the new rifle on shells, and practice, practice, practice.

Tough to beat your 257 for deer sized game. I’m an advocate for plenty of gun when trying to kill & recover an 800 lb bull elk. I switched from 7mm RM that did fine on elk to a 300 Weatherby that does noticeably better. The 7 doesn’t really improve on your horsepower that much but 300 is the classic elk caliber.

I shoot a vanguard & really like them but if Bergera feels good to you get it. The 300 Weatherby with a Zeiss V4 4-16 is really hard to beat for an elk gun. The Winchester 300 flavors aren’t far behind in effectiveness we use 180 grain Barnes in a couple of these & elk die pretty quickly with a reasonable shot.

This year my cow was one shot DRT as many have been but we hunt public & need to stop them quickly sometimes. First year elk hunter took 3 to kill his cow with a 7mm at 360 yards but she was close to the boundary so he kept shooting till she dropped. If you aren’t recoil shy I’d certainly go with the 300.

Ive killed elk with 270 Win, 7mm Rem mag, 300 WSM, 348 Win, 45-70, and 375 Ruger. To me, the 7 mag isn't a huge step up from the 257 Bee, with good bullets.

In the 7, Ive used 160 and 175 partitions, and 168 long range accubonds. I started with the lrab's which worked well on the first 5-6 cows, but began to notice they were pretty soft, especially if shot within 200 yds. They performed as designed, and they work great on deer, but I personally wanted better penetration on larger bulls so went to the partitions.

The 7 is a step up and a great round, but, if you want something bigger than the 257, then go big.

My vote would be a 300 magnum of any flavor. Ive used 180 partitions and 180 Swift Sirocco II's on elk. It will work both on deer and elk, and is a couple steps up from the 257. Good luck with your choice.

Manny

If you fail to cleanly kill an elk - any elk - with a 257 Wby, the fault is entirely your own.

If a DIY hunt, I would consider just using the .257 with a Partition or TSX. Though, it's never bad to have a back-up rifle. In that case, a 7mm Rem Mag or .300 would be just fine. Either a Bergara or Vanguard would be great. I used to be more of a .300 guy, but with time have come to see the attributes of the 7mm RM. It's a milder magnum with .30-06-level recoil.

If a guided hunt, definitely get a .300 or 7mm so you don't have to listen to the guide complain about your .257.

I've killed elk with various cartridges from 25-06 to .300, but have used a .270 Winchester more than any other. They're not bullet proof.

Oh yeah, Have fun! The best thing about elk and mule deer often is the country they live in.

I used my .257 WBY on a combo Elk and MD hunt and it worked perfectly. I used 100gr TTSXs and it dropped a bull the fastest I have ever seen, short of a CNS shot. I hit the bull quartering to me on the point of the shoulder and the bullet exited far back, opposite side. I would not hesitate to take it again.


However, another rifle is what it’s all about anyway, right? I mean, the next rifle is always the coolest!

Having a 257 WBY in hand, I would get a .300 of some flavor. That combination can do everything in North America, hands down.

It will be a semi guided hunt on 15000 acres of private land adjoining hard to access national forest.
I am very comfortable with my 257 wby out to 400.
The only reason I’m hesitant is that I shot a 225 lb whitetail at 325 yards this year and it didn’t flinch or move at 1st shot. I though I missed, so I shot again and the deer went down. When I got to the deer, there were 2 bullet holes 2” apart.

For an animal 3-4 times it’s size I feel like more bullet may be better. I really favor the 7mm rem mag from past experience and shoot ability, but the 300 win mag could be used for anything I would ever hunt. The Bergara wilderness ridge has a brake and enough weight to mitigate recoil enough for sufficient practice. It seems like a true out of the box rifle with no tinkering needed.