Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 30.06 or .300 Win Mag

What is your reccomended caliber for Elk? A 30.06 or the .300 Win Mag. I am going to use it for backpack hunts in the Western states in higher open country with no shoots anticiipated over 300 yards. Any thoughts?

Tag,
either one will do the job. It should be the one that you feel the most comfortable with. A lot of us play with different calibers, but in reality an 06 would fill the bill. AS an example I am hunting this year with a 300wm, bur normally I use a 338wm. I also have a 35 whelen that I plan to use for timber hunting. tom

Which ever gun you shoot the best. I have a .338, 300wm, and a .270 and all of them have killed elk. I now hunt with the 300 because it shoots better and has slightly better ballistics.

I use a 338 personally and I love it. But between the 2 choices that you listed I would go with the 300. It is more powerfull than the 30-06 but honestly, it wouldn't be in my top 3. I would go with the:

1. 338 Win Mag
2. 325 WSM
3. 300 WSM

Go with the.06. Just peruse all the threads on this forum and you will see an abundance of guys looking for reduced loads for the 300 and all the magnums as far as that goes.Some can handle the recoil. Most can't.
The .06 is to elk hunting inthe west what the 30-30 is to deer hunting in the east

Do the '06....

Take the '06. Countless guides report every year they'd rather a client carry a rifle they can comfortably shoot - accurately, than a cannon they flinch with!

If I had an '06 and .338WM, I'd carry the .338 if it was on a synthetic stock (because it absorbs recoil) because I've used one before, twice actually - to kill elk. Yeah, I know you have a .300 mangle-um.

I've also killed two elk with the .270W.

Carry the lighter-weight rifle you shoot the best. I'm correct about the comment about most guides, too.

Your '06 with 180grn boolits IS PLENTY!

There's not a tremendous difference between the two... the 30-06 will shine with 165-180 gn bullets, the 300 Winnie with 180-200 gn bullets... in either case, use a really GOOD bullet!

I, personally, don't have much use for the 300 WM. I love my 30-06, and if I want more power than that, I would step up to .338 Win mag... not that a .338 is necessary for elk, just that it's awesome for elk!

.325 WSM is an interesting choice and one I am personally fond of, but now we are in the realm of "wierdo" calibers.

Anyway, reading your post again, you are talking backpack hunts. That would mean, I ass-u-me, that you want a lightweight. If you have not yet purchesed the rifle you should oughta handle a Kimber 8400 Montana, and for your purposes I would say a Montana in 300 WSM would be about ideal! Or, a Remington Mountain Rifle in 30-06. But I'd not go with a lightweight in 300 Win Mag, personally.

-jeff

Two weeks ago today...'06 180gr A-Frame.



Lenghtwise through 650ish pounds of elk. I really wasn't expecting anything less.

I've used both cartridge for elk hunting, and all I can say is, the 300 Win. Mag. clobbers elk significantly harder than the 30-06 does, plus it shoots flatter as well, make no mistake about it.............

AD

Having taken elk with both, I have to agree. If I had to choose one of the two to use from here on out, it would be the .300.

Its likely I will continue to use both, however. Take what you shoot well.

Recommend? .338 is darn hard to beat, but that's not what you asked about.

I'm generally not a .30 caliber fan, but ... within the 300 yard range limit you imposed, I'd go with the '06 and a 180 partition. If that won't kill it, I want something with a bigger hole in the end, not more speed. More velocity, once you've gotten enough for expansion, is a poor substitute for bullet diameter and weight when it comes to handling increasingly larger game.

If your self imposed range limit were longer, say 350, 400, or more yards, then perhaps the .300 mag becomes a better choice if you can manage .300-level recoil with the increased finesse required to make a shot that long. It works against you two ways, the same kill zone is relatively smaller (remember, MOA, not inches) yet the recoil is worse.

Allenday, I would expect that to be the case, but I guess if I am going to deal with the added recoil and, presumably, weight of the 300 Win mag, it might as well be a .338 win mag, is all I'm saying...

-jeff

TOM! Welcome!

Campfire just picked up a good 'un, folks!

-jeff

Looks like every A-Frame that I've ever recovered.

-Steve

Well, not that I am Mr. Elk slayer. I have yet to shoot a cross canyon Elk where the 300 would be an advantage over the 06.. I have shot Elk with both 180gr 06 & 300mag and the 06 performed as well as the 300.. I feel that with today's premium bullets avilable to us (as shown in the Swift A-Frame above)Performance in each cartridge has stepped up a huge step closing the gap between standard and magnum cartridges..

30-06. Shoot 165 TSX at 2900 fps.

Elk die.

BMT

I'd recommend the '06 if I already owned the rifles.

A good 165-180 grain 30 cal at 308 or '06 velocities kills elk very well at 300 yards and under. I have never shot one further away.

It doesn't seem to take much longer for them to notice they have been shot and die than with a bigger caliber either. A .338 [based on a tiny sampling] gives more visible indication that they are hit however.

A 300 magnum [any of the alphabet versions] with a 200 grain bullet gets good press and the ballistics charts seem to support the idea that there is a difference over a 180 grain.

So, if I didn't own the rifle already I would agree with the Montana in 300 WSM, likely with a 200 grain bullet.

Oh man, there goes my reputation out the window. Next thing you'll be tellin' the wimminz I'm "safe."

Anyways, I lurked a while, saw that what you say is true, seems to be a fairly civil and thoughtful group. Hopefully I can live up to that standard.

Shucks, IF you have it, RUN IT!Learn it! Reload for it!

I have a 30.06..and a great one!
It works fine on elk..

BUT I really like the .300 Savage better in the M99 Savage...or the heavy stickbow for the wetcoast Roosevelts..:) Jim