Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting What is your rifle of choice this season

It seems counterintuitive, based on the naming and marketing, but I would recommend you try the 147 ELD-M instead of the 143 ELD-X.

Centershot.
How did the elk internals look. Did you recover any the bullets? How deep Did they penetrate, or did they hit bone?
if you hit the vitals/lungs with the first and second shot. It’s surprising the elk covered that much ground with multiple shots in him.

Typically for elk I reach for one of my Model 70 .30-06’s, they are my favorites.

Centershot and others here have learned the same lessons I learned way back in the 70s and early 80s.

For elk use bullets that hold together!

I prefer bullets that hold most of their weight on all game, but I'll admit it's not as important as the game gets smaller and smaller.

But for large deer and any game from about 250 pounds and up I always recommend a bullet that expands but doesn't break up completely. Diameter and shape of the case are both well behind bullet construction in importance when it comes to killing larger game.

A man using a 243 loaded with bonded, expanding copper or Partition bullets has a better tool for killing elk then a man carrying a 7MM Magnum or 300 Magnum loaded with bullets that break apart.
But a powerful rifle loaded with good bullets that hold together and pernitrate in a pretty straight line is the best combination across the board.

Amen!

Depends what place(s) I get a tag. Could be anything from a 270 to a 300 Weatherby or a 35 Whelen or either a 375 Whelen AI or 375 H&H AI.

Terrain, distance knowledge of area where I’m going…

Did find this bullet on the off side under the hide. I think it weighs 64gr. if I remember correctly. I did not do an autopsy - just cut him up and got out of there. From where I shot him the first time to where he finally died was approximately 1/2 mile (close as I can get from google earth). I think the bullets blow up before they get deep penetration. Dumping all that energy in ~12" is great for deer size critters but not so good when the game is larger.

It's not so great when you dump all the energy and the bullet on the point of the shoulder. I knew I had bullet issues shooting the 6mm 103gr eld-x at 3250fps. But the Eld-x shot so well, the first buck was drt. The second big buck I shot was also on the point of the shoulder, knocked him down, missed when he was trying to regain his footing. Ended up getting a few pictures of him a month later with a broken shoulder and a side ways leg. Never got a picture of him this year. It sucks getting pictures of a buck for years and hoping to get a chance at him and then blowing it. Could of been one of my best years hunting and turned out to be the worst.
It hard to believe how people's results differ using the same bullet. Everyone seems to agree that the ELD-X bullets shoot great.

I used my Rem 700 .30-06 with 168 grain TTSX bullets over H4350. I killed a 5 point bull at about 30 yards with a high shoulder shot. He dropped at the shot and slid about 10 yards back down the steep hill.

I used an Ultra Light Arms 284 on a cow Elk and a cow Moose.. I shoot Barnes 140 TTSX's.

I carried a CVA Cascade. Athlon Helos scope. Only modification was that I bedded the action in the stock. Shoots amazing. I'm confident on paper with it out to 700 yards, and on elk I'd be confident out to 500.

Everyone cares about what an 8th grade graduate's recommendations are.....

I just got a LH Ultra Light Arms Model 20 in .284 Winchester.

That’s going on my elk hunt this October.

Now I’m starting to work up loads for it.

Given the chance to elk hunt I would definitely field my 30-06 it never fails me.

If I go after elk, it will be my 28 Nosler.

Well I have a Mark V in 270 Weatherby and a new to me BDL in 7mm Mag. It occurs to me I got my last elk with my CZ 550 in 500 Jeffery at 225 yards. I'm shooting 570g TSXs at 2300 fps. I sight it in 3" high at 100 yards, it's dead on at 200 yards, 11" low at 300 yards and 32" low at 400 yards where it still packs 4000 ft/lbs of energy. Why am I fooling around with these little caliber rifles?

That is one beautiful rifle sir! I tried for years, in vain, to find a Ruger #1 in either .405 Win. or, what I really wanted, the 450/400. I had a 404 Jeffry made up one time. It was a accurate, but I gave to a Missionary friend who lived in South Africa. Biggest CZ 550 I had/shot a bit was the 416 Rigby. My shoulder is too boney now for them, ha. Congrats on that Beauty sir!

That is a big round for elk. Is this in case you bump into a cantankerous grizzly?

Luls it would certainly make Elmer Keith happy

No it's for his pathetic ego