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Dober...I never got to meet or talk with Bob Milek but I liked his down to earth style too...I found Milek to be a lot like Bob Hagel...enjoyed both of these fellas a lot...and when it came to
Elk and NA big game hunting ..I listened to both of them...

Thanks again for pointing that out. With the credibility you have maybe people will believe it. I rarely get more than a few days to hunt a season let alone the time it takes to get elk.

Aww you guys are just trying to scare off the nonresidents. Everybody knows from watching the Outdoor channel that anybody that goes out only needs about 20 minutes to shoot a big bull.

Hey..I'm still trying to get over your "Desk Jockey" post and it applies more than not around here.

Outdoor Channel eh..Don't think I have that one but I am still learning.

Jayco

Everyone gets a 350 or better on the Outdoor Channel...behind every tree...

I think if everyone just looked around,they would find the modern day guru's of hunting,every bit as good as the names of old, that never typed or wrote a word in there life,just did and do it.I know a couple,one that taught JO a few tricks but he passed on last summer..

Then there is my good ole buddy that raised horses in the hills and baked at the local grocery store that forgot more about Elk hunting than most know..But he road his Stud horse into a bar one night and got arrested so he probably forgot about hunting,atleast that night.They had to take the cuffs off him for an hour to take care of his stud because know one could control it other than him..

There is still a bunch of old timers out there with knowledge of the outdoors far and beyond most.Those are the ones you want to listen to,not the desk jockeys(laughing).

Jayco

You're right Jayco. Problem is most of those oldguys wouldn't give them deskjockeys the time oday if they behave in person the way they do on the Inet.....So the deskjockeys still loose out...

Though I think all this obsessing over cartridges is mildly amusing now, I must confess to having been as guilty as any of having done it... and not all that long ago, either. My ____hole was puckered tightly about whether or not my '06 with 165's would take an elk, 'til the critter fell over without enough drama to make a decent hunting story.

I used to read the occasional gun rag, 'til I noticed that every month had the same article in it: "The ______ is one amazing cartridge!". Several columns of ballistic gack later, the writer gets to the part about the hunt they were invited on, where "I shot a _____, and it died". I couldn't stay interested enough to renew any of my subscriptions.

I've gotten out in the field only enough to know that my hunts will be ruined far sooner by my weak stalking skills, or my not having scouted adequately, or my poor physical conditioning, or my lack of time shooting from field positions, or by wearing blue jeans, or by my using black tape on the rifle's muzzle (rather than the obviously superior blue)... than it ever will by my choice of cartridge.

Ok. Carry on, everyone.

FC

Dober & MD, as to the resident/nonres thing... the reason it gets brought up the way it does by us non-res guys is that people will tell a story about some crusty old guy (let's call him "Poopy Pete"for the time he had to ride out the winter in an old Basque sheepherders shed with no toilet paper)... It goes like this:

"Well I know a guy called ol' Poopy Pete who's been hunting elk since 1931 and has killed over 50 of them, mostly with a 25/20 carbine his dad Sourmash Sam gave him before he left Pete to be raised by wolves and went to pan gold in the Yukon.

Poopy Pete would laugh to hear of them flatlanders that think you need a cannon to kill elk! Why he still gets one every year with that ol' 25/20 of his'n... out by the haystacks.... on the ranch he's been riding for since 1947........".

MD you said early on in this thread that, essentially, a big magnum can indeed make up for an inch or so of aiming error. I presume that's because of a wider wound channel. That's not completely insignificant. My bull (ok, raghorn) was trotting at about 150 yds broadside and I didn't lead him as much as I should. My .325/Accubond combo nuked one lung pretty good but just caught the back lobe of the other with some fragments and a small tear. I was real close to one-lunging a trotting bull elk and that's not a good thing- but a big rifle (and frangible bullet- unlike a TSX ) helped put him down quick.

I dunno; i'm a babe in the elk woods with only ~9 seasons and a couple elk, but I still say- shoot the biggest cartridge you can SHOOT WELL for elk. I don't see anything wrong with that statement.

Ol' Poopy Pete and his 25/20 notwithstanding.

Jeff

Why are you a non resident hunter?There's plenty of Elk in Oregon.I have two boys out of Cottage Grove doing concrete work that see elk all the time.

There's some Poopy Pete's in Oregon also.Ask around...'Ya can't ask a Montana hunter what Idaho Mule Deer taste like or an Idaho guy about the taste of Montana Mule deer.Gotta be there to no.

Jayco

Jeff_O

Here is some good Elk hunting in Oregon from a friend of mine..3 hunters and 3 Elk this last season!!!!

http://www.levergunlovers.com/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=12681

Jayco

I'm a resident in Oregon. I'm known as Jerkoff Jeff because I got stuck all winter in a Basque sheeperherders cabin with just a pile of Playboys and a 55-gal drum of lotion............

We have elk, but not "lots". It's a lower-percentage game across the board than the major elk factory states. There are tags we can get that approximate what you guys see, but you'll only get those tags every 4-5-6-7-?? years and in between you hunt some pretty chitty hunts by Idaho or Montana standards.

Jayco I've got a spot I hunt deer & grouse near Cottage Grove and there's elk there. I've seen them twice (out of season). But you simply can't imagine how thick it is around there off the logging roads. Visibility of 10, 20, maybe 30 yards. You can try to catch them in a clearcut but our critters have wised up (or got shot) as far as GENERALLY being in cuts in season during shooting hours.

The one time I hunted elk out of state (Colorado) it was a revelation to me on three levels. First- an "any elk" tag. We don't get those, in fact I've hunted a few seasons with the dreaded spike tag... second, to be hunting deer and elk at the same time. We don't get to do that. Third, I could SEE! Even the timbered ares weren't too thick to glass "into" from an opposing hillside. Here, you just see treetops so glassing anything other than a cut is useless. Oh, one more thing... our seasons are only 5 days, typically, on the east side of the state. .

Anyway with opportunities being few and far between here, you won't catch me using a "small" rifle and restricting myself to broadside shots under 200 yards blah blah blah. Give me all the rifle I can handle.

We had a married couple get an elk a piece this year in our area. They are both in their early nineties. Her a cow as I recall and his a big 6pt bull. They got them out whole by themselves, well with the help of their tractor. I don't know what calibers they were using, but it was on their ranch, a ranch the elk winter on I believe. So, they could probably get away without shooting at a bad angle. Plus they live on the ground the elk frequent.

Jeff

I hope you clicked on the link I gave..Just a good 'ole boy from Oregon that gets his Elk almost every year!!!

As far as as big as you can handle..You would be surprised how far a 140 grain Trophy Bonded will penetrate out of a .270 Win.I clipped one in the rear quarter on a running away shot and it penetrated the rear ham through all the guts and stuff,taking out the heart,and was found under the skin on the far/front right shoulder..Almost..Complete penetration stem to stern from a .270 Win....

Jayco

I know the thread has drifted from the title, but here's my opinion. Any cartridge with a quality bullet with enough energy for the range and, you can shoot comfortably is the best cartridge.

In 1962, I worked for the USAF in Dixie, Idaho. There were 2 WW1 widows (Maude and Hayes) that who poached elk using a Model 94 in 30-30. It worked for them, but then maybe those elk are not wearing Kevlar, as they apparently do today. Today, it seems that a 338 Win Mag is minimum.

One Sunday, we were all sitting in one of the bars (the whole town had 24 people in the summer and supported 2 bars). Maude said that she had to go get an elk for food and I eagerly joined her. She shot a large cow (remember, she used a 30-30) and quartered it. I picked up one quarter (about 130 pounds) and started to stumble out of the forest and back to town, all the while complaining about the weight. She grabbed it and just started off with nary of a whimper. I returned and picked up another quarter, headed out and did not murmur one bit! Looking back, Maude and Hayes had to be in their 60�s and they were tough old birds!

djs

Now Dixie has no bars and no grocery stores..Elk City is the closest place to get vidals or a drink.

Your story rings true and it is sad people believe alot of this internet nonsense about what it takes to kill an Elk..There was a ranch on the Salmon River called the Williams place just up river from Ivan Harts place(Buckskin Billie)who came to supper every Sunday....

Anyway...The Williams and there 3 daughters all lived off the land and all the game they ate was taken with a Winchester .32 Special levergun..From squirrels to Moose/Elk/Deer and Bear or even Grouse(No shotgun)..One of the daughters,a friend of the wife,still does the weather here...

All people need to do is learn to hunt first then they will find,caliber is not all that important if you know how to use it!!

Jayco

Jayco, your .270 story doesn't surprise me, SD matters (oh boy, here we go) and a hard 140 from a .270 is gonna dig deep... But penetration isn't everything, and of course larger cartridges penetrate too.

I have carried a 7-08 for elk before; it was my backup rifle my first couple years and I carried it to try to change my luck. I had no doubt it would kill an elk...

... but since I shoot things like my .338 very well I simply don't see the advantage- for ME- in a lighter cartridge.

There's also the deadererer factor. Elk shot with say a .270, or deer with a .223, are only dead. Even after butchering and wrapping and freezing you can still hear the packages rustling around in the freezer... no thanks. I prefer them to freeze up and hold still for Pete's sake! (not Poopy Pete; different Pete).

With my .325 or presumably .338 the elk are deadererer and the meat stays still in the freezer.

It has been my experience that dead is dead...

The Hierarchy of Elk hunting continues, yet lacks the real hunters whom don't own a computer or want too.

I guess a guy has to count post compared to the year signed up to see who is really an Elk Hunter!!!

Jeff..You have a sense of humor and that's good and puts you in the good 'ole boys club,in my mind.You don't run and hide if questioned!!!

Don't change.

Jayco

Dead IS dead. Duh!!

But dead isn't deadererer.