Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Best Elk Cartridge in the World??

It won't contribute much to the discussion, but I have taken 30+ elk with a variety of cartridges and bullet weights ranging from the.270 Winchester with 150 Partitions to the .375 H&H with 270 AccuBonds (and several of the commonly available cartridges in between). A few bulls stood around long enough to get a second shot, but all would have been dead as a result of the first. Most have gone no farther than 50 yds or so. The two that did go farther were indeed going downhill and neither made more than 100 yds or so before expiring. (I heard both of them die and was able to walk right to them.)

So the 270 works about like the 375 if you hit them in the right place??

That seems like a nice contribution to the discussion.

Mudhen, I love your sig line, and love SW New Mexico, too. Grew up in Socorro....

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.300 Coulter Mag.

GA Precision Non Typical, 300WSM 180 TSX

have to be thor my 700 bdl ss 338 rum or my steel hammer sendero in 7mm ultra or maybe my 8mm mag such a hard decision

I've used a 308 Win and have killed a couple elk with it...

Tannergun, tell us a little about this Coulter magnum. I think i'm over wildcats, but they still interest me.

Tannergun, tell us a little about this Coulter magnum. I think i'm over wildcats, but they still interest me.

Looks like a 300H&H AI.......aka....300 Weatherby sans radius......

There's really nothing new under the sun...

Hehe! I think you're close to being right Brad,as far as cartridges are concerned......if it fits within the confines of a bolt action rifle that can be carried easily by one guy and shot from the shoulder,it was pretty generally "all over" by 1965.........

Ain't been much new since then....just minor tuning....

That "minor turing" sure gets worked over here at the Campfire though, doesn't it! LOL!

.300 Wby Mag, Vanguard, 180 gr. Part. At 135 yds., first shot thru the lungs with extensive damage. Took off running, second shot in the spine, smashing around 6" and part of the back strap. Hind quarters dropped at spine shot. Still took some time for him to "give it up." Elk can be pretty tough; first shot was lethal and I'm sure he'd have gone down after a bit.

DF

Congrats on a beautiful bull. Did you score him? If so what did he score. Looks like a real big boy to me.

370.

awesome!

Always wanted to try the 370 Just kidding, good score on the rack

What rifle/cartridge/bullet would you choose???

- I would use a 225 grain Trophy Bonded. I sight it in 3.5" high at 100 yards.That is 3.5" low shot at a measured 300 yards.

What shots would you be willing to take with your cartridge of choice regarding range and angle??

-Range; First shot? Under excellent conditions I might go 400 yards if I got enough time to practice at that distance from field positions. Our range goes out to one thousand yards and I shoot that far occasionally. I seem to be able to hit targets at 600 yards with the .338 when I shoot that far.

-Angle; Depends too much on the conditions to say. The bullet I shoot is capble of doing any angle I might need. Of course, so is a 30-06 with any number of bullets, depending on what the rifle likes.

The point is instead of worrying about adequate let�s talk about what is the absolute best elk cartridge in the world??

-Of the rifles I have used on elk the .338 would be my choice. An important hunt is not the time to change IMHO.

I don't think there is a best cartridge. One "best" might be a well set up .338 Lapua or .340 Weatherby. A .300 Weatherby using 200 grain bullets also seems to have a lot going for it from where I sit.

Unfortunately, the rifles, weight and barrel lengths [not counting the huge scopes some folks need don't fit my hunting style and preferences well.

I've either guided or shot most of the cartridges in this thread, and agree with much of what has been said.

If one of the guys I'm guiding shows up with a big mag, that is great, but I'm going to find out immediately if he can hit the broadside of a barn with it at 200 yards.

If not, he's getting one of my 30.06 that I know will shoot out to 300. And he won't get a longer shot.

As a matter of fact, even guys who seem to shoot well won't get a longer shot unless I know he can make the shot consistently. Most people just don't shoot enough to hit anything smaller than a five gallon bucket beyond 200 and when you add fatigue (especially after multiple days), excitement, shot angles (specifically gradients of more than 15 degrees), and movement, you have a whole plethora of varibles that makes shooting an elk problematic.

Elk are big targets and I've seen bad shots drop them and cows without lungs run forever in nasty country. Wild animals are interesting and just like no one rifle is the perfect caliber for everyone, no two elk respond the same (necessarily).

Personally, after shooting and looking at a lot of rifles over the years, I'm a big fan of my .300 Wby. I love that gun, but I love all my guns and a bunch that I don't even own yet.