Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Caliber suggestions. New elk rifle

Oh, OK got it....thanks

Lotsa good stuff to choose from IMHO. 30/06,270,280,280AI.

On a magnum bolt face, 7RM or 300 Winchester.

Jeezus God,the girls have run the gamut of stupidity with this one. Long barrels and extry scoops of charcoal,increased performance do not make. They've got goat [bleep] BC's in some of the dumbest [bleep] chamberings,yet pulled out of an ass too! Wow.

Handy/dandy is where it's at for schlepping and boolit selection is where it's at for killing. You've the basis for a Skookum build in hand and yet are bent on [bleep] it up. The harder it kicks at the shoulder,do not equate to the harder it hits the victim on the downrange side of the equation and folks is always in a hurry to miss that. A 300Wby squirting the ladies 200NPT from a 26" spout,will have it's ass handed to it ala svelte 23" 280AI. Read that again and let 'er soak in. Now read it one more [bleep] time.

Simply roll a 9" twist spout that'll float in the inlet,bob to 23",stick the brake in your ass and live a little. M1 ele on the '10x goes without sayin'.

There...schit just got real [bleep] easy and if you ain't careful,you'll start being "Lucky" too.

You've been led to water.

Didn't know you had shot any elk, stick/boxer. I Could be wrong, but I don't recall any photos or stories of such excursions. Correct me if I am mis remembering on that point. Thanks.

I still consider the impressions and stated positions of full time proffesionsal elk guides and outfitters I have sold and booked hunts for to carry a lot of weight, and it is they who have said things like "Elk calibers START at 30/06 and go up from there" and "The best all around elk hunters Cartridge going, for those that can shoot it well, is the 340 Weatherby"

My guide in Alaska on my last hunt there also had high praise for the 340 Weatherby as "the best all around cartridge for hunting Alaskan big game" This guy guides from early Sheep season all the way through Moose and Brown Bear hunting seasons then traps and repairs Super Cubs all winter so might have a valid opinion based on lots of real world experience. Mine is certainly less than his with respects to Alaskan Game, but is considerable in this realm if one considers how many hunts I have booked for others and then learned from the reports or, was there assisting and observed the kills as well as Elk personal and vicarious hunts and my observations and preference match his and the other Elk Guides stated views closely.

Again, a lot of this comes down to WHERE one hunts and the distances one will encounter as well as how picky, choosey and person can afford to be with respects to shot placement. Not all hunters in all situations have the luxery of only taking shots if they are a perfect broadside presentation and an unmolested or unspooked animal.

As I see it, when the shot distances and angles deteriorate, the firearms neccesary caliber, bullet selection for penetration, and power - particularly penetration - through large amounts of bone and muscle, go up in correlation.

Stick.
All that typing.
You coulda just said a 270 WCF witha 130g Nosler partition.


dave

Think 7mm.

Spoken like an elk hunter.

I plan on carrying my 700 7mm08 with a Ti take off barrel and mcm edge for elk for my late season cow hunt. Light makes those long hikes a lot easier. Can't decide between 120tsx, 140 tsx or 162 amax. Either way i plan on busting shoulders.

There are two kinds of "elk hunters", those that drive around in a truck, and shoot at elk off the hood with a 12lb rifle, and those that sneak through aspens and timber, and carry an 8lb rifle...I have never hiked in the mountains and wished my gun weighed more.

Forgot to ask the OP, do you reload? If not i would sell what you have and go 7mm Rem in a 700. If you reload, the .280/.280ai would also work for you on your .473.

I really wanted to build a 338 rum or 340 bee for elk but if i ever did, i know i would leave it at home most of the time.

My 10lb 340 goes with me, all over the place, just fine. different strokes ya know. And yes, I do go all over the mountains and hills with it. As I ahve said before here, I think that a larger person with larger features might feel more comfortable packing a larger rifle. No empirical proof of this, just that I and a couple others of my size XXL but not fat freinds seem to be quite happy with our 10 pounders. Such a rifle might be a beast to carry for a fit but size size S,M or L person. Not sure, my theory at the moment.

Please do report back on the shoulder busting experiences on a big bull elk with the 162 A-Max..............behind the shoulder might be a better choice, just sayin'.

I can say the 120 TSX's don't bounce off though.........

MM

I know the TSX won't bounce off but I have seen enough evidence that I don't think the amax would either.

Well, you've seen what you've seen, but I've never seen a big bull elk shot through the shoulder (bone) with an A-Max, hence the request for show us what it does when you do it.

MM

Hence my late cow tag mention in my post.

I'm a size medium so I like my rifles light will less kick.

First Choice:
Build a 280AI with the receiver, bolt, and stock you have now.

Second Choice:
Buy a new magnum bolt from http://www.davidtubb.com/custom-bolt-right-hand-la-mag-bolt-face
then build one of these: 7RemMag, 7STW, 7Yukon, 7Mashburn, or 7Dakota

Note: Brakes on hunting rifles are gay !

A #3 rock on a .30-06 at 24-26" in length is the bomb for long and short range hunting. I ran a 27" barreled custom.30-06 for a long time. I killed bison, elk and deer at 500+ yards every year. Not one stopped a bullet and all were dead right there. If you need more than a .30-06, you need a lot more. There are PRECIOUS few gents that can run a magnum well at long range in the field under pressure.

Anyone can run a .30-06 and you don't have to worry about magnum eyebrow on difficult shots. I have seen a lot of bloody eyebrows from guys with too much gun that crawled the stock or shot at game on steep up hill angles. Flinch

ShootOne,

It's hard to argue with safariman and Flinch's logic.

I've come full circle.

Started deer hunting 27 yrs ago at the age of 16 with a 30.06. Dad owned a Pre-64 Model 70 in 30.06 Springfield. This was the ultimate, all-around big game rifle and caliber in his mind and he despised the 270. Who was I to argue.

A few years later I began hunting elk with a friend in college who owned a 300 Win Mag.

Shortly after that I owned a 300 and it was a heck of an accurate rifle. Took my first elk with it at a little over 300 paces and I was sold. Problem was it kicked like a mule but I didn't care at the time.

Now, at 43yrs old, and having owned several 300 mags, I have come to the conclusion that the good old ought-six would have done just fine in every situation I've found myself in as far as pulling the trigger on an elk is concerned. Furthermore, it kicks a heck of alot less and therefore is more pleasant to shoot. And, it is more practical for deer hunting, IMO.

Today, I own a great 270 Win(despite dad's razzing) and an awfully accurate 7mm Rem Mag amongst other calibers. In fact I hunted the 7mm last month during Utah's elk season. It too is a great all-around caliber.

But, when I chose a couple of years ago to build a custom the 30.06 got the nod.
Mine puts 180 grain Nosler Accubonds into itty-bitty groups at 2,830 fps and fits me like no other rifle I own. In fact, it was along for the ride this year out in Utah but, just so happens that I own several rifles now that I am ever so fond of and the 7mm Rem just happened to be in my hands when the hammer fell, so to speak.

Having said all this, if I was to build my custom all over again specifically with elk in mind I wouldn't change a thing, 30.06 would still get the nod. With modern powders and 165-180gr Nosler Partitions and Accubonds or 150-168gr Barnes T-TSX an .06 is essentially as effective as any 300 Mag would be in my book, at least to as far as I'm willing to shoot at elk is concerned(400 yds).

I no longer own a 300 win mag. It is a great caliber no doubt. But, IMO standard calibers are all that's needed today with the new powders and premium bullets we are fortunate to have in such variety and the 30.06 is at the top of my list.

Good luck with the build, Leftybolt

338-06 or AI is awesome. You get almost all of the performance of the WM w/ an added cool factor, less recoil and less blast.

Shoot1,

I have a friend in Montana who hunts elk A Lot, and has for over 30 years now. Gradually he has come to believe the .35 Whelen is the elk cartridge, and he owns two of them now (one blue/walnut and one stainless/synthetic). The .35 Whelen is a tad more efficient than the .338-'06 (I have owned both), and you can buy factory ammo easier.

jim