Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Buy me an elk rifle!

Couple o' 308's would work fine... If you want an elk rifle then by all means buy one... I would vote a vanilla Remington 700 in 338 and a 3-9 vx2 in talleys and go forth.. pimp it with a stock if you like...

Wild side roll up a Remington 700 classic in 350 rem mag, maybe a TI handle and tie your hat on... Leupold 6x36..
That is a 300 yard elk gun if there ever was one..... JMO

Could not find where you said if you handloaded or not... If not I begrudgingly vote 338........

W

First off, welcome!

If you truly want to be "prepared", spend a lot more time on physical conditioning, scouting, and shooting from field positions, and a lot less time worrying about what rifle or scope you use.

I'm firmly in the camp of those saying your Swede &/or .308's are well-suited to the task. You talk about penetration at 300 yards, and those cartridges will do just fine. As for efficiency, those cartridges are near the top of the heap.

If you wanted to explore the "ideal" part of things, you could poke a bigger hole with a .338 Fed or a .35 Whelen or .358 Win. A .300 WM or .338 WM would be an excellent choice, but the difference they'll offer is generally seen at distances past your 300 yard self-imposed limit (which I think is excellent! Knowing your limits, that is...).

Choosing a rifle and/or scope is an extremely subjective & personal choice. When a rifle "fits", you'll know it. Handle as many as you can, & choose the one that speaks to you. Same with scopes: look through a ton, & buy what YOUR eyes tell you. For 300 yards, I'd imagine anything from a straight 4x to a standard 3-9x40 would be plenty, but you may like something else. That's totally OK: you're out to please your eyes, not mine.

So, if one of your current rifles in 6.5x55 or above comes to your shoulder like lightning, points like a dream, has a trigger break that makes you giggle, and drops anything in its path lickety-split, then you've got your "ideal" elk rifle.

Remember, comfort breeds confidence, and confidence kills more elk than cartridge headstamps, or rifle/scope brands/models.

And before I forget, it's a requirement around here that you post pics of your elk.

Good Luck,

FC

+1.....if that bullet doesn't shoot, try 165 AccuBond's or 180's. Nothing will make an elk any deader out to 300 yards than what you already have...I'm not guessing....grin!

This old, mature 6X6 bull was killed by one of my hunters with his .308 shooting 165gr AccuBonds at 292 yards.

.270 x 150gr NP = Dead Elk.

Wrap an early Remington 700 around the bullet.

If I was going to tell you anything, it would be to pick a light rifle, like a Montana or a Tikka T3 Lite, and wrap it around whatever caliber suits your fancy from .270 Win up. I think a pretty good argument can be made for using a bullet .30 caliber or better. If you don't want any more recoil than necessary, maybe a 300 WSM would work well. Other good caliber options would be the 325 WSM or the 338 Federal.

Just remember...the cartridge only has to be 'adequate', but you are going to be carrying that rifle a whole lot more than shooting it, so try to keep the rifle as light as possible.

gun:tikka
chambered: 30-06/300WM,
bullet: nosler partitions/barnes triple shock 180/200 grain
scope: burris eliminator, ziess, luepold.

remember hunting elk is an expensive endeavor for an out of state person, DONT GO CHEAP ON BULLETS!

30-06 - 280 Remington - or 300 WSM

Nosler Partitions or Accubonds

Ruger Hawkeye, Tikka, Winchester Model 70, or Remington 700 (last)

6x42mm or 6x36mm Leupold or 2.5-8x36mm Leupold

Like I said.....lotsa "right" answers

I would want something under 8 pounds (so you can lug it around in elk country) and that doesn't kick you into next week,(because it's easier to be precise if recoil is not excessive),yet is fully up to the job.

For me it would be a M70 chambered for 7 Rem Mag or 7mm Mashburn (in a wildcat).I would shoot a good 150-175 gr bullet.

I know the OP said he doesn't want an "all around" rifle and cartridge, but it's hard to get past the fact that if it works on elk, it'll work on lots of other animals as well.

For a scope, for elk, I'd be content with about anything from a fixed 4X or 6X to a midrange variable topping out at 9-10x.They are large animals and it isn't hard to put a shot on the button at any reasonable distance.

How does one become one of your hunters, sir? Did that fellow bring that hat with him? It is nearly badass as his rifle and scope!

To the OP: there is no box. So, get a .257 Weatherby Magnum in an Accumark, mount a Leupold 3.5-10x40 LRT M1, practice a lot and then go someplace you can find an elk like the one in this picture.

I would look very closely at the Tikka T3 or T3 Lite in .300 WSM.

http://www.tikka.fi/t3models.php?hunter

I'll tell you what has worked for me for the last 16 elk I have harvested. It has been a model 70 (pre 64) with a Shilen stainless steel barrel laid in a Brown Precesion fiberglass stock. The glass on top is a Leupold 2.5 x 8. Of course your gun could be a 30-06, 7MM etc. caliber. If you are a reloader the bullet selection is much easier that the gun. Use a Nosler Partition and don't look back.

Thanks for the welcome and for the suggestions, guys. Looks like the .30-06 is the favorite, as it has been for years.



Yeah, that. What has me considering starting from scratch with a new rifle dedicated to elk was uncertainty about how that 165 grain bullet from a .308 would do on elk at 300 yards. That had me thinking of bumping up to 180 grains which had me thinking that something with more MV than the .308 might be a better choice.

The .30-06 is a step up, but it's only a little step and not sure it's worth taking... which had me wondering whether to stand pat or go for a new rifle. It's looking like consensus is that the 165 grain 180 grain both will be good choices in the .308 if I decide to stick with my old standby.



Thanks for that. I sight in for MPBR and try to limit my shots to ranges within that envelope.

Winchester M70 EW (Extreme Weather- stainless/sythetic stock) Zeiss 3x9x40 from Doug at Cameraland in Talley Lightweight mounts
30-06
270
300 Win Mag
300WSM
270WSM

Any of those calibers would be my reccomendation. Personally I like the 30-06, then the 270, but I'm an old fart trapped in a 30yr old's body.

If you wish to go light weight, the Kimber Montana in 30-06 or 270 would be great, again talley lightweights, but maybe a FX3 6x

Like this:



Weatherby Vanguard Back Country
Leupold FX3 6x42
.30-06
Handloaded 180 gr. Nosler Partitions

P

Elkyri, The elk wont know which head stamp is on your brass, if one of your 308s is lite enough to carry in the hills you're done.

Don't doubt your .308. This nice 6X6 was taken by a good friend at 488 yards with a .308. Hit broadside through both lungs, he never made it 10 feet. We waited for three hours for him to stand up. Finally he got up to stretch and change positions. I'll never forget how he looked when he stood there in the bright sunlight before the shot.

The 30-06 is only a step up if you are a handloader really. Most factory 30-06 loads are pretty much the same as a .308 velocity wise, talking factory ammo.

And I have seen elk drop like lightning from 150's in a 30-06, ballistic tips

That hat does demonstrate a bit of sartorial splendor, doesn't it!