Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Smallish bore rifles on elk?

Some shoot big pretty good. Most shoot smaller better.

Well you should.

I never hear anybody bragging about the shot they buggered, leaving a wounded animal out there a long way off. We all know this happens, and it happens to good shots, too.

Once the little bullets lose their energy on out, they don't perform well or expand at all, sometimes.

When I was a young married guy with a new baby things got very hard financially. I admit to poaching deer to feed my family back then and did it with a 22 LR. It worked.

Nobody here would be foolish enough to call a 22 LR a deer round.

Interesting thread, and the same old tired arguments every thread like this decomposes into.
This is also my favorite rant, so sit down, crack a beverage, and I'll add my experiences and observations, for what they are worth.
I've lived in western Colorado almost my entire life, and been blessed to hunt elk for the past 38 years. I started guiding at 19 and continued to work as a guide for almost 30 years, 9 as a licensed outfitter.
As has been recounted already, there was a time almost all the locals I knew used an '06, .270, 30-30, or .300 Savage. Throw in a few 30-40 Krag's my dad's .303 and the occasional surplus 8mm and you had most of the bases covered. About the only guys that used magnums back then were the city guys and dudes from states where there were no elk. There were some locals that used magnums, but I only knew one well, and he couldn't hit anything with it anyway.
I really preferred to see my clients show up with a standard rather than a magnum because most of them couldn't shoot one very well resulting in a lot of missed or poorly placed shots. With the old C&C bullets most hunters used, the magnums tended to tear hell out of a game animal, ruining a bunch of meat.
I have to say that the majority of guys I see shooting magnums would be better served with a standard of some sort, because they could shoot it with a much greater degree of accuracy. There are guys that can shoot a magnum with the same degree of accuracy as a 22-250, but they are still very much in the minority.
IMO, the main advantage in of a magnum is range. "Smallish" bore rifles, as this thread is about, are perfectly suitable for elk at normal elk ranges - 200 yards or less, and I would not hesitate to use them at 300, further than the average hunter can accurately shoot at anyway. The magnums, depending on caliber and bullet selection, can be used to kill elk out to 1K plus, but again, you have to place the bullets right - there is no avoiding good bullet placement.
I have been fortunate to shoot a lot of elk, 49 and counting. I started out with an '06 at 15, and quickly developed a flinch that took a lot of shooting with reduced loads to overcome. Over the years my elk rifles got bigger, 7 mags, numerous 30 cal mags, 338, 358 STA, .458 Win mag. They all killed elk just fine, but were mostly unnecessary. For the past 4 years I am back to a .270, .270 WSM, 7-08, and a 7 Rem mag that is mostly used for long range marmots.
Shoot what you want, for the most part it doesn't matter. If you shoot well, you will kill elk. If you don't shoot well, even a magnum can't save you.

There's all kinds of "elk hunting." Taking a bull in the back 40 or in plains country is a bit different than in the timber. In the timber I'm of the opinion it doesn't hurt to have a little more gas than, say, a 243. Certainly the 243 will work, but I'm generally convinced something like a 270 or 30-06, will work better more consistently.

Some shoot big pretty good. Most shoot smaller better.

This has been my experience also. Best i remember is a few guys being able to shoot 300mags and larger as well as they can shoot a 308 or 270.

The guy that claims he can shoot his 300Mag as accurately as his 270 is either a heck of a marksman or a heck of a liar....i'm thinking the latter.

I like this post (above) much better than your earlier one (below):

Bsa 1917hunter

"The guy" statement was not a blanket statement. It was directed at the fella in the link that i post along with that statement.That "guy" post more "unbelieveable" statements ,to put it nicely.

As has been posted in this thread by me and others some can shoot heavier recoiling rifles as good as they can shoot lighter ones. In my experience most cannot.

Having guided for several years, I'd a lot rather jave a guy show up in elk camp with a .25-'06 that he CAN shoot than a .375 H&H that he CANNOT.

In fact, I saw an outfitter take a .338 away from a hunter that had wounded two unrecoverable elk. He had the guy shoot the cook's .250 Savage ten times off a stump and they went elk hunting.

He got his elk ... took a dirt-nap with a single 100-grain Silvertip.

The next year, he showed up with a .25-'06 and proceeded to get his elk. And for several more years.

Anatomy, hitting the elk in precisely the right place, is vitally important when using any cartridge and/or any bullet.

Take your time, set up the shot, hit the elk right ... and the war is one with the FIRST ROUND. Ignore any of those steps and you are in for a long blood-trail and a bad experience.

God Bless,

Steve

PS. Have I used the .25-'06 on elk? Yep.

Used the Hornady 100-grain Interlocked on a few and double-lung shots killed wonderfully. I also shot a few with the 100-grain Nosler Partition ... they killed fairly quickly, but the Interlockeds killed faster and better.

Both bullet types exited the several elk from the angles I set up. Don't need heavier bullets when that happens.

Interesting thread, and the same old tired arguments every thread like this decomposes into.
This is also my favorite rant, so sit down, crack a beverage, and I'll add my experiences and observations, for what they are worth.
I've lived in western Colorado almost my entire life, and been blessed to hunt elk for the past 38 years. I started guiding at 19 and continued to work as a guide for almost 30 years, 9 as a licensed outfitter.
As has been recounted already, there was a time almost all the locals I knew used an '06, .270, 30-30, or .300 Savage. Throw in a few 30-40 Krag's my dad's .303 and the occasional surplus 8mm and you had most of the bases covered. About the only guys that used magnums back then were the city guys and dudes from states where there were no elk. There were some locals that used magnums, but I only knew one well, and he couldn't hit anything with it anyway.
I really preferred to see my clients show up with a standard rather than a magnum because most of them couldn't shoot one very well resulting in a lot of missed or poorly placed shots. With the old C&C bullets most hunters used, the magnums tended to tear hell out of a game animal, ruining a bunch of meat.
I have to say that the majority of guys I see shooting magnums would be better served with a standard of some sort, because they could shoot it with a much greater degree of accuracy. There are guys that can shoot a magnum with the same degree of accuracy as a 22-250, but they are still very much in the minority.
IMO, the main advantage in of a magnum is range. "Smallish" bore rifles, as this thread is about, are perfectly suitable for elk at normal elk ranges - 200 yards or less, and I would not hesitate to use them at 300, further than the average hunter can accurately shoot at anyway. The magnums, depending on caliber and bullet selection, can be used to kill elk out to 1K plus, but again, you have to place the bullets right - there is no avoiding good bullet placement.
I have been fortunate to shoot a lot of elk, 49 and counting. I started out with an '06 at 15, and quickly developed a flinch that took a lot of shooting with reduced loads to overcome. Over the years my elk rifles got bigger, 7 mags, numerous 30 cal mags, 338, 358 STA, .458 Win mag. They all killed elk just fine, but were mostly unnecessary. For the past 4 years I am back to a .270, .270 WSM, 7-08, and a 7 Rem mag that is mostly used for long range marmots.
Shoot what you want, for the most part it doesn't matter. If you shoot well, you will kill elk. If you don't shoot well, even a magnum can't save you.

Every guy I have known/met that could not shoot a magnum rifle could not shoot a standard rifle either. That's because they shoot about ten rounds a year.

I have always found that if a guy is a pizz poor shot he is just a pizz poor shot. Cartridge did not matter.

Dink

Here's the flip side.
I had this hunter once that showed up with a .338 Win mag, and he very calmly says he can shoot it. That's all he says.
We ride out to this little draw where I frequently see elk, tie the horses and walk to the edge. A raghorn 5 point gets up and trots up the opposite hillside, somewhere close to 200 yards.
Hunter is standing up aiming at the elk. Sit down, Sit Down! says I... Be Quiet! says hunter. WTF! My hunters don't tell me that!?
So I shut up, sit down, and watch through the bino's. He fires and whacks that bull right behind the shoulder, but a little low. I tell him where he hit, and he slowly fires two more. Both hit center of chest, right behind the shoulder. Elk just stands there until he tips over.
I am floored. Who shoots like that? Turns out he had been an instructor in the military. When we got over to the elk, all three of the shots were fatal, and I could cover the last two with my hand.
There are exceptions.

originally Posted By: Gravestone

The guy that claims he can shoot his 300Mag as accurately as his 270 is either a heck of a marksman or a heck of a liar....i'm thinking the latter.

Every guy I have known/met that could not shoot a magnum rifle could not shoot a standard rifle either. That's because they shoot about ten rounds a year.

I have always found that if a guy is a pizz poor shot he is just a pizz poor shot. Cartridge did not matter.

Dink