JB, top 3 cartridges for Elk and can you add your top 3 bullets?

Thanks!

I'm certainly not JB but if I may add my two cents.....(and yes, I'd like to read JB's response as well)
1. .338-06
2. .30-06
3. .35 Whelen

Since I hunt where non toxc bullets are required, I use Barnes TTSX in a middle weight in all three. I'd use them even if any bullet was allowed.
second choice in bullets is Swift a-Frame and Nosler Partition third.

By tthe amount I"ve used it, 7mm WSM with the 175gr A-Frame or Weldcore.

In terms of what I'd use now:
.375 WSM 300gr A-Frame (serious bear danger)
.300 WSM 200gr Terminal Ascent (moderate to low bear danger)
28 Nosler 155gr TAor possibly 175gr ABLR (extremely long shots expected)

I'll play:

300 Weatherby or 300 Win Mag--------both with 200 grain Nolser Partition

7 MM Reg mag------160 grain Nolser Partition

30/06------180 grain Nolser Partition

I use the 30/06

The rifle I shot the most elk with doesn't use a cartridge. Its good to see that modern technology has caught on though.
:-)

1. 300 Win Mag using 180 grain Partition or Accubond.

2. 30-06 using 180 grain Partition or Accubond.

3. 7mm Rem Mag using 160 grain Partition or Accubond.

Those 3 would be hard to beat. If I could only have one for all North American Big Game, I’d have to take the 7MM Rem Mag with the 160 gr Nosler Partition.

1. .338 Winchester Magnum, 200/225 gr NBT/AB
2. 7mm STW 160gr AB
3. .270 Winchester, 150gr NPT.
Bonus pick. Something in 30 Cal with a 180gr NBT. Doesn't matter much with 30 cal, just pick one. If you are going to make me pick, 300 WSM.

"top" can mean different things.
If it means recommended you'll get answers on not what's necessarily best, but what the person asked likes the most.

If "top' means historically most successfully used you'll get facts that are unarguable, but that's not to say something newer is not just as good. It just means the old ones had more time and have proven themselves beyond argument. Those 3 are going to be the 30-06, 270 Win and 7MM Mag, almost for sure. If it were top 5 cartridges I'd guess the 308 Win and the 300 Win Mag would be there too.


If I were to rate my "top cartridges" for elk I'd just have to do it by the numbers. In other words, the ones I have killed the most elk with (which doesn't make them better than what someone else used.)
My #1 is the 375 H&H
My #2 is very close (Probably within about 8 kills) to the same number of kills as my 375 is the 270 Winchester.

#3 #4 and #5 would be a toss-up among several others that I am unsure of the precise count, but the 30-06 is definitely going to be in my top 5.

So would "a blend" of the 300 H&H, 308 Norma mag, 300 Win, and 300 Weatherby Mag, all shot with bullets of the same weights going very close to the same speeds. I load for good consistency and accuracy and have found the 300s I've owned and used all seem to shoot best at about the same speeds (+ or - about 75 FPS) even if the larger shells can be driver faster.

Thinking back and trying to count elk kills, one shell that may be in my top 5 is the 44 magnum, fired from handguns but the 308 Winchester may beat it out. I am not totally sure, but I think the 44 may have a bit more, in my personal hunting history.
Now the higher number of kills doesn't mean they did better than some shells and bullets with a lower number of kills. It's just my personal history of what I used and when.

So "top" can be many things to many people.

Awful big bunch of JBs out there, apparently.
;),
Rex

(just ribbing you folks, I like hearing everyone's opinions. I've only killed three elk with a rifle myself and they were with .35 Whelen AI and .358 Win, if anybody cares.)

I’ve never killed one. Out of the rifles I own I’d take these. A well place shot is more important than cartridge choice.

338 Win mag
300 Weatherby
300 Win mag.

Second three would be

7 Rem mag
270 WSM
26 Nosler.

What range would y'all limit your shots to with a 180gr bullet in the '06?

That would really depend on your equipment, skill level and terrain where you hunt. Properly placed, the 180gr NBT will kill further than most here can shoot.

I love my Sako Bofors steel 338. She really hums with 225 grain North Forks loaded on top of RL19.

I have also shot em with 300 Win mag and 300 RUM. Both using Jack Carter Trophy Bonded Bearclaws @ 180 grain or 200 grain Accubonds.

Zero complaints from any of the elk.

Exactly.

I have personally killed elk with various stuff from a compound bow (using an "antique" 2-bladed broadhead) to various .300 magnums, including the .300 WSM, .300 Winchester and .300 Weatherby. Back when I was guiding, also used a .338 Winchester Magnum on a few, but only after they were hit already by something smaller, and might need to be anchored. But as it turned out none really needed it--or died much quicker, despite my using "premium" bullets such as the 225-grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw.

But have also seen a bunch of elk killed by others with various cartridges and bullets--which is one advantage of having spent time as a guide, and also a gun writer. Apparently some people believe that only animals you personally shoot count, but that's probably because not many get to observe others. Know an elk outfitter who had seen around 1000 taken, but only killed around half-a-dozen himself. Would take his word on elk cartridges over the opinion of most hunters.

It's been 56 years since I saw my first big game animal killed, and 55 since I took my first, a mule deer doe with my father's Marlin .30-30. Since then have hunted on 3 continents and a few other places, such as the North Island of New Zealand, including around 6 months in Africa on various safaris, which included hundreds of big game animals, due to some being "cull" hunts.

The conclusion I've come to is that cartridge, caliber and bullet don't matter all that much, as long as the bullet penetrates and expands sufficiently. Have seen elk killed with at least two dozen cartridges from the .257 Roberts on up. They all worked when the bullet worked. My old friend Layne Simpson once wrote that "Some say the .270 Winchester isn't adequate for elk. If you can't shoot, it isn't. If you can, it is." That's been my experience as well.

Killed my biggest bull with a .30-06, which is also what I used years ago when first getting serious about elk hunting, in the thick timber near the Idaho Panhandle. Still wouldn't hesitate to hunt elk anywhere with the combination I started using back then, the 200-grain Nosler Partition and H4831--though back then the bullet was the original "semi-spitzer" model.

Just to add to the question, out of idle curiosity, are your choices dependent on the situation? What I mean is, I get the impression from some of these answers that people are planning for long shots. Is that typical of elk hunting? Or do conditions vary, and perhaps rifle choices vary to match?

We don't have your elk here, but we have a deer nearly as big, and very tough, called the Sambar (aka Asiatic Elk). These tend to occupy more or less thick bush, and opportunities tend to be closer, more fleeting, and maybe at a deer which is already on its way. As well, if you don't drop them right there they can disappear into thick blackberry or lantana and be a bugger to find and even to follow up.

Now there may be times you'll get opportunities at undisturbed deer, but there's a good argument in favour of something that will do the job even when you don't. As a result while something like a .30/06 will do (and I've successfully used it) there'd be a fair proportion of blokes choosing calibres like .338 and even up to .458, with suitable bullets, especially the blokes who have the deer pushed up by hounds.

Are there considerations like these for elk?

I've never seen an elk "anchored," that wasn't spine hit. But I've only seen the one's I've shot. I have never seen any other hunters shoot one.

They did seem to travel less distance with a 50cal hole than a thirty cal hole.

They're amazing animals. Saw one run straight down a boulder strewn cliff once. Wasn't shot, just spooked. I don't blame folks for going big. For me, I just can't take too much recoil.

Dan,

The answer is, well, it depends. A lot of Colorado and Wyoming is mixed terrain. You can go from dark timber to lodge pole pine, walk into sage on the end of a ridge and glass the aspen at the base of the next ridge over that's across the meadow between that ridge and the one you're standing on.

Elk graze at night and generally head to the heavy timber during the day. I hate hunting heavy timber and heavy brush, but my in-law's kill plenty of elk in those conditions. I prefer to hunt the open area's in the morning and evening, especially those with water on the higher end of their elevation range for the weather conditions. Bad weather can help move them around during the day. We've killed more than one in a snow storm. So most of the time when you see elk during hunting season, it will be at dusk or dawn, in timber, bad weather, or they will be moving because they were pushed out by other hunters.


Growing up we hunting public lands with heavy hunting pressure, so just about every elk you saw was moving. If you wanted for the "perfect shot" that everyone talks about, well, you would never kill anything, so filling tag involved expecting suboptimal shots and arming yourself accordingly. That means big magnums with big bullets that can reach the spine or vitals regardless of the shooting angle. In contrast, if you get some of the private land tags available here in Colorado, a .257 Roberts is more than sufficient for shooting a cow off the ranchers alfalfa field, I just don't suggest if for more challenging conditions. Most guys who hunt wild public lands will tell you a .270 Winchester with a 150gr Nosler Partition is about the minimum for such conditions, with the edge going to something in the 300 to 375 WM range.



Here's an example of some Elk Country I've hunted:

Anchoring an elk with a spine shot's a very valid strategy. Often times in timber you can only see part of the elk, and usually not the parts you want. In such scenario's it's best to put on in the spine, anchor them to the ground so you can maneuver for a finishing shot.

The 30-06 with 200gr partition is one of my favorites as well.

Hi antelope sniper

Thanks for that, a very good answer about the mix of conditions. Spectacular scenery in that photo too.

FWIW I'm a fan of spinal shots, and I've used them to very good effect on a variety of game, usually either through the shoulder blade or base of the neck If the opportunity is there it tends to put them straight down, even from full gallop.

A S

Thanks for that fantastic PIC.




I've never had the pleasure or privilege to even hunt let alone kill an Elk. We have an Elk Hunt drawing here in Ark. and I've entered it for 22 yrs in a row ---NO joy.

Having said that, I've been planning & prepping for an Elk hunt, even had one planed in 1986 for Co. Didn't get to go.
My ideas have changed quite a bit -- SINCE participating here and 'listening' to the experience of others.

MY, personal pick TODAY for any Elk hunt IS the 7mm Rem Mag and 160 N P or better bullets.
I'm confident using it and have killed numerous WT with it.

I'm 71 y o and have a long history with rifles and cartridges. I bought an 8mm R M yrs ago, the product of reading hunting and rifle magazines. I've been a LONG TIME fanatic of the 300 WM - have had several.
I've learned the 270 Win is plenty capable with good bullets and good marksmanship.

HOWEVER in the last few years I've decided that - for me - the 7mm RM is nearly the perfect BG cartridge for North America.

I like your post as well as the PIC.

Thnx

Jerry

Mr. Dan

In response to your question in another post:
"I get the impression from some of these answers that people are planning for long shots. Is that typical of elk hunting? Or do conditions vary, and perhaps rifle choices vary to match?"

My pick is the 7 mm RM - for Close 12' (feet) to 400 yds. I've killed WT at 12' and it was with the 7 RM.
So for me the range & conditions don't matter.

I also like your posts as well.

Thnx

Jerry

Is the .30-06 and .300 mag too close to matter, especially with a range finder and elevation turret?

Same with the 7 mag?

Sako

IMO - yes....IF you have time to use them.


Jerry

Winner, Winner... Based on an unscientific tally of responses to the 24HCF thread "What rifles have you used to kill elk?" back in early 2019, rank ordered:

1) 30-06
2) 270 Win
3) 300 WM
4) 7 RM
5) 338WM
6) 308 Win

Those 6 chamberings covered almost half of the 450 responses mentioned in that thread...

6.5 Man-bun not included in the list?

From the survey....

"Those 6 chamberings covered almost half of the 450 responses mentioned in that thread..."

the 'man bun' wasn't in 50% of the responses.


Jerry

7mm-08.

Elk ain’t armor-plated.

30-06
300 WM
375 Ruger

Your post was sounding very nostalgic JB, don't go sunset on us.

Generally the 300 Mag will net you an additional 200 to 250 fps over the '06 with a 180gr bullet. If you move up to 200 gr bullets, you're looking at a mv of 2650 vs close to 3k. In my experience keep around a muzzle velocity of 3k provides optimum bullet performance for the ranges where most of the killing get accomplished.

In general, I do not like heavy for caliber lower velocity loads behind traditional spitzer bullets, or even the old Nosler partitions, before Nosler softened the front portion for shooting elk. Elk are big critters with lots of real estate so you want a big bullet that opens quickly so the work performed is proportional to the task at hand. To illustrate this, let me tell you one of those elk hunting stories you never see on the internet.

This was about 25 years ago, before the current iteration of the .284 160gr Nosler partition. My cousin was shooting a weak load of H4831 behind said 160gr NPT. As I recall, it was below book minimums and I doubt it reached 2900, I but can't be sure because he never let me chronograph it. You can't quite see where this happened in the picture above, but you could if you faced about 40 degrees to the left. We were on our evening hunt, he was hunting one ridge with his brother-in law, and I was hunting a couple ridges over with Dad. We hear shooting, followed by the "I got something" sequence. We headed over to the trail there were on and met up with my cousin and his BIL. My Cousin had hit a cow, and they were trying to work out the trail and find it. It was a decent, but spotty blood trail. We followed it as far as possible with flash lights, but had to call it and come back and resume in the morning.

We picked up in the morning and found her just as the fresh of the morning air began turning to heat. It turned out the hit was an angling shot, it caught the lower back portion of one lung and exited through the guts on the other side. On lower lung hits, elk lungs tend to not to fill up with blood as well as center punched or higher lung hit, since the blood drains out the bottom. This lets the rest of those massive lungs continue to carry them a long ways, in this case close to 2 miles before she laid down at edge of steep drop.

As for longer distance elk hunting strategies, I feel a lot of that grew from the observation that elk don't like to stand around as much as deer. When observed in daylight hours, they tend to be moving, do you better know your dope and be ready to get on the cross hairs and trigger. If however, you can observe then in the distance beyond the range where they can detect you, that can provide enough time to actually plan and set up your shot. Just make sure you hit 'em well, and put a second shot into 'em, or be prepared to track 'em for 2 miles.

Keep in mind, by the time Rifle Season rolls around it's after the rut, and the elk have been bugled, poked and smoked for two months by the archers and muzzle loaders. The dumb one's are already on the grill, wrapped in bacon. Those that remain are magnificent, cunning beasts on full alert ready to bolt at the first sound or smell.

That's all the time I have for now...

Interesting - I always like to hear (and follow) MD's comments/recommendations on hunting and shooting!

I have hunted elk with 350 RM, the 338 Win Mag - both with 250 grain partitions, the 7mm RM - 150 grain partitions and the 308 with 180 grain Grand Slams (I don't recall if anything else.)

Living in South Dakota getting an elk tag here is a once in a life time event, if ever. So, I have not had near the hunting elk experience as many, I've hunted in South Dakota (once), Colorado a few times, Idaho and Wyoming. I've applied several times for New Mexico - no luck in NM so far.
I've shot more with the 338 and 250 grain Nosler Partitions than anything else. But I'll not carry the 338 again as I've sold my last one! I think it is more than needed and I have arthritis, bursitis and am getting old as dirt.
I've hunted in thick timber and I think my 350 RM is very good choice for that. In Colorado and Idaho, the distances were greater on average than other places, though I stumbled upon a nice bull at about 40 to 50 yards once on a mountain top in Colorado - up to 300 yards was much more of a possibility.
I don't think I'd ever go smaller than a 270, a 308 was on par with a 270 I think. I'd feel fully gunned with a 270 and a bullet that would penetrate and expand - maybe a 140 grain partition or maybe a TTSX? But I'd have no issue with some one who'd use a 6.5 or a 25 caliber with enough experience, correct bullets and with a cartridge with enough power.
One thing I've noticed is distances possible in sighting elk due to the change of hunting area/state... Mostly in Colorado the distances were longer than other places. Where I've hunted in Wyoming the distances varied from 75 yards to 300 yards. The bull I shot in South Dakota was perhaps 60 to 75 yards, I stayed out with my brother during that hunt and if I had not filled, I would have had opportunity to shoot a different nice bull at maybe 300 yards or so.

I've applied for elk license in several states as usual and often have drawn nothing, at least on first draw. I did draw a cow license in Wyoming on a second draw this year. The rifle I'll use may well be what I consider good for 300 yards this time. I'm in a quandary as to what rifle I am leaning to, a 7mm RM with 150 or heavier partitions which may win out, but I really like my 300 Weatherby with 200 grain partitions. But a 300 Win Mag, 35 Whelen, a 300 H&H, a 30-06, a 280 or a 270 is possible. The area where I'll be hunting is fairly open with short pines, a few draws and some low hills (no mountains this time).

(300 yards or there-abouts is my self imposed limit. Bringing a shooting bench has never crossed my mind - though I saw some blow-hard dude from back east bring one out and set up in a camouflaged tent once in Wyoming. He bragged that he was going to shoot a bull at 1,000 yards - he went home empty handed.)

I think if you want to be an elk hunter, live where they licenses are plentiful.

West Texas, no draw ,free range, all you need is a Texas hunting lic. no Elk lic. required no limit on the # you can take, you may have to pay a rancher to hunt their place, or get a outfitter that has access to were the Elk are. Rio7

We have a few on our deer lease, never had a desire to kill one. They are way the hell bigger than they puny whitetail deer we have.

+1

This is exactly my choice, in both calibers and bullets. I'd have to add 338WM to the list of cartridges. My wife and I both hunt Elk in Colorado where we live. I started with the 338WM and then years later switched over to the 35 Whelen. My wife started with the 7mmRM and has also switched over to the 35 Whelen. I could use the 30.06 and be very happy, but I'm a big bore/heavy bullet kind of guy, so I like the 35 Whelen. I have just bought a 338-06 and intend to use it on my next Elk hunt just for the fun of it.

I use 250 gr. Nosler Partitions, and my wife uses 225 Trophy Bonded Bearclaws. Those two bullets plus Swift A-frames are my choices for game larger than deer. I've only used the SAF on Moose here in Colorado, but would have been happy with any of the three. We've never used the SAF on Elk. Very early in our Elk hunting we used 250 gr. Remington Core Lokt with no problems.

I have a couple of female friends who hunt Elk here in CO with their 25.06s, and they are generally successful, so no knock on lesser calibers than what we use. To each their own!

,340 Wby

.338 RUM Both loaded with a 250 grain Nosler Partition.

.30/06 loaded with the 180 grain Nosler Partition.

I live in SD and had 5 elk tags and if guys like Bugger quit putting in maybe I could get another. 2 bulls with the 300 win mag and 180 gr NPT's
1 bull and a cow with the 35 whelen 225 npt's. Next one will drop with my old 7 mm mag and some old screw machine 175 NPt's. 30-06 or 270 would have killed any of them. Mb

My top three for elk are the 280AI with 160NP, 30-06 with 180NP or 300WM with 200NP. Swift A Frames and Barnes TTSX are also great choices. Where I do most of my hunting the Grizzly population is pretty healthy so I don't want to carry anything too low on the power scale. I've taken elk with the 270, 06, 300WM and 9.3x62. Have yet to connect with the 280AI, as it's fairly new to me. Hope to take care of that next season.

Most of the elk I've taken have been with the 270, which is what I started out with at 12 yrs old. With that rifle I mainly used factory ammo 130 or 150 gr rem core-lokt and then started using 150NP when they were available.

I've never felt like any of these cartridges were lacking in any way to kill elk. Hit one in the boiler room with a 270 and it's going to do a lot of damage. Even a smaller cartridge like the 270 is no pop gun. I like the 9.3x62 but I hunt in mixed terrain where I often see elk at some distance and usually want something with a bit flatter trajectory. Also not a real fan of the stock on that rifle and don't like to cart it around the steep mountains much.

Never hunted elk. They were hunted to extinction here in Missouri with muzzle loaders in the 1860s. Apparently a .58 Minie ball is adequate.

The cow Eileen killed with a .257 was taken on a damage hunt on a local ranch, because the local herd was coming off of public land to raid alfalfa fields at night. But they only came out at night--and though we were the only people hunting during the period, there had already been 3 hunters ahead of us. That's the way the Montana department often arranges damage hunts: One hunter gets to hunt the place until killing an elk, then the next person on the list gets called.

Consequently by the time Eileen got called it resembled hunting public land more than private. It took us 4 days to get her a shot during legal light, because they were on public land most of the day--where her hunt wasn't legal. Only near dark did they start filtering down toward the fields.

On the 4th evening it finally came together. We found the narrow draw through thick timber they were using, and managed to get within about 100 yards of a cow that stood quartering away uphill on the far side of the draw, There wasn't time to wait for the "ideal" broadside shot, so Eileen aimed for the far shoulder. I expected the elk to go 30-50 yards before keeling over, but instead it dropped right there, flopped its head a couple times, and lay still. It turned out this was because the 100 TTSX cracked the bottom of the spine on its way to the shoulder--where we found it under the hide, close to 3 feet of penetration. In fact, it was a LOT like most of the public-land elk hunting we do.

Five years later she killed a huge old cow--as big as many mature bulls--in a cattle pasture on another damage hunt. But that time she used her "big rifle," a custom lightweight .308 with the 130-grain TTSX handloaded to around 2900 fps. This time the cow quartered toward us at around 250 yards, and Eileen put the bullet just above of the big shoulder knuckle. That cow did manage to go about 20-25 yards before falling, but it was obviously dead on its feet. The bullet broke the thick leg bone and, again, angled through both lungs before ending up under the hide in the middle of the far ribs.

Hello John, I know you’ve hunted alotta locales, you ever hunt western wa or nw Oregon? Thanks jud

Nope, the closest I've come is NW Montana, in the steep, thick-timber country near the Idaho Panhandle. Don't know how it compares, but a 100-yard shot is pretty rare, and most are less than 50--often much less.

Copy that, been in those locales as well. Does locales dictate your cartridge?

To a certain extent, but the possible presence of grizzlies tends to affect my choice more. They're far more widespread and numerous in Montana than when I started hunting--which is another way locale affects the choice!

What’s the deal with grizzlies during elk season in Montana? At what point do they start hibernation, if at all? Are grizzlies located throughout Montana?

So the minimal chance of a grizz encounter trumps all else? Just curious, Hunted around grizz lots,never gave grizz a second thought.

Hibernation should be late November give or take, depending on weather and available food. Snowfall and terrain/available food are quite a bit different from say NW Montana to SW Montana. With wolves now being in the mix, some grizzly bears may stay out longer if they can take over kills from the wolves. Heavier snow at the right time would probably send them to the den.

Grizzlies could show up just about anywhere in western Montana and for some distance east of the rocky mountain front out onto the prairies in some areas. May even show up in or near mountains in central Montana. Eastern Montana shouldn't have any at this point.

I'm sure they are reestablishing populations in Idaho. They can also be found in NE and NC Washington and there are even a few rare ones to be found in the Cascades. They can cover large distances and some wander.

Judman,

No, the "minimal" chance of a grizzly encounter doesn't trump all else.

I have hunted (and fished) a lot around grizzlies from Montana to Alaska, and aside from being bluff-charged more than once, had one try to take a freshly-killed moose away from me in British Columbia. (Have also taken one grizzly, in Alaska.)

One factor here in Montana is that it's been almost 30 years since we had a hunting season, and many bears have lost any fear around people--one reason we generally have at least one mauling a year, often fatal. Last fall I had a mule deer doe tag in an area where there was a chance of encountering a grizzly, so used a little more gun than I would have otherwise, my NULA .30-06 with 175-grain Barnes LRX's. It worked fine on the doe, with typical minimal meat damage.

These days the chance of a grizzly bear encounter in the North Cascades is slim but not impossible. In several units in NE Washington, hunters must pass a grizzly bear / black bear identification test before hunting those units. But a close encounter in Montana years ago prompted me to bump up from my trusty .308w to a .338 WM, which was a poor shooter perhaps a lemon. I traded it for a .35 Whelen and never looked back until smitten with the Weatherby bug in 2010. I have seen various hunters in and out of our group use several calibers over the years but a few stand out. My son and my long time pard in crime both use 7mm Rem Mags with great results. A couple of us use .300 Weatherby Magnums and 7mm Weatherby Magnums, too.

My top picks for elk cartridges are:
.300 Weatherby with 168 gr TTSX or 175 gr LRX
7mm Weatherby or Remington magnums with 160 tbbc or 150 TTSX .
.35 Whelen loaded with 225 gr Partitions or Trophy Bonded Bear Claws or any 250 gr bullet.

Of course the other cartridges close to those are perfect as well. I list those because I’ve killed or seen killed several dump truck loads of elk with them. My friend who owns the ranch we hunt on in Colorado has killed way more elk than I can imagine the last 50 years or so with his .300 Win Mag and of late, his .300 WSM loads with 180 gr Partitions and Accubonds. I may hunt with my .275 Rigby some this year.

Best of luck in your hunts!

From one of JB's previous posts, it appears that he and I started hunting about the same time. I killed my first deer in 1965 and my first elk in '66. He's obviously done way more hunting than me, but I have killed my share of elk, and have gone on a dozen international hunts.

Like others have posted, I believe that bullet placement is by far more important than the size of the cartridge or the diameter of the bullet. I have friends that have killed dozens of elk with their .22-250 or .220 Swift. and another friend back in Colorado whose wife got her elk every year with her .243 Win.

I've enjoyed shooting at our local range almost every Wednesday for almost 40 years. I started this routine mainly to shoot Trap or Skeet, but in recent years I've added shooting 1 to 3 rifles, prone, at the steel gongs that we have out to 430 yards. Even with all of this practice, of the hundreds of big game animals that I've shot, there are only a handful (and no elk) that I've shot at over 300 yards.

So in response to the original question of this Thread, I'll list the cartridges and bullets that I've shot elk with, working down from the cartridge that I shot the most elk with:

.30 Gibbs, 180 grain Nosler Partitions, 21 elk
.30-06, 150 grain Hornady Spire Points and 180 grain Sierra Spitzers, 8 elk
.300 Weatherby, 168 grain Barnes TSX and TTSX, 2 elk
.30-40 Krag, 200 grain RN soft point?, 1 (my first elk)
.257 AI, 117 grain Sierra GameKing, 1
7 mm Rem Mag, 160 grain Nosler Accubond, 1
Recurve bow, Bear razor insert broadhead, 1

I've lived, worked, and hunted in grizzly country since 1975 and so far I've only had one grizzly encounter while hunting, and that was because we had the quarters of 2 elk and a moose hanging in the stock rack in the back of my truck. I respect bears, but I don't choose my deer, elk, or sheep hunting cartridge with bears in mind.

This has been a great thread. Thanks for all of the replies!

I am planning a once in a lifetime hunt for Elk in 2022. Fingers crossed and God willing that it will pan out!

The reason for my inquiry is this. I hunt mostly beanfields and heavy cover swamps / bottomland hardwood. The very first centerfire that I owned and my dad bought for me is a 700 BDL in .30-06. It cost $135.00 back in the early seventies and it came with a leather sling that I still have with the receipt.

My other rifles that might deserve consideration for Elk are .257 WM, 7-08 (20" barrel), 6mm rem and .350 rem mag. Also have a Sako mannlicher carbine in .308

After reading this and other sources, it looks like it may be time to blow the dust off of the '06. I think I will restock the original wood stock, maybe buy new trigger and put a scope on it.

John,

Thanks for sharing that story. The image of Eileen piling up that cow with a CNS shot put a smile to on my face.

I agree with those that said it depends on the terrain where you're hunting as well as the expected pressure. I've been hunting elk since 1980 and have missed very few seasons since. My hunting has been conducted in Colorado on private land, usually right at timberline. Therefore, shots could be anywhere from 40 feet to 400 yards or more. Although I've never shot at an elk that was further than 400 yards, there have been many times where I've watched elk that were further than that and I suppose a really good, long range shooter might be able to down one at distances much further than that. The pressure is also a factor, since as others have said, on public land it is difficult to find elk that are undisturbed and you might need to take a less than ideal shot. Therefore, you want something that can punch through a big bone to get to the vitals.

In any case, my first elk was shot with a 7x57 and many more fell to the 30-06, 270 Win, 338 WM, 300 Wby, and the 7mm RM. I've been with many others that have used a wide variety of cartridges from the 243 Win on up to .308 and the various 300 Magnums. I've even carried my 416 RM on an elk hunt but never killed anything with it. That particular hunt I passed on a long range shot on one of the largest bulls I've ever seen, but would have taken the shot had I had my .300 Wby.

In my estimation, for my hunting, I think the ideal cartridge is the .338 WM, followed by the 300 magnums, and if recoil is a concern, the 30-06 or 308 Win. Smaller cartridges will do, for sure, but I've seen elk hit with them that went quite a ways but if hit with the -06, probably wouldn't have gone as far. Of course, the one caveat to all of this is that many of these elk were killed before most of us started using premium bullets. However, my top three still hold for me. The use of premium bullets just makes them that much more effective.

test

'For Me' I hunt mixed terrain & topography for WT. I generally hunt the rifle I'm in the MOOD to hunt.
I've taken magnums to Creek bottom thickets and Pine Plantations (thick pine growth on paper lands).
As I said earlier I've killed WT at 12' (feet) with a 7 RM, so the terrain makes no diff to me.

I agree that the 270 and lesser cartridges have KILLED elk and larger animals.
I prefer the 7 Mag and the like for the FLATTER trajectory - it makes hitting your POA quicker & easier.
Out to 400 yds there's no need to:
Range
Read Chart
Twist turrets
THEN aim.

See my sig line.


Jerry

I am implied to come to two possible conclusions on elk hunting

1)I need to hire atleast two gunbearers so that I may have immediate access to atleast three rifles dependant on the arrising situation where I see a legal Elk.

2) with relatively minor behaviroal changes, hunt them like I do whitetails and use a a" typical rifle I would encounter while deer hunting

Gitem12 - #2 will work in almost every case. People usually overthink all of this, but that is sort of the usual here on the campfire. However, the OP did ask for the top 3 cartridges and we are all just giving our opinions.

The best elk guides usually tell their clients from back east to bring whatever deer rifle they use back home. In 9 out of 10 cases, that rifle will suffice. Will it be the "best?" Who's to say? As long as the elk is dead, you'll think the cartridge was just fine unless you end up tracking a wounded elk for miles. However, if you don't recover that wounded elk, you'll question the effectiveness of any cartridge short of a bazooka!!!

Around 30 years ago I hunted black bears in the northern end of the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Ran into an outfitter I knew a little, because his parents lived in the same small town I did. This guy carried a .375 H&H as his back-up rifle while guiding, and I asked him if it was because of grizzlies.

He said, "Nope, it's to finish off elk clients gut-shoot with their brand-new .338s!"


Which of course doesn't mean that veteran elk hunters who like the .338 can't handle one. But his observation was that too many clients who'd never hunted elk before left their .270, .308 or .30-06 "deer rifle" at home and bought a special "elk rifle"--and shot it just enough before the hunt to start a good flinch.

The other interesting thing that happened on that hunt was I saw more grizzlies than black bears--three decades before the grizzly population rose to its present level.

I have only killed elk with three diffeernt cartridges and since they worked fine, I will list them.

1. .308 Win -150 and 165 gr cup and core, If I were to use it now it would be with 150 gr NPT or TTSX's.
2. .30-06 180 Nosler Partitions. I suppose I should try some 200 gr Noslers but have no real reason too.
3. .338 Win Mag 225 gr TBBC HE (yes, I still have some)

I have a 7x61 and some .300 magnums plus a .35 Whelen. I sometimes carry those when hunting spike only 3% hunts. I don't pull a branch bull tag very often though so when I do, I stick with the first three..

That was a fine factory load. Finished off one elk with it while guiding, way back when the load was still new--which was quite a while ago!

Great choices dancing bear. Ive used 30-06, 300 mags, 338wm (with 250gr and 225gr pills), 9.3x62mm with 286gr partitions. The 338wm and 30-06 are still my favorites. Ive seen many other elk killed by various other cartridges like 30-30, 270win and 308 win. All have worked very well when hit in the boiler room. Im wanting to try my 7mm08 this year. Probably with some ttsx bullets.

It put a smile on my face as well! Even though the marginal CNS shot was only a by-product of the elk's posture.

It was 10 at night before we got the cow out. After we did the basics, I hiked out about a mile uphill to get our Neet-Kart while Eileen kept working on the elk. It took two trips, and when I came back for the second half it was getting pretty dim, and I was starting to think about the local grizzlies, since the breeze was blowing uphill into the typical damp draws where they hang out that time of year. But we managed, even though our average age at the time was 63.

Am not particularly anxious about hunting in grizzly country, having done it so often in various places, including Montana, Alberta, British Columbia, Alaska and the Northwest and Nunavut Territories.

But have learned that being over-prepared is better than under-prepared--partly from Phil Shoemaker. Had an interesting encounter with a BIG female brown bear with Phil when fishing with him in 2009. A nitwit tourist chased the sow down toward us from upstream, actually running after the bear and shouting at it to stand still, while wielding her point-and-shoot digital camera at the bear.

The bear ended up running through the willows and alders next to the stream, and coming out about 15 feet from me and Phil. I actually got a couple photos--while Phil drew his handgun and bear spray. After a few seconds of stiff stand-off, the bear turned back into the brush....

However, Phil also remarked on the same trip, when we were hunting ptarmigan, that after Eileen flushed a brown bear in a nearby patch of alders, that she set a women's world record for the backwards 20-yard dash while carrying a 28-gauge!

Now that’s funny ^^^^^^^

Thnx
Jerry

A rifle chambered in 30-06 is "the everyman's elk rifle." It just doesn't really get better. I like the idea of using the rifle your dad bought you. Put it in lighter fiberglass and you've got all you need to know about an elk rifle.

Thanks Brad. Yep, going full circle with the '06. When I got it, I remember thinking that this is the only rifle that I will ever need! As soon as I find out if I am definitely booked for the hunt, I will order a scope for it then it's range time. After that I will re stock it and start serious load development after I get some dies. I can't believe it is almost 50 years old. Last time it was hunted was a few years ago when my son and I hunted black bear with hounds. He killed a bear with it and it sure felt good to see it used again. He is in medical school now!

The TBBC bullets have been very impressive when I have used them. .308-165 gr, .30-06 180 gr HE and 225 gr HE.

They can be tough to find a rifle they work well in, When you do you can eat right up to the hole.

I'm still using my Remington 700 in 30/06 that I bought new back in 71. It's killed every elk @ 30 with the exception of 1 that I killed with a 54 T/C Renegade. Use 180 grain bullets. It's hard to beat the factory Federal 180 grain Nolser Partition. No real reason to handload unless you want to.

Thanks bob, I think I have a box of those squirred away. I will see how they shoot

30-06
30-06
30-06

I’ve used 270, 30-06 and 300wm, all of them worked just fine. If I were living in the lower 48 these days and focused on elk hunting, I’d take a 30-06 loaded with 180g accubonds behind a nice charge of rl17 going ~ 2800+ FPS.

This is where I'm at. I've got a 30-06 now I'd like to try and maybe the 200gr Partition would be a good fit for me. I've used a 308win lots in the past and 45-70 a few times. At those closer distances the 45-70 levergun may be the ultimate in handling and weve also had your bears show up at times over here. They're becoming more frequent.

That's again John.

That the perfect story to start the morning!

When I turned 18, my Dad said that he would buy me any center fire rifle I wanted (within reason, meaning Winchester, Remington, Ruger, etc.) to hunt with. Up to that point, I'd been borrowing rifles from him to use. Keep in mind that this was a loooong time ago (about 1984). I asked him what caliber he would get. He told me he would go with either the 30-06 or the 7mm Rem. Mag. He said ammo would always be available for either and they would both have adequate power for elk. My Uncle, who was an enthusiastic hunter, had a Rem. 721 in 30-06 and was always regaling me with stories of his "mythical" 30-06. So, because ammo was cheap for the -06 and I couldn't see anything not to like about it, I went with the M70 in 30-06.

I probably killed a half dozen elk with that rifle, but after one elk ran off about 50 yards after I shot him with the 06 and 180 gr. bullet before dying, I decided I needed a bigger hammer and bought a .338 Win. Mag. I do like the .338 and it has been very good for me, killing quite a few elk, among other animals. But what I soon realized was that elk don't usually drop to the shot unless you hit them in the brain or spine, and they surely didn't drop to the shot with the .338 most times. However, it killed them just as dead as the -06 did. So...long story to say that I realized back then that the 30-06 is hard to beat and has plenty of oomph to kill any elk there is. 180 gr. bullets are more than adequate. You don't need a wonder cartridge to kill an elk, even the biggest elk. However, if you're a rifle loony like me, you'll always be trying something new, but you don't need to.

And, just to add to MD's post about the outfitter needing a .375 to finish off the gut-shot elk shot by clients with new .338 rifles. MD is exactly right and I've seen it myself with many friends over the years. The .300 magnums and above take a bit to get used to and many develop a flinch because of it. Not to say that they aren't good cartridges and that you can't learn to shoot them well. It's just that if you have no real need for a larger cartridge other than your once in a lifetime elk hunt out west, you'll be better off using your deer rifle in almost all instances. Personally, I'd stay with the 7-08 or 7x57 as the smallest cartridge to use for elk hunting, but I know there are many others that have used smaller cartridges on elk with good success. If you need to buy a bigger rifle for your elk hunt, the 30-06 would be a great way to go.

A lot like me. I had killed a few elk and .308's and '06's had worked fine. When I put three rounds in the front shoulder of a huge cow she just stood ther. She never took a step and as I prepared shot number 4 she keeled over.

I decided I needed something bigger and arrived at a .338 Win Mag. While I believe I can see more reaction to a hit, the elk seem to go just as far or take a bit to fall. I like the .338 but only pack it when I pull a branch bull tag these days. I do find it a lot easier on me as far as recoil than a .300 Mag. Very similar to a warmly loaded .35 Whelen.

.30-06, .308, .270.

30-06, 7mm mag, 300 mag

.318 WR w/ 250 gr. Woodleigh softs.
8mm/06 w/ 200 gr. NPT's
.280 Rem.w/ 175 gr. Swift A-frames All have worked well for me on large game, have not got around to an Elk hunt.

I can't add much because I have only killed two with the same 7x57 with the same batch of ammo my father loaded in the 90s. a 150 gr core lokt both dead pretty quickly. seen one take a 175 gr hornady from a 7mm mashburn that dropped like a lightning strike at 450 yds but I believe the high shoulder spine hit was the determining factor.

Let me suggest a "TriggerTech" trigger for pure pleasure.
Happy Hunting

308 Win with 180 grain Nosler Partition
8x57 JS (8mm Mauser) with 200 grain Nosler Partition
7x57 with 160 grain Nosler Partition