Going on a 1x1 ranch hunt in Montana and will be setting out each day on foot from the bunkhouse with a daypack. I will be carrying spotter, tripod, water, down jacket, snacks, etc., but it's not like we will be carrying camp in our packs.

Trying to decide which rifle to take:

.300 Win Mag - Weighs 9#, 46" total length, have killed game animals out to 347 yards with it in the past.

7mm Rem Mag with Suppressor - Weights 11#, 53" total length, have not taken any game animals, but recently dialed in and was consistently making hits at 530 yds.

I really want to take the 7mm, but am wondering if I will feel like a jackass carrying it around....I don't see us having to negotiate deadfall or anything like that, but I have never been there before either so I could be wrong. I have the Stone Glacier quick release sling that makes it pretty easy to carry, and to get in shape have been doing the Mtn Tough 30-30 program, and training with 40-50# in my bag, even though they have horses and UTVs to come pick up an elk if we get one. Hope I don't sound like a douche, just trying to be transparent and get some good advice.

Thanks in advance for any feedback

I would NOT haul a can up and down the mtns

Why not just take either without the can and a pair if foam earplugs...

I'd go with the 300 mag.

i'd take the lighter, 300 win mag. and i wouldn't haul the spotting scope. with decent binos you can identify a great bull elk from a good bull elk. hope you get a great bull.

Not knowing your physical fitness or even knowing your physical fitness.....go with the .300 WM. Elevation, and terrain can play hell with a hunters best laid plans! memtb

2 pound difference is HUGE for a rifle, especially if hiking in mountains.

The guide should have a spotting scope.


P

Take the Savage 99.

I’d go lighter rig.

Lighter is better. No way I’d take a12 pound rifle. And I’d drop the spotting scope and use binocs. Also agree on dropping the can. Use ear plugs.

I have both a .300WM and 7mm RM and both are about equally effective on elk. I've been taking elk with my 7mm RM since the early '80's, the .300WM since around 2004.

The difference depends more on the specific loads than the diameter. That said, there is no way I'm going to carry an 11 pound rifle on an elk hunt.

If this is a private land ranch hunt, I suspect there won't be a whole lot of really rough areas to be hiking around in, which would make the heavier rifle doable. Doubly so if for whatever reason it is the one that you really want to take. I'd strap it to your pack and forget about the Stone Glacier sling. Normally I'd never advocate leaving a spotter behind but your guide will most likely have one, so there's no need for two. You may want to ask first but I'll bet that'll be the case.

Honestly for what this is sounding like, you'll be just fine carrying your rifle, binos, lunch and water. Maybe rain gear and your down jacket too, but you'll never be in a position where you'll need to carry a lot of other stuff.

I do gotta laugh. Folks need to see the rifle\scope combo folks really use, instead of reading about it..

Thanks for the replies and confirming my suspicions. I will take the 300.

I am excited to take my spotter as I bought one of those phone adapters from tines up, and am looking forward to getting some good pictures with the combo.

Pic of 300. Scope is a 2-12x50

I've got both a 7 mag and a .300. I used to think you needed rifles like these for elk. However, since I've been on here I am learning and if I ever have the opportunity to go after elk I'm probably going to take my old Model 70 .270 with some Nosler 150 Grain Partitions. That rifles light and easy to carry. I probably won't take a shot over 350 yards and never over 500.

270 has killed a pile of elk, as have arrows. There are Grizzlies on this ranch. I went on a hunt up in the Northwest Territories of Canada a couple of years ago. I had never seen a grizz before in person....we had a couple of encounters, one of which was while I had a backpack full of meat and was about 80 yards upwind of a grizz standing on her hind legs deciding what her next move was going to be. Let me tell you, there was not a single moment during that trip where I felt I had too much gun. Ymmv

NFW I’d carry a 11 or 12 lb rifle on an “ on foot” hunt. YMMVh

Your guide should have a griz safety plan. If not, I’d go elsewhere.

Have fun. Don't worry about the rifle. Either will be fine.

Lol!

I hump 11lb every year on rough country public land hunts

I live here in the Mtns of CO

Big scope, bipod, can, 10 shells on the buttStock, 50” 30-06

Not that big of a deal, having a proper sling is critical, sounds like you do

Ducking under brush is where it can catch,

your other gun isn’t exactly petite

Go w the suppressed gun if that is the one you want to use

Even if I was a Navy Seal, I wouldn’t carry an eleven lb rifle on a hiking elk hunt. In fact your 300 is trending too heavy IMO but it would be my choice of what you have; my view on the big 300’s or mediums for elk in the mtn’s is 8.5 lbs all up. Even if you are all sinew, muscle, and bone, the mountains are tough enough on an elk hunt; even the high hills are will wear on you without carry extra weight.

Additionally, if you have very good binoc’s from 8x up, you can see those pale yellow bulls for some miles. A spotting scope is even questionable unless you are evaluating inches of bone on their heads but if you have not been on many elk hunts any bull is a trophy. In fact, for me it is still that way.

Hope your elk hunt is a good one.

its your back take the rifle you want too ? my choice would be the 300

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to take the heavy one....it would be lighter if I didn't take the can, but I have my load and drops set with the can on and don't have the ability to go back to my buddy's 530 yard range to redo everything without the can before the hunt. I will loop back after the hunt and let you know if I regretted it or not

BTW, its a Christensen Arms Mesa I won through the Wyoming F&G over the summer.....the raffle was actually on my birthday and they called and emailed me the next day, so it also has some good juju and I feel like it needs to get some experience. Scope is a Meopta Optika6 2.5-15x44. 20 MOA rail, Spartan Bipod, and Sig SRD762-QD Suppressor.

Exactly. Id chit can the whole works and buy a Tikka superlite or stainless T3x lite. And no, it wouldn't be a 300wm either. 7mm08 witha good bullet is all you really need and a good set of binoculars. The bino's id use wouldnt weigh much more than a pound either. Less is more on a hunt like that.

L to R: .300WM, 30-06, .338WM

Don't forget the 22-250 ammo to with the 7-08.

Run what you want. Inman nailed it. I’d honestly have both in camp myself if that’s possible but your 300 looks darned good as well.

Good luck on your hunt. I’m sure if either rifle isn’t perfect you’ll have another rifle built in your head before you get home. I know I do that about every year.

The weight adds up, rough numbers:

Rifle 7.3lb
Scope/ rings 1lb
Bipod 1lb
Ammo .7lb, 10 on the stock, 5 in the gun
Can 1lb
Sling in there too

I would take both to camp, decide there.

I'm a big fan of 30 caliber hunting cartridges. My elk rifle is a Savage 99 in .308 fitted with a 2-7X Vortex scope. My longest shot for elk was about 225 yards taken within the Bear Lodge Mts. of Wyoming. The bull was downed with two quick shots into the chest organs firing 180 grain Core-lokt ammo.

Your 300 MAG has plenty of juice for long shots.

Sherwood

That's not my idea of a hunting rifle, to each their own.

Just got back..... When I first got there, we went to check zero.....my shot didn't hit the target or anything on the bank behind it. We looked at each other and I got up and looked at the end of my suppressor and it had exploded....baffle strike. Still no idea what happened....thankfully I did not just load another round and try to shoot again....not only could you not see daylight through the suppressor due to all the destruction and loose metal inside, some metal shrapnel also became lodged in my barrel. So we went back to the house and got a cleaning rod and removed the shrapnel, reinstalled my factory muzzle brake, went back to rock pit and had no problem ringing the steel at 300 yds. So without the suppressor it ended up being only 8# 7oz.

Whenever we were working our way through timber, any barrel length would have been too long to leave in the pack as we were constantly ducking under limbs. So rifle in hand......not to mention there was fresh grizzly poop and tracks everywhere, so having the rifle in my hand was just fine. Looking back, I would not take a suppressor on a future hunt, but if I did it would have to be significantly lighter and also be on a very short barrel. Hopefully the manufacturer can help me replace or repair the can without too much hassle or expense. Sucks to wait for 8 months and then it blows up.

Ended up taking a nice 6 pt bull at 267 yards.....I was shaking like a leaf but dropped him in his tracks with a single high shoulder/spine shot.

Happy to get my first elk, and to have a freezer full of meat as we go into the winter. Thanks for the opinions

Congrats on the bull! Sounds like everything worked out great, other than the suppressor.

KISS. Any piece of gear can go titz up, but the more complex it is, the more likely to fail. Luckily, no one was injured with your fragmenting can. My opinion is that suppressors, muzzle brakes, and the like are not needed on a hunting rifle. If you need all that, you might have more gun than you can handle. JMNSHO

Ignorant statements right there with many assumptions on your part. My 300 win (greater recoil than 7mm rem mag) has no brake or suppressor, and I shoot 200 gr accubonds out of it at 3000fps with no issues, have taken sheep, caribou, deer, and hogs with that rifle.

As I stated earlier, the 7mm rem mag I won (did not pick it out) from Wyoming fish and game earlier this year. And Christensen Arms did not call me and ask if I "needed" a brake when they designed the specs for the Mesa rifle line. (A growing number of production rifle makers....Kimber, Browning, Tikka, Christensen...are putting brakes on their lighter weight hunting rifles. I guess in your opinion anyone who buys those rifles is a sissy?)

On the suppressor, I have an infestation of feral hogs on my farm, and sometimes I shoot near the property line where neighbors are within earshot, and also shoot at night, so that's why I have that. I had worked the load up with my 7mm mag using the suppressor.

Ok, bud. I DGAS where you got your toy. All the brakes and suppressors have a time, place, and purpose. Just not on an elk hunting rifle carried afield in my opinion. Next time ask your guide how he feels about brakes. Most hate them.

A big assumption on your part is that I implied that you are a sissy. Not so. There are many guys that shoot big magnums that are certainly not sissys, they just can’t handle them and subsequently don’t shoot them well.

Maybe not a sissy, but a Karen indeed. Here’s an “ignorant statement “: GFY

Congrats on your hunt.

300 mag due to weight. Ounces equal pounds and pounds equal pain.

A few years ago I swapped from a 300 WSM to a 30-06 to save a lb. It was worth it. I've never shot anything with the 300 that the 30-06 couldn't handle just as well anyway.

300 and foam ear plugs....

What bullets are you set up for in each rifle?

It’s funny how we all think differently when it comes to our guns. That’s why there are so many to choose from. Not only in calibers, but in actions, stocks, trigger, scopes etc. There is no “right” answer. It’s a matter of our personal preferences. Either of the 2 rifles you mentioned will get the job done.

As for me, when go on my Wyoming elk hunt in October, I’m taking my little Merkel k3 Extreme in 30-06. It weighs less than 6 lbs with the scope. It’s a tack driver and I’m confident any elk out to 400 yards will be in real trouble.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Mackey

300

The OP already chose the rifle, went on the hunt, kilt an elk and probably already ate it.

Yikes!

Hey......take it easy on WAM!

Sometimes......his 10am alarm clock goes off and he think's its a BS alarm.

Cut him a break! You may be there some day.

Glad to hear about your success. I hope you are addicted for life. Welcome to the "club".

Your shot was quite typical and as you have seen, elk are not that hard to hit. Sometimes hard to find and sometimes hard to sneak up on, but when shooting, the elk makes a large target. In the 1/2 century I have been killing elk I have killed exactly 1 that was over 400 yards. I have killed probably 25 between 300 and 400 yards. All the rest were closer and some were REALLY close. My closest shot on an elk was about 8 feet.

As others said, either the 7MM or the 300 is going to give you perfect results, assuming you use a bullet that doesn't act like a varmint bullet. And even then big varmint bullets still kill them. They just don't always die as soon as you'd like.

Advice for you and all newer elk hunters for the future:

A can is something a hunter accepts or he doesn't. Weight is an issue of the individual hunter. How much it too much is up to you.

You didn't say where you are from. I hunt elk with rifles from 8 pounds up to 11 pounds, and it VERY common for me to carry 10 to 10-3/4 pound guns hunting elk. I hunt from about 6400 feet up to about 9500 feet, and I do it every year. I never feel the rifle is heavy. And I am now in the "golden years". Old and limping from old injuries and wounds I got in my 20s and 30s which now came back to make me "remember them".

BUT---------- My home is at 5900 feet. I live higher then many younger and athletic men usually go----- even on their week-end hikes.

So weight is not the only issue and even physical condition is not 100% of the equation. Altitude is something many new elk hunters never think of until it's too late.
I can't even tell you how many hunters I have guided in the last half century that said things, something to the effect of : "How do you breath up here"?

If you go to elk country and you are going to be hiking mountains up and down that are a MILE to 1-1/2 MILES higher than where you live, weight is going to be a lot more important to you than it may be for an old geezer such as myself, just because you can't get used to hard physical activity 6000 feet higher then where you work out in only 1 week, IT WON'T HAPPEN!

THAT DOESAN NOT MAKE ME TOUGH OR SOEMONE ELSE A WIMP

That's basic physiology. Any doctor can tell you that. Don't make the mistake of seeing it as a competition between men. IT'S NOT! You can't reduce a man's oxygen and expect him to acclimate to it in 5-7 days. Don't try!

So if you come from 1000 feet or lower, I would say bring a lighter gun. (the savage M99 comment was actually a good piece of advice)
If you live and exercise to 3000-4500 feet you can expect some challenges, but you'll just need more breaks. Just take it a bit easier and you'll be OK. If you live at 6000 to 8000 feet, bring anything you like and you won't notice much difference at all.

Huh???? What is this? 5-7 days?

Was determined at a young age to have oversized lungs.

During a 'mobile' check-up in my mid-20's.......told the tech I would peg the lung capacity needle.

They quickly informed me the last (and only) person to do that was 'Doug Buffone' of the Chicago Bears.

Pegged it. They said I cheated(breathed in).........pegged it again. Pegged it a third time.

Doug Buffone......surely a small honor, given his short-lived NFL career. Edit: Buffone died 2015. Bummer.

Couple years later......DR thought I had pneumonia.......sent me for X-ray. Tech of 17+ years said regular plate not large enough(after first X-ray).......had to set 2 plates horizontal......to cover width and depth(lower lobes). First time ever, for her.

Nothing I asked for. Just a common guy.

That old man that just broke the old-age record for Everest was a bit of a wimp........the Sherpas carried him up.....no friggin' doubt......$$$$.

Buying his way, to impress........just like some around here.

This sounds like a in the can hunt...Maybe not...I’m not trying to trash you or your hunt. You’re going 1x1 with a guide who should know the property and the animals it’s holding.

I wouldn’t see a need to haul anything other than your rifle, a few spare rounds, knife - if you’re dropping the guts yourself, bins, and some eats in your pack.

Leave the suppressor at home, if you want to run your 7 mag. Otherwise take your 300 Win that you are proven shooting.

Have a good hunt !

🦫

Sure hope he heeded your advice, last year.

🤔😂

It’s always sound advice and should be written in a fortune cookie...Even if the cookie is stale.

🦫

You should publish a cookbook.....

Mikey seems to be on a roll.
Staking out his position as the meanest MF on the innanet.
Anyone called for a sanity check yet?

Ya, had a welfare check done and the SO said all they found was a midget in moms basement eating Cheetos and watching BBC porn.

Do you mean eccentric, Pauper?

One only needs to quote your ex-wives and ex-girlfriends.....

You can’t get close to Mike’s house for a welfare check.

He’s got killer wiener dogs on high alert with signs that say dogs eat dick’s!

I could, maybe, stand at his fence and touch off 3 consecutive rounds from my 243 Win and hope he comes out.

LOL

🦫

Golly shucks, Beav.......you're hired.

Wait a minute......who's side you on?

Wabi lives nearby; maybe he could stop by with one of his framed embroidered church wisdoms.
That should help.

Yea....just what I thought.......you won't be anywhere close.

Big surprise!

❤️

LOL

I’m also here for the popcorn

🦫

Mikey would club Wabs to death like a baby seal, take his embroidery, and nail it to the cross marking his grave.

😂🦫

Same here. I learned early the less stuff you pack up the mountain, the better...

Leave your spotting scope and tripod too..just take good quality binocs.

Good binocs will put horns on them so far away in this country that you cant get to them on the same day...

That hurts to the core.......I'd offer him a can of Diet Mountain Dew.......then ask for the empty can back (nickel deposit, you know).

Save up those nickels and get you a .243.

Take your .300 or the can off the 7 if you can.. Good rifles the best really.. Don't waste your time and game on .243s.. I have shot antelope with 100 gr. factory from a 6mm and had them run over 200 yards.. Both lungs taken out.. This place your bullet crap and it is over is just crap.. Sometimes, yes sometimes no.. You are going to a lot of trouble and effort on your hunt you and the elk deserve the best possible chance for success...

Y'all realize the OP killed an elk?

I own 243's......and even an old 788 6mm. Thought I mentioned that.

Can hardly wait for the next edition of gun-geek.

Maybe I can learn about the twist rate screw-up Remington made with the .244.

Never underestimate an expert's desire to give free advice.

Even if unasked-for.

Never!

I’m sure not many will miss the hypocrisy/irony of this post.

You’re doing great Mikey.

Ouch.......right on my bunion.

Yorkies got sharp little teeth.

we have a winner

OK, serious question (yes, I get the dumschidt award)...don't those silencer things, cans, polychokes, catalytic converter, whatever the hell you call them just unscrew? I had a BOSS model 70 one time, and I took it off and never put it on again.

I was just notified that I was chosen for an Elk (cow) tag by the State, I am looking for any tips or guidance. This is my first Elk hunt though I have hunted Mule and White tail deer all my life. I am 82 years old and am working on getting the legs in shape. The terrain is mountainous but nothing like the Rockies. I will be using a 45-70
Marlin Guide Gun. What weight bullet do you recommend and has anyone tried the Hornaday Leverution?

Thanks for any help or tips,
Walt

Is your 223 broke down?

Can't use a .223 on Elk in this State. Would not consider it even if it were legal due to the lack of knock down power.
Walt

Common sense by individual, as well as government.