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re: Best rifle for elk hunting
Posted on 11/27/20 at 11:05 pm to GREENHEAD22
Posted on 11/27/20 at 11:05 pm to GREENHEAD22
.375 h&h is the right answer for elk if you can hang on to it, and .338 win mag is the answer if you can't.
If you don't want a long barrel belted mag,. 375 ruger is the perfect answer and .35 whelen/9.3x62 are close 2nds
If you're going to travel to hunt, bring the most horsepower you can carry and shoot.
If you don't want a long barrel belted mag,. 375 ruger is the perfect answer and .35 whelen/9.3x62 are close 2nds
If you're going to travel to hunt, bring the most horsepower you can carry and shoot.
Posted on 11/27/20 at 11:07 pm to rlanders23
I have spent a shite pile of money on new custom rifles over the last few years but there’s only one I will take elk hunting.
I have this exact gun, rings and scope setup in .280AI and it’s money the first 2 or 3 shots.
You won’t get a 5 shot group under an inch because of the pencil barrel but that doesn’t
matter because of the light weight.
I have this exact gun, rings and scope setup in .280AI and it’s money the first 2 or 3 shots.
You won’t get a 5 shot group under an inch because of the pencil barrel but that doesn’t
matter because of the light weight.
This post was edited on 11/27/20 at 11:23 pm
Posted on 11/27/20 at 11:08 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
You need to make that you sig because you have posted it probably a dozen times in the past month.
Posted on 11/27/20 at 11:11 pm to GREENHEAD22
Elk are Fn huge. Call it whatever you want but if I'm gonna burn 2 weeks of vacation and $800 of diesel and $700 on a tag and $500 on other shite I want as much blast as I can handle when it finally comes time to shoot
Don't worry about busting them up. Bring a .416 rem mag if you can tote it and shoot it
Eta: I've found my limit in recoil. In equal weight rifles I can handle a .338 win mag off the bench all day and a .375 h&h about 10 shots before my groups open up, 30 shots before they get noticeably bad.
If youre going to buy a gun to kill elk, buy the most gun you can handle
Don't worry about busting them up. Bring a .416 rem mag if you can tote it and shoot it
Eta: I've found my limit in recoil. In equal weight rifles I can handle a .338 win mag off the bench all day and a .375 h&h about 10 shots before my groups open up, 30 shots before they get noticeably bad.
If youre going to buy a gun to kill elk, buy the most gun you can handle
This post was edited on 11/27/20 at 11:21 pm
Posted on 11/27/20 at 11:27 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
Elk are Fn huge. Call it whatever you want but if I'm gonna burn 2 weeks of vacation and $800 of diesel and $700 on a tag and $500 on other shite I want as much blast as I can handle when it finally comes time to shoot
Don't worry about busting them up. Bring a .416 rem mag if you can tote it and shoot it
Eta: I've found my limit in recoil. In equal weight rifles I can handle a .338 win mag off the bench all day and a .375 h&h about 10 shots before my groups open up, 30 shots before they get noticeably bad.
If youre going to buy a gun to kill elk, buy the most gun you can handle
Nobody wants to lug around a 12lb rifle in the mountains when the can carry a 6lb rifle and get the same results.
Posted on 11/27/20 at 11:32 pm to Rize
quote:
Nobody wants to lug around a 12lb rifle in the mountains when the can carry a 6lb rifle and get the same results.
My .375 weighed 9 pounds with 7 rounds of ammo hooked to it. My .338 win mag weighs 8.5 pounds with 7 rounds on the stock. You are not getting .375 results from a 6 pound rifle.
There's no replacement for displacement and if you're going to make the massive investment into getting the opportunity to shoot at one, you need the biggest baddest shite you can handle to do it.
Posted on 11/28/20 at 12:18 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
My .375 weighed 9 pounds with 7 rounds of ammo hooked to it. My .338 win mag weighs 8.5 pounds with 7 rounds on the stock. You are not getting .375 results from a 6 pound rifle.
There's no replacement for displacement and if you're going to make the massive investment into getting the opportunity to shoot at one, you need the biggest baddest shite you can handle to do it.
3lbs is a frick ton chasing an animal in the Mountains.
Posted on 11/28/20 at 5:34 am to Rize
Thanks, everyone. This is great insight and gives me lots to consider. Will report back if/when I pull the trigger. Leaning toward using the current gun and upgrading ammo, but it’s always nice to buy a new gun. Assuming I stick with 30-06, safe to say the Remington 180gr I currently shoot wouldn’t be good enough for some of the longer shots?
Posted on 11/28/20 at 6:59 am to rlanders23
I killed my first elk with my single shot 35 whelen. I was confident with the gun at 300 yds and in.
Recently switched back to my .308 with Hornady 178gr ELDx Bullets and sighted the gun in with a 200yd zero. If my 35 was bolt action, I would have continued using it.
Main takeaway is whatever gun you go with, try different ammo, pick one you like and put in the range time. Put enough rounds through it to be 100% confident when the opportunity presents itself. Also set a realistic max yardage and don’t exceed it no matter how big the animal. Close the distance to inside your comfort range.
Recently switched back to my .308 with Hornady 178gr ELDx Bullets and sighted the gun in with a 200yd zero. If my 35 was bolt action, I would have continued using it.
Main takeaway is whatever gun you go with, try different ammo, pick one you like and put in the range time. Put enough rounds through it to be 100% confident when the opportunity presents itself. Also set a realistic max yardage and don’t exceed it no matter how big the animal. Close the distance to inside your comfort range.
Posted on 11/28/20 at 8:21 am to rlanders23
quote:
Leaning toward using the current gun and upgrading ammo, but it’s always nice to buy a new gun. Assuming I stick with 30-06, safe to say the Remington 180gr I currently shoot wouldn’t be good enough for some of the longer shots?
It would be fine. You could do much worse for sure. For .30-06 I prefer barnes X bullets for elk
Posted on 11/28/20 at 8:30 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
That's what I shoot in my 270, great bullet.
Posted on 11/28/20 at 5:10 pm to GREENHEAD22
Since Auburn sucks I’ll get this pissing match going again.
If you are going to buy an elk gun I don’t know why you’d buy a gun that shoots anything less than 200 gr bullets. Bigger definitely better here OP. 30-06 with 200 or 220 gr bullets is the smallest I’d consider.
Given that, I’d stick with your current gun that you know and is tried and true and spend the money you would on a new gun on more time. Biggest reason most guys aren’t successful is lack of time. Very difficult to kill an elk on public land in 5-7 days when you are an out of state hunter. If you are hunting private property then buy a new damn gun because it’s only a small percentage of your hunt cost!
If you are going to buy an elk gun I don’t know why you’d buy a gun that shoots anything less than 200 gr bullets. Bigger definitely better here OP. 30-06 with 200 or 220 gr bullets is the smallest I’d consider.
Given that, I’d stick with your current gun that you know and is tried and true and spend the money you would on a new gun on more time. Biggest reason most guys aren’t successful is lack of time. Very difficult to kill an elk on public land in 5-7 days when you are an out of state hunter. If you are hunting private property then buy a new damn gun because it’s only a small percentage of your hunt cost!
Posted on 11/28/20 at 6:01 pm to baldona
Posted on 11/28/20 at 6:26 pm to rlanders23
Get a $329 Savage rifle from Academy in any of the usual hunting calibers and you’ll be fine. There’s hardly any difference in the calibers being discussed here.
Posted on 11/28/20 at 6:34 pm to biglego
Well if you exclude downshifts
That man wants to use a artillery battery on them if he could get his hands on it.
That man wants to use a artillery battery on them if he could get his hands on it.
Posted on 11/28/20 at 6:43 pm to GREENHEAD22
Yeah excluding Downshift’s MOAB
Posted on 11/28/20 at 6:50 pm to GREENHEAD22
[quote]That man wants to use a artillery battery on them if he could get his hands on it.[/quote
I dont think there's a shoulder fired caliber in existence that's overkill for elk if youre going to travel to hunt them.
.30-06 is fine if you've got one, but if youre gonna go out and buy something, get the biggest shite you can handle. You can always shoot smaller game with a big arse gun.
.375 ruger is perfect IMO.
I dont think there's a shoulder fired caliber in existence that's overkill for elk if youre going to travel to hunt them.
.30-06 is fine if you've got one, but if youre gonna go out and buy something, get the biggest shite you can handle. You can always shoot smaller game with a big arse gun.
.375 ruger is perfect IMO.
Posted on 11/28/20 at 6:56 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
We are just giving you a hard time buddy.
For the record, if I am getting a designated elk gun it is/would be a magnum. Maybe not a howitzer but a magnum.
For the record, if I am getting a designated elk gun it is/would be a magnum. Maybe not a howitzer but a magnum.
Posted on 11/28/20 at 7:03 pm to rodnreel
quote:
Link to caliber chart for different animals.
If I'm hunting grizzlys it's .375 and up. .300 winny isn't enough for me.
Posted on 11/28/20 at 7:05 pm to GREENHEAD22
Somebodys gotta go against the grain around here.. Since I got a .375 I've become a big gun junkie.
.375 h&h would be great for elk if the rifles didn't have to be so big. I think .375 ruger and .33 nosler are the best things to come out since the win mags. .33 nosler is the perfect elk caliber in my opinion but I'm not convinced itll ever catch on. .338 win mag is available in every store in colorado
Eta: here's a good quote from a .33 nosler review
.375 h&h would be great for elk if the rifles didn't have to be so big. I think .375 ruger and .33 nosler are the best things to come out since the win mags. .33 nosler is the perfect elk caliber in my opinion but I'm not convinced itll ever catch on. .338 win mag is available in every store in colorado
Eta: here's a good quote from a .33 nosler review
quote:
So, in the spirit of consistency, who needs a .33 Nosler? Well, no one needs one—it has been proven over and over again that one can just about hunt the world with a .270 or a .30-06 with good bullets so long as we aren’t going after the bigger half of the big five. Still, that doesn’t mean that powerful cartridges such as the .33 Nosler don’t offer real advantages on larger game animals
This post was edited on 11/28/20 at 7:19 pm
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