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Post by Loggy on Feb 2, 2023 11:28:43 GMT -5
This time of year is when I do my best dreaming!! All this PGC Elk Drawing publicity got me thinkin mebbie I should opt for a lil more horsepower in gun if ever drawn again? Seemed when I was in ECO's camp I was the lightweight in toting my lil 6.5 as most hunters seemed to opt for the 300 mags with the Rem 300 Ultra Mag being very popular. Many shots are well outside 200 yards with some in the 400 yard range where my 6.5 is really no comparison to a big 300 as far as knockdown energy when reaching out in those ranges. I have a Rem 30-06 which outside 200 yards with right ammo isn't too bad but it's a standard Model ADL with 22" bbl. About 10 years ago I bought a new 300 Rem Mag in the 700SSDM(clip) model which now wish I would of kept. It was just too much gun for deer which I knew when buying but always wanted to own a 300 Winnie.... what else can I say!! lol Any thoughts??
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Post by Dutch on Feb 2, 2023 11:31:56 GMT -5
30-06 will be just fine. May not be glitzy, but it'll get the job done.
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Post by timberdoodle on Feb 2, 2023 11:33:19 GMT -5
take a nap and enjoy another dream
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Post by Loggy on Feb 2, 2023 11:40:02 GMT -5
30-06 will be just fine. May not be glitzy, but it'll get the job done. I have that in the back of my mind Dutch & even recently bought some longer range 30-06 ammo(below) to test in some extended range shooting. It's ballistics aren't too far behind the 300's. 30-06 SPRING – 180 GR – BONDED POLYMER TIP – BONDSTRIKE EXTREME
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Post by dougl on Feb 2, 2023 11:52:43 GMT -5
Shot placement.My son and I killed two big mature bears this year at almost identical distances and circumstances.About 40-50 yards slightly quartering too but almost broadside.Both bullets hit almost the same spot and I found both of our bullets just hanging out of the hide on the opposite side.He used a .308 with a 165gr accubond and I used a 300wsm with the same bullet but loaded between 3000 and 3100fps.Jordan's bear dropped on the spot and never twitched.The one I shot ran about 40 yards,stood up on it's hind feet for several seconds and fell over.No animal will live with a hole in both lungs.With that said,I wouldn't hesitate to use a .308 on anything I'm likely to encounter but bigger can certainly be better.
We killed 6 deer in the past two years with a 6.5 creedmoore.One was shot with a 127gr ttsx and the other five were all shot with 140gr flat base interlocks.Granted they were deer and not elk but the exit wounds have been very impressive and internal damage severe.I would take my 300 wsm for elk but wouldn't stay home if I only had a creedmoor.Also,If I drew a once in a liftime tag and I only had a creedmoor,I wouldn't feel the need to get a bigger gun for one hunt.That little rifle impresses me the more I use it.
A 30-06 would be more than adequate and has probably accounted for more elk than any other cardtridge.
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Post by dougl on Feb 2, 2023 11:57:12 GMT -5
A 300wsm with 180gr bullets is like a 30-06 on testosterone.My all time favorite load has been a 180gr accubond over 65gr of H4350.I've killed enough deer with that load to know that it's overkill,if there's such a thing.Why kill an ant with an 8lb hammer when a 2lb hammer will do the same thing?I was running low on 180's,couldn't find them so I loaded a box of 165gr accubonds that I had laying around.I have little doubt that had I used the 180's on that bear,I would have fully penetrated him.
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Post by ridgecommander on Feb 2, 2023 12:01:29 GMT -5
Since the title of the thread is "best elk caliber" I would look to those that have shot many dozens. Craig Boddington believes that the 338 Winchester Magnum is the best elk cartridge. Heavy bullet but not a super magnum that kicks you into tomorrow. Good in heavy cover and it can reach out a reasonable distance if need be. Plus ammo is not hard to find.
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Post by Loggy on Feb 2, 2023 12:05:06 GMT -5
A 300wsm with 180gr bullets is like a 30-06 on testosterone. Doug....I like that!! Appreciate the good input there!!
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Post by Loggy on Feb 2, 2023 12:08:39 GMT -5
Since the title of the thread is "best elk caliber" I would look to those that have shot many dozens. Craig Boddington believes that the 338 Winchester Magnum is the best elk cartridge. Heavy bullet but not a super magnum that kicks you into tomorrow. Good in heavy cover and it can reach out a reasonable distance if need be. Plus ammo is not hard to find. Never shot a 338 but my 300 Winnie was just a tad more recoil than my 06 but less than my 12 ga 3.5" turkey SG. Once had a 35 Whelen pump which also wasn't too bad recoilwise...mainly a hard push vs a sharp whack.
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Post by moosemike on Feb 2, 2023 12:32:30 GMT -5
I wouldn't shoot at an Elk at 400 yards. I wouldn't shoot at anything at 400 yards. That's for guys who can't stalk worth a darn. I've never even had to shoot a pronghorn at more than 250 yards and I shot four of those plus I'm going after them again this year. I'd use the 308 on PA Elk
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Post by dougl on Feb 2, 2023 12:34:36 GMT -5
.338 winchesters are obnoxious.My 300wsm is a Kimber Montana and about as light as you'll find for a production rifle.I don't think the recoil is bad.My son started shooting deer with that rifle when he was 15 and has no issues.If I were to go out west on a regular basis,my 300wsm would be first choice.
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Post by moosemike on Feb 2, 2023 15:16:33 GMT -5
I had a Ruger 77 338 Win Mag. The thing was hateful. But I've actually lost the desire to suffer recoil and have moved all the heavy kickers except my Guide Gun. And that's only because there are plenty of light kicking Trapdoor loads available
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Post by bushmaster on Feb 2, 2023 15:18:27 GMT -5
22 mag right behind the ear. With a spot light of course. At least that's how the locals do it.
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Post by Dutch on Feb 2, 2023 15:56:23 GMT -5
Since the title of the thread is "best elk caliber" I would look to those that have shot many dozens. Craig Boddington believes that the 338 Winchester Magnum is the best elk cartridge. Heavy bullet but not a super magnum that kicks you into tomorrow. Good in heavy cover and it can reach out a reasonable distance if need be. Plus ammo is not hard to find. My brother was along on an elk hunt this fall. The one kid had a 338, killed an elk at 400 yds. Second time doing that with that gun.
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Post by rusty on Feb 2, 2023 16:23:24 GMT -5
I have some cousins who live in Washington and have killed several elk in that state and Montana. They all used .308s.
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Post by CoureurDeBois on Feb 2, 2023 16:37:57 GMT -5
The highest caliber you can shoot well, and I would strive to make it a 30 caliber minimum. I killed mine with a 30-06, 180 gr SPBT at 200 yards. Talked to a local in Colorado on my one hunt, he was carrying a 243. I mentioned though I like the caliber for deer, felt it was light for elk. His reply was, "You just need to pick your shot, and I have all season to do that, you don't."
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Post by Dutch on Feb 2, 2023 16:43:21 GMT -5
The right bullet, put in the right place....
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Post by moosemike on Feb 2, 2023 17:33:11 GMT -5
When I was 21 I got to talking to an elder coworker from a different department. He mentioned he was taking vacation and heading to Colorado for Elk. Told me he goes every year and had killed a lot of Elk. I said I'd love to hunt Elk but I only have a 30-30. He said what does that matter? Get yourself some 170 grain Silvertips and go Elk hunting. He said he killed all his Elk with a model 88 Winchester .308 with 180 grain Silvertips. Years later I worked with a plumbing contractor who had killed 17 Elk in Colorado. I asked what he used and he said "300 Weatherby Mag but I wish I never would've bought it. I could've killed every Elk I ever shot with my 257 Roberts. I never shot one further than 200 yards"
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Post by Loggy on Feb 2, 2023 17:53:14 GMT -5
I only spent a week in the Pa elk areas but per areas I hunted & talking to guides they do get regularly get shooting longer than 200 yards due to the many areas cleared/stripmined & huge open restoration food plots, farmed fields etc planted. Not the typical heavy cover areas for stalking. Some are heavily wooded/cover but you don't really have much choice as you're restricted to Zone selected.
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Post by moosemike on Feb 2, 2023 18:35:03 GMT -5
I believe that. But for me, I just never wanted to kill past 300 yards. I have killed at 300 before. I've killed Moose at 75,90, and 150 yards. I'd like to kill one up close once. I will say the one at 75 was a lot more exciting than the one at 150
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Post by Loggy on Feb 2, 2023 18:49:30 GMT -5
I know I told my PA guides(father & son) that I was limiting myself to shots inside 200 yards as that's all I comfortably shot my 6.5 at. The first shootable elk we saw was about 250-300 and guide asked me & other hunter who opts for shot & I told guide let other hunter with us take it. He dropped it with his 300 RUM. He connected with his first shot and it still kept going about 50 yds with a 2nd shot dropping it. Both shots were thru the lungs. My chance came 2nd day of hunt with a 75 yd chip shot!
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Post by muttleysback on Feb 3, 2023 5:27:14 GMT -5
I have killed four elk, all out west. One was taken with the compound bow I used to shoot. Three of them were taken with a rifle I bought in 1991, a Weartherby Vanguard in .300 Weatherby. Some may think the recoil a bit much, but I have never been bothered by that. The rifle has been to Africa twice, New Zealand once, and to a number of western states and Canadian provinces. I have only seen the need for a bigger boomer one time, that being a hunt for Cape buffalo in 2003 (I used a .416 Remington Magnum then). The ,300 magnums are way more than needed to kill whitetails. For them, my go-to rifle is my .257 Roberts, a Browning A-bolt hunter model. Having said all of the above, I firmly believe that the old 'ought six' is more than sufficient for taking any North American game, with the possible exception of the great bears. Jack O'Connor took nearly all of his big game, including grizzlies, with his .270.
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Post by rusty on Feb 3, 2023 6:40:50 GMT -5
Reading Jack O'Conner's writtings in Outdoor Life before I was old enough to hunt had me dreaming of the day I would own on. Didnt get one 'til I was 22years old. He made the caliber sound nothing compared for North American big game.
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Post by Dutch on Feb 3, 2023 7:26:57 GMT -5
Ya know, after seeing the performance of a Barnes bullet out of my Creedmoor, if you load them up, they would be fine for elk.
There are many videos of 6.5s taking elk at long range. As long as you hit them right.
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Post by moosemike on Feb 3, 2023 8:01:17 GMT -5
If I were to buy a rifle specifically for Elk it would be a 358 Winchester in a lever action
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