[Big Arm Hannigan]

Currently hunt with handgun. Wanted to know what minimum rifle calibers would be.

[Smoke]

30.06 or .308 for minimum.

Lots of things will work on ELk. But a stout .3x round is best for starters.

[Steve Smith]

Depends on how good a shot you are. Many guys make up for poor shooting by obliterating half the animal.

Shoot well and use a .30-06.

[Black Dragon]

That's hard to say. It comes down to bullet placement and construction as
one of your first consideration. Then distance, ~100 yards vs ~400 yards
My grandfather did very well for himself using a .270. I use a 300 weatherby
mag. My friends that live in Montana and hunt Elk every year use any thing
from .30-06 to a 300 Weatherby mag as well. We have one buddy that says he
is going to take an Elk with his 7mm mag. Then again, if it wasn't for bad
luck he'd have none at all. After two years of hunting with the 7mm he has
never seen an Elk that he could get a shot at.:rolleyes:
Like I said, bullet placement and then bullet construction. You would be
pretty safe with anything in the .30 cal range using something like Nosler
partition or Speer grandslams in the 180 gr and up weight.
I use 180gr Speer grandslams in my 300 Wby Mag. I took a nice 6X5 in Montana
3 years ago at 390 yards.:)
I also use the Weatherby on Mule deer. Out of 4 mule deer, three dropped in
their tracks and the last one only went 15 yards before falling over.

[H&Hhunter]

Bigarm,

All of the above advice is good. Depending on what type of country you'll be hunting makes abit of a diference as well.

I really like the .338 for longer range elk shooting. And as far as glass I think it's essential that an elk rifle carry a good low power variable.

There is almost notthing you can't do on 6 power at long range and there is almost notting you can do on 6 power at short range.

I really like the 1.75-6 power or 2.5 to 10. With 4.5 and up you're totally stuffed in the dark timber at short range.

I also believe that a .308 or .30-06 or equivilant is a senseable minimum.

[Big Arm Hannigan]

Thanks!

[smokemaker]

.35 Whelen!!!!!

Sorry, had to throw in my $.02:D

[H&Hhunter]

.35 Whelen!!!!!

Yet another often overlooked yet fantastic elk round.:cool:

Not only that but a true piece of Americana.......

[45crittergitter]

Depends on the bullet. A .270 with Fail-Safes or the like is fine. A .338-.340 is just about perfect. 7 Mags are popular, and .375's aren't too big. Just don't use a deer rifle with deer bullets.

[Zak Smith]

I've got this idea to convert on of my 8x57JS Mausers to a short-range elk rifle. With a Williams iron sight and a synthetic stock, it should be light.

Does 8x57 have enough "oomp" for Elk, using handloads?

-z

[Art Eatman]

Zak, it ought to. Can't you get a 200-grain bullet out at about the same velocity as a 180 from an '06?

Art

[H&Hhunter]

Does 8x57 have enough "oomp" for Elk, using handloads?

Sure does.... It makes a real good elk round my dad used an 8X57 as his elk gun for years. When it was destroyed in a house fire he went to a .270. The 8mm was a better elk gun in my opinon. I like heavier slower moving rounds for elk.

My two go get em elk guns are a .375H&H loaded with 270gr x bullets at about 2600 fps or a .300 weatherby (my lightweight mountain rig) using 200 gr noslers, or this year I'm trying a 200 gr accubonds loaded to about 2800fps.

45 Crittergitter has got it just right. If your going to use a deer gun use premium bullets. With the heavier stuff you can use softer bullets. Though I don't use any soft bullets on anything. I like small holes in and out saves some meat that way and a good heavy bullet penetrates through anything an elk has to offer.

You 8mm with a 200 gr bullets should shoot through an elk from just about any angle. If you notice I load my .300 to just a little hotter than you 8mm with a 200gr bullet but I keep the velocity down and the bullet stiff for a good penetration combination.

[Zak Smith]

re: 8x57,

Sure, I should be able to match or beat .30-06 with heavy bullets.

Thanks.
Zak

[Turk]

Big Arm Hannigan,

Last year I hunted with 5 friends (locals) in area 68 in Colorado. Three were ranchers. I was the Eastern.

The following were the calibers used.

30/06 (4) 2 were Ranchers
7mm Mag. (1) Rancher
9.3x62 (1)

The three ranchers have taken numerous elk over the years.

The 06 is hard to beat. I also have a friend that lived in an West African country for 12 years and hunting with an 06 he took large plains type game, hippo's and he also carried a 180-200 gr. solid in case he ran into a Jungle Buff. I once asked why he didn't use a more powerfull round and he said the 06 works plus you use what you have.

The 9.3 was mine. I will take a 350 yard shot with this rifle. I had a Bull tag but I did see 10 cow elk all with 200 yards which would of been an easy shot.

This year I planned to hunt the same area again but this time using a 454 Casull out of a Super Red Hawk.

But alass a month ago I started having and still have a back (disk) problem and will have to pass this years hunt. Riding a horse and walking around the side of a mountian isn't quite a smart idea.

Have a good day and remember to pray for our troops.

Turk

[smokemaker]

Glad to see I'm not the only person left who knows about the .35 Whelen, and I agree the 8mm is a great elk round, but my second choice after the Whelen is the .375 H&H with Barnes 270 grain traditionals. Puts 'em down with authority, and alot of reach too.

[Northwest Cajun]

I'm building an P-17Enfield in .338-06. Should be about "just right" for Elk. I'll load 225 gr Hornady SST's or the new Nosler Bonded bullets at 2500-2600fps. I should be good out to 300 yds. Untill it's done my primary this year is a 45-70 guide gun with Rem 405's @ 1800+fps and my back up is a 30-06 with 165 Speer Grand Slams @ 2700


Cajun