Elk and Bench Gun - Caliber Decision

Status
Not open for further replies.
N

NDGeek

Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2007
Messages
72
Location
Fargo, ND
Hello,

I recently found out I was drawn for a once-in-a-lifetime Elk tag up here in North Dakota. Don't think I have a rifle for the task. I have a perfectly good Sako Forrester in 243 that I've shot over 30 deer with from Nice Mule bucks to little WT does. Don't think that is going to cut it for an Elk :)

As any self respecting man would consider this a perfectly logical excuse to purchase YET another rifle regardless of his budget, I'm looking for some advice on calibers.

I'm hoping for two functions out of this rifle
(Primary) Longer distance bench shooting..
400 to 600+ yards.
200 to 300 rounds a year.
(Secondary) Hunting Elk, Moose, Black Bear, Caribou, Sasquatch, Canadians, etc.

I've been researching calibers and have come across the following as potential candidates

257 Weatherby
264 Win Mag
300 Win Mag
338 Win Mag
(others)

I'm hoping to get a Remington 700 and top it with a nice VX-3 4.5 to 14 but am open to other rifles.
I'm a reloader so ammo availability doesn't factor.

I would say I'm willing to swap barrels every 1500 to 2000 rounds or so.. and don't plan to max out the rounds as a speed freak. Just going to hunt with Barnes TTSX and load match rounds for clankers in the off season.

If recoil is just off the charts I'll get a bigger butt stock pad or just thread the barrel and put on a break.

Thoughts?

Much appreciated.
 
Without stupid recoil, yet decent ballistics the 308 win or 30-06 will fit the niche of being a bench rifle 1st and elk rifle 2nd.
 
.30-06, or if you must get fancy, a 6.5x55 or 260 Rem would do as well. You get your elk/bench rifle with no brakes, no barrel swaps, no mondo-recoil pads, no flinch-inducing blast or recoil.
 
If you don't reload, .308. If you reload or are planning on it, '06. .308 is a bit less costly for paper punching, and either will kill an elk to maximum rational shooting distance. :)
 
45-70. Its a big, slow moving round that can drop a buffalo. There are several modern & reproductions rifles out there chambered in it as well. My experience with the 45-70 was in a reproduction 1873 Trapdoor. The gun weighed almost 11lbs, so that 500gr cast slug at 1900fps didn't recoil hardly any at all.

If you're wanting to field bigger game than Elk, perhaps look at a 375 H&H Mag. Theres literally a ton of bullets in that caliber to choose from and you can load down or up for the game you're hunting. Recoil is similar to a 1895 Winchester in 405 Win though.
 
A few other calibers you might consider are 338-06, 35 whelen, 338 Ruger Compact Magnum, and 325 Win Short Mag. The Remington 8MM Mag is a rare bird, but if you can find a 700 in that chambering, it would fill your requirements perfectly.
 
I'm not so sure the 45-70 is a very good fit for the OP's stated primary purpose...
Click to expand...

There's plenty of people who shoot out to 1000yds in silhouette shoots with smokeless 45-70's or BPCR's in 45-90, 45-100, 45-110, 45-120, 50-70, 50-90, 50-100, and 50-110. So for 400-600yds, I'd say he's fine and out to about 200yds for big game.
 
Thanks for all the feedback.

The more I think about this the more I think I should get a rifle I want to shoot a bunch off the bench and out in the prairie that just so happens will take down an Elk.

If a guy buys a medium size cartridge that packs a lot of punch and drops a animal like a rock.. but then it becomes a safe queen because you scream for forgiveness after 10 rounds on the bench you wasted a bunch of money.

Saying that it really points to me 308 I think... which really opens up rifle options.

Anyone else see that Les Baer AR-10 style 308 in Shotgun News recently that shoots 0.3 MOA groups out of the box? It's a steal at only 3k!
 
There's plenty of people who shoot out to 1000yds in silhouette shoots with smokeless 45-70's
Click to expand...
Aye, that there are. But it's sort of its own special hobby. Given that the rounds he was considering were Weatherby and Win Mags, I was guessing that wasn't the kind of fun he was after ;)
 
"...perfectly logical excuse to..." Reason. Self-respecting men don't need an excuse. they have a reason. "I want one." is reason enough.
However, forget a magnum of any kind. Magnums are not needed for any game in North America. A .270, .308 or .30-06 is plenty. A .308, if you want to shoot targets as well. However, a target rifle is not a hunting rifle.
"...recoil is just off the charts..." Brakes, not breaks, increase the muzzle blast and noise for the shooter and anybody close. The felt recoil is mostly about the stock and the load used. There are 150 grain match bullets, but which bullet you use will depend on what kind of target shooting you do. 150's are good out to about 300 yards. 168's out to 600, 175's past there. All with IMR4064 for a .308.
"...to 14X..." Too much magnification for hunting. Variables with that much magnification are heavy and long. 2.5 to 8 or 3 to 9 is plenty for a hunting scope. Enough for targets too. Also about what kind of target shooting.
"...that shoots 0.3 MOA groups..." Only with very specific ammo.
"...Canadians..." You'll never be good enough, eh. We'll give you one Canadian beer and you'll be done, eh. You guys in Fargo really talk like they do in the movie? snicker.
"...1000yds in silhouette shoots with smokeless 45-70's..." Not with standard rifles or ammo they don't.
 
i would get tired lugging a ten pound bench gun around all day hunting. buy an elk gun for your hunt, sell it after the hunt and go buy your bench gun.

i don't think a compromise gun will work for you in this case. fwiw

murf
 
The .338 WinMag would work for all but the extreme ranges (beyond 600 yards). Might be because I own one and have been satisfied with it over the years. My .338 WinMag is a Browning BAR. It'll take most any game in North America.
 
I don't know guys, I bet this guys got a half dozen, rifles that he knows would work fine.
He also sounds like a guy thats cartridge bored. I kind of like the idea of a 1000yd bull gun,to hunt with. He won't have to carry it far he can shoot that far. I'm going with 451Detonics on this , 300 HOLLAND, fine cartridge, 06 on steroids. Good range of bullets.
Yeah.... Could also go with another classic, 1st 7 mag, 275 HOLLAND, imagine the fun with 7mm bullets. Target loads piece of cake. can match 7mm express or 30-06 . Classic retro cool. Rem 721 came in 300 Holland.

Almost forgot Holland cases don't have a sharp shoulder, almost no brass flow, cases last forever. Just about the opposite of Weatherby.
 
Last edited:
If you want a dedicated elk gun one of the 7mm or 300 mags would work fine. A 30-06 or 308 wouldn't be too far behind and would make more sense as an adequate elk gun that would not be too much for smaller game.
 
Unfortunately, a hunting rife and a 600 yard bench gun are two different animals. A rifle that's comfortable to carry on an elk hunt is not ideal for firing 50 rounds at paper off a bench on a regular basis. Also, the barrel heat, recoil, and muzzle blast common to most of the magnum calibers in sporting weight rifles makes them less than desirable for shooting from sand bags.

If you absolutely have to compromise, I'd go with a 9 pound 308 or '06 with a number 4 weight barrel. The 308 or '06 will kill the largest elk that ever walked at reasonable hunting ranges and won't knock the ears off a brass monkey when you're shooting off a bench. Top it with a 3x9 high quality scope and you're good to go.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

W
  • Locked
Elk gun
2 3 4 5
Replies
119
Views
6K
Dr.Rob
Dr.Rob
Llama Bob
  • Locked
Getting My New .264 Winchester Magnum Ready For Elk Season
2 3
Replies
58
Views
6K
Dr T
Dr T
txcookie
  • Locked
Enough Elk Gun
2 3 4 5 6
Replies
136
Views
7K
Art Eatman
A
D
  • Locked
Questions about big game calibers
Replies
19
Views
762
Jwar88
J
H
  • Locked
Please help a noob pick a deer and elk hunting caliber
2
Replies
43
Views
2K
addecus
A
Back
Top