Need an Elk/Deer combo rifle

7-08 in a remington 700 ti, kimber 84, or remington m7. that'll do.

top it w/ a 6x36 leupold screwed down w/ talley lightweights and you'll have a nice-packing killing machine.

For what it's worth, when i asked myself this same question, I went with a bolt action in .30-06 (Remington 700 SPS, to be specific).

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same here.... those things can hit hard!

i am really happy with my tikka t3 light, in 338 federal.

I'd say the 30'06 is the best all around cal. for your needs. It will dispatch whitetails and brown bears. Elk are somewhere in the middle. You can choose from 125gr, to 220gr bullets. coyotes to bear. what more could you ask.

. . . you will really appreciate a Remington Model Seven in caliber .308

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Exactly my choice.

If recoil isn't a concern, a Savage 110 in .308 is a good, inexpensive hunting rifle.

i voted other also. i guess it depends on where you are going to hunt. but if you are going to hunt out west, you may need to take shots in excess of 300 yards. in that case, a .300 magnum would do a better job, or possibly even a .338 mag. i am of the opinion that to much gun is better than not enough. if you get a chance at a NICE bull, that you just are not going to be resonably able to get closer than 4-500 yards, and all you have is a 30-06, you would be pretty disapointed. if you are not, and i mean absoloutly not going to need to shoot over 300 yards, an '06 is a GREAT, SUPER VERSATILE GUN!

.30-06 bolt action. Recommend synthetic stock, stainless steel barrel and action, and the best medium power variable scope you can afford. My choice is a Leupold VX-III 2.5 X 8 matte finish which I have on my Browning SS .300 Win Mag for elk, my Browning SS 7mm Rem Mag (which I haven't taken on a hunt), and my Remington 700 .270 Win with a Brown Precision light weight synthetic stock. A reputable outfitter or guide would recommend a .30-06 for elk, though most are not against using a more powerful cartridge if you are experienced with it and can demonstrate your skill.

Wolf, Winchester, Remington, Federal, Norma and Hornady off the top of my head. Few others load ammo for it. The 6.5x55 is an underestimated round. In Finland, it's the number one moose cartridge.

Midway and Grafs carry ammo. Check with them for loads.

I think someone else already mentioned .280 Remington. I'd second that. It has a wider range of bullets available when compared to .270

Only problem I've found with .280 is that for some reason the ammo is priced higher. That doesn't matter much to me because I reload most of my ammo. If you plan to reload or if you have money to burn I think .280 in a good bolt action is the way to go (mine is a Ruger M77 Mark II, it shoots sub MOA at 100 yards right out of the box, with Leupold 3-9X40 scope).

If you don't plan to load your own, 7mm Mag or .30-06 are also great options. I'd avoid the .270 because most loads are 130gr or 150gr. If you want to hunt a big animal like elk you probably want a heavy bullet. For me I think the 160gr to 175gr range is as light as I'd want to go...

The thing about the 7mm-08, .280 Remington, etc. is that, while they are great cartridges, for all-around use they are just so similar to the .308 or .30-06 that I'd suggest looking at ammo availability over "perfect" ballistics.

The .30-06 wins hands-down when it comes to ammo availability. Grab cheap 150 grain SP for deer, get expensive lead-free ammo for elk. Winchester now makes a nice 180-grain tipped gliding metal bullet in .30 caliber, so you have more than one vendor in .30.

Yeah, there are great rounds out there. 6.5 Swede is one. But why screw around if what you want is a multi-purpose hunting rifle?

I don't shoot my .30-06 boltie that often. It's a hunting tool, not a plinking toy. I sure don't want to get into reloading, just to fire a few rounds through it per year. With the .30-06, I don't have to.

Frankly, I'd get a .30-06 bolt gun for hunting, and a separate toy that shoots cheaper, low-recoil ammo. Like, maybe .223.

I guess someone has to sugest it

What about a bolt action 45-70? easily handle both and more.

Are there bolt .45-70s?

.45-70 is a neat round. Hard to shoot at distance unless you're a competition black powder cartridge shooter or practice a lot to get used to the trajectory.

It will bring down just about anything, though.

I'd stick with the .30-06 for a versatile deer and megadeer rifle, much as I like the .45-70.

There are a few bolt .45/70's

Can't remember if any factory offerings that are current though. I think it was fairly popular to convert Lee-Enfields and Siamese Mausers to that grand old cartridge.

Many, many chamberings would meet your criteria for a hunting rifle. .270,.280, 7 mag, .30-06. Even the magnums would be good. The 6.5 Swede is a real sleeper and I would think serve you quite well.

Sorry the only produced "new" 45-70 bolt guns today are custom builds. There are many single shot options though.

In all honesty to me the one single most versatile round mentioned in the 7 mag. You can load light bullets for long flat shooting for deer or heavy bullets for medium range large elk.

I just like the 45-70 and have seen several bolt guns over the years.

After shooting mule deer, pronghorn, and elk with a few different calibers I would go with a bolt action rifle with a 3-9 X scope . The cartridge would be a Rem 7 MM Mag. A person who reloads ammo can get 100, 120,139, 154, 162, and 175 grain bullets. I may have missed a few bullet grains. -- My first rifle was a Winchester Mdl 70 270 Win purchased in 1952. Since back then , I have also used a 243 Win, 257 Roberts, 25-06 Rem, 264 Win Mag, 30-30, 308 Wim, 30-06 Springfeild, 308 Norma Mag, and 340 Weatherby Mag. My second choice would be a 300 Win Mag. Any one of the cartridges I have used will do with a bullet that matches the game and one stalks the game within range for the rifle.

Best for both worlds is the '06 IMHO. The mags are nice for elk at long range, but are out of place in the deer woods (around here, anyway). Having spent considerable time in CO elk hunting, my experience is that a 400yd shot is almost never necessary, but that may be different in some areas. 165gr '06 for big deer, 180-200gr for elk, AND with Hornady Light Magnums you can virtually duplicate a 300 Win mag. PLUS, get what you need at virtually every place that sells ammo. NO CONTEST

7mm magnums any one take your pick. 7mm have really good BC for those long shots. tons of bullets for them (not as much as 30 cal) but ive yet to see a bullet that is made in 30 that isnt in 7mm (except FMJ, 7mm FMJ are REALLY hard to come by, but thats not a hunting bullet)

I hunted both with an M-1A. I know of others that have been successful with .243 and 7mm.

A .308 or 30-06 will work just fine for elk. No real need for a "magnum" unless that's just your thing. Personally, I've harvested elk with my Marlin 30/30 and have never had a problem.

I would have to go with the 7mm rem mag in a Tikka t3. The 7mm may be overkill for whitetail (isn't that the point) but I'd feel more comfortable going after elk with this combo.

30-06 has never failed me. there are many different factory loads available, it has the velocity and kinetic energy to kill all the critters I've come across, and they are fairly cost effective. Not to mention that every sporting goods store in the USA has ammo for it.

My favorite rifle caliber

Bolt action 308 with a 20 inch (or so) barrel...

Packs easy (because its short and light), balance is perfect, plenty powerful enough...

There is a long list of good things that can be said about the good points of short guns...swings easy in thick cover and perfect balance are my 2 favorites though.

Some may say get a short 30-06...if you decide to do that, you still have a 308 because that's all the performance you will get out of a short 30-06 due to the fact that a 30-06 needs a long barrel to get going...the 308 does not.

I still like the 7mm-08. I can't quite understand why everyone uses the "ammo availability" arguement with a hunting rifle. It's not like you're going to need to take THAT many shots that a box or two of ammo isn't going to be enough for a week long hunting trip.

Now, if this were a "survival" issue, or a SHTF/EOWAWKI situation... I can substantiate this arguement and even agree with it...

I'd go with a lightweight .308 bolt like a Rem Seven and keep in mind that for whitetails in the woods at shorter ranges, you can go with excellent recoil managed loads that still beat .30-30 ballistics.