elktrout
Member
There may not be a more provocative question in the U.S. than this one: What is the best elk cartridge?
There are almost as many opinions on the matter as there are centerfire cartridges. After all, we have all seen/heard recommendations spanning the cartridge line-up from .243 Winchester to 458 Winchester Magnum. Probably, no other North American animal has been harvested with as wide a variety of rifle chamberings as an elk.
Elk amaze us. They are herd animals, here today and gone tomorrow, with no seemingly distinct patterns. They are extremely hardy and have an incredible ability to take hits and keep on going. In short, they are magnificent and truly intrigue us. In addition, elk meat is some of finest in the world; and, when you harvest one, you get a good load of meat.
Background:
I lived in the Rocky Mountain west for 27 years up to 2022. An acquaintance of mine has killed more than 40 elk in his lifetime with rifles from the .243 Winchester to the .375 H&H. I once helped him pull out a nice bull that he killed at 390 yards with a straight-on chest shot. One shot. Dead elk. He was the best shot, out to 500 yards, that I have ever known. Of course, it helped that he had guided for 10 years and had the opportunity to observe numerous successful elk kills beyond his 40+.
In addition, I conversed with many successful elk hunters, because living there makes your path cross with theirs more often than if you live elsewhere. Hunt details were always fascinating and never the same as any other, even if the same hunter was involved. However, a common theme developed from these contacts/acquaintances in regards to elk cartridges. Here are my points about the subject of this post.
Points to consider:
1. You Tubers and other bloggers often post their opinions based on nothing more than paper ballistics, often comparing one cartridge to another or possibly a third. Many of these posts lack corroboration from actual hunting. So, when they tell us that a 6.5 whatever-it-is will kill elk as reliably as 30-06, it is opinion and opinion only.
2. Guides and outfitters live in the real world of elk hunting and successful harvesting of these animals. They know what works and what does not. If you want some truly "expert" advise on cartridge selection, ask them, not some blogger.
3. Why are so many gun writers, hunters, You Tubers, and bloggers enamored with the latest cartridge designs, when in reality the ballistics vary little from well proven cartridges that pre-date them by many years? They are entitled to their opinions, of course, but why are they embracing these new arrivals as if they are a stroke of genius? Is it not interesting that their love affair with the new cartridge so often requires them to compare the newbie to an old stand-by, such as the 270 Winchester for 30-06?
4. What actually works to consistently kill elk, given reasonable range and proper shot placement? You will hear most often from experienced, successful elk hunters that cartridges between the .270 Winchester and .338 Winchester magnum have the best record for harvesting elk.
5. One last but pertinent point. The voice of experience is hard to rebut. My acquaintance mentioned earlier, former guide and killer of 40+ elk, killed most of his elk, including big bulls, with a 300 Win Mag shooting old-fashioned, out-dated, boring 180 Nosler Partitions. He told me that no elk ever got away when he hit them solidly with the first shot.
What do I have? A 30-06, a 7mm Wby Mag, and a 300 WSM. My favorite, for many reasons, is my 300 WSM. I have yet to get a shot with it on elk, but my one son used it to shoot a monster bull length-wise, front to rear, penetrating the entire animal with a 180 Nosler Accubond. The bull netted 350 pounds of boned-out meat.
Sorry for the length of this post. I watch You Tube and enjoy the good material on it, but some recent stupid posts prompted me to give this forum my insights.
In short, if a cartridge is a ballistic minimum of the venerable 270 with stout 130 grainers, it will work on elk with proper shot placement. If you have a 270 or 30-06 or better, you do not NEED some new fangled media thriller to kill elk reliably.
Good hunting.
There are almost as many opinions on the matter as there are centerfire cartridges. After all, we have all seen/heard recommendations spanning the cartridge line-up from .243 Winchester to 458 Winchester Magnum. Probably, no other North American animal has been harvested with as wide a variety of rifle chamberings as an elk.
Elk amaze us. They are herd animals, here today and gone tomorrow, with no seemingly distinct patterns. They are extremely hardy and have an incredible ability to take hits and keep on going. In short, they are magnificent and truly intrigue us. In addition, elk meat is some of finest in the world; and, when you harvest one, you get a good load of meat.
Background:
I lived in the Rocky Mountain west for 27 years up to 2022. An acquaintance of mine has killed more than 40 elk in his lifetime with rifles from the .243 Winchester to the .375 H&H. I once helped him pull out a nice bull that he killed at 390 yards with a straight-on chest shot. One shot. Dead elk. He was the best shot, out to 500 yards, that I have ever known. Of course, it helped that he had guided for 10 years and had the opportunity to observe numerous successful elk kills beyond his 40+.
In addition, I conversed with many successful elk hunters, because living there makes your path cross with theirs more often than if you live elsewhere. Hunt details were always fascinating and never the same as any other, even if the same hunter was involved. However, a common theme developed from these contacts/acquaintances in regards to elk cartridges. Here are my points about the subject of this post.
Points to consider:
1. You Tubers and other bloggers often post their opinions based on nothing more than paper ballistics, often comparing one cartridge to another or possibly a third. Many of these posts lack corroboration from actual hunting. So, when they tell us that a 6.5 whatever-it-is will kill elk as reliably as 30-06, it is opinion and opinion only.
2. Guides and outfitters live in the real world of elk hunting and successful harvesting of these animals. They know what works and what does not. If you want some truly "expert" advise on cartridge selection, ask them, not some blogger.
3. Why are so many gun writers, hunters, You Tubers, and bloggers enamored with the latest cartridge designs, when in reality the ballistics vary little from well proven cartridges that pre-date them by many years? They are entitled to their opinions, of course, but why are they embracing these new arrivals as if they are a stroke of genius? Is it not interesting that their love affair with the new cartridge so often requires them to compare the newbie to an old stand-by, such as the 270 Winchester for 30-06?
4. What actually works to consistently kill elk, given reasonable range and proper shot placement? You will hear most often from experienced, successful elk hunters that cartridges between the .270 Winchester and .338 Winchester magnum have the best record for harvesting elk.
5. One last but pertinent point. The voice of experience is hard to rebut. My acquaintance mentioned earlier, former guide and killer of 40+ elk, killed most of his elk, including big bulls, with a 300 Win Mag shooting old-fashioned, out-dated, boring 180 Nosler Partitions. He told me that no elk ever got away when he hit them solidly with the first shot.
What do I have? A 30-06, a 7mm Wby Mag, and a 300 WSM. My favorite, for many reasons, is my 300 WSM. I have yet to get a shot with it on elk, but my one son used it to shoot a monster bull length-wise, front to rear, penetrating the entire animal with a 180 Nosler Accubond. The bull netted 350 pounds of boned-out meat.
Sorry for the length of this post. I watch You Tube and enjoy the good material on it, but some recent stupid posts prompted me to give this forum my insights.
In short, if a cartridge is a ballistic minimum of the venerable 270 with stout 130 grainers, it will work on elk with proper shot placement. If you have a 270 or 30-06 or better, you do not NEED some new fangled media thriller to kill elk reliably.
Good hunting.