Good Elk rifle - Caliber and Brand - your thoughts?

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The last few elk I killed were with a .308, longest shot was 225 yards, 180 grain Winchester's. One I shot with a .303 Enfield at about 200 yards, again with 180 grain bullets but those were Remington's. Did not go more then 20 feet and drooped dead.
 
A Remington Mod 700 in 7mm Rem Mag using 175 gr softpoints will do the job nicely. The trajectory is fairly flat which minimizes the vertical deviation from POA caused by errors in estimating distance.

The only elk I ever shot was shot with that set up at 450 yds (one shot).
 
My deer, elk, feral dog rifle is a Howa 1500 in a synthetic stock chambered for the 7mm Remington Mag. I use 160gr Nosler partitions over 79grs of H870 for about 3000 fps. Never failed to drop what it hit and the cost of the barrelled action, stock, scope rings and sling were less than four hundred dollars. I put it together myself and stuck a good scope on it.
 
commander guineapig,

i have never hunted for elk so i cannot comment on which cartridge is most effective. i can attest to the quality on my remington 700. it is a very well made, accurate, and reliable rifle. i feel that the workmanship on my Mountain Rifle DM is very good, and more than acceptable to me. i favor it over the browning, but that is just subjective. the a bolt is fine rifle too.

Aside from quality, the model 700 is a very common rifle. it would not be hard to find parts, or a gunsmith to do work on it, if it ever needed work.
 
30-06 ==> hard to beat

My primary elk rifle is my uncle's old Remington Model 721 (immediate predecessor to the 700) in .30-06 with a 3-9x40 scope. I currently use Federal's 220 gr. Pro-Hunter RN load with no complaints- It dropped my 5x6 bull last year VERY quickly.
 
I'd have to go along with the 06, so many various loads and lots of ammo out there.
308 would be another one for an all around rifle.

The recoil is another item to consider if you are recoil concerned.:uhoh:

HQ
 
A 30-06 with a premium 165-180 grain bullet out of a 500$ savage or Remington would do the job to say 300 yds. More than most people should shoot an animal. 30-06 does in fact grow on trees I have seen them they are the Walmart and the Dicks sporting good variety tree and it seems as thought the never run out of fruit!
 
hey yall!
First, I would like to thank everyone for their input and advice...yall guys rock.
I've decided on a couple of things:

The Rifle will be a Remington 700 Synthetic. I like the rifle, my lil bro has an older one in .243, and it's a great gun. I do prefer the A-Bolt, but it's not a $400 difference in guns. If it was $100, sure, I'd pick the A-Bolt. But it's not, and as one of yall said, I should spend the extra $400 on some nice optics.

The Caliber...jury's still out, HOWEVER it has been narrowed down to the:
.308, .270, or 30-06.
I have looked over the ballistics of the 7mag, .300 WinMag, .338, 7mm-08 etc, and I would be the first to say they are VERY impressive cartridges. What rules them out is one of 3 things: cartridge price ($2+ a round means I have a pretty gun to look at, not shoot), cartridge commonality (does this cartridge grow on trees, or do I have 2 places in the whole world to buy it?), and last but certainly not least, (as Harley Quinn pointed out), RECOIL. The 7mm and .300 WinMag were said to be "not very much fun to shoot" from someone of a lot thicker build then I. I have to jump around in the shower to get wet, so the thought of a .300 beating the crap out of my shoulder doesn't really appeal to me. The reason for being more concerned about the recoil will tie into the cartridge decision because I want to SHOOT it. Not 10 rounds to sight in and call it good...I want to do some extensive plinking at about 250-300ish yards. I personally can't do that with a .300, or anything like that...I'd go broke and I'd need a shoulder replaced.
So, for Elking, and target shooting at 300 yards, what do these 3 calibers offer me?
.308
.270
30-06

My meager research suggests:
The .308 is decent at closer ranges, but becomes somewhat of a lobbed
shot past 200 yards. True/False?

The .270 is flatter shooting then the -06, but has less punch out at range.

The 30-06 has more ammo options then the .270, and is flatter out at longer
ranges then the .308. Also said to have the most punch of these 3 rounds.

Thoughts?

TBH, I really like the Remington 700 Tactical, with the bull barrel, flat blued finish, but it only comes in .308 (or .223... :rolleyes: )
and I have concerns about it's effectiveness on an elk at 200-250 yards, and it's trajectory at 300 yards for target shooting.
this is said rifle: http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/premier_dealer_exclusives/model_700_SPS.asp

Another note, I have decided to go with a Leupold scope, not sure which one yet tho.

GP
 
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So, for Elking, and target shooting at 300 yards, what do these 3 calibers offer me?
.308
.270
30-06

My meager research suggests:
The .308 is decent at closer ranges, but becomes somewhat of a lobbed
shot past 200 yards. True/False?

The .270 is flatter shooting then the -06, but has less punch out at range.

The 30-06 has more ammo options then the .270, and is flatter out at longer
ranges then the .308. Also said to have the most punch of these 3 rounds.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...


First, I am a BIG fan of the Remington 700.

As for the ammo/cartridge, here's my take:
.308 is a great cartridge. It's a good cartridge (accuracy wise) to 600+ yds. Lots of records for accuracy.
Limited on bullet weights above 165 gr to 180 gr.
"Lobbed shot past 200 yds." Nah. My #2 choice of the three cartridges.

.270 is a dandy cartridge. Necked down '06. Period. Bullet weights are it's limitations. Range is fantastic. Flat shooting, relatively speaking.
I wouldn't use it, personally, for elk.

.30-'06. . . fantastic cartridge for 100+ years!!!!!
Bullet weights up to and including 220 gr. Hard hitting. Recoil. . directly proportional to the 'heat' the bullet has. That's the only drawback.
I would feel comfortable using the '06 and a 165 gr. to 180 gr. 'pill'.
One item of note. . . a good friend has a Remington 700 BDL in '06, and he put a KDF muzzle brake on it.
It is LOUD, but, it recoils like a .223!!! That is NO B.S. Using Winchester 165 gr. Silvertips, it recoiled like a .243.
150 gr. Federals recoiled like a .223.
When I save up my pennies, nickels and dimes, I'm going for a KDF on my 700 BDL.

I would also feel very well 'heeled' with a K98k in 8mm Mauser. Loaded with a 196 gr bullet, it'll do the deed. Would be a grand tool to use, especiall since the rifle can be 'had' for less than $300 to $350.


Last item of note:
A guy at my sportsman's club recently told me about his A-Bolt in .300 WSM.
It has the BOSS on it, and it shoots less than 1/2" groups at 100 yds, and recoils (according to him) like a .243.
He has arthritis in his neck, and is very much affected by recoil.
He is planning an elk hunt this year and is going to use this rifle/cartridge combo.
 
It sounds like you've made up your mind on the rifle, BUT
I would suggest that you take a good look at the Savage Model 12FV in .308. It fits all your requirements and they can be had for very good prices (a little over $400). That leaves a chunk of money for some good optics.

The 12FV is synthetic stocked, heavy barrel with a matte finish and the Accutrigger is really nice. And in the 300-400yd range, the .308 will do just fine without killing your shoulder with one of the bigger or mag calibers.

I have a 12FV and I love it. It is a tack driver and they are priced right.

That's my $ .02
 
I own both 308 and 30-06 and love both, have owned several .270s and have no complaints there either. The .270 is a shade flatter shooting round, (as mentioned above is just a necked down 06). Maybe 2 inches less drop than a comparable 06 or 308 load at 250 yards, but as a lighter bullet, I would rank it 3rd of the three for something as heavy bodied as Elk. It is a relatively light recoil round, but not enough different than the others to really be a big issue. For me the 308 and 30-06 are pretty much fraternal twins. So very similar but not identical. The 308 has slightly less recoil but (in my experience) seams to have a little less power and in most stores there are a lesser selection of bullet sizes and types. That leaves me with putting the .308 #2 and 30-06 as #1. But personally I would just look around and if I found a better deal on one than on another I would probably just scoop it up. I don't believe that you will be disappointed with any of the three.
 
You have enough advice already. All I will add is what I have been successfully using for about 3 decades and that is a 700 BDL in 30-06. Loaded with 150 grain core-lokts I reload close to 3000 FPS the last 20 years or better, for elk and deer. Anything anywhere close will do just fine IMO, if ya hit em where it counts. There is no perfect/magic/bullet/caliber/grain/gun out there, there are shots that hit where they should when they should be shot, and one's that aren't.
 
The 700 is a very good choice, and the 06 is a good one, the shorter bolt throw of a 308 might be a preference, but the price and amount of ammo available, go to the 06. The 270 is nice also. Any of them are winners.

The Elk won't know the difference, if you place it in the heart lung area.:)

HQ
 
it seems a goodly amount of yall are saying:
30-06 or .308, skip the .270 for elking.
Remington 700 in .308 or -06...
well...I guess I am going to Sportsmans Warehouse tomorrow.
I need to go put my hands on a few of these...assuming I can get away
with less then 10 hours work.
Then sell a guitar. Then buy a rifle. w00t.
Thank you all for your input, I really do appreciate it...it's like there's
an endless supply of knowledge on here, and since I ask too many questions,
I love it. :D
And for those of you suggesting I look at a Savage, I will look at those too.
Not sure I'll end up buying from Sportsmans, but they usually seem to have
at least one of everything, so it makes it a great place to compare imho.
thanks again guys!

GP
 
.30-06 has probably taken more elk than any cartridge out there, hard to go wrong. If you want more oomph try the .300 Win Mag.
 
This has been a great thread, for me at least. I want to start hunting when I return form 9 yrs overseas to Idaho. Will be from Antelopes to Elk and who knows maybe some day I can win the Idaho lottery and get Goat/Sheep. I would think ranges up to 400 yrds out west.


Rifles were the same the Rem 700/Browning A-bolt/Savage.

Calibers I was lookng at were .270--.30-06--7mm Mag--.300 Mag.

Only ever shot .30-06 in a proper rifle (not M-16/AR/AK/SKS etc) and that was years ago. But I dont remember recoil bothering me.

I was probably going to forgo the .270 for Elk as I dont want to take chances if I miss shoot at longer ranges and the .300 Mag as I dont really want to shoot just a few rounds practicing.

I know I cant really go wrong with the -06. But how much drop would I expect at 300-400?

And is the 7mm Mag a big jump in recoil compared to the -06? If its not much it may be the choice as its a flat shooter for out west from what has been said. Yes I know recoil is subjective. :)

I will obviously try before I buy though to see what its like. Could always get a brake put on the Rem 700 though but then it would raise the price up to the A-Bolt.

Oh and about the brake I ALWAYS shoot with DOUBLE hearing protection. After working around fighters for the last 17 years inside hardened shelters I understand how easily your ears are damaged. And to hunt with ear plugs/muffs, especially the electronic kind would be no biggie for me as I have them in all the time anyway.
 
For elk or moose, Remington Model 700 in .30-06, 180gr CoreLokt cartridge. Can be had in a variety of synthetic stocks or wood ranging from nice to very nice, metal can be black, blued, SS. They have a new trigger and new SS finish that is supposed to be better on both accounts. Anything other than a Custom Shop gun should be in stock at your local net worth reduction center and easily within your budget. Recoil is not that bad. No need for blast-enhancing muzzle brake. Bullet choices from 55gr to 220gr in full house and reduced recoil loadings. Nearly any rifle manufacturer offers a 30-06 and most will shoot 1 MOA if you can, so get the one you like the look and feel of best.

Smaller and larger calibers will also take elk, but are less flexible in terms of ammunition availability. Smaller calibers require better shot placement to achieve equal results, larger calibers quickly show their limitations when muzzle blast and recoil limit practice time.
 
For the recoil issue muzzle brakes are a great option but make sure you use ear protection. I've shot my friends .300wsm before and after he installed one and the recoil after was more like a .243 but the noise was much more then I expected. Also your neighbors at the range might not like you since it takes the blast and directs it out to the sides. There are shoulder pads that you can strap on for recoil at the range or something like this might work for you also.
http://www.allsportsarmour.com/Hunting_Shooting_Armour_s/37.htm
Either way your not going to feel anything when you've got a big Bull in your sights and pull that trigger. :)
 
Another vote for the 7mm Rem. Mag. Shoots flat, delivers the goods way out there. 160 Nosler partition as in Federal Premium if you don't handload. If you handload, try a Barnes X boattail for a little better BC/range. Don't know if it's available in a factory load. Anything an 06 can do, the 7 can do better. Of course, there was no STW when I got my 7, but I don't feel the need. The Mag is better for the non-handloader, anyway.

Rifle of choice. My 7 is a Savage, but I like Remingtons.
 
The 06 is good and the 7MM is also. Those who have shot both seem to go for the flater shooter, those who are recoil prone seem to overcome that with the new recoil pads and jackets.

I believe shot placement is "King" and if folks would be more respectful of the animal and the hunt they would make sure they have the best shot.

To shoot at running game unless you are really qualified is a no brainer.
If they are charging you, it is one thing if they are for hunting and trophy then you will pride yourself in placement.;)

The bullet in question is a good one and at the right distance will do the job.
Most seem to over/under estimate the distance, and that, just is not good :what:for the trajectory of the 06.

300 Win Mag is another one for the heavy hitters, it can reach out there and touch-um. But shot placement is the "King" as mentioned numerous times.

The hunt is the most important part of this sport and getting one is frosting on the cake, getting it with a proper shot and no spoiled meat is another. When hunting Elk many things to be considered. First time folks should have a guide.;) The animal deserves respect.:banghead:

:uhoh:
 
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