How small is too small on elk?

[H&Hhunter]

Twycross,

That seems like a pretty sensible minimum to me.

 

[SRMohawk]

Harve,
That is a mighty purty rack on that bull you felled with a .50 cal. I get such big, warm-fuzzies when I see that kind of thing. In fact, I feel the very opposite way about what are officially referred to as 'atypicals', no matter how massive they. I don't know how many atypical B&C monsters I've seen pics of that to my mind are still just 'rag-horns'. It is illustrative of my feelings about these things that I once smoked a Blackbuck antelope with 19" horns that was standing around with several other bucks, all of which had 22-24" horns. My hunting mates were furious with me. But I just had to have that animal with those virtually perfect 19-inchers, seein' as how all of his older, longer-horned neighbors looked like they'd been in fights with Mexican borrachos wielding dull machetes!

H&H,
My .300 WSM is an 18.5 lb, single-shot rig with no safety, while my .338 Lapua is a 20 lb single-shot with no safety. My 6.5 X 284 Norma, on the other hand, is a repeater that weighs only 12.5 lbs. BTW, in defense of the outfitter I've chosen for this hunt, he explained to me in some detail that the climate (e.g. fog and rain are common during elk season in the Montana Rockies) determines whether one hunts in the timber vs. out in the open, which he says never permits hunting in both on the same day due to the amount of ground that has to be covered.

 

[Harve Curry]

SRMohawk,
It wasn't me who shot him, a fella name Tom from N.California. I was the guide and he took my picture.
____________________________________________

Quote:......."How many of you would shoot an elk with a 6.5 x 284 Norma (given a 140-gr projectile at 2900 fps (3000+ fps in South Texas climate) and out to what maximum distance?"

I'd say 300 yards max and only if you can print good groups on paper at that range. As a side note I see many Indians around here use a Winchester 30-30 with open sights.

 

[T.R.]

This large cow fell to two quick chest shots from a 35 Remington. An older slide action rifle that has toppled many animals over the years. Ballistically, the 35 resembles the 30-30 but a larger and heavier bullet.

My wife has taken several elk with her custom 6.5mm Swede rifle.

My sister-in-law has had equal success with her 7mm-08 rifle.

Most family members hunt elk with 30-06 rifles. This cartridge has proved it worth wherever game is hunted across our planet. I hunt elk with a .308 carbine because I like short rifles best of all.

Your outfitter sounds less-than-ideal.
TR

 

[Anthony T.]

I'd say anything 7mm mag or bigger would be great. anything bigger than 338 would be more than needed. 30-06 would be tough to beat also, 270 is marginal, so id 7mm-08 and 308.

 

[wolfe28]

Which 180gr 308 for elk?

H&H (and everyone else)

With some luck, I'll be going deer hunting with my great uncle this fall. This will be my first time hunting, and since "The Colonel" (my great uncle is retired U.S. Army, and yes, that is his retiring rank) is pushing 90, I want to make the most of it. I'm in the process of working up some hunting loads for my 308, along with the target loads I am already in the middle of, but I could use some help on which bullets to use.

Now, I know that a 180gr 308 is much more than is necessary for a central PA deer, but I would like to build one load that I can use on both deer and elk. The folks at Sierra say that the gamekings will be fine, and for the most part, I trust them implicitely (sp). Should I opt for something like a Hornady SST or Interbond, Nosler partition or accubond, or some of the other high performance projectiles?

Thanks,
D

 

[Anthony T.]

The partitions are hard to beat.

 

[Harve Curry]

I think the GameKing 180gr is fine choice if they shoot good out of your rifle.
See how it groups at 300 yards.

That is great your hunting with your great uncle of near 90 years old. I'll bet he has some stories and history to tell.