Need an Elk/Deer combo rifle

[akodo]

7mm remington magnum

The 7mm bullet has some excellent ballistic coeeficients, so she flies like a dream.

The 7mm remington mag has about as much recoil as most moderate shooters can take, for that reason I always place it above the 300 winmag which I think is a bit too much for most folks. The 7mm remington mag has a definate advantage over the 30-06 if you want to stretch the range just a bit, and for elk, you do.

Of course, the 30-06 is a bit more of a generalist, and if you handload you can wring a lot of extra performance out of the 30-06, so that is a very strong 2nd choice.

I'd skip the 308, with a heavy bullet the smaller case capacity of the 308 becomes a liability. While the 308 can match 95-99% of the performance of the 30-06 with standard weight bullets, heavier bullets I'd say that factory 308 is 90% as effective as factory 30-06 and 80% as effective as hot handloads with heavies in 30-06

 

[akodo]

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

the 280 was once called the 7mm remington express or some such, it being a 30-06 necked down to 7mm. While I do believe that as a reloader you see more bullets in .284 (7mm) vs .277 if you look at factory loads, the 280 doesn't have a lot of opions, while the 270 winchester has probably the 2nd most choices out there as far as factory loads are concerned.

And while technically there may be more options in .284 bullet weights, there aren't any gaps in the .277 lineup.

If you are going to go 7mm, go 7mm remington magnum, or I suppose 7mm-08, as that right now today seems a lot more prevelant than 280 remington.

Of course, if you are a handloader plus a guy who just likes to be different, then 280 remington is an excellent choice.

If you really want to be different, go for the 264 winchester magnum. That will handle elk with heavy bullets and with lighter loads boy that chambering shoots flat!

 

[jakk280rem]

+1 for the 280rem. Flatter shooting and just as capable as 30-06. this one comes in at under 7lbs.

Of course, if you are a handloader plus a guy who just likes to be different, then 280 remington is an excellent choice.

 

[Ringtail]

I,ve used a .280 Rem. to kill a lot of animals including an elk. I only used factory ammo to get brass to reload, all of my hunting rounds were reloads. It's a good round, but I think its more of a deer/pronghorn round than an elk round. A mature cow elk will weigh 600 lbs. A nice bull will go 800. Bullet placement and performance are very important. On elk, use the biggest rifle that you can shoot straight with, and use a premium big game bullet like the Barns. The same rifle will work on deer. Do us all a favor and limit your shots to 300 yards. Elk are powerful long legged animals and can go straight up a mountain side through the thickest brush faster than you can think. If you wound one at long range you will likely loose him and that is tragic. Lots of people brag about their long range shooting skills, but elk hunting needs hunting skills as well as shooting skills. Use enough gun, close the range, shoot straight and don't let one get away wounded.