Elk Terminal Performance Philosophies

Quintus said:

In this day and age it really has become a which bullet, not which cartridge question (at least for those like us that bother to ask it). I think bullets have made such massive advancements both in design and production methods you can hit much harder, more accurately, much further than ever before. Add in rangefinder and ballistic solutions hardware as well as more reliable and functional optics and the question of what tool to kill with really has a ton of great answers. I would use bullets and cartridges from both camps and several unlisted fringe camps. Truth is, most bullet cartridge combinations in the hands of a practiced shooter will do nicely. Just one persons opinion, YMMV.

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TRUTH,. ^^^ there ARE Now,..many "Good" Bullets to, choose From, and MOST Big Game Cartridge's Produce, the Velocities, fast enough, to make them "Expand" or, Fragment,.. "Well" !
But,.. you should, Test them.

Side note, I'd love it when Q's like this are posed that people would need to chime in on their elk hunting experience. How man elk have they taken, if so on their own or guided. Public or Private etc.

Just be fun to see how the thought processes come and go.

MoreSalsa, You don't have to shoot hundreds of rounds through your big gun to be proficient. Comfortable yes!

You can as closely as possible duplicate the higher horse power rifle/cartridge in a much more affordable cartridge with much less recoil.

The shooting fundamentals are identical…..mastering field positions ( sitting (my weakest), prone, and in our case shooting sticks, are the same, no matter the rifle. With that "duplicate" rifle….you also work with trigger control, breath control, ect.

And as others have stated, body conditioning is very important. Or at the very least…..know your limitations!

Oh by the way, we don't use brakes……we both hate them!

Another - Oh by the way! We both hunt all big game with one rifle exclusively. We both fantasized about hunting Africa and Alaska, so we got cartridges that were well suited for both. Many may argue, but I believe that someone hunts with only one firearm…..he/she should be as good as they can be. Familiarity has some advantages! memtb

Shot placement is paramount to caliber . So for me most of 2 apply. I've seen elk taken with big magnums and small 7-08's . In the 5 hunts for elk I've personally hunted I've used a 300wm and a 180gr bullet. Also a 50 cal muzzleloader with a 338 gr bullet and 150 gr of powder. The muzzleloader dumped the bull where he stood . The 300 wm she ran and made it about 80 yds. Both where broad side shots and not a drop of blood till recovery. Shoot what your comfortable with .

MoreSalsa said:

Thanks. Do you think quartering to and away shots on a big elk are okay with good shot placement, if you're using a smaller cartridge (even if it's a match or hybrid type bullet like an eld-x or Berger hybrid)?

Interesting to hear from an elk guide. I think a lot of my thinking in line with Philosophy 1 came from Joseph von Benedikt. I was listening to a lot his podcasts. He likes to say he listens to what elk guides say and they say you need a 7mm bullet minimum, and .30 cal is better. The more I hear from guides the more I think they have a variety of opinions just like everyone else.

I'm not going to get into specifics in this thread because I want to keep this about the general principles, but for the past several years I have been thinking that I'll definitely have to get a new rifle that can deliver a bigger bullet if I'm going to hunt elk ... but as I started to reason through it I'm now looking more and more at the rifle I already have, for deer and hogs.

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Here's a mature bull, 25-06 with a Berger. I've seen similar shot angles at much closer ranges with 6.5 Bergers, all resulted in dead elk.

People are dropping big mature bulls with pointy sticks and strings, any modern rifle will kill and elk, your terrain and realistic shot opportunity has more to do with the rifle you chose and what its chambered in.. I subscribe to a mix of both philosophies you laid out. Personally I like my 300 win or 7mm rem but I wouldn't hesitate to let my daughter shoot a bull with her 270 win or even a 6.5 creed, shot distance would be the limiting factor based on bullet operational velocity. Thats just my take on it. if you want an excuse for a new rifle a 7mm or 300 of a flavor you can reliably shoot wouldn't hurt but the 30-06, 308 even 25-06 you grandpa gave you will get the job done.