1st elk hunt need rifle advice

[Eagle eyes 17]

Whatever you decide to take should be able to handle a good 180gr. Hunting Round.
Back in the day, we would hunt with our Old Reliable 30-06 .... 165gr. for Deer and 180gr. for Elk.

 

[Jack R Tishue Jr]

Playtimefun: where you get some of this BS. There are more than 3 tire companies in the US, let alone other countries. Same with Battery companies. Used to hear that about Paint too, but not true there either, and better paint IS better, etc.

 

[Jack R Tishue Jr]

Beretta firearms accepted its first customer order on 3 October, 1526 by Mastro Bartolomeo Beretta of Gardone, Italy. This makes Beretta the oldest firearms manufacturer in the world. Beretta is owned by Beretta Holding S.p.A., which also owns Benelli, Franchi, Stoeger, Sako, Tikka, and Uberti Aldo & Company (a.k.a. Cimarron Arms).

So Sako owned by a holding company, which is not the same as by the Mfg company.

Anyway, will look up the tires thing. But know of several in Europe alone, and the Japan, and Korea, plus the US.

Beretta Firearms - Gun Shots
www.gun-shots.net/beretta-firearms.shtml

How many different tire manufacturers are there?

As of June 2014, there are 58 tire manufactures all over the world. Some of the tire manufacturers are TVS Tyres, Bridgestone Corporation, and Dunlop Rubber.

 

[Lahunter76]

I have a 25-06 Sako 75 and I love it!! Shoots great with Barns 110gr vortex, have shot several deer with it and my wife has also. Would not trade it for anything

 

[Playtimefun]

Playtimefun: where you get some of this BS. There are more than 3 tire companies in the US, let alone other countries. Same with Battery companies. Used to hear that about Paint too, but not true there either, and better paint IS better, etc.

That was what I was told, but I could easily be wrong. Not my specialty to be honest.

I know the gun ownerships listed are correct though.

 

[Playtimefun]

Beretta firearms accepted its first customer order on 3 October, 1526 by Mastro Bartolomeo Beretta of Gardone, Italy. This makes Beretta the oldest firearms manufacturer in the world. Beretta is owned by Beretta Holding S.p.A., which also owns Benelli, Franchi, Stoeger, Sako, Tikka, and Uberti Aldo & Company (a.k.a. Cimarron Arms).

So Sako owned by a holding company, which is not the same as by the Mfg company.

Not sure I follow on that one. Beretta... as a holding company... owns the rights to those companies. So if they wanted to (and it would be stupid to but hypothetically) retool a Sako plant to produce Beretta rifles, do they not have the right?

 

[Playtimefun]

You are right... I never checked the stuff about the tires, batteries. Although now I know that there are only 2 tire companies that manufacturer tires in North America which was kind of nifty to see. And only 3 North American made car batteries but there are 4 of a different type of battery... etc.

Well I wanted to argue that Beretta as the holding company could run Sako etc in a certain way if they wanted to but I went to check and now I am not sure at all. Lol

Very interesting to see how gun companies are owned by investment companies.

"Three of the publicly-traded gun companies — American Outdoor Brands, Sturm, Ruger RGR and Vista Outdoors VSTO — are in several major stock indexes."

So now I am not sure how Beretta is traded?? But when I went to start looking it was interesting to see how some of the gun violence and the resulting push for tougher gun laws can/is affecting your retirement portfolio whether you realize it or not.

 

[Playtimefun]

Ok. So according to Wikipedia, which may not be the greatest source... but it says that it is a privately owned company.

Beretta Holding S.p.A also called the Berretta Holding Group, is headquartered in Gardone Val Trompia near Brescia, Italy. It is an Italian holding company for the famous Italian industrial group and holds direct or indirect participation in 26 companies.[4][5] The eponymous company is managed by fifteenth-generation descendants of Maestro Bartolomeo Beretta, progenitor of a firearms manufacturing dynasty.[3][6]

This is the Beretta holding profile:
http://www.berettaholding.com/en/group-profile

 

[Jack R Tishue Jr]

Glad to see we stimulated your interest in this topic. Fascinating isn't it.

 

[Matt Bastian]

The question was...."1st elk hunt need rifle advice?"...

#1, think caliber.
#2, think 'your' skill at distance, ethical skill at distance to hit a dinner plate wore out and breathing hard.
#3, think scabbard if horse hunting and will the Hubble telescope fit inside it.
#4, enjoy that you will be experiencing an incredible hunt.
#5, think a **** good pair of boots.

I personally watched 2 elk running dead 30 to 50 yards from a kill shot with a .300 win mag from 180 grain bullets. I saw another go 100 yards from a '30-06 with 180 grain bullet. I watched my cow tumble from a .338 Win mag with a 200 grain bullet. Personally, I chose the .338 Win as that is my one caliber choice for elk, bear, and moose. All three animals are very large, strong, can take a licking and keep on ticking, often found in areas with high cross winds, and long distances.

The .338 Win. is available in all mom and pop ammo shops anywhere out west, anywhere. Why? Because just like the .300 Win., it's the cat's *** when the shooting gets tough and the tough are getting shot. The .338 caliber, whichever the flavor, bucks heavy wind like none other.

1st elk hunt gun? Something in .338, braked, fixed power optic (so every shot everything is the same) AND a range finder. Sight in far zero 300 yards and tape your dope chart to your stock. Then practice shooting off hand and have fun doing it.

Don't forget the boots, btw.

 

[Hespco]

Years ago when I was younger I felt the 338mag was the only cal for elk. Over the years I have taken elk with 338 mags on down to the 6.5. It has always come down to properly bullet placement regardless of cal. As for muzzle brakes, these rifles should never be fired without hearing protection. Many shooters today have permanent hearing damage from shooting or being next to someone shooting a brake. Any thing from the 6.5 up with the proper bullet, properly placed will bring down elk cleanly.. A few year back I put a new elk hunter on a 3x4 rag horn bull at around 80 yds. His first shot from his 338 broke the left front leg. Next shot went into the hip. Of the next two shots , one was a miss another was a gut shot. The fifth shot hit the spine right at the top of the back dropping the elk. A 6th & final shot was need to finish the elk off. Another hunter I put on a bull dropped it in it's track with a properly placed shot from a 25-06 using a Barnes mono bullet. 270's with tough deep penetrating bullets properly placed work every time. The biggest problem is hunters with uncontrolled emotions jerking triggers instead of an in control brain squeezing the trigger. A deep penetrating properly placed bullet makes the difference. Using a large cal mag with a heavy bullet does not make up for an improperly place bullet.

 

[Brian Wheeler]

I would say that it is very important to hunt with a rifle you feel very comfortable with. Your 270? Or whatever caliber above that. The main thing is to practice, practice, practice. Shoot from as many positions as you can. Learn to shoot from prone position, over a backpack (or whatever you carry). Practice all at the ranges you plan to shoot an Elk at. In all the different conditions you can. Here in Wyoming, it is rare to not have to account for wind. Be very comfortable with the rifle, you equipment (optics, etc), range estimation or range finding, and trajectory of whatever cartridge you choose. I would also practice shooting off-hand quite a bit as well. Best of luck!

 

[B.Griff]

Dan,
I'm also a Georgia boy (Athens) and had this very same discussion a year ago. I had planned on using my Browning A Bolt SS in 270 with a Boss for an elk/mulley hunt in MT. Ultimately, I bought a CA 300wm Ridgeline, put a Leupold VX-6HD 4-24x52 on it with Hawkins rings and shoot 215 Bergers. Great setup and did the job nicely. I haven't had any trouble with the whitetails back home or traveling to hunt in the MS delta region. Lite rifle, manageable recoil with the brake and no problems shooting off hand from the stand. Just my thoughts.

 

[Matt Bastian]

As a follow up to my earlier comments, I'm originally from Tennessee. I hunted everything there that could be hunted. What really blew my perspective away when I moved to North Dakota was the wide open distances.

In Tennessee, 200 yard shots were uncommon because of the terrain, the trees, and etc. In elk country, places like Montana, Idaho, Colorado, etc. distances are unreal. For instance, shooting prairie dogs in ND one easily can be shooting 300-400 yard shots. And the wind, it never seems to lay down.

I'm no elk pro, but the last thing one wants to do is shoot an elk and have it run for a minute and a half or more before it dies. That minute and a half run can easily translate into a nightmare finding and retrieving your kill.

To me, it's not whether a .270 will do the job, it's whether it will anchor the elk near or very near where it was standing when shot. To me, the difference between a 30/30 for whitetail deer and a .270 on the same deer is analogous to the difference between the .270 and the .338 WM on elk.

A buddy of mine shot a mule deer in Colorado 3 times, each shot in the lungs, with a .270 and he thought he had missed. It wasn't until his hunting buddy, a mutual friend, who was glassing the mule buck, said "I think you hit him each time". He did hit each shot and each shot would have had obvious effects on a whitetail deer. It's like these mule deer and elk are so much tougher.

Like John Wayne said, it's all about windage and elevation. But Robert Ruark also said, "Use enough gun!"