.260 Remington as an Elk Rifle

[revturbo9967]

I hear the opposite then most of what you guys are hearing as far as minimum caliber on elk. I hear tons of guys at my range say you don't need anything larger than a 30-06. I'm on board with most, 260 is good enough with a well-placed shot. A poorly placed shot with most magnums will get a large animal to run and in some cases, not retrievable. Larry Benoits has taken some seriously huge whitetails (300lbs+) in his day with a 130 gr out of a .270. Obviously not an elk , but very tough animals . I guess my point is up until recently , I'd bet more elk have been taken with a non-magnum caliber. There will always the stories of a guy dropping 4 shots from a 300 rum right behind the shoulder and it still runs 600 yards. I tend to believe about 40% of those stories played out like they're told. My next rifle build is going to be a 26 nosler, and it may come with me elk hunting.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I hear the opposite then most of what you guys are hearing as far as minimum caliber on elk. I hear tons of guys at my range say you don't need anything larger than a 30-06. I'm on board with most, 260 is good enough with a well-placed shot. A poorly placed shot with most magnums will get a large animal to run and in some cases, not retrievable. Larry Benoits has taken some seriously huge whitetails (300lbs+) in his day with a 130 gr out of a .270. Obviously not an elk , but very tough animals . I guess my point is up until recently , I'd bet more elk have been taken with a non-magnum caliber. There will always the stories of a guy dropping 4 shots from a 300 rum right behind the shoulder and it still runs 600 yards. I tend to believe about 40% of those stories played out like they're told. My next rifle build is going to be a 26 nosler, and it may come with me elk hunting.

I would be willing to bet that out of all of those "4 shots in the boiler room with a .300 RUM, and still ran 600 yards" stories, more often than not, the shot-placement in those stories vs. what really happened is probably a little bit fudged to save face... But the other stories might be true. I have seen whitetail deer hit by some big chunks of lead and take off like a lightning bolt and run WAY longer than they should have, even with well-placed shots. Every animal reacts differently when shot, and you never know how it is going to, until you drop the hammer.

Just my opinion, not saying its fact. I worked in a hunting store/gun shop in high school, and have grown up hunting and fishing and shooting...So, if you hang around enough folks that hunt and fish, you're going to hear a lot of BS stories, and you can get really good at spotting them from a mile away. My conclusion to that is... All outdoorsmen tend to over exaggerate at times...Even some of the most honest folks I know, have stretched a hunting or fishing story or 2. Just like we all have that buddy who caught that "20lb. largemouth bass" that threw the hook right as you were about to net it.

 

[revturbo9967]

I would be willing to bet that out of all of those "4 shots in the boiler room with a .300 RUM, and still ran 600 yards" stories, more often than not, the shot-placement in those stories vs. what really happened is probably a little bit fudged to save face... But the other stories might be true. I have seen whitetail deer hit by some big chunks of lead and take off like a lightning bolt and run WAY longer than they should have, even with well-placed shots. Every animal reacts differently when shot, and you never know how it is going to, until you drop the hammer.

Just my opinion, not saying its fact. I worked in a hunting store/gun shop in high school, and have grown up hunting and fishing and shooting...So, if you hang around enough folks that hunt and fish, you're going to hear a lot of BS stories, and you can get really good at spotting them from a mile away. My conclusion to that is... All outdoorsmen tend to over exaggerate at times...Even some of the most honest folks I know, have stretched a hunting or fishing story or 2. Just like we all have that buddy who caught that "20lb. largemouth bass" that threw the hook right as you were about to net it.

some of the best stories , are hunting stories

 

[gillettehunter]

I have a good friend that is now in his 80's. He has killed over 100 elk with a .270 and 130 gr partitions.( 60 yrs ago he filled several family members tags yearly) He doesn't take marginal shots and is usually out 2 or more weeks and has time to get the shot he wants. I have killed more than 20 elk with a .270 usually with 140-150 gr bullets. It can be done. The .260 is similar to the .270 with the same weight bullets. Is it ideal? Probably not. As long as you don't take marginal shots. As long as you can hit where on the elk you are aiming. A bullet in the heart/lungs and they die.
A larger caliber/bullet helps to cover your backside if/when you make a marginal hit. I've killed around 35 elk and my preference is to stay with some sort of 7mm/.28 caliber or bigger. Ask Broz his opinion. He has helped a lot of people fill their elk tags this year with the depredation hunts in his area. This is just my opinion based on my experiences. Your mileage may vary. Bruce

 

[engineer40]

I have a good friend that is now in his 80's. He has killed over 100 elk with a .270 and 130 gr partitions.( 60 yrs ago he filled several family members tags yearly) He doesn't take marginal shots and is usually out 2 or more weeks and has time to get the shot he wants. I have killed more than 20 elk with a .270 usually with 140-150 gr bullets. It can be done. The .260 is similar to the .270 with the same weight bullets. Is it ideal? Probably not. As long as you don't take marginal shots. As long as you can hit where on the elk you are aiming. A bullet in the heart/lungs and they die.
A larger caliber/bullet helps to cover your backside if/when you make a marginal hit. I've killed around 35 elk and my preference is to stay with some sort of 7mm/.28 caliber or bigger. Ask Broz his opinion. He has helped a lot of people fill their elk tags this year with the depredation hunts in his area. This is just my opinion based on my experiences. Your mileage may vary. Bruce

I shared the story of my uncle shooting a bull elk 6 times with a 270 only to illustrate why there are such diversified opinions on cartridge selection for hunting animals the size of elk. I wasn't trying to communicate that someone shouldn't use a 270 (or any other cartridge). Hope that makes sense.

 

[gillettehunter]

Engineer40, I thought that you made perfect sense. Elk are big critters and can take some killing. I used a .270 for years on elk. It was what I had..... My dad tells stories of bulls running 1/4 mile after a hole through their heart WHEN they have their adrenaline up. I was in no way sniping at you. Just adding some more ancillary experience for the OP to make up his own mind. Bruce

 

[Gary Kaney]

I've taken 6 Montana elk. 5 with my 06 and 1 with my 454 Casull. This year I'm seriously leaning toward my 260. Where I hunt I've never shot farther than 300 yards.

 

[revturbo9967]

I've taken 6 Montana elk. 5 with my 06 and 1 with my 454 Casull. This year I'm seriously leaning toward my 260. Where I hunt I've never shot farther than 300 yards.

big game handgun hunting is awesome. how far was the shot?

 

[Jeremyc]

I've killed elk with my .260 at around 330 yards. It did the job. I have also killed elk with my .270. Shot placement is key. I shot two elk with my 300 wm last year and now that I have it I doubt that I will shoot elk with a 260 or 270 again. My 300 wm will be my main elk rifle unless I end up getting a 300 norma mag or 300 rum

 

[Gary Kaney]

REVTURBO

115 yards in heavy cover. That elk didn't even know I was there. Perfect broad side shot.

 

[revturbo9967]

REVTURBO

115 yards in heavy cover. That elk didn't even know I was there. Perfect broad side shot.

Awesome

 

[Gary Kaney]

I shot that elk south of Stanford. The rest were west of Augusta on the North Fork of the Sun River.

 

[LoganDon]

You are so right, it does take a 338 Lapua Magnum to kill anything. I have a buddy that shoots a 400 something Magnum but he cannot hit anything. Think he needs a 500Gibbs.

 

[Pecos7744]

A .260 is more than enough gun till an Elk at well beyond those ranges. I'm shooting the 6.5x55 with 120 GMX and wouldn't hesitate to take a shot at up to 600 yards. Maybe further.