Best Caliber Rifle Elk

[Calvin45]

If this helps. A few years ago when I hunted elk in Colorado, I picked up their hunting guid book/PWL book. The book that gives you rules and regulations when you punches your hunting license. It said the most popular caliber used during elk season is a 6.5 caliber. It didn't say if it was 260 Rem, 264 WM, 6.5-284; it just said 6.5 Caliber. Hope this helps.

Not at all being short or contentious here: but "most popular" and "best" are almost NEVER the same thing in my experience, not just about guns either. I know the closest answer to correct is probably "the biggest thing you can HONESTLY shoot well" but I'll remain biased to fast 30 cals personally till the day I die probably. The larger bore cartridges are great and have merits of their own but one thing people don't always factor in is minimum expansion velocity, along with the effects of projectile mass and sd in relation to resistance met dictating how well a bullet expands and "causes mayhem". The fast 30s (and I'll begrudgingly admit the fast 7mms, but only as second best ) really do occupy a terminal ballistics sweet spot out to very long distances in my humble opinion. It's not all in my head. It can't be!.

It's not in my head, it's not in my head, it's not in my head, it's not in my head, it's not in my head……I'm not crazy!

 

[Raudy707]

YUP,.. THIS,. ^^^ and Hence WHY, I now shoot, a .270 WSM "Lazer" with, 140 Bergers clocking, 3,185 FPS that's still going, OVER,.. 2,000 FPS at 800 Yards and Kills Elk like,.. the "Hammer of Thor" ! Yup Kills, just like my .338 Win Mag DID but without, the freakin' Recoil so that,..
I can Practice MORE and,.. Shoot,.. BETTER !
PS; My UN-Braked, 8 pound, .338 Win. Mag.,.. FLINCH, is ALMOST,.. GONE !

Man, I love my 270 wsm for elk. First rifle I grab for any and all elk hunts. Kills way beyond its paygrade.

 

[Stgraves260]

Not at all being short or contentious here: but "most popular" and "best" are almost NEVER the same thing in my experience, not just about guns either. I know the closest answer to correct is probably "the biggest thing you can HONESTLY shoot well" but I'll remain biased to fast 30 cals personally till the day I die probably. The larger bore cartridges are great and have merits of their own but one thing people don't always factor in is minimum expansion velocity, along with the effects of projectile mass and sd in relation to resistance met dictating how well a bullet expands and "causes mayhem". The fast 30s (and I'll begrudgingly admit the fast 7mms, but only as second best ) really do occupy a terminal ballistics sweet spot out to very long distances in my humble opinion. It's not all in my head. It can't be!.

It's not in my head, it's not in my head, it's not in my head, it's not in my head, it's not in my head……I'm not crazy!

6.5 caliber rifles are used the most during elk season to hunt elk. 30 cal fans can not stand it. It drives them absolutely nuts.

 

[Calvin45]

6.5 caliber rifles are used the most during elk season to hunt elk. 30 cal fans can not stand it. It drives them absolutely nuts.

Don't bother me at all haha but I can definitely see it. Use what works. There's a particularly small framed woman from the community I grew up in that just honestly cannot shoot well with recoil of any noteworthy amount…she's probably killed a dozen elk at least and half as many moose with her .243. Not the best tool for the job…unless it's the tool you do your best work with. She's patient, a good hunter, gets close and only takes broadside shots… no magic or rocket science required, double lung them with an expanding bullet going fast and they're not going far.

 

[436]

I was reading a story in May 2022 Guns magazine, on page 46 by Wayne Van Zwoll where "he" outlined levers rifle(s) and their normal calibers used for and on big-game. Ok... Now, I know of and have seen more than one hunter take Elk with a .30-30 WCF over my many years and they thought nothing of it. So, is .30-30 WCF an Elk rifle? No, wait! maybe, well... not by today's standards anyway we have much better cartridges and ammo nowadays, but could it kill Elk? sure... it's been doing it long before I was born, and that's some time I'm talking about... Here's, Wayne who used a model 336 Marlin in .32 Special (pretty much a .30-30 Win) at 130 yards to take this rather nice bull with one shot I believe. So, what really is an Elk rifle, I'm talking big-game, not a dangerous game rifle. Have we now gotten to the point where "distance" and not "caliber" really define an Elk rifle or any rifle for that matter we hunt with? Just my thoughts, Cheers.

 

[Stgraves260]

Don't bother me at all haha but I can definitely see it. Use what works. There's a particularly small framed woman from the community I grew up in that just honestly cannot shoot well with recoil of any noteworthy amount…she's probably killed a dozen elk at least and half as many moose with her .243. Not the best tool for the job…unless it's the tool you do your best work with. She's patient, a good hunter, gets close and only takes broadside shots… no magic or rocket science required, double lung them with an expanding bullet going fast and they're not going far.

Yes sir. Totally agree. I have heard people saying it take 2000 lbs of kinetic energy to kill a elk. That's why they shoot a 300 WM and don't shoot past 300 yards. Thank about it. If it takes 2000 lbs of kinetic energy to drop a elk, why is it you need a 300 WM. Look at the old trusty 30-30 Winchester. Hornady s 140 grain MonoFlex. bullet is designed for medium game 50-300 lbs or large game from 300-1500 lbs. Elk definitely fall in that weight range. I would say a 30-30 is good for a max distance of 150-200 yards.

 

[Calvin45]

Yes sir. Totally agree. I have heard people saying it take 2000 lbs of kinetic energy to kill a elk. That's why they shoot a 300 WM and don't shoot past 300 yards. Thank about it. If it takes 2000 lbs of kinetic energy to drop a elk, why is it you need a 300 WM. Look at the old trusty 30-30 Winchester. Hornady s 140 grain MonoFlex. bullet is designed for medium game 50-300 lbs or large game from 300-1500 lbs. Elk definitely fall in that weight range. I would say a 30-30 is good for a max distance of 150-200 yards.

Agree…but I'm not putting down my .300 Winnie and opting for a .243 or .30-30 either

 

[Thunder child]

300 Win Mag, 200 grain Nosler partition at 2900 fps. Have not been able to recover a bullet yet.

 

[jessej]

How far do you want to shoot?

 

[Starboard277]

Tikka 270WSM 140AB, best of all worlds!

 

[RevJim]

I've seen/heard of guys using very small calibers on elk i.e. the 22-250, 220 Swift, 6mm Remington, .243, 240Wby, several small 6.5s to 6.5/300wbys, 30-30, 35 Remington, 44 magnum, 45 Colt in levergun. We all know/or have read of 270 to 416. My only real problem with rifle choices is it "seemed" that when I took the 45-70, 35 Whelan, 9.3x62 I saw elk out of range of my rifle! Other times I jumped elk in the timber when carrying a longer barreled, heavier flat shooter! ha For me, I finally settled on any 22-24" Sporter with a 3x9 or 2.5x8 in either a 30-06, 300WM, 338WM, even a lighter weight ,375 H&H! All were "perfect". Find the rifle that fits the type of shooting/range you hunt, go from there.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

Tikka 270WSM 140AB, best of all worlds!

Only thing that beats "That" is,.. a .270 WSM with, 140 Berger's, to "Scramble" the "Boiler Room", = instant Death !
I've Shot Elk with, BOTH Bullets,. DRT with, the Berger's and slightly more accurate, to Boot ! The Elk with, the AB walked around a bit, before expiring !
Yeah, you gotta pick out a few, ( 6 or, 7 ) "Particles" of, Copper ( IF in, the "Meat" portion, but, T'was no big deal for, that kind of, "Performance", ! )

 

[wyrshunter1]

There is a strong case for the . 257 Weatherby or 25-06 AI in a slow twist. (don't laugh yet)

I think the .300 Win Mag is fine choice and I used a 150 nosler ballistic maxed out on surplus H4831 in a .300 Weatherby for my nicest bull.

However, all of my other elk were with the old .270 130s running 60 grains of my grandpas old surplus H4831, and my family has a quarter bore tradition dating back to my Grandpa saving for his custom 25-06 Ackley in the 50s they have taken 40-50 elk and moose with 25-06 AI wildcats and Remington 700 ADL 25-06s in addition to hundreds of big muleys.

I have a 26 inch Macgowan barrel ordered to mount to a Savage action in a 25-06 AI with a 1:7 twist, and I am going to make the hypothesis that based on the studying I've done the .257 Weatherby and its poor man cousin I have coming in the 25-06 Ackley, that either is at least an equal elk option to the .300 Win.

Prove me wrong. Lets just go off the weaker of the 2 ballistically with the 25-06 AI for comparison.

I have two boxes of Berger Extreme Hunters in the new .25 133 grain pill waiting for me when my barrel comes in. Everything I can see indicates that I should be able to doctor a load to 3200 fps with the AI chamber and the 26 inch barrel

Lets compare that to the .300 Win Mag sighted in at 200 yards with Hornady Superperformance `180 SSTs.

300 Win Mag Muzzle 3150 fps 3966 FPE
300 yds 2475 fps 2627 FPE 5.9 drop
500 yds 2212 fps 1956 FPE 34.3 drop
700 yds 1890 FPS 1427 FPE 91.4 drop

25-06 Ackley Muzzle 3200 fps FPE 3024
300 2749 fps FPE 2232 5.3 drop
500 2469 fps FPE 1800 30.2
700 2204 fps FPE 1435 78 drop

Remember this the AI. You should be able to push the .257 Weatherby another 100-150 fps with a good load up.

The .300 WIN loses that magic arbitrary 1500 FPE between 650 and 675 yards., the same as the puny 25-06 AI. At 700 yards and beyond the 25-06 AI beats it. Real world Energy before that point is virtually inconsequential between the 2.

So a slow twist 133 in 25-06 AI or .257 weatherby has half the kick, shoots flatter, and is probably a bit lighter with similar energy at midrange to long distances. And its not comparing reloads to factory as there is no company publishing data much faster than the hornady superperformance in the 300.

There is absolutely no evidence that bore size alone makes it better and the science would argue for the sectional density of the 25 all other things being equal.

The most important part may be accuracy and shootability given how close the 2 cartridges compare ballistically and its hard to argue against the milder loads with all but the best non-flinchers among us.

So what about availability. 25-06 AI is a simple neck down of a .270 or 30-06 fireformed after the fact. You can get .257 Weatherby brass by a simple 7mm Mag neckdown with possibly a bit of fire form.

133 bergers seem readily available on the internet. I got two boxes easily anyway. As long as you have some primers and some Retumbo, H4831 SC, or H1000 you are golden at 1/3 the price of buying Hornady Superperformance and they ain't easy to find right now in that recipe either.

I think the quarter bores may as close to the perfect all around hunter out there with a slow twist and the new bullets, but how well the numbers hold up to the .30s for elk medicine with slow twist heavy bullets, surprised even me, and would have my BAR gunning purple heart wildcatting grandpa smiling somewhere in the sky.

 

[jbs2014]

375 Cheytac with either a 390 grain ATIP or a 350 grain RMB