Best Caliber Rifle Elk

[Ashlo84]

Hi everyone, so I am new Elk and deer hunter. I grew up hunting mostly upland game. I am going on a guided Elk hunt in October in Idaho and I looking to purchase a larger caliber rifle than my 6.5 creedmoor. I've ready many articles debating this topic. I am a big guy 6-3 230. Not afraid of a little sore shoulder or kick. For a new hunter would you go 30-06, .300 MAG or even 300 WSM. I hunter mule deer there last year and the terrain is steep so and rugged so obviously weight is an issue. I was looking into the Tikka superior WSM or lite 300. Would appreciate any guidance! Thank you.

I'd definitely stick to a magnum. Especially if there's a chance you're shooting past 300 yards. I've killed elk with an 06, 270, 7mm and 300 prc... the 300 prc is devastating with a berger bulket and the 7mm was as well.

I just had this conversation with a friend looking to upgrade from his .270... id go to your local gun shops and see what they have ammo for. If you reload and have powder and primers see what you can find brass for. I know 300 win mag lapua brass is available.. don't get caught up in the new "cool" calibers. Most aren't much better then what's been around for years and components/ammo is hard to come by.

Good luck on the hunt!

 

[born2hunt4ever]

Welcome to the forum! I am "newish" here as well. I do a lot of hunting and helping friends get their elk, deer, and such. I have a custom 6.5-284 and currently a christensen ridgeline in 300 win mag. I can honestly say that I have harvested a lot of animals and let friends borrow my guns to harvest their game. I have owned several 300 ultra mags and 300 win mags and I always come back to the 300 win mag. Brass is easier to find and cheaper and using less powder. I am currently running the 210 bergers at 3005 fps out of a regular 300 win mag. In all my experience with the hunting world I would say nothing kills faster than a big 30. 300 ultra, 300 short mag, 300 win mag, 300 H&H and the new 300 PRC. If you don't reload the win mag or short mag are probably your beat options. I'm a firm believer in heavy for caliber bullet selection. Put a good optic on it and shoot it a bunch. I know it's hard now days with the powder, primer, bullet shortage or lack of availability but get to know it in and out and enjoy your hunt! Good luck!

 

[chav0_12]

Just depends on the person. If you drink a case of beer every weekend and are 50lbs over-weight, you best hunt from your truck and don't bother even buying a sling.

If you can handle a 90lb Frame Pack in steep country and are darn, tootin fit.... 2-3 lbs is nothing.


......

I guess that could be said about anything…I've spent a lot of time and money getting my pack from 80lbs to 30lbs. If I can help it, I'm also going to carry a 7-8lb rifle (ideally I'd like a lighter one) instead of a 10-11lb rifle. Being in shape is helpful, there's no doubt about it, but even being in the best shape you'd still be more efficient and have more energy day after day with a lighter pack and overall setup.

 

[Buano]

Hi everyone, so I am new Elk and deer hunter. I grew up hunting mostly upland game. I am going on a guided Elk hunt in October in Idaho and I looking to purchase a larger caliber rifle than my 6.5 creedmoor. I've ready many articles debating this topic. I am a big guy 6-3 230. Not afraid of a little sore shoulder or kick. For a new hunter would you go 30-06, .300 MAG or even 300 WSM. I hunter mule deer there last year and the terrain is steep so and rugged so obviously weight is an issue. I was looking into the Tikka superior WSM or lite 300. Would appreciate any guidance! Thank you.

I have seen too many wounded elk that acted like they were missed to suggest anything lighter than one of the .30 mags. Factory ammunition is most readily available for the .300 Win, but you should also be able to find ammunition in .30WSM.

Tikka rifles are light AND accurate, which is a hard combination to beat.

For a dedicated elk rifle I would jump to a .338 Win, .340 Weatherby or similar caliber for anyone who can handle the cartridges. These are big animals that deserve enough gun to put them down quickly. While a .243 will eventually kill an elk if the bulllet is put where it needs to be, my .338/.378 Weatherby makes them tumble.

 

[Jarhead Ed]

Hi everyone, so I am new Elk and deer hunter. I grew up hunting mostly upland game. I am going on a guided Elk hunt in October in Idaho and I looking to purchase a larger caliber rifle than my 6.5 creedmoor. I've ready many articles debating this topic. I am a big guy 6-3 230. Not afraid of a little sore shoulder or kick. For a new hunter would you go 30-06, .300 MAG or even 300 WSM. I hunter mule deer there last year and the terrain is steep so and rugged so obviously weight is an issue. I was looking into the Tikka superior WSM or lite 300. Would appreciate any guidance! Thank you.

The 30 calibers you mentioned are all very good. I have limited experience with the 300 WSM, but the two I tested were very accurate and had only moderate recoil. One cartridge you could also consider is the 300 Weatherby. It has a little more poop than the Winnie, but the reason I really like it, is that every rifle, from many different off the rack brands I fired, were VERY ACCURATE!! To tell you the honest truth, I couldn't differentiate the difference in recoil between it and the Winnie. Any of the 30 calibers mentioned are better than the 6.5's and 7mm's for the large game animals simply because the bullets are bigger. Good luck.

 

[treedagain]

7mm rem mag all.....day.....long
160 accubond or 160 partition
12 6point or better bulls, more than a few (20) spikes and cows will agree.

 

[Mike Matteson]

I hand load. But 300 WM or 338 WM would be the go to rifles. Neither one will let you down. Ammo can be gotten at most stores that sell ammo anywhere in the world. If you hand load either one will do a lot more. Now I used a 308NM with 165gr @ 3300fps, and are great out to 500yds. I moved onto a 338WM and use 200gr @ 3230fps loads, and that my go to rifle. I would get a muzzle brake add to it and reduce the recoil greatly. Ear pugs at the range, and I wouldn't worry about it hunting. A good shot and one round will do the job. If you are going to all copper bullets then it a different story on barrel twist. Most of my reloading is with Nosler Accubond. I wouldn't go below a 7mm mag of some type. I am not a heavy bullet shooter either, and not a light caliber shooter for elk. You'll will hear here that their 22 rimfire rifle will kill elk. I feel that what has been posted so far are, putting you the right direction.
Finally set up and do a lot of shooting and chronograph the ammo you are going to use. Shoot out at lease 500yds, and know where your bullet is traveling and hitting.
Have a great hunt in the fall.

 

[mcdil]

I haven't read all the responses, so if this has been said already, I apologize. If you're seriously looking at the Tikka, a new Tikka, the 300 WM is the only one I'd go with. The new ones have 1:10" twist barrels, which is standard for any of the three calibers you're interested in. The 300 WSM and 30/06 still are made with a 1:11" twist. That was a pretty big mistake by Tikka/Sako years ago. They at least recently remedied that with the newer 300 Win Mags. The older ones were also 1:11", so I would check on that prior to buying. For that reason alone, the 300 WM is the right choice, and not a bad one either. Very useful, popular, and available round, especially for elk.

 

[Husker shooter]

I would first ask can you shoot a big magnum and especially a light weight big magnum? I can't and I am not a small guy. I can handle the recoil in the sense that it doesn't hurt but still get a little flinchy. I have opted for guns in the 10-11 pound range and prefer the big 7mms. There are alot of options that will work fine, just keep in mind you need to be able to shoot it well. I would rather take a 6.5 of some flavor I can shoot really well than a giant 338 of some flavor I can't. Just keep that in mind while you pick.
For me 280 AI, 28 Nosler or 30-28 Nosler if reloading and custom.
If factory rifle and ammo 300 PRC, 300 win, 7mm mag.
Strictly opinions of course from the elk hunting I have done.

Very true!! I had a guy come to our ranch to shoot a buffalo he brought a 416 Rigby and he couldn't hit a buffalo at 100 yards we took a bucket out see if the gun was on and I could hit the bucket he just couldn't shoot the gun. I loaned him a 30-06 and he got along a lot better. the point being shoot a gun that you were honest with yourself comfortable to shoot, it would really suck to miss a nice bull elk at 250 yards because you flinched

 

[BPollard]

We all have a ton of guns but my Outwest go toos are 65 300 Weatherby seven Weatherby or 300 win mag if out west for mule deer than anything from the 65 man bun and up. Go get em.

 

[Of001]

The friends I hunt with almost exclusively go for elk. Their primary cartridge is 300wm (6) and then 30-06 (2).

Nosler 180gr for everyone.

Im partial to the 300wsm for stats but ammo is a bastard in my area. The nosler are just what's best available here.

 

[Raudy707]

300 Win Mag in a Tikka or Browning X-Bolt would probably get my vote. They're good out of the box guns and factory ammo in 300 Win Mag would probably be plentiful. For my personal preference though, I have a 325 WSM that is light (around 8lbs scoped, no break) and I'm pretty limited to an absolute max of 400 with it, then there's my 28 Nosler (10lbs scoped w/break) and the sky is the limit for that. Keep in mind that I don't and won't shoot factory ammo, so my options are as wide open and the availability of components.

How is it buying ammo for the 325 wsm. 8mm cal is like 257 cal. Just not many bullets to choose from. But I like the concept. My friend had a beautiful Kimber for sale right now and that might be a great option for the OP.

 

[rcs33]

Hi everyone, so I am new Elk and deer hunter. I grew up hunting mostly upland game. I am going on a guided Elk hunt in October in Idaho and I looking to purchase a larger caliber rifle than my 6.5 creedmoor. I've ready many articles debating this topic. I am a big guy 6-3 230. Not afraid of a little sore shoulder or kick. For a new hunter would you go 30-06, .300 MAG or even 300 WSM. I hunter mule deer there last year and the terrain is steep so and rugged so obviously weight is an issue. I was looking into the Tikka superior WSM or lite 300. Would appreciate any guidance! Thank you.

.340 WTHBY

 

[cariboo crawler]

As you can see the 300 WM is the favourite. I own a Sako Finlite in 300 WM .
Best go to rifle in my cabinet . It also loves 180 gr. Remington Core like. Affordable good quality ammo.