Elk/Deer Caliber

[SansSouci]

Simple answer: .280 Rem.

 

[seattleman1969]

I'll second, third, or fourth the 7MM Mag and also throw out the 7MM STW as an option. Both are available in cost conscious 700 SPS platforms that will help you by saving you some dollars for your future mods.

Check Buds, Hinterlands Outfitters, etc...

 

[SansSouci]

paintball,

Why would you suppose that you need a suppressor? I've hunted for 40+ years & I've never seen anyone hunting with a suppressor attached to his rifle.

Were I you, I'd buy a Sako in a non-magnum caliber. You do not need a magnum to kill everything in the USA. Were you dead set on a magnum, I'g go with a 7MM Rem Mag. Here is what I do know: big guns are not fun to shoot from benches, and bench shooting builds accuracy which builds confidence.

Cartridge is nowhere need as important as shooting skill. If you drop a big game animal's blood pressure to zero, it will die. That is biological fact. Put a bullet in an animal's heart and/or lungs and it will die. What destroys these important parts is immaterial. That they are destroyed is.

 

[SansSouci]

My 2 cents worth use a minimum of 7mm Magnum... I know 30-06 has killed lots of elk. The ranch I hunted on last year will not allow a 270. Shot placement is critical on under caliber rifles. Shoot them in the front shoulder and break them down, less likely to lose a wounded animal

Kado,

That is about the most ridiculous thing I have ever read. While I have never done a ranch hunt, were someone to tell me I couldn't use a .270 Win for elk, I find a place to hunt that was run by sharper people.

Here's a huge clue: a .270 Win will kill any elk just as dead as a .373 H&H Mag provided a hunter can put his bullet where it stops oxygenated blood from flowing to an animal's brain.

A .243 Win the the boiler room is a whole lot better than an '06 to the guts. It's all about where a bullet goes, not size of cartridge.

 

[SansSouci]

Simple answer: .280 Rem.

It's also a great answer.

 

[RHC]

In my opinion, if you want standard performance a .30-06 is the ticket really. If you want magnum performance, the .300 WSM is a nice balance of weight and performance.

 

[Kado101]

SansSouci, he has owned the ranch a long time. He says to many times he had elk lost with calibers less than 7 mm. His ranch his rules. I shot mine with a 7mm STW. Was a good hunt but to far to go back

 

[mattri]

Sounds like the op is new to the long range game if nothing else- why start out with a magnum?

A 308 is a great place to start someone who has basic firearm training without being too much. Learn the mechanics, learn to load, there is a ton of data for either- and a 308 will most certainly kill both deer and elk at reasonable ranges.

 

[unclefish]

Sounds like the op is new to the long range game if nothing else- why start out with a magnum?

A 308 is a great place to start someone who has basic firearm training without being too much. Learn the mechanics, learn to load, there is a ton of data for either- and a 308 will most certainly kill both deer and elk at reasonable ranges.

Plus 1 here

 

[Dskiper]

paintball,the .338-06 is a wonderful caliber.mine is a rem 700 converted from .280.was good but the .338 bullet is better for moose,elk,bear.you must reload as only Nosler loads are now available in factory ammo. less recoil than win.mag. loads in 180,200,210,225,&250gr.available from nosler&midway where I bought a shilen stainless barrel and went from there.great accuracy.

 

[sobrbiker]

oops, double posted...

 

[sobrbiker]

For a non-magnum (which is definitely recommend to newer rifleman) my choice is 7-08. Enough oomph for elk to 400, and light enough recoil for one to shoot hundreds of rounds in practice (rather than half a box) prior to hunt to make proper shot placement happen.
Too many folks rely on a magnum to makeup for bad shots or justify taking shots they should pass on in the first place.

 

[LVJ76]

I'm brand new to the world of bolt action and have limited experience hunting anything outside of a blind. I am in the market for a new gun capable of hunting deer and elk. Fairly positive I'm gonna get a 700, the last thing is which model and caliber. At some point, I do want the ability to put a suppressor on there, and I'm pretty sure the SPS TAC AAC is the only one that comes with a threaded barrel. Let's say I went with another model, is that something that could be easily done by a smith for less than $300? i honestly have no idea. The other thing, is if I did go with the SPS TAC AAC, would you guys recommend i get the barrel floated? Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks guys.

P.S. I searched the forum for a thread like this, couldn't really find anything good. if this is the wrong place, or there's a thread like this already, please point me in the right direction.

Up to what distance will you be shooting, and sorry if I missed this but I didn't see anything as to what distance you want to shoot.

Caliber I think got confused with cartridge. I personally like the 7mm caliber (7mm-08, 280 Rem, 7mm Rem Mag, etc.) , flatter trajectory than the 30 caliber (308, 30-06, 300 win Mag, etc) and the 7mm can use heavier for caliber bullets than the 6.5 mm (6.5 creedmoor, Grendel, 6.5x284, 260 Rem, etc).

For both Deer and Elk at a range of 350 yds or less a 7mm-08 is a great choice. Very accurate with many different factory loads to choose from, and also easy ti reload for.

If you want to go to say 600 to 700 yds then I would go with a 7mm Rem Mag.

The 7mm has a wide range of bullet weights you can use for example:

On the 7mm-08 you cam use the 100gr bullets for varmints, or 120gr and 140gr ballistic tips that work great on deer, 139gr SST is also a great choice. The 140gr Accubonds and Partitions, and the 139gr Interbonds work great on Elk in this same cartridge.

With the 7mm Rem Mag which doesn't have a lot of recoil you can use bullets all the way up to 195gr if I am not mistaken. In my experience thw 160's gr bullets are the most versatile for this cartridge, they work great on deer and elk at ranges up to 700 yards. If you want to reach a little further then the Berger or Hornady ELD bullets would be good choices.

There is also a wide range of monolithic bulleta to chose from for both calibers.

I would stay away from the suppressor, it's not needed for hunting. If you are recoil sensitive a muzzle break will fix that.

The 280 Rem and the 280 AI are also great choices on the 7mm caliber, but the ammo availability is not at good as the other two cartridges mentioned. Of you are going to reload than these are also great options.

Hope this helps

 

[LVJ76]

Up to what distance will you be shooting, and sorry if I missed this but I didn't see anything as to what distance you want to shoot.

Caliber I think got confused with cartridge. I personally like the 7mm caliber (7mm-08, 280 Rem, 7mm Rem Mag, etc.) , flatter trajectory than the 30 caliber (308, 30-06, 300 win Mag, etc) and the 7mm can use heavier for caliber bullets than the 6.5 mm (6.5 creedmoor, Grendel, 6.5x284, 260 Rem, etc).

For both Deer and Elk at a range of 350 yds or less a 7mm-08 is a great choice. Very accurate with many different factory loads to choose from, and also easy ti reload for.

If you want to go to say 600 to 700 yds then I would go with a 7mm Rem Mag.

The 7mm has a wide range of bullet weights you can use for example:

On the 7mm-08 you cam use the 100gr bullets for varmints, or 120gr and 140gr ballistic tips that work great on deer, 139gr SST is also a great choice. The 140gr Accubonds and Partitions, and the 139gr Interbonds work great on Elk in this same cartridge.

With the 7mm Rem Mag which doesn't have a lot of recoil you can use bullets all the way up to 195gr if I am not mistaken. In my experience thw 160's gr bullets are the most versatile for this cartridge, they work great on deer and elk at ranges up to 700 yards. If you want to reach a little further then the Berger or Hornady ELD bullets would be good choices.

There is also a wide range of monolithic bulleta to chose from for both calibers.

I would stay away from the suppressor, it's not needed for hunting. If you are recoil sensitive a muzzle break will fix that.

The 280 Rem and the 280 AI are also great choices on the 7mm caliber, but the ammo availability is not at good as the other two cartridges mentioned. Of you are going to reload than these are also great options.

Hope this helps

Meant:

There is also a wide range of monolithic bulleta to chose from for both "cartridges"