Ideal Cartridge for Elk?

[Capt RB]

I don't live out west so for me I'd want a 30 mag of some flavor. My first choice years ago was the 300 H&H. I rechambered it to 300wby and was more than happy. Today I have a 30 cal barrel 8tw in the safe. I thought I wanted a 300wsm on a howa long action. Then the PRC hit the market and I think I will go that route. I like the nosler but because I have to do the throat to correct for the big bullets it is another option that is a bit less attractive to me.
I'd give up the prc for the wsm for what I want to do. I might even rechamber one of the 308's to 300wsm and build the prc on a custom action that will allow prefits as well.
I have a 338 win mag but I like the 30's a bit better.
I'd have no issues using a 270 if I lived there. I'm more than comfortable with the cartridge for killing stuff. But for me knowing I'd go 1 time I'd want to give myself every advantage for every opportunity I might get. A tough angle shot with a small caliber that may not get it done would be tough for me to swallow if that was the only shot I got in a hunt.

 

[memtb]

Hard to argue against a .375 H&H.

I'm a big fan of swift A-frame bullets, but I suppose even those wouldn't hold up going the speeds you describe.

They would be quite adequate.....just not my first choice! I like mono's, and there are more being offered with regularity! memtb

 

[WildRose]

Hard to argue against a .375 H&H.

I'm a big fan of swift A-frame bullets, but I suppose even those wouldn't hold up going the speeds you describe.

The A Frame holds up extremely well for close/medium range high velocity impacts which is why it has been such a popular bullet for African game and bear defense/hunting for so long.

The .375 H&H doesn't get the credit it is due with most shooters in the US but it's a great round. I like the .375 Ruger even better though, it's literally a "blast"!

 

[sp6x6]

Hunted elk for 40+,started with head shooting them with 243,cuz thats what my Dad told me to do.Well kids dont listen and had to chase one to top of mountain to finish.Then to the 7rm,pushed it to far,when I was 20 I bought a 340wby main gun for years was shooting elk at 500 + 20 years ago.Been packing 338NM last 8-9 season,have two of them that both see quite a bit of use.If I get on big bull it goes down,tracked bulls for two days before.Ive shot them way across canyon,where the grizzly has beat me to my kill on occasion.

 

[junkie]

My dad loved the .280 so I used that for a while, we reloaded so we had lots of choices for bullets. That was 30+ years ago. Fast forward 15 years and we all decided to go to .300wm as the shots were getting further away. There were 6 of us that changed, now my kids and their friends all take 300wm hunting so no matter what we all carry the same ammo. If I go hunting and somehow forgot the ammo every little store throughout the west carries the ammo. If we have a gun or scope go down they are similar enough we can share and not have that big of an issue.
So most of it is, we started with a good cartridge 15 years ago and have just stuck with it cause it works for us. What has changed has been bullets----Off Topic----

 

[Elkeater]

I think this falls under the realm of personal choice. No you don't need a magnum to kill an elk but for me the good old .300 Winchester Magnum is a great elk cartridge. It doesn't recoil beyond what I can handle comfortably and it packs a pretty good punch out to 800-1000 yards. I have two. One is a Ruger M77 Mark II bought when I was 16 and had this dream of one day hunting elk. I've killed 10 elk with that rifle in the last 8 years. Most shot with a 180gr accubond. It's good to 500 yards.

The newest addition to my safe is a Browning X Bolt Hells Canyon Long Range. It's shooting 181gr Hammer hunters. I haven't hunted with it yet.

 

[bigngreen]

I tend to find the ideal elk cartridge happens to be chambered in the rifle your holding with the crosshairs on an elk, I've had days on a random coyote hunt turn into filling elk tags with a 22-250 and I never thought twice about what I was shooting just where I was putting a bullet.
Terrain should really come into play more than many give it credit, I hunt heavy timber breaking up into large south facing sage brush openings, typical awesome SW MT elk country. Some days I wish I had a marlin lever gun in 45-70 with a ghost ring sight and big hollow points, other days it don't get much sweeter than a heavy 338 RUM loaded with a 250 Berger shooting prone across a large drainage rolling elk feeding out.

For me it's not a one gun solution when I'm shooting a lot and am on top of my game, I simply won't pass up a perfect condition and shot because of a range, as long as I can get a bullet placed at a velocity that it will open and make it to the other side I'm shooting, I'm not going to work in closer for the sake of being closer, nor am I backing up I'm just shooting from the absolute strongest position. I like a big 300 or 338 capable of 1400-1600 yard clean kills with me that is in a hard case in the truck, it's a prone gun in the 12-14 lb range, then I like a smaller 6.5 and preferably a 270 that will ride in a backpack or carried in after elk while still able to break timber and be effective to 800-1000 yards, this is the meat stick that I'm just mean with and confidence is at max with it, recoil low, no brake and easy from multiple positions in the 8-9 lb range.
This is my personal prescription that has served me well for a pile of elk!!

 

[sp6x6]

Was a wayyyyy down a ridge in ID,had my gps in hand,cuz I figure it was turn around time ,when this bull is looking at me over his shoulder.Broke his neck with my pee shooter 325 wsm.Had a hard time with his head under log and way he landed in his rack,think im still hurting from that pack out

 

[Forcedoutage]

I have a 340 WBY I like to use. I have also taken a 280 AI and a 300 RSAUM. The 300 RSAUM I built for spike camp hunting and hiking in deep. Very light and easy to pack in. The main thing I have found hunting with the group I hunt with is you need enough gun to make a less than perfect shot. We don't hunt where you can glass elk across a gulch and shoot them as they graze. These elk are moving and don't give you a perfect shot. For me .284 and up in a very well constructed bullet with greater than 1500 ft lbs is what I want.

 

[Buck Buster]

The .22 Mag (or .22 WMR) is the ideal cartridge for harvesting elk, providing it was born today and you have a good reason for harvesting a freshly born elk with spots, (I can't think of any).

Now bear in mind when an elk starts out, it only weighs about 20lbs and it isn't very mobile. You can get pretty close to a newborn elk - so a .22 Mag is all you really need. Now an Elk is going to start growing pretty fast, and you will need a larger caliber at some point.

Fast forward 2 yrs and this elk has now lost his spots and weighs over 500lbs. The .22 mag is no longer the ideal cartridge unless you are hunting him inside a small pen. At this point a free roaming elk is pretty adept at keeping some space between itself and hunters and its body has gotten massive.

A tiny .223 remington would certainly have more potential at this point, especially with good bullet choice, but its not going to really open up many shooting opportunities. The .22 bullet is just too light to penetrate 300yds of air, an inch of hair, a 1/4" hide, several inches of meat, a bone, and then a vital organ. Sure you could dump an elk at 30yds with a headshot, but that baseball size brain has a lot protecting it, and a deflection is very likely if you aren't perfect. Lets say you have access to a ranch that has elk eating off a haystack and they aren't afraid of the ranchers truck, could you double lung an elk and then watch it die within a few hundred yards? Probably, but you're getting close to not reliably having the horsepower to damage both lungs, so real world options with this tiny gun are very limited.

Enter the light rounds of .243, .257, 6mm, 6.5 creed etc. This class of guns can reliably double lung elk out to a considerable distance 3-400yds lets say. They can also take out a heart or Liver at closer distances, but one must be very careful to not hit heavy bone or take on too much angle. This is a pretty ideal cartridge for those willing to only take well presented broadside shots out to about 300yds. If you are an experienced and expert marksman, this distance could be stretched out to maybe 400yds reliably. You've also got the option of neck shots in the tight timber, where torso shots may be hard to discern. This Class of cartridge is low on recoil, therefore high on accuracy. A good hunter could feasibly get an elk every season with a rifle this size, but self discipline and experience is a must!

Stepping up to medium rounds. Enter the 270, 7mm .308, .30-06 etc. class of cartridge. This is a pretty good choice as you can typically get a bullet into the vitals at most angles and do this out to 400yds or so. A good marksman can penetrate into the vitals of a broadside elk at much greater distances with these heavier bullets. Keep in mind that Elk hunting public ground is no easy task, these are big skittish animals that don't always present ideal shooting conditions, and seasons are short. A cartridge in this class is going to afford you a few more possibilities while still keeping recoil and muzzle blast to a manageable amount. There is good reason these calibers have been so popular with elk hunters. You don't need to be a sniper or expert in anatomy to take a shot at an elk with a medium caliber gun.

The Magnums... Is bigger better? .300 win .338 Lapua .375 H&H etc. An elk hunter may spend many days and hike a hundred miles before presented with a shot at an elk on public ground. When that moment finally arrives it may be a bull elk running directly away in thick timber, or it may be 700yds across a canyon, do you have enough gun? A .338 RUM with the right bullet can do things a 30-06 can't. Should you take a Texas heart shot on an elk? That's up for debate as some would say wasting one quarter to put three quarters in the freezer is worth it. Others say to pass on a wasteful shot. I think it depends on the frequency a person is afforded shot opportunities, but we can all agree that shooting an elk up the rump with a 6.5 creedmore isn't going to work out. Extreme shot opportunities come at the cost of dreadful recoil and muzzle blast, enough to cause the toughest of men to flinch. I've seen many elk missed entirely, or hit poorly because a person used too much rifle. I've also seen many elk get harvested by magnum rifles that couldn't have been taken with lesser guns.

I've missed an elk with a Large magnum round that could have easily been headshot with a .223 remington. It was 30yds away and bedded down with its head resting on its rump facing me. It was such a "gimmie" shot with my .338 RUM that I put my crosshairs on its nose, (flinched) and pulled the trigger. I grazed the top of its skull and momentarily knocked it out. I wasn't even holding my gun when it woke up and escaped! I have no doubt that I would have taken the care to place that shot perfectly with a smaller gun. It wasn't the first time I've "jumped" on a trigger knowing my magnum could kill an elk without precise bullet placement. I've learned to shoot it better, and I would be hesitant to shoot a smaller gun, although I'm not convinced the gun I use is 'Ideal'.

What is your experience in finding the Ideal elk caliber?

Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it ! As big as you can stand it with a good break and excellent hearing protection ! Go Magnums !

 

[smithj99]

Good, well stated article.

I wanted one rifle (cartridge) with which would be adequate for all North American game as well as the world. It would need to fulfill the caliber requirements for several of the African countries, for hunting large dangerous game. As practical at Whitetail ranges in Southern thickets, as well as cross canyon shots in the Wyoming Rockies. That cartridge would need to be popular enough, that ammunition could be acquired anywhere big game was hunted. While likely not found in in a small, Mom and Pop gunstore in rural Mississippi, it was however, very likely to be found in hunting supply stores in Africa, Alaska, and across much of Europe. A cartridge, that has been time tested, and never found lacking. A cartridge that "cut it's teeth" on 30 plus day safaris, written about and praised by the likes of Ruark, Hemingway, Selous, and many others. A cartridge that is perhaps more popular than ever, with many rifle companies chambering "bolt guns" of many variations, with a "smattering" of single shots and doubles thrown in. And, with it's popularity, we have more brands and bullet types and weights available than ever before. A cartridge, reputed for it's effectiveness in the field...while not punishing the hunter with recoil. And if, the shooter is a bit of a "rifle looney".....an inexpensive, simple gunsmithing job can transform it to a "wildcat" fully capable of long range hunting potential. After that transformation, factory ammunition can still be used, with minimal diminishing of it's original potential. This cartridge is a piece of history, and still stand "toe to toe" with many modern cartridges! My choice, the .375 H&H....."looney(ed)-out" to AI! At 9 pounds 1 ounce, fully loaded, scoped, slung, Winchester Model 70 action, a light contour Douglas SS Match Grade barrel with express sights and barrel mounted front sling swivel, McMillan Stock, with a Leupold 3.5-10 CDS scope in Leupold QD base/rings, giving quick access to the iron sights or to another Leupold already zero'd for use. My present hunting round is a 250 grain Barnes TTSX, with a muzzle velocity of 3130 fps.

This rifle has been my hunting companion since 1990, and has accounted for game from foxes up thru moose, at ranges from a few yards to over 400. I've never felt over or under gunned! memtb

The 375 H&H is such a wonderfully "talented" round. Just about perfect....

 

[Caveman0101]

Something in a .284 caliber with an ABLR no need to punish yourself.

 

[Golovkin]

Great replies, there isn't a right or wrong answer, just tell us how you do it and why you like that method.

 

[WoodPecker Hunter]

I pack a 300wby for elk hunting, slinging 212eldx with a muzzle brake and electronic hearing protection. Works for me

I Pack a 300 WBee also BUT why would you use a ELDX bullet ? There is a LOT of Info about those BULLETs coming apart and NOT penetrating ! Why Not use a BONDED bullet like a Nosler or Swift to Ensure that not happening ? Just wondering ? WP