My favorite caliber

[Ginga]

7mm08. Doesn't boot you into the middle of next week and reasonably versatile.

 

[FEENIX]

Maybe I didn't read close enough but I didn't see anyone claiming you need a 300 or larger to kill an elk. I've heard of elephants being killed by a .22. Dead is dead. Shot placement is more important than caliber!! If I had a charging (put anything dangerous here) I would chose to defend myself with my .300 weatherby. Not because it's the biggest or badest cartridge, it's because I've shot it the most and I believe in it. I have bigger and badder rifles. I just don't have the confidence in them like I do in old Roy. If it's legal, and you trust it, you should use it! While we have got a little off topic OP ask which we prefer .30 or .27. Almost 2-1 prefer the 30. I'm in that group. Not because the .27 won't kill. It will. When I hunt seriously you can bet I will be packing one of my many .30's. I know them. I know how they shoot, and I prefer them to all others.

You Sir are correct! I too am with the .30 group. Luckily, I have both.

It's really that simple, the OP gave two choices as the parameters ... no need to complicate it unnecessarily.

 

[noluck]

Having only hunted whitetail for now it has to be 7mm-08. But got a 6.5-284 this year and have really fallen for it.

 

[Mach 1]

I like the 250-3000. I grew up shooting one in a 99 savage. Something to be said for being one of the first 3000 fps cartridges. I've always just like the old 250 savage , 250-3000,. It's not much of a long range shooter but for its time it was a Cadillac.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

EXACTLY! I cringe every time I read caliber recommendation threads for elk or bear or whatever and guys are saying calibers under 300 win mag or 338 win mag shouldn't even be considered and they aren't adequate for elk. I think people confuse their personal preference with what is really needed to kill these animals. If you want to own and hunt with large calibers do it - different strokes for different folks...don't say that smaller calibers are inadequate or shouldn't be used to kill elk or bears or big muleys. It's just not true. I don't have anything against large or magnum calibers either...I own and have owned and hunted with several different ones.

This post, ^^^^ is well stated, IMHO ! We hunters are doing a disservice to, the younger Hunter's, when we recommend MORE Gun than, they can "comfortably" shoot, "WELL",.. but enough Gun, to HUMANELY "down", whatever Game that's being Hunted !

 

[Idaho Lefty]

To be truly honest, I don't have a "favorite", Caliber/ Cartridge,..
I have shot, the .270 Win, .270 Wby, .270 WSM w/ 130's to 150 grain bullets, .30-06 w/ 165's, 7mm's w/ 140-150's, and 7mmRem Mag w/ 154-162's and I shot them ALL,.. WELL,.. in Field positions, lots of, rounds with,.. enjoyment !
The .338 Win Mag,. NOT, so much !! I was always thinking about, possible, FLINCHING and "Weatherby Eye" if not held, just right ! I've killed Elk with, the .338 WM and the .270 WSM- 7mm RM, "class cartridges" and they all,..died.

 

[Elkeater]

.300 win mag for me. Just have fallen in love with that cartridge. For me it's comfortable recoil and critters get hit hard.

 

[Deleted member 107796]

To be truly honest, I don't have a "favorite", Caliber/ Cartridge,..
I have shot, the .270 Win, .270 Wby, .270 WSM w/ 130's to 150 grain bullets, .30-06 w/ 165's, 7mm's w/ 140-150's, and 7mmRem Mag w/ 154-162's and I shot them ALL,.. WELL,.. in Field positions, lots of, rounds with,.. enjoyment !
The .338 Win Mag,. NOT, so much !! I was always thinking about, possible, FLINCHING and "Weatherby Eye" if not held, just right ! I've killed Elk with, the .338 WM and the .270 WSM- 7mm RM, "class cartridges" and they all,..died.

As to your 338WM recoil comment, I am a guy that used to hate all 30-06s because of shooting my friend's Browning Xbolt, which was nice but had a crappy hard recoil pad and it would simply suck, imo. My Tikka T3 Lites came with a hard crappy recoil pad and I've replaced all of the pads (.308, 270WSM, 300WSM, 338WM) with the Limbsaver custom fit pad. Team that up with any long eye relief scope, like a Leupold, and it is a gamechanger! That 338WM is extremely light and yet, shoots like a dream as it jumps but jumps into that pad. Just keep the crosshairs on and let it jump. I learned that some use the 338WM as an all around hunting platform, which can make sense if you load the wide range of bullet weights it can support.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

The .338 Win Mag.,.. IS a GREAT Cartridge ( a real "Killer", on BOTH ends !) and IF, you personally, can shoot it, a LOT of rounds (practice a bunch) that's, great !
I could NOT, for more than, the 3 shots, off the Bench and a FEW extra practice shots at rocks ! I used to check the sights, every year,.. it "clover leafed" them ( 210grain Noslers @ 2,970 FPS and 225 Horn Spires ! ) It was a Custom MK V, Wby action, 25.5 inch Douglas Premium bbl., Pachmayer Pad, 2.5- 8X Leopold, Glass bedded,..LOVED that Gun,.. just didn't "enjoy" shooting it, more than a few rounds, so I never practiced the Field positions like I do, Today ! Young shooters are "eating up", the .300 Mag's/ .338's then, HAVING to put Brakes on them (MOST, but not all, of course ). Look at the Guys Braking these "Cannons", on You Tube ! They're comment's, Say it ALL,.. "now, I can shoot this, thing" ! For me personally, I can HIT our 11 inch, dia., steel Plate, at 650-700 Yards ( our self imposed LIMIT for big Game ) with, my .270 WSM, Prone, over a Pack and over "Sticks", sitting, to 400 Yards, repeatably. My son and I shoot 20-30 rounds each, per session at several different yardages/ positions and we have, NO complaints about, recoil ( he shoots a 7mm-08 w 150 grain ELD-X's). He got his nice 6x6 Elk in southern Idaho with it, ONE shot,.. dead !

 

[Orange Dust]

EXACTLY! I cringe every time I read caliber recommendation threads for elk or bear or whatever and guys are saying calibers under 300 win mag or 338 win mag shouldn't even be considered and they aren't adequate for elk. I think people confuse their personal preference with what is really needed to kill these animals. If you want to own and hunt with large calibers do it - different strokes for different folks...don't say that smaller calibers are inadequate or shouldn't be used to kill elk or bears or big muleys. It's just not true. I don't have anything against large or magnum calibers either...I own and have owned and hunted with several different ones.

I agree completely. Especially if you live there and get to hunt the season and not just a few days. If I get to go out west and hunt again, it will cost thousands of dollars and I will only have a few days to hunt. Under these conditions I would never even consider taking anything but my big rifle, a 300RUM. It will be loaded with a boned bullet over 200 grains. I just might have to take the shot I get instead of waiting for the one I want. If I lived there, most likely I would be toting a 280AI in a pretty lite rifle.

 

[VLD Pilot]

Yeah, definitely missing a few other good options in there... I wouldn't even put .277 on the list, personally...

I would say .284 (7mm) caliber is my favorite. And 7mm SS, .280 Sherman, 7mm RemMag, .28 Nosler, or 7mm STW would be my preferred cartridge options.

Without a doubt.

 

[Martin@Hin]

In Canada bears and such!
No: 1 all time .340 Weatherby /pushing heavy Berger
No: 2 375H&H in a 602 BRNO
No: 3 7 RM

 

[Outdoornut]

You need at least two more options, 6.5 and 7mm.

My favorite is the 7mm STW and second to it would be the .300wm because of it's utility.

The 7mm STW RULES!
Ive also always been a fan of the 30-378 weatherby. Layne Simpson,the man to name the STW accually worked the first loads up for the big 30 which is the data Norma used to factory load it after Layne convinced Roy Weatherby to start chambering the caliber in the Mark V

 

[huntintoo]

Well it depends on which one is in my hand!, when I told my wife I'd ;like to have a custom gun built she said, "just sell some of your others to pay for it" So taking her seriously this time I when to the Safe and whet through each one. I guess I'm gonna have to save up cause I ain't sellin none of my babies!! My Winchester Model 70 chambered in .300 WBY Mag. sits in the front of my safe because it's used a lot!