Need help with a long range elk rifle

[liltank]

For scopes under $500 Vortex Viper line, Nikon Monarch, Bushnell Elite 4200, Burris Fullfield II, Weaver, Redfield, and Falcon Menace. All are good scopes and in a variety of powers to fit your needs. I have the Viper w/target dot in 6.5x20x44. The scope is quite nice. I have shot a rifle on many occasions with the Bushnell Elite 4200 Tactical. It is also a very nice scope. Weaver offers a good product from what I can tell. I found one of their scopes sliced in half on the web, and all the components in the turrets were metal. Vortex optics CS is top notch and the glass is good. Burris Fullfield line offer some really good scopes. You can read a review on the Falcon Menace when it first came out on Snipercentral.com. He approved of it and its function for the money. Redfield has been bought by Leupold. It uses their lower end glass, but still a good deal for the money. Rifle Shooter magazine liked its durability and repeatability of the turrets. They also like the clarity of its glass.

Tank

 

[meatyrem]

338RUM



I just put a Leupold 4.5-14x40 vx-3 on my 7RUM. The scope brand new ran like $529. You can also get a VX-2 4-12x40 ao lr plex for $479 per midway. Or nikon 3-12x42 sf with bdc for $429 among lots of other choices.

 

[Rymart]

338 RUM... Elk can take a beating and keep on running. Hard to be over gunned when hunting elk. Tracking sucks. Loosing an animal that you know you hit good sucks even worse. No one should have to go through that. It can ruin a hunt.

 

[squirrelduster]

I recently bought a pair of Vortex binocs and was really impressed with the glass.
Take a look through one of their scopes and I believe you will be happy with the quality.
Give Scot at Liberty optics a call and he can answer all your questions, no bs just a nice guy that you can trust to help you out.

 

[elkhunter51]

As an Outfitter in NM, Dr. Vette is right, my clients have killed elk with rifles from 25yds out to 700 yds. Most of them use 300 win mags or 7mm's and do just fine.

 

[Good]

Some are 30 cal guys, I am not. The ballistics can be beat by either the 7mm or the .338 calibers and if you're shooting at 1k, you need all the help you can get, or at least I do.

I say .338 RUM or bigger in a lightweight hunting rifle with good optics and a good brake.

IMHO, the elk deserve nothing less.

I'm not a big fan of 7mm at elk at extended distances and that is my personal preference. I seen someone post somewhere, maybe it was Kirby Allen or Long Time Long Ranger but I can't remember, that if you want a gun that can kill 600-1000lb game at long ranges, get the gun that matches that- a 338. Elk don't read ballistic charts. Not all shots are perfect and if you gut shot an elk at 800yds with a 7mm he/she could possibly run for miles before lying down to die. Gut shot it with a .338 and it's looking for somewhere to lay down right now. I think a 7mm is THE gun for deer/antelope, etc, but the .338 is for elk at extended ranges. Ballistically, the 30 caliber IMHO isn't up to these 338 and 7mm rounds' level for this duty- lightbulbget one of each!!!

All that said, anything placed into the boiler room of an elk will kill it, I just prefer the added insurance of the bigger bullet. Like jlamb, I think the Lapua is a great round for this without getting too wildcatty albeit pricy (Lapua is my next rig. I'm researching it now!) 338RUM fits the bill as does the 338 Norma Mag among others. Get it in a relatively light weight for carry with a good brake and shoot it and smaller calibers often for practice.

As for glass, I'm a fan of US Optics SN3, but as far as ultimate- SN9 or the Hensoldt with the built in ballistic calculator. But, a buddy has been shooting an IOR Valdada 6-24 (I think that's what it is) FFP scope that is very impressive at about half the cost of the SN3, give or take. He loves it, but it is heavy and if I'm going to add weight, I want it to be in the barrel. I may try the Vortex Viper line on my next rig just to see for myself what it's about; either that or the Trijicon Accupoint.

It was KA:

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/7mm-rum-vs-other-mags-41379/index5.html#post365179

LTLR from the same thread:

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/7mm-rum-vs-other-mags-41379/index2.html#post277326

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