New member looking to find the right spot to post/ask questions

[GLTaylor]

Beautiful stock on that rifle!

 

[25WSM]

Hate to go on a hunt and limit myself to a cow. If all I wanted was meat I just shoot more does. I love deer meat. Not to crazy about elk meat. Moose and caribou are my favorites. But where I live it's just deer. Or elk if you win the lottery. You will win Powerball before you get a PA elk tag.
Shep

 

[DNADave]

Then, on your first reloads, try the Barnes shown below. For whatever reason, the Barnes shoot very well, legal in the Peoples Republic, and simple to load for.

I've used those 168gr Barnes in my .300 Wby Mag. Incredibly accurate and easy on deer. Have yet to try that load on an elk, but it has performed well on Texas whitetails.

 

[25WSM]

I need to start a new thread so as to not contaminate this one. I will call it Who wants to take Shep on an elk hunt.
Me

 

[DNADave]

I need to start a new thread so as to not contaminate this one. I will call it Who wants to take Shep on an elk hunt.
Me

You don't want to go with me and my buddies. We'll just take you to the Olympic Peninsula and mostly what we get at the end is wet.

 

[25WSM]

Shoot I get plenty wet here. I take one of my buddies fishing alot. Perfect weather. Forecast great. And it rains on us every time.
Shep

 

[Bob Wright]

I've used those 168gr Barnes in my .300 Wby Mag. Incredibly accurate and easy on deer. Have yet to try that load on an elk, but it has performed well on Texas whitetails.

You would do well on an elk with that combo.

 

[25WSM]

Nice thing about those Barnes is they like to jump. They work great in rifles with short magazine boxes and wbys with the long throats.
Shep

 

[Mike300wby]

Beautiful stock on that rifle!

I thought it looked like a Weatherby stock.

 

[GLTaylor]

Me too with the Rosewood tip.
Beautiful

 

[FEENIX]

From what I've gathered, CO has multiple seasons and plenty of zones with OTC tags. No grizzlies to worry about either.........

Idaho also has lots of OTC tags but predators have started to take a toll on the elk population. Wolves and Grizzlies are moving further south it seems.

Just in case you're considering MT ...

Sorry, I couldn't resist. A friend shared it with me on FB.

 

[LiveToHunt7]

Just in case you're considering MT ...

View attachment 191296

Sorry, I couldn't resist. A friend shared it with me on FB.

.

I keep hearing how much Idahoans don't want any more CA transplants.

I hope one day I could get out there.

 

[FEENIX]

.

I keep hearing how much Idahoans don't want any more CA transplants.

I hope one day I could get out there.

IIRC, I started seeing those signs in the early 1980s from all of CA's neighbors.

 

[Big Bullet]

Good evening everyone,

I admire this website and these forums. I've spent a few hours reading all the information I could as it relates to what I hope to accomplish. I lack the wisdom that many of you have so I am looking for advice and guidance. I am primarily a bowhunter but I recently got back into shooting my rifle. If this is the wrong forum for this, I apologize.

I currently own a Remington 700 XCR II "Bone Collector" in 30-06. I'm not sure of the long range capability of this rifle, but I'm drawn to a flat shooting gun.

I primarily hunt deer. I live in CA but my buddy and I are planning elk trips in the future (With 2 girls both under 3, trips are few and far between). I'd love to shoot an elk with a bow but with the limited time I have, I want to maximize my opportunity at an animal. So this rifle will need the ability to shoot both. I am currently looking at the 6.5 PRC cartridge and the 300 PRC cartridge. The 300 may be overkill for deer, although I've read on here that say the 300 is perfectly fine for deer. I'm a meathunter more than anything so I'd like to reduce meat damage if possible. Could I shoot smaller bullets in a 300? From what I've read, 212's are the bullet of choice for the 300 but is that too much for a CA buck?

I also would like to practice as often as I could, so recoil is a factor. I'm not sure how much of a factor as I have shot my 30-06 many times at the range and in the field and have never felt that I was done with shooting. Most of the rifles I've looked at have muzzle brakes on them but I don't know how much of a difference those make.

This is the current list of rifles I'm looking at and also gives you an idea of the price range I hope to stay around.

CA Mesa LR
Bergara B-14 HMR
The new Tikka T3X Lite (Didn't see a 300 PRC offering though. Just watched the SHOT show youtube video)

If you have other suggestions, outside of those, please feel free to suggest some. I'm spending lots of time researching. I would also like to add that I will be reloading.

Lastly, scope recommendations. I haven't looked much into scopes yet. If this could be a sub $2k rifle, that'd be great.

Hope you all have a great evening.

Thank you,
Rick

Rick,
Your 30-06 is more than ample for both deer and elk. A 150 grain bullet is flat shooting and will have enough energy to put either of them down with proper shot placement. Also, the recoil shouldn't be too bad. I have used one for deer, elk, bear, and wild boar. The muzzle brake helps a lot. I now shoot a 300 win mag with a BOSS system and it shoots like a 270 with 180 grain bullets. I too am living in CA, but spent years in Idaho. Need to go back. No deer to hunt here, only wild boar. Looking to hunt moose in Alaska. On my bucket list.
Big Bullet