If it were me it would be either of the Sako's. My reasoning would be ammunition availability, cost of brass, amount of powder required, recoil, etc. The .338 would be great with 250 gr accubonds or comparable for those quartering away shots but in almost all shots the 300 Win Mag would be a great choice as well with . Quartering away and through the rib cage and into the lungs.
Which caliber will you be the most comfortable shooting, and which cartridge will give you the most confidence on your hunt?
I am doing a moose hunt in the Yukon this fall and I am shooting a new 7mm wildcat I developed. My back up gun will be a .338 Win Mag.
You aren't going to be shooting this guy probably even at 300 yards let alone 4 or 500. Hit right at reasonable distances any of these guns will drop Mr. Moose where he stands.
Before you presume that you're "stuck", what are you currently hunting with? Unless this is your first hunting trip, you may already own a perfectly capable elk rifle that you're already comfortable shooting.
I have aretired and finnicky7mm, a.270 for Pigs,Mulies and Whitetails and a .243 for Blacktails and Antilope.My Sako Finnlight .270 is atack driver and a light option, butI'd rathersmash an elk with a big club than try and track one down after hitting one with my .270.
Sako 85 in either chamberings. But, personally,I would opt for a WSM over the longer version.
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Given a known "tack driver" versus an otherwise unknown magnum, your .270 would be hard for me to leave behind.
I've hunted elk with everything from a .243 up to a .375 H&H. There's no guarantee a bigger caliber or cartridge will do the work any more quickly than will a smaller one, provided I do my part and put the bullet where it needs to go. The rage today seems to be that you need a big magnum to "reach out" to those long-way-off elk. In practice, I've always found too many trees in the way to see all that far in the first place. Occasionally, I'll find a meadow or canyon where I can see 300 yards or so, but that's about it.
Personally, I'd stick with the known quantity in your .270. Myuncle usedhis for years on elk, and I don't recall a case where it failed him.
Of course, if you're burning to buy something bigger, I'd opt for something in a different class than your .270 - likely the .338.
Elk Gun For Wy. High Country
either round will do the job.
