Which gun should be my Elk back-up?

clattin · 05-11-2003, 02:46 PM

I will be going to Colorado this fall to elk hunt near Gunnison. I will be using my Howa .300 Win Mag as my primary gun but will also take a second as a back-up. My choices are my Ruger 77 in .270 Win and a sporterized VZ-24 Mauser in 7mm-08. I need to keep one sighted in with my whitetail rounds to use for deer season here in Michigan. I' m leaning towards using the Ruger .270 as my back-up as it' s a little lighter. Each of them shoot MOA without difficulty. The Mauser has a synthetic stock and the Ruger a wood stock. Each are mounted with similar 3-9X40 scopes and each have a Timney trigger.

Whaddya think?

Nomercy · 05-11-2003, 03:02 PM

If it were me, I' d take the 7mm-08, as long as the gun itself can handle full power loads and it handles heavier bullets well. I wouldn' t feel right sending a typical 130gr .270 bullet out there after a fat elk, maybe on a decent elk, but " enough-gunned" for some elk is " under-gunned" for others, just having these choices, I' d go with the heavy hitter as opposed to the smaller/faster round (even though I' m not a big fan of 7mm' s on the norm, I do like the 7mm-08) (it' s strange to call a 7mm of any sort a heavy hitter compared to a smaller/faster round, but that' s the way it' s presenting itself today? Kind of backwards of normal huh?)

Quilly · 05-11-2003, 03:38 PM

the one that shoots the best and you feel confident with.

stubblejumper · 05-11-2003, 05:10 PM

I would go with the 7mm-08 as a backup.

TREEDOG · 05-11-2003, 06:17 PM

Wichever u shoot best. just use a good 140-150gr bullet in the 270.

handloader1 · 05-11-2003, 10:04 PM

270 Win. with a 150 gr. well constructed Premium Bullet. Good luck.

whelen36 · 05-11-2003, 10:14 PM

my personal choice would be the .270
but make sure to practice with it just as much as you do with the .300 mag

bigbulls · 05-11-2003, 10:22 PM

Flip a coin. Either one ore more than capable elk rifles. Do not use your regular deer bullets though. Better off with Noslers, Failsafes, Barnes, TBBC, ETC... in 140 - 160 grains in either rifle. The Barnes and Failsafes are excelent elk bullets in those two cartriges. They will break a shoulder and still get into the boiler room.

Deleted User · 05-12-2003, 01:54 PM

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seattlesetters · 05-12-2003, 03:32 PM

.270 Win without question.