HuntingNet.com Forums - View Single Post - ultimate elk rifle
View Single Post
Old 10-28-2011, 07:50 AM
  #33  
Nomercy448
Nontypical Buck
 
Nomercy448's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Kansas
Posts: 3,898
Default

I tend to live by the addage that "variety is the spice of life".

What I want in an elk rifle: Lightweight, easy handling, stands up to weather, flat trajectory, and plenty of power.

Another variable that I'll throw into the mix, is that I'd LIKE to be able to shoot factory rounds. Like it or not, it's something to consider if you have to fly to your elk hunts like I do. A few years ago, everything got to colorado except my ammo. I had to run out and buy new factory ammo and then had to re-sight my rifle. It ended up working out, of course, but the big problem is that I wasn't confident in the long range trajectory of the unfamiliar factory loads. I'd been shooting my hand-rolls for years and knew the trajectory like the back of my hand. Not knowing exactly how these factory loads performed at long ranges and how they behaved in the wind was on my mind the entire week.

All that said, a medium contour barrel stuck on a short action with a 7mm WSM or .300 WSM bedded in a synthetic stock is about as good as it gets for me. (Wife shoots a 7mm, I shoot a .300). We also have a .338 WM and a .375 H&H on hand, but usually prefer the flatter shooters, which also happen to be the lighter weight rifles also.
Nomercy448 is offline