Go with the 7 Mag. The ammo might cost slightly more than say 30-06 but I prefer the 7 mag cartridge personally.Though you wouldn't go wrong with any of your choices. I would advise against buying the mossberg rifle. I would recommend either a Savage or Remington 700 you will be happier in the long run.If you can find a Howa 1500 in yourprice range it would be a good rifle. The Howa1500 is the same action the Weatherbys used to be built on. You can check the pawn shops and gun stores and possibly find a usedrifle in your price range, Though I think you should save a couple hundred more.

I t sounds like you and your folks need to get to a gun show, and start bargain hunting I have found that some folks at the gun shows, especially some of the old geezers will will shave a goodly amount off the asking price if they know you(a youngster)are buying your first big game rifle,
might get more bang for your dollar!!! 25-06 30-06 270 300 whatever,
buy what you can afford now, you have whole life of gun buying and trading ahead of you!! so if you decide you arn't real happy with what you get you can allways trade up or you might luck out and end up with a family heirloom!!!

Tony

Goose,
I know what you are going through,I was a poor kid in a family of 7 and the baby at that.So when it came to elk hunting and guns I was always last.

But lucky for youI have done some bargin shopping,for the best bang for your buck you cannot beat the Stevens Modle 200.You can pick one up new for about 250-270 dollars,put a Nikon pro staff on it and be set.It will cost around 400 dollars total.They make it in some fine elk rounds also,30-06,7mm RM,300 Win Mag and 308 win.
If you can't swing that start looking for a used rifle,if a scope is out of the question find a used Savage with open sights in 30-06 or 7mm RM.I know for shure you can find these on Gunbroker for 200-250 dollars,20-25 dollars shipping and you are set.
Ammo wise 30-06 is probaly the cheapest and most vastly found,there is nothing wrong with a 15.00 box of 180grcore-loks,or pay 10 bucks more for noslers.

P.S. If you can't find one by end of Summer have your dad get a hold of me,I could posibly have a deal for you.
BBJ

has anybody tried that new fusion ammo yet?

Just use some cheap Winchester Super-X ammo or Remington Core-Lokt ammo. It's a lot cheaper than almost anything else you'll find and it will work fine on elk.

From all reports I have received, the Fusion ammo is great. I'm hoping they come out with the bullet as a component sometime soon.

Also, if you really aren't recoil sensitive - get the .300 Winchester. Most folks on this board, if the truth be known, use lighter calibers because they kick less. The .300 Winchester will give you a little more margin for error if shot placement is less than ideal.

Agrrrr.... My kind of guy!

30-06 is okay though

For ammo if you have the 30-06, try the Hornady Light Magnum ammo in 165gr. It's high tech world class ammo. Sportsmans Guide has is for 22.00 a box, not really a bad deal tho you may find it cheaper locally.

Another thing to condsider if you succumb to magnumitis is get your stock cut off 1" and get a 1" Pachmayer recoil pad put on, or even the highly overpriced LimbSaver 1" recoil pad.I did that for my 135# wife and she can run thru3 boxes of 150gr 06 ammo pretty quick with no bruising.

Never heard of it!Has anyone else?

As to my choice for an elk rifle,I would go with either a 7mmremmag or a 300winmag.Either provides good power and a flat trajectory with the 7mmremmag providing less recoil.

I agree that 300 is the best all around, although I use a 30-06 because it was given to me free of charge so I've stuck with it. My last purchases was a 375 h&h which I plan to hunt elk in the timber with next year. I would probably describe myself as a little recoil shy until I got the 375. The kick is all mental. Once you start shooting those bigger calibers you realize it really isn't that bad.