nksmfamjp

30-30 or 358 Win. I would hate to go to a small bullet for Elk. I would rather use a smaller case and shorter range.

Jeff Ovington

7mm-08.......Is a good choice...
And probably be the smallest cal I'd recomend would be the 6.5-284...
My bro has shot elk seberal elk with the 7mm-08 cal..(within 200yrds)lots of deer out as far as
400yrds..Moose and Black Bear as well....
I watched him dump one moose(700lbs)at 325 yrds away...
But if she could handle a .270 or greater it would be a wise decision......Addition of a recoil pad and or muzzle break will certainly help her being recoil sensitive when shooting a bigger cal..
But the most important thing is getting a gun in a cal she is able to shoot confidently...(As you already know)........

bawanajim

What has changed allot in the caliber game is the new quality bullets available in factory loadings.

Hand loaders have always been ahead of the field at being about to buy custom bullets.Todays Nosler accubonds are one of the best.These bullets allow higher velocities with light weight bullets that retain 75-85 % of their original weight.

If you are serious I would look into a .264 Winchester magnum. You can achieve velocities these others only dream of with very little recoil!

James B

The recoil of the 264 Win Mag is exactly the same as the 7MM Rem mag with the same weight bullets. Not excessive but not real mild either. It is however an awsome caliber that should have done much better than it did. Maybe being chambered in the new Remington rifle will give it a fresh breath.

bawanajim

To avoid the recoil I load a 20gr lighter bullet than I would in 7mm.
With the quality of bullets available today a 120gr accubond will stay together even after going thru both shoulders of a whitetail at well over 3200 fps. I use 140gr for black bears just because I had loaded them in the past when the partition bullet was all that was available.I never liked the accuracy of noslers partition bullets ,but the new accubonds shoot just like ballistic tips out of all of my guns.
In October I shot a bull elk with a thirty caliber 165gr accubond ,that bullet went thru both front shoulders at 327 yards and was recovered under the skin in the off side ,Weight retention was amazing the base of the bullet is perfect with just the front blown off. That bullet came from 30-378 Weatherby mag using 122gr of H 5010 that leaves the barrel at 3620fps.
Shooting a lighter bullet at a higher velocity will reduce recoil.

deerslayer32

.7mm-08

huntinglife

I would go with the 270 win. I have killed elk with it and if you get the Federal Premium Barnes Triple Shock Bullet with 100 % weight retention you are going to knock down an elk. I would also get the limbsaver recoil pad if you are worried about recoil and buy the heaviest rifle you,your wife or your kids can carry. The other thing to remember is to practice practice practice! If you can put a couple of 100 rounds through the rifle on a bench in a rest like the Caldwell Lead Sled when it comes time to kill an elk the recoil will be the furthest thing from your mind

Good Luck!

madabula

Someone may have covered this already but: Recoil is the effect of the speed and weight of the bullet vs the weight of the rifle.

Dead elk are a result of a enough damage to vital organs which equates to and penetration with a large enough and heavy enough object traveling fast enough.

While there has been a lot of breakthrough and enovationin bullets small caliburs often expand too quickly and don't have the weight to retain energy or create enough damage to vital organs to kill effecently.

For more than 100 years thousandsof elk and moose were killed with muzzleloaders and later with 30-30's and other slow moving projectiles.

Howeverelk got more wary and hunters less skilled or more impatientso range is now a big factor.

As many archers know effective range is mostly the ability to compensate for the trajectory. If you know and factor in the actual distance accurately slower larger calibur bullets are very effective at great distances, having both the weight and sectional density to do the job.

Consider that a .308win was the weapon of choice for many years for long range shooting. Many records were set on the 1000 meter ranges with this round.

Today you can purchase reduced recoil loads for 30-06 and several other caliburs that are essentially slowed down or down loaded ammo.

Next consider things like a tripod to add weight with support and a grounding point to take some of the recoil.

Finally consider practicing with "very downloaded ammo" don't teach the effects of recoil and create fear and flinch. No one ever feels the shot that takes out an elk so you can slip an effective load into a properly sighted rifle for the hunt and be forgiven or thankedlater!

Mike
www.mikescustomtaxidermy.com