Big Game Rifle...What Caliber???
 

Looking Too Hunt Big Game In The Future! Elk Will Be My Next Hunt! Im Undecided on Which Brand Rifle Too Purchase and Up In The Air On Which Caliber!
I Want A Flat Shooting Cartridge With Good Knock Down Out Too 500 yds.
I Got About $1,000 bucks too spend on one want something nice and accurate!
Let me know what you have and what u think mite be a good cartridge/gun for me!
Also any Links On Ballistics Would Be benefical too!
Thanks in advance IOWAWHITETAILS

I would suggest you do a search of the forum. This question's been asked and answered here so often that I've lost count of the times I've seen it.

500 yds??? I thought you wanted to hunt?

$1k rig, 1caliber for "most all of it" out to 500ish yds...

Weatherby Vanguard, 300WbyMag, Leupold vx2 4x12x40.

Simple & effective!
HL

HatchieLuvr
Thanks for answering the question!!!!

yea IOWAWHITETAIL theres not to many guys on this site that like answering our questions...just like to heckle us. Maybe its cause were from Iowa and have the biggest deer in the nation. I dont know.

Whoa!!!! I don't think that's the case at all. It's obvious from the question that the person who asked the question does not have a lot of hunting experience just by the question that he asked. nothing wrong with that, except that only the "MOST" experienced shooter/hunter would be thinking of buying a gun and shooting it to 500 yards - come-on be honest.
One answere gave the gun, and the other was a legitimate response to "500 Yards".
Does he own any guns to hunt with? Ifnot he really needs more help than a gun.
Please forgive me if it sounds like I'm picking on someone, but "read the question?"

How's your elk? :p

Any good quality 30-06,.270 will suffice for elk to 500yds and beyond!!!!

First off....I Did A Search and it Didnt Answer My Question....Im Looking For A Good Caliber Thats Good Too 500! And Yes Muley Too Poke Something At 300 - 500 yds with complete accuracy and confidence is Hunting Too me
Second
Old Bob....Experience...own any Guns....500 yds!!!! Come Too Ia Someday and Let me school yah! I Feel Like Its A Legitimate Question...I Dont hunt Big Game Hunt Never Have, Iowa Is a NoN Rifle State...The Closest I Have Is a .50 cal CVA accura. That Being Said and I dont know where u come off Old Bob...talking about exp....guns...What the #$%& is their too hunt in florida Crocadile!!! U Cant Even answer my question much less respond!
And MULEY Your just some internet poser that hangs on this site and thinks hes god....prolly never hit the back country in your life....Thats all i got too say

Lol.......

Iowa, you obviously gave a pointed response to select members who responded.
However, finnbear gave a quality response to your question, and he's correct.
Hatchieluvr also gave a good response here.
I might not choose the calibers that they did, but they are certainly quality calibers. I would go with a quality gun in 7mm Rem. Mag. (personal preference).

Second, this debate has been had on sooooo many threads its almost impossible to not trip over one with even the most basic search.

A .300 RUM. Good luck.

pretty good! got a bull on cam a couple years ago..craziest picture ive ever got

A nice 700 Remington or model 70 Winchester in 300 Winchester. Put a nice Leupold or Burris or Nikon scope on it and enjoy.

Sconnyhunter.....They Gave Good Advice! And I Appreciate Yours as Well. The Way i look at it if the select few dont like the topic dont reply!!

And truth be told i am unexperienced when it comes too rifles....maybe its just a personal preference per hunter! What Has Me asking this question is a friend just got back from wyoming with a 30.06 shot a nice muley at 380yds with just a entrance hole and just wanted something with a little more knock down! Meanwhile His Guide Uses a .243 Ackley if im saying it correctly for all big game! So i just thought i could get some help on here with advice and caliber! But then again someones else is question doesnt always answer a question of your own! I appreciate all that reply with advice....Thanks IA

You can't go wrong with the 30-06. I got turned off by someone new that wants to start right off with 500yd shots.

You might be surprised that 95% of the elk taken in Colorado were taken at less than 200yds. Most a lot less.

I've never had to take one over 100yds. Elk live in the timber. Once they feel hunter pressure. It's rare to see any in the open.

So first, a clue: Caliber ain't gonna get you "complete accuracy and confidence." Only YOU can achieve that. Best not blame it on the rifle.

Hmmm, I know a few guys who live in Florida and come out here every year to hunt elk, nonetheless. If you're such a stud with your inline, why don't you bring it? I've killed elk with a patched-ball .54 Hawken-pattern FLINTLOCK. There isn't a reason in the world a .50 Accura wouldn't work unless - that is - YOU can't make it work. "School yah"? Right. Save the watch. Stick to whatever small game you're hunting now - if you even manage to hunt that?

lol - and that makes you ... what? A punk with an attitude who never hit the back country in his life, or hunted elk with a centerfire rifle, or hunted anything with a centerfire rifle at all. Who's waiting to become the next statistic. Good luck, you'll need it - and that's "all i got too say."

Finis

I have a Centurion p14 in 7mm rem mag i love the round but i havent made a proper stance on the rifle yet,

:nonono2: :nonono2:

Ha ha ha....again thanks for advice!

A couple years ago, I did the same thing (well not 500 yds, I don't have a place to practice that). I hunt mostly whitetail, but want to move and explore western hunting so wanted some thing I can use here and there and take everything from pronghorn to elk, maybe moose.

I went with:

remington Model 700 in .30-06
Leupold VX3 scope in 2.5 - 7
sling

Rang it around $1100

Big game
 

Wow, an Iowa guy wanting a rifle. Never thought I'd hear that. lol.

There are quite a few calibers that will do the job for you. I like the 30/06. Others, as you've seen, prefer a magnum. They do shoot a little flatter. .300 WM, .300 RUM, .325... the list can go on. I'd also look at the .338 Federal. But, if you do choose the .270 Winchester. Better get a good blood tracking dog. :nonono2:

As for rifles. You should go to a shop, and handle a few. See which one fits you better. Thats really all that matters.

Personally, I don't think $1,000 is enough. But, you might be able to find a nice used rig.

Good luck on the Elk hunt!

What rifle?
 

You guys are cracking me up! Some great posts. I've hunted out west for almost thirty years and have taken lots of deer and elk and the occasional moose, goat, and bear. In all that time I've taken only one animal from over 500 yards. 90% of my rifle shots have been under 300 yards. Too me, caliber and bullet don't matter much if you're not completely comfortable behind the scope. Find a rifle that fits you and doesn't make you flinch and you will be fine. My personal favorite is my Browning A-bolt in .300 win mag.

I have been hunting Wyoming for the last 7 years my longest shot was this year 326 yards with a 25-06 at a mule that dropped where it stood. Prevous years I was never over 150 yards for antelope, mule deer and elk. For elk I would use either a 280, 7mm or 308 all have the killing power needed. The 308 is my rifle of choice for Elk the outfitter I hunt with uses a 7mm or 280 for elk.

it Was Getting Pretty Good!!!! LoL...I dont have no place to shoot 500yds it was just a refereance point! Apparently ruffled some feathers!...butt thanks for the advice!!

Again NOT ALL ELK live in the timber we have elk here in washington state that live their whole life in the low desert of about 400 to 800 ft elevation.....where I hunt is high desert at around 2000 to 4000ft no trees just sage and grass like around the spike in my thumbnail.....500yd shots are common not the exception here!!!! don't knock the other guys game till ya played...we spot and stalk or sometimes have the animals walk right up to you...not many of the old salts or locals hunt with the big magnum bangnums as they just are not needed!!!! they have everything from .32specials to the huge .300 rum, but so far I have not seen a animal taken with one of the supermagnums....normally the guy M/Ts his gun into the sky and the ground and the elk run off and then the locals shoot them!!!!! just my two cents here fellas.......take it with a grain of salt....BUT the question was what would we recomend on a $1000.00 budget!!!! don't be fooled folks, elk are not near as tough as a big muley buck, they are bovine in nature, normally in herds, one stop they all stop,run pretty much in a straight line witch if you see them coming you have ample time to get in front of them and shoot one at your liesure!!!!

We can only talk about where we hunt. Of course if you hunt the desert you'll have long shots. I hunt the timber, and long shots are not available. I've taken elk at long distance, but I found it boring, and more shooting than woodsmanship.

This is where I hunt. 12,000ft

I disagree with you muley,i still think it's woodsmanship with an "upper level" of marksmanship added to the equation.
I personally have only practiced to 200yds. but with my rifle sighted @ that distance knowing my MPBR i'd shoot to 300yds.
Like RR said a good range finder is in order.
I like your hunting grounds it reminds me eastern whitetail woods which is what i hunt.

I'm wrong about what? Still hunting timber doesn't require long shots. You don't agree with that?

The part about it "boring and more shooting than woodsmanship"

It was boring to me, and i'll give you an example of it being shooting and not hunting.

A handicapped retired sniper was taken hunting. Something he had never done before, but always wanted to do.

They got high on the mountain, and glassed an elk. The sniper laid prone, and shot the elk at 480yds with one shot.

The sniper had zero hunting skills, because he had never done it before. However, being a sniper, his shooting skills were way above average.

Now, what part of him killing that elk was hunting, and what part was shooting?

I give him all the credit in the world as a shooter. I give him none as a hunter.

That's why it was boring for me. I don't want to be a sniper. I want to hunt the animal at his own terms when all his senses can be used against me.

We all have out definition of how we view hunting, and it's challenges. We're not going to agree on them, and that's fine. Nobody is forced to hunt any method they don't like. Some think my method of still hunting is easy. Probably, because they got lucky, and walked into an animal and shot it. It's pretty well accepted as the hardest way to hunt in the hunting world, but it doesn't really matter.

I've noticed how touchy guys are who like long range hunting. They seem to find it hard to believe that someone wouldn't like their method of hunting. They developed the skills to do it, but lets be honest. Those skills are developed on the range. Shooting. Maybe some more skills are glassing. Snipers do that too.

My skills are developed in the mountains. I live at 8000ft in the Rockies. It's only 15 minutes to get to the area in the picture I posted. I scout and still hunt without a gun 300 days a year in the mountains. I don't need a gun to hunt. I can work on playing the wind, being quiet, and seeing and getting close to game, before they see me. I also work on tracking game in all kinds of ground conditions. I'll also work on shooting, but it's more on practicing taking fast and running shots.

Then of course you have hunters who are inbetween. They work the timber, but will also take long shots. Those won't usually be 500yd shots though.

So, we're all different. Pick your style, and get good at it. If someone doesn't agree with it. So what? How boring would we be if we all liked the same thing?

To the OP. If you plan on shooting an elk at 300-500yds? You better find a place to practice those distances a lot. You say you don't have any right now. I'd rather see you learn to get closer.

Muley
This Isnt About teaching someone how too hunt or shoot! I have good fundamentals and ethics when it comes too hunting whitetail! I Do different types of Hunting...Bow hunt whitetail on stand...Shotgun hunt still hunting or pushing....Late Muzzle load Hunt Usually Siting!! This Question as Gotten off topic, Im basically just seeing what everbody else rifle hunts with....thats all and when i spend over 4k on my new mexico elk hunt its not gonna matter if its At 500yds or 10yds ....its gonna be about the experience of hunting different game/country and Enjoying it...thanks

I thought this thread was about elk?

How did I know someone would post still hunting was easy. :p

This thread is about appropriate caliber choice for big game. Including Elk, as a main example.
Muley, you made it into something else. By extrapolating the original post to mean that the OP only wanted to shoot Elk at long range.

I'll vote .300 WSM stainless synthetic in anything other than Remington 700.

I have a Browning A-Bolt stainless stalker in 7mm Rem Mag and it has done everything I've asked of it for the last 5 years I've taken 4 bull elk, 4 mule deer bucks, 4 whitetail bucks, 2 antelope and over a dozen hogs with it without any problems. Shots have been from 50 to 300 yards. If I had it to do over again I would pick the .300 WSM for the shorter length as my 26" barrel end up getting caught in low hanging tree branches occasionally.

Pick the rifle that fits you. Tikka is good, Browning, Howa and Savage are too.

That's my 2 cents. Nathan

How many right answers does he need? There's probably a minimum of 20 calibers he can use on elk. I've taken the majority of mine with a 30-30, and lately a muzzleloader.

Just get a 30-06, and go hunt. It's not that complicated.

Now we've moved onto hunting methods. Well, we were, but I don't want to argue about it. I tried to word my post so it wouldn't turn into a debate, but that's not possible.

I'm done.

RR - You might consider that we "suck at it" because it's a lucky day when we're able to find elk placidly grazing in a meadow 200 yards away. In reality, I'd just as well try looking through a brick wall as set up high and hope a shootable bull walks through the handful of quarter-acre bogs, beaver meadows, or burns below me, whether they're 100 or 1000 yards away.

Competing in PR legs of multi-gun, I don't exactly view long-range shooting as boring. Quite the opposite. However, the ONLY big game in my neck of the woods (or plains) that lends itself to that kind of shooting is pronghorn. But, given the choice of shooting a goat at 800-plus with my PR (I've hit 10" plates cold bore at greater) or outwitting him with a stalk into handgun or bow range? To each his own.

Back to the OP. Now that you've calmed down a shade (wise choice, that edit you made), I hope that you're redefining your emphasis here. There are a LOT of calibers suitable for elk. The minimum short-action cartridge I'd consider suitable is the 7mm-08. The minimum long-action cartridge I'd consider suitable is the .270. The calibers I would suggest as MOST popular for elk are the 7mm Remington Magnum, the .30-06, and the .300 Winchester Magnum. Performance-wise, and from experience, the Weatherby Vanguard is very hard to beat for the money, and I'm hearing the Series II is an improvement over the original.

If you're planning a NM hunt, I'd do some work in Google Earth and see what kind of terrain and vegetation you may encounter or if you've booked a guide, talk to them about the kind of shooting to expect. Issuing a blanket of "500 yards" without any other justification ("my guide says to expect...") opens the door to make the wrong choice for the right conditions.

My own DEDICATED (I don't use it for anything else) elk rifle is a Wal-Mart Weatherby Vanguard in .300 Weatherby that I picked up new for less than $400 (they're a couple hundred more now, I think?) topped by a 3-9x40mm Leupold VXII. Total investment with Leupold mounts and rings is still less than $1000.

However, I probably have twice the investment I've made in a rifle and scope in QUALITY boots, QUALITY pack, and QUALITY compact spotting scope and tripod. And then there's the time spent conditioning.... Elk hunting is considerably more involved than the just rifle.

This IMO is about as good advice as you can get. HB gave you minimum and most popular calibers,if it were me i'd pick one in the middle.

.300 Winchester Mag, either Remington or Savage bolt action, and the best scope you can afford (I like Leupold). This should get you in around $1,000 and kill any big-game animal in the U.S. (I'd get a little more firepower for a brown bear or grizzly).