HuntinWidow

I am wondering what is the caliber of choice for hunting elk in MT. My husband is planning a trip and is trying to decide if he needs to buy a new gun or not. Suggestions and comments welcome.

BareBack Jack

HuntinWidow,
What dose he shoot now,I' m a Montana native and hunt with magnum calibers.I' ve shot elk with a 30-06(not a magnum),300 WSM,300 Win Mag and .338 win mag.You don' t need a magnum but they sure are nice when faced with a long shot or a tough 1/4 shot.I think if he shot a .300 mag or a .338 win mag he would do well.
I curently hunt with a .300 WSM,but ' am a lover of the .338 Win Mag.

HuntinWidow

He currently shoots a Browning 30-06. He was planning on using a 180gr cartridge. I *think* it is a Nosler--can' t find the ammo as it must be locked up in the gun case- because of the ballistics. (For whitetail, he shoots a 165 Sierra BTSP.)He' s going to the SWestern part of MT. Previously, the guy that my husband is going hunting with says that most likely a shot will be less than 300 yds. However in a conversation, my husband had with his friend this weekend held mention of a 500 yd shot. We know that a 300yd shot would be pushing it for a lethal hit so 400-500 is out of the question. My husband was thinking about getting a .300 or a .338. (The cost of the shells for the .338 frightened me a little too much though.)

bigbulls

The 30-06 he has is plenty enough gun for elk. The 500 yard shot is a real rarity and 99.9% of the time he can cut that down considerably if he wants to. Most elk are taken under 200 yards. My farthest shot has been 130 yards and my closest was less than 20 yards. My father, whome I usually hunt with, has had only one shot at 400 yards in his 20 years of elk hunting. The 30-06 will have enough speed and energy at 400 yards to cleanly take an elk provided your husband is up to a 400 yard shot. Quoting Federals tables, the 180 grain Nosler partition is still traveling at 1970 fps and has 1550 ft lbs at 400 yards.

On the other hand a new .338 sure sounds nice.

410ER

If your looking at buying a new gun like brand new I' d suggest the 7mm WSSM its just as strong as the 7mm magnum but puts out greater velocities so range isnt a problem

Im only 13 but i study guns all the time i heard the manufactorers of this product are marlin remington and i know for sure winchester

BeaverJack

My longest shot on elk in all my years has been 173 yards. The 30' 06 did fine. If I was a prarie elk hunter, I might go to the 340 Weatherby. I like 34 & 35 caliber cartridges. My other elk rifle is a 348. Get him a 340 Weatherby for x-mas. He won' t turn his nose up to it, promise.

Hunting ain' t target shooting. Its about getting close to animals, not seeing what your equipment is capable of. The rifle range is for that.

BareBack Jack

I know WolfKiller is from SW Montana and he is happy with his .300 Win Mag,it is a good gun and offers a little advantage over the 30-06 with trajectory and power.

The .340 WBY is a great elk killer,but if the price of .338 shells are high for ya the price of .340' s will make you faint,like $60.00 to 80.00/ box of 20 if not more.

Another good elk rifle is the .300 Rem Ultra mag,it' s about 35-40.00/box for them.
If he needs a new rifle the .300 Win Mag or the 300 WSM would fill the bill great,they offer alittle more than a 30-06,yet are still not to pricey to shoot.

121553

I use the Remington model 700, 30-06 spittin 180 gr. corlokts. Noslers are good too, but I get better flight from the corelokts. Bobby

Jorgy

I can' t believe you guys saying he doesn' t need a new gun, of course he needs a new gun. Come on, guys have to help guys out!!

Oh well, his 30.06 is a great elk gun, there are better, but not by a whole lot. Alot of " hunters" will tell you of the 500 yard shot and you have to be prepared for it. Let me tell you, elk are the size of mice at that range. I have taken elk almost to 300 yards, even there, that is one hell of a long shot. I would bet big money that 90% of all elk shot every year are within 125 yards.

stubblejumper

410ER-If you really believe that the 7mmwsm actually produces more velocity than the 7mmremmag you have been reading too many winchester or browning adds.Actual chronograph testing has shown that the 7mmwsm is close behind but the 7mmremmag actually produces slightly more velocity when both are loaded with the same bullet.It is understandable that a 13 year old would believe these misleading adds as many adults have also been fooled.