ELK CARTRIDGE?
 

I'm looking for a good elk cartridge thinking about the 7mm ultra mag or 300 ultra mag by remington a buddy of mine swears by the 8mm mag any help?

RE: ELK CARTRIDGE?
 

Where are you going to be hunting? Unless you are in an area where you will be shooting an elk at 500 yards regularly (not highly reccomended) you don't come close to needing an ultra mag. I use a .270Win. and it will work geat under 300 yards with the right bullets, though my farthest has been 130 yards. I would say that a moderate recoiling 30 to .338 caliber cartrige would be about ideal. Something along the lines of a 30-06, 300Win. mag., 338-06, or 338Win. mag. or a 35 Whelen. As soon as Winchester gets the .338WSM out there I will be standing in line for mine. You can get within 300 yards or less of about 95% of the elk out there.

RE: ELK CARTRIDGE?
 

I worked with an Elk herd at a major zoo for 5 or 6 years and have a fair amount of experience with these animals. They are physically larger than most folks think, especially the bulls.

For my money, the bigger bores/bullets are better for taking Elk, providing the hunter can shoot accurately. Smaller bores will kill Elk, and the term "right bullet" or "proper bullet" is often used by hunters using these rifles. Having "rubbed shoulders" with 30-40 of these animals on a daily basis, I went to the .375, if for no other reason than to insure a humane kill. If you're looking for opinions, I'd say stay above .30 caliber and you won't regret the choice.

Most important is bullet placement. We killed selected (sick) Elk cows with a Ruger 10/22. They were shot through the top of the head with a .22 LR solid while putting their nose in a bucket of carrots. Lightning would not have been quicker.

RE: ELK CARTRIDGE?
 

I like the 30-06 or 8mm remington magnum, I have taken elk with both, the 8mm is definitely a harder hitting round.I like the distance of the 8mm better.Its to bad that remington does not offer it in there lineup anymore.My hunting buddy uses a remington 300 ultra mag , both the 300 and 8mm seem to do a good job but the 300 is going to be better for long distance shooting,350 yards and out.The bottom line is shot placement if you dont hit them in a good spot it not going to matter what gun your shooting.

RE: ELK CARTRIDGE?
 

Bear,
If you don't mind recoil and plan to do a lot of elk hunting either of those would be fine. Both are on the upper end of what is really needed for elk.
Unless you are hunting in really open country or canyon lands most shots are elk are under 200 yards.
At that range the 30-06/270/280 with heavy bullets for the caliber do the job just fine and are much more versatile calibers.
If you are one of the lucky guys that can afford lots of different rifles, why not get another one.
If you are set on a magnum and even a little recoil shy you may think about the 300wsm. Plenty of power and supposedly less recoil than other 30 magnums. Good luck with whatever you decide on.

RE: ELK CARTRIDGE?
 

I hunt and shoot elk every year and use a 338 win. mag.. I've never had to shoot at an elk over 300 yds. And don't advise it for most shooters in the field. The .338 with a 250 gr. bullet has great stats. and is hard to beat. Try it, you'll like it. But I'll trade out when Win. comes out with the 338 wsm.<img src=icon_smile_approve.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: ELK CARTRIDGE?
 

Bear,
The folks here at huntingnet.com must have hired you to drum up traffic since it seemed to be slowing down with the fall hunting season fading in the distance. See these q' s everywhere....... is kind of fun responding to them though.

(1) Got to be careful applying generalities to specifics, so a few questions:
What guns do you already have? Rifle cartridge " spacing" within your rack is important, no sense it collecting a bunch more " mid-ranges" when you already have some!

(2) Are you tough or tender when it comes to recoil? Don' t want anyone running home to mama to get their shoulder bandaged.

(3) What are your hunting plans (species wise) beyond elk? Got to look forward to the future.
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With that said, for NA:
Little cartridges and Little guns for Little animals. (varmits/coyotes)
Medium cartridges and Medium guns for Medium animals (antelope/deer)
Bigger cartridges and Bigger guns for Bigger animals (elk, moose, great bears)

Elk aren' t Little and they aren' t Medium. They are large and by that I don' t mean they are like " large, large, large deer" they are not. Deer are fly weights by comparison and are only half as tough as elk.
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If you don' t have a high power rifle (30-30' s don' t count :)) then go for a 7mmMag or 3006 if you' re tender or 7mmUltra Mag or 300Ultra Mag (your list) if you' re tough.

If you do have such a rifle (in the 7mm to 3006 range) and feel you just HAVE to go out and buy something then " space out" the new rifle you will be adding to your rack AWAY from what you already have and move up to something like: 338 WinMag or a 8mmMag (your list) if you' re tough and something like a 338-' 06 or 35 Whelen if you are tender.

What ever you do don' t get a 375 like Ranger Mac or myself -- even though they are world class hunting rifles -- it causes entirely too much hand wringing, consternation, and loss of sleep among the troops here in NA. ;)

Never Go Undergunned
EKM

RE: ELK CARTRIDGE?
 

I have used the 7mmstw,8mmremmag and 300ultramag for moose and elk.The 300ultra has resulted in the quickest kills and shoots very flat.The 7mmstw shoots flat and does a good job but the kills are not as quick or dramatic.The8mm mag works well but is not quite as flat.Recoil is very tolerable with the 7mmstw,stiff with the 8mm and stiffer yet with the ultramag.Overall I prefer the ultramag and now use it for all my moose and elk hunting.

RE: ELK CARTRIDGE?
 

I' d go with the 300 ultra mag. So what if you don' t NEED the extra umff. At least you will have it. The only time the 300 rum feels like too much gun is when you' re sighting it in (if then). Maybe I just don' t understand the concept of too much gun. Sure, factory rounds cost more than say a 30-06, but the cost is irrelevent when the bull drops! To me, you just can' t argue with a .30 caliber bullet with the ballistics of a 300 rum.

RE: ELK CARTRIDGE?
 

ANY of the three you listed will work OK, but the 8mm Rem. Mag. would be the best, and better for other large varmints like grizzly & Alaskan Brown bears!!