30-06 Elk Hunting
 

I have a Belgium Browning FN High Power (made in 1967)-safari grade-. Im going to Colorado to hunt elk with it... Looking to shoot 400-500 yards. It has a Leupold 2x7 vari-x II scope...... will this work okay?... what grain bullet should i shoot,,, what would be the best brand Bullet?

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

No offense but if youhave toask if this would be a good choice then you probably shouldn't be taking 500 yard shots at elk.

Can a 30-06 kill elk at 500 yards? ------ All day long.

Can you consistantly get that bullet into the chest of an elk at 500 yards under real world hunting conditions? ------ We don't know. 500 yards is a long shot especially under less than ideal conditions.

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

That's easy, mark off 1500 ft and see what you can do?:)

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

I want to see you make that 500 yard shot. . .The gun might be capable but no offense you would be a very rare person to be able to state you can make a clean and proper shot at such a range. . .Take a trip to the range and see if you can even hit the paper more than one time in a row at that range. Then let's move that skill out into the filed and do it again this time with buck fever.

Good luck. . .

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

Oops. . .part two. . .while the 06 can reach out there a X7 scope will run out of gas at about 150/200yards . . . .I hunted a few seasons with a fixed 7x40 springfield scope. . .nice scope but that target does get pretty small past the ranges I mentioned.

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

For most hunters 400-500 yard shots are a dream. Don't even think about it unless you have a 500-600 yard range to practice and can hit a 12 inch circle under all wind conditions.

IMO 400 yards is reaching the outside edge of the 30-06 capabilities. Energy is starting to drop off by that time and while a perfect hit at 400-500 yards would probably still kill an elk, you also need to figure on dropping them pretty close to where they are hit or you may well not be able to find them after working your way over there. Maybe you are capable of that kind of shooting but only about one of twenty average shooters could pull that off.

I once had a bunch of guys out for a steel silhouette shoot and I had to set up two 4x8 sheets of plywood at five hundred meters to even see where they were hitting. On the first round of shots nobody came within 30 feet of hitting the Ram. These were guys who thought they knew where their rifle would hit at that range. This was of course before range finders.

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

My $.02...

1) Texasimport is right: 500 yards is a long damned way, and shooting there consistently is tough for the best of marksmen

2) bigbulls is right: a .30-'06 will kill elk at that distance, but you'll need to nail the shot placement. See #1.

3) Texasimport is right, again: a 2-7x scope might be found wanting at that range.

I'm thinking you can get closer than 500 yards, & you should certainly TRY. I don't know what conditions you'll be hunting in, but you might be surprised at close you'll get: after all, many bulls fall to guys with bows every year. I was in BC last Fall, & the guides said there are many shots at 10 to 30 yards in the black timber they've got.

I'd suggest upgrading your scope, if not in magnification, then in quality. I just replaced a VXII with a Zeiss Conquest, and was "wowed" at the difference in brightness & clarity. Given the expense of an elkhunt, & the rarity with which many of us get to try our hands at it, why not put another $300 to $400 in a kick-a$$ scope? You can't hit what you can't see.

As for bullets, I'd go 165 grains to 180 grains, with the latter being preferrable. Premium makes are what you want, such as NP, Scirocco, Accubond, TBBC, Interbond, Barnes, etc. Get out to the range now, find out which ones your rifle likes best, then get lots of practice with those.

Good Luck,

FC

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

A 30/06 with a Leupold VarX-III 2.5 x 8 is my rifle. It's taken quite a few elk over the past 25 years. Your set-up is just fine. I think your a little off in your range. About 300 yards is my max & is a rough rule of thumb for most big game hunting. As far as bullets. The Federal Premium line is good----180 grain Nolser Partition is always a good choice. Most rifles I know with group them pretty well. CB

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

:D:D:D:DI wasn't saying it was easy to killat that distance, I was telling dwood190that it was easy to find out if he can do it consistantly, mark off 1500 ft and see what he can do?:)

I surely wouldn't come on here and ask for opinions if I could do it or not!

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

When I was deciding between a .30-06 and a 7 Rem Mag the only factory Ammo I found that I thought would be a good fit for Elk with the .30-06 was the Federal 180 gr Nosler Accubond. I ended up going with the 7 Rem Mag because there were several bullet choices that I felt would be effective on Elk with it so I have a better chance at matching up the ammo that my gun likes to eat the best.

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

I don't know anything about elk, but I do have some shooting experience. Get a better scope if you are new to long shooting, and then practice, practice, practice. Go buy a hearing aid and then practice, practice, practice. It takes a long time to learn to make a shot that long consistently.

Also, check out the terrain between you and the elk, that's a big a$$ animal to drag out!

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

There is nothing at all wrong with the scope you intend to use. For such ranges, I would most definitely use a Nosler Partition bullet, as the front end of this type is very soft, intended to expand at low velocities whereas many of the more "modern" bullets have to be going faster than what the old '06 can do at 500 yards in order to expand. I would use a 200-grainer, loaded to over 2650 FPS MV. (But at my current shooting ability level, I would limit my shots on elk to 200-250 yards MAX! Find a good caller to get them in closer!)

Elk are big, alright! But they are not generally dragged out of the mountains like a deer! They are quartered, or just the edible meat removed & put in game bags, tied on a pack frame, and the meat carried out. Preferably by

a HORSE

IF YOU HAVE ONE!!

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

eldequello, Excellent advice. As usual:D

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

Thank you, sir!

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

A true 500 yard shot is pretty difficult in real world hunting situations. If you can find a range and be consistent from field shooting positions at hitting an elks kill zone then this leaves you with a personal choice of how far you're comfortable shooting. I would keep it to more like 250-300 yards. As far as ammo I would look to Federal Premium's with a 180 gr. Partition. The partition works well at 06 velocities out to 300 yards. As for your optics I would upgrade if you have the cash. The Vari-X II was the scope all others were graded by. That was a long time ago. There are much brighter optics out there now. I would look to the Leupold VX-III, Zeiss Conquest, or if you want to go all out look at the Swarovski's, & Zeiss that cost over $1K.

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

two years ago i shot a moose at just over 400 yrds with my 30-06, and i gotta say, if i am crossed with that kind of shot again, i think i may let it walk, that was a long shot and i was lucky to have taken the moose, i had a good rest to shoot from but still, long ways away. take some of the guys advice and mine, your 06 will work without a dout, but practice alot and get comfortable shooting those distances cause very easy to wound an animal at that distance and they allready have 400-500 yrds headstart on you if they decide to run from a poor shot, anyways thats my 2 cents worth, good luck

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

Great advise on the 500 yards shots being difficult to consistently make. But let's not beat the horse to death.

I will try to give you some advise to (hopefully) make your hunt successful and memorable.

Just be realistic. See what you can do with your rifle consistently as far as range capability and plan on geting within that range before making your shot.

Bottom line is if you can't do 40 or 500 yards, you'll just have to get closer.

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

Reading though this post and I could not believe someone saying 2-7 is not enough scope for 500 yrds 2x-7 is plenty. I agree with most of what has been posted. You need to get out and shoot and set your own limits and stick to them. Really long shots have been made with the 30/06 it is a great cartridge.

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

The .30-06 is a great round, which explains why it remains popular for 100 years. It was the my first centerfire rifle and I still own one today. A 2x-7 scope is plenty of scope for someone accustomed to shooting out to 500, but I think a newer shooter will appreciate a little more magnification. Their learning curve will be better with the added magnification. Even though I love the 06, my personal favorite for a long shot is the .308.

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

only shoot as far as your comfarable with i shoot mine good out to 850 yards in real world conditions but i have made a special bipod, and have a chart i made for difrent yardages and windage

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

oh yeah i was also a marine sniper who raa

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

30:06 is fine. Dont get the cheap ammo, though. 500 yards is for bino's. Stalk up to within 200, and do your job. Will make a beautiful mount!

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

Your setup is definitely up to the task. I'd recommend a 180-200 gr loading and lot's and lot's of practice. If you can't hit at 300 yds consistantly you have no business shooting farther.

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

Trophyhunter made a good point with using a table for bot wind and distance. This should be broken down into 10 yd increments. With distance all you need is a good rangefinder and know your rifle/loads ballistics to make the shot. The hard part comes in from the wind. Wind direction, wind speed are hard to judge except with a lot of practice. I won't take a shot over 300 yds with any kind of noticable cross wind. I've have taken whitetail, mulies and antelope at over 400 yds with a .270 on calm days and two other antelope at just under 300 yds on very windy days. The first time I got lucky and didn't allow for the wind and almost missed the animal completely. The second one I allowed an estimated 1 foot for wind drift and hit very close to where I wanted. Of course the 130 gr .270 bullet does not buck the wind as well as a 180 - .30 cal bullet will. But wind drift could be signifcant.

RE: 30-06 Elk Hunting
 

Dwood if if can't get any closer than 500yrds, your either to lazy or lousy hunter.