streetglideok

Probably any of the '06 based calibers, 270, 280, 30, 338-06, 35 whelen, etc. will do the trick for elk. Heck a 30-30 has more then enough energy at the 100 yard range as long as you do your part. Your bigbore lever guns, like the 1895 marlins and 444 marlins are great elk medicine. There are a slew of magnums that work, 3 of which are in my cabinet. 7mm remington mag, 300 ultra mag, and the venerable 375 H&H, all of which are well suited for the task, maybe even a bit too much, but work fine as long as you can shoot them accurately. A light 30'06 scoped would be a great pack rifle as would a marlin guide gun, especially if you are going to be doing alot of travel on foot. I got the wife a new marlin XL7 in wood (30'06), nice and light with a recoil pad. It was fairly inexpensive, and from all the reports I have read, they tend to shoot as good as rifles costing twice as much and weigh more. Cant wait to take it out!

needs_recoil

To the original poster, Do you have any rifles now and if so what caliber? If you have something 25 cal or up, can pack it all day, and shoot good then why reinvent the wheel. Any member of the 06 family from 25-06 to 338-06 will kill elk. Ive even used smaller than that. Magnums only add a fraction of a pound. Premium bullets in a 270 wsm is my go to elk rifle and I have a lot of way larger caliber rifles. If a new gun is a must have the remington 700 sps can be had for around 600 bucks. I dont like fixed power scopes because in the west I tend to use mine as a spotting scope when I am walking. 4.5x14 works perfect for me. What you need to do is figure out what works perfect for you because there is no best elk cartridge and there is no magical kills faster caliber. Everyone who says there is has just found what works best for them. Put the bullet where it belongs and let the work begin.

outdoorsmen

the biggest i have now is a remington 700 ltr in .308

streetglideok

Isnt a thing wrong with the 308. Use 180gr bullets, and keep your shots reasonable. Now if you are like me and just need a reason to buy a new gun, then go for it!

caplock

used a 308 about 5 years ago, 90 yard shot at shoulder, dropped dead as a hammer never even kicked. 308 very good for elk, just find good bullet that shoots good and use it. Used 25-06 once one shot and elk, dead 20 yards later, just put bullet where it needs to go.

needs_recoil

Id use a 308 on elk in a heartbeat. Cant honestly add anything more than caplock did. And hes 100% right on the put the bullet where it needs to go. If you can do that any legal caliber will work.

Vapodog

Two years ago I went on a guided elk hunt in Colorado.....I took my Rem 700 in .308 over my M-70 in .30-06 and my M-721 in .300 H&H.

Reason?....It was a horseback hunt and the rifle was in a scabbard most of the time. My .308 is in a synthetic stock so it got the job.

There's a lot more to life than power!

coach1299

30.06 has killed every type of game on the face of the earth and is plenty adequate for Elk. If you wanted to buy a gun exclusively for Elk then maybe a 300 mag or something bigger would make sense if you wanted to go a little above and beyond for good measure, but buying a gun chambered for more than a 30.06 when you already have one (or one categorically similar) to go on an occasional Elk hunt doesn't make sense to me. Even if you're loaded with $$ and like guns, getting a bigger gun will require a considerable amount of practice to become comfortable and proficient with it and you might get a sore shoulder doing that when you could just simply run a few shots through the 30.06 or 308 that you already have just before the hunt to make sure your still on. New guns need good scopes with careful and proper mounting, bore sighting and then a good amount of expensive ammo to get it sighted in. I don't know about you, but I can't afford the time,work, and money for a gun for every different animal and type of hunt. I don't think there's much you can't do with a good versatile 12 gauge (with a few barrels), a good standard high power rifle like a 30.06, 270 or 308, and a good 22 rifle. I think you can do pretty much all the hunting you need to do here in the lower 48 with those three. I' don't doubt that are hunters that have a large battery of well scoped and sighted rifles for a variety of purposes, but it's not always as easy as it might seem. I'll go a step further and say that the paperwork, taxes, and NICS checks and fees aren't worth the hassle to me if it's not an absolute must. Last time I bought guns for my sons and I, it seemed like a closing on a house with all the paper work and riggormerole that I had to go through.