What's the Best Elk Cartridge? (email I got)

[Gringo31]

I thought this was worth sharing..... the "mag" craze is a bit out of hand....reminds me of an article I read where an old boy said that by the way he sees it and all the articles he reads that in 30 years, it appears a 30-06 won't kill an elk.   



A Conversation Around the Campfire: What's the Best Elk Cartridge?

by David E. Petzal

This actually did occur at a campfire. As I was staring into the flames, waiting for the wind to shift and blow the smoke into my face, I was approached by a young man who wanted my advice on what kind of rifle to take on his first elk hunt.
“What kind of rifle do you have?” I asked.
“An Ultra Light Arms .280.”
“What kind of scope?”
“A Swarovski 2X-10X.”
“Bless your heart,” I said, “you don’t need a new rifle. You couldn’t get a better outfit if you had Mitt Romney’s money.”
“But will a .280 kill an elk?”
“Listen,” I said, “bullets are so good these days that the cartridge is pretty much meaningless. You shoot it in the right place with anything and it’ll fall over deader than transparency in the Obama Administration. I killed an elk last year with a 6.5/284 and it dropped just as fast as the elk I’ve killed with .338s.”
“But I was looking at the ballistics of the .280 at 400 yards and...”
“The elk won’t know if you’re 300 yards away or 400 yards away or 425 yards away. Hit him in the right place with a good bullet and he’ll have no more chance than a 60-ounce Coke in New York City. Ballistic tables are fun to study, and they give gun writers something to write about, but don’t confuse them with real life.”
“But what if I want a dedicated elk gun?”
“Get a .338 Win Mag. It’ll be heavier, and it’ll kick, but if you want to show the elk the way things are, that’s your huckleberry.”
The young man went away to reflect on all this, and the coot sitting next to me, who likes hunting with old rifles and has had tons of experience in Africa, said:
“What he’ll learn in the next 30 years is that you can hunt whatever you want with a 7x57, or 6.5x55, or .303, or .30/06.
But let him have fun finding out.”
And at that point the smoke did shift into my face and I had to wander away.

[hub]

Gringo31; That is a neat story. I lean toward the .270 first followed by my light weight 30-06. Yes the 300 mag and 338 will do more I suppose. I just cannot go with the heavy rifles and long barrels for hunting. Been there,done that. I have 700 BDL in 300 mag that gets a little range time but very little hunting time. 

[JimmyHoffa]

Have heard a few discussions similar to that, usually making the point of how many animals were killed by the .45-70, .30-30, .30-40 Krag.

[coachcw]

the best all around 30-378 with 210 accubonds !

[CAMPMEAT]

270. There are too many opinions about calibers. Make your life life simple and easy.

life, life, WTF ?

[RG]

I love what a .338 does but I sold it and the rifle I carry is a .280 with accubonds.  It's a Remington 700 mtn rifle 6 3/4 lbs, and a 2X7 leupold.  I have to confess that I have a peep-sighted model 94 in .356 Win. that I'm dying to use on an elk. 

[Huntbear]

Have heard a few discussions similar to that, usually making the point of how many animals were killed by the .45-70, .30-30, .30-40 Krag.

Do not forget the .300 Savage...  That caliber killed a chit load of animals in my both my mom & dad's hands..

[steen]

I would agree, whatever rifle you already have.

[brokenvet]

This is not a can of worms, but a bucket of worms. 

Best cartridge for elk? that would depend on who you're talking to.  Be it a writer of magazine it would be a definite magnum and nothing below a 300 Win Mag.  be it a regular Joe like us it would be what ever you have on hand that is legal to use.  That is a .243Win and up.   

I have a 338-06 that is dedicated to elk and bear, but I almost always use my 7X57 with Barnes 140 grains TSX bullets.

[Kola16]

The best would be an arrow because you do not waste meat. PSE Omen with a 100 grain arrow  (not that I have one ) But if I were to pick a gun, it would be the 7mm mag. It is super flat shooting 

[Biggerhammer]

Run what ya brung! Pretty much any legal game caliber will clean a elks clock within that calibers limits. Some do it with much more horse power and quite a bit more violently. I prefer to see a elk knocked on it's Arse rather than bleed out over a period of time or do the stager and drop. Much more satisfaction pile driving them into the ground. Then again I'm a SICKO and that's just me.

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

It's funny how many people you ask what they shot their first elk with, usually a 270 or 30 06, something they could handle as a youngster.  What do they use now, something bigger with more recoil!  The elk is still dead, yet we want bigger magnums to do a job we did before with a lighter rifle. How many guys still use the first rifle they shot their first elk with? 

[Biggerhammer]

It's funny how many people you ask what they shot their first elk with, usually a 270 or 30 06, something they could handle as a youngster.  What do they use now, something bigger with more recoil!  The elk is still dead, yet we want bigger magnums to do a job we did before with a lighter rifle. How many guys still use the first rifle they shot their first elk with?

You can run around in a little Toyota 4 cylinder 4 wheel drive getting great gas milage or you can be driving something with a 364 V8 Vortec or bigger under the hood and be getting ten miles to the gallon. I get 10 miles to the gallon, different strokes for different folks.

[johnnyaustin44]

  hell yeah

[dannysdaddy]

all the big magnum calibers will let you have more wiggle room with your shots.  shoot em right and you don't need a magnum.  im partial to a .308 for just about everything.  seen plenty of elk killed with .270's or .308's past 300yds. its all shot placement.