Lever Action for Elk Hunting

[Angus]

I carried a Savage model 99c in .308 for the first 5-6 years I hunted, never connected on an elk but took a few deer with it. The guy I bought the gun from killed a few elk with it.

[The Gobble-stopper]

My Grandpa killed a lot of elk, deer, and antelope with a savage 99 in a 22 high power. I am sure On elk that it had to do with shot placement. But he said it put em down with one shot. He always told me to practice,practice,practice!

[coachcw]

450 marlin !

[tonymiller7]

The beginning of this post has me a little confused.  Is the OP arguing that a pistol round (45lc) has more knockdown power than any of the rifle rounds mentioned?  I would agree with most of the other posts that most of the rifles offered in today's lever guns with quality ammo will do the job you're looking for.  Pistol rounds for elk is not the best idea.

[nwmein199]

The beginning of this post has me a little confused.  Is the OP arguing that a pistol round (45lc) has more knockdown power than any of the rifle rounds mentioned?  I would agree with most of the other posts that most of the rifles offered in today's lever guns with quality ammo will do the job you're looking for.  Pistol rounds for elk is not the best idea.

Nope. I was asking everyone opinion on the lever action calibers for elk and just that I was leaning towards a 45LC. After all the amazing feedback, 45LC is not on my radar for lever gun - and thats why I asked the more knowledgeable folks.

Thanks everyone for your input! Lots of good info in here.

[WSU]

I have a friend that has a 45LC lever gun.  It's really a fun gun.  Buy one then buy a different gun for elk.

[mikeybuck]

I've killed a handful of elk with my marlin 45/70 guide gun. I like the 350 gr hornady interlock bullet behind a pile imr 4198.
I don't think recoil is that bad. The smaller 300 gr bullets at a higher velocity have more of a snappy recoil vs the big bullets that have more of a push recoil.

[ArtistNhunter2]

I have a Marlin 336 in 35 Rem. Bought it new a few years ago. I use Hornady Leverevolution 200 gr FTX. It has a cross bolt safety and side eject. Mounted with a scope. Last elk I shot was at 35 yards. Killed it dead. Beautiful elk gun.

[archerykraze]

Watched my older brother from across the canyon take a bull with his .300 Savage, tag teamed a bull with my younger brother which I was using a .300 Savage lever and BLR .308 for him, Dad took a bull in Idaho with 7mm-08 BLR. Guess you could say my family has a thing for the lever actions. Biggest downfall I find is the lever guns can have a stiffer trigger pull and hard to adjust on the BLRs which make longer shots difficult. Personal Preference but I'll take my 7mm-08 BLR whitetail hunting but take my .270 win or .300 wby bolts where longer shots are more likely.

[CanIHazUrPants]

Plan to hunt roosies with my .308 savage 99 this year. I love the gun, accurate and short and easy to carry. Dunno if im gunna catch anything but im damn well gunna try. Ill tell you how it goes lol

[longrange7mm]

45 LC would do just fine, I shot a bull at a few years back with a 44 running 305s the shoulder shots past through at 50ish yards and I recovered the bullet from the final shot that was a hard quarter away at 85 yards the shot went in behind the ribs and recovered on the offside in front of the shoulder.

I picked up a Big horn armory in 500 S&W last summer so I had to test that out during deer season. its a beast