Elk rifle ????

[6x6in6]

Other than it's always a good thing to have more guns, what's wrong with the 270? 

[D-Rock425]

How far do they shoot elk?  (I've never seen the show)

And are they shooting standard 7mm Rem Mags? Or STW/Ultra Mags?

I thought they use mostly the 7mm rem mag.  They offer one on their web site.  I've seen those guys shoot everything from grizzly and moose to deer.

[jackelope]

How far do they shoot elk?  (I've never seen the show)

And are they shooting standard 7mm Rem Mags? Or STW/Ultra Mags?

I saw one shot at 900something yards...standard 7 rem mag's. 168 grain Berger's I think.
I can't get on the Berger site here at work due to the lame firewall.
Longrange7mm on here should chime in...he knows that stuff a hell of a lot better than I do.

[Huntboy]

Here's an ad for a 338 edge from another site for sale.

http://seattleguns.net/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=33522

[270Shooter]

How far do they shoot elk?  (I've never seen the show)

Way too far

[YoterHunter]

i use a 340 weatherby acumark. plenty of nock down power and long range shooting. put a muzzal brake on it . my 30-06 kiicks more. most guns will work fine its about shot placement more then nock down.

[2506]

7mm RUM. I would say mag but...................whats wrong with a little more power.

[Hyde]

When you open the old school book on ELK, the 338 Win Mag is on page one.  Page two is the 300 Win Mag.  (Not by much)

Everything else is after those (IMHO), but I'm an old school kind of guy.

[Bob33]

Calibers and bullets always make for interesting discussion and opinions. 

How far is "far" is a question you'll have to answer for yourself.  To many, 300 yards is far while to others 1000 yards is close.

The very long range (800+ yards) hunters tend to favor heavier bullets like .338 because of their retained energy, and also the high ballistic coefficients that some of the bullets have.

You can certainly kill elk at ridiculously long ranges with standard calibers like a 270 and 30-06.  Carlos Hathcock was a famous Vietnam sniper who had 93 recorded kills.  He shot a 30-06 that was later determined to shoot about 2 MOA.  I sure would not want to be within 800 yards of his 30-06.  Faster bullets shoot flatter.  Heavier bullets retain more energy.

In reality, the vast majority of regular elk hunters kill elk at distances less than 300 yards.  At those distances, any caliber can work well.

A good 300 or 338 Magnum would be tough to beat.

[thurman]

Elk at 925 yards with a 6.5x284 with the huskimaw scope and Berger bullets.

Jeremy 925 yard elk!

[Bob33]

925 yards is a very long poke.  I'm not saying they do or don't, but looking at videos of very long shots may not tell the full story....do these videos shoot all the misses and crippled animals?  There are without question shooters that can ethically shoot that far, so let's not start that thread.  They are few and far between, and equipment alone does not make someone capable of shooting that far IMO.

[JimmyHoffa]

I would say to go for the biggest cartridge you can handle and shoot accurately, and are willing to put the practice time into.  Shot placement, bullet construction, and bullet velocity are what need to be considered.  If you can shoot accurately into the kill zone then 90% is already accomplished.  The other two basically determine what max ranges the kill zone can be at.  I'd suggest looking at .338 Lapua, the Lazzeroni line of cartridges, .408 CheyTac, or the .416 Barrett.  If you really want to get out there you could look at the AnzioArms 20mm.  It is heavy though, about 110 lbs and I think the ammo was $20 a pop.

[Schwag173]

Currently I am interested in a few calibers (300WSM/338EDGE/6.5X284/7MMSTW). Opinions?

Since you mention cartridges that are off the beaten track (except .300WSM) let me suggest 7mm Weatherby Magnum.  It's a 'niche' cartridge, but it might fit the bill of what you're looking for.  About 10 years ago I decided to replace my .30-'06 for elk duty.  I wanted something with a longer/flatter reach and more ft-lbs downrange without the recoil of a howitzer.  After a lot of research I chose the 7mm WM and picked up a brand-new Weatherby Mark V Ultralightweight off Gunbroker.com for $930.  After (true) freefloating the barrel and working up a load (Sierra 165gr Gamekings) I was grouping 4.5" at a lased 500 yard distance.  It did a nice job on an Idaho spike bull at 361 yards.  Felt recoil is the same or less than a friend's Winchester 70 .270.  I have since added an identical rifle in .300 Weatherby Magnum, but I can't let the 7mm WM go.  It's just too elegant.  And if anyone says it's no different from the 7mm Remington Mag, they're wrong.  On average, you can safely handload about another 200fps out of the Weatherby.  I'll admit that an animal won't know the difference between the two, but the extra fps helps the Weatherby shoot a little flatter than the Remington.  Just my $0.02 worth.       

[jackelope]

When you open the old school book on ELK, the 338 Win Mag is on page one.  Page two is the 300 Win Mag.  (Not by much)

Everything else is after those (IMHO), but I'm an old school kind of guy.

I've got one of each.
 

[gunnarnewt]

     I started hunting elk with my .270 back in Montana, it worked fine until one misplaced shot. After tracking and finding that one bull, I swore I was stepping up to heavier bullets. I've shot 300's ever since, and have not had a problem with performance. I started with a 300 Win. Mag, gave it to one son when the short mag came out, bought the 300wsm......absolutely loved it's performance, but not the weight! So I bit the bullet, gave it to my other son,spent some money and bought a 300 RUM from Christensen Arms. IMO you can't go wrong with the 300 platform in one of it's many variables.