I am looking into a good elk rifle.?

Question

I am torn between a 7mm mag, 300 winmag, 300 weatherby, 338. I have heard the 06 drops to much so I think that is out of the question. I have looked at ballistics but still have no clue what to purchase. I also am stuggling with what brand to buy. Please help?

Answer 1

Concerning ammunition..... Gets whats most common and on every sport shop shelf... .300 Winchester Mag would be a good choice.... Theres nothing that annoys me more than ammo that cant be purchased everywhere.... Keep it simple... You hear the 30-06 drops huh? -- So what, they all do... Just practice and get your scope dialed in and it wont matter... Try not to get to hung up on ballistics info... Stick with whats easy to get....

Rifle brand??? --- You didnt tell us your budget? --- I happen to like rifles Made In The USA.... Keep people employed here! ----

Consider the Remington 700 if your on a budget...

http://www.remington.com/products/firear...

If higher quality is what your after then Kimber certainly deserves a look....

http://www.kimberamerica.com/rifles/8400...

http://www.kimberamerica.com/rifles/8400...

http://www.kimberamerica.com/rifles/8400...

http://www.kimberamerica.com/rifles/8400...

Answer 2

i use a .338 remington 700 it takes elk and other game such as deer antalope bison bear

Answer 3

I would propally take the 300. win mag, it is a good rifle for both long range and short range hunting. The 7mm mag. is also a good rifle, it is flat shooting and is excellent for both long range and shot range accuracy.

Alot of people like the 30-06 but i dont like it that much either, it does drop but every other gun will drop too. Most people would say the 270. 270 wsm are too small for elk but it is acually a very popular rifle.

I would truly pick a 270. win, 270. wsm, or the 300wsm. The 270. win and the 270. wsm are one of the flattest, most accurate calibres out there for short and long ranges. You can use this calibre on coyote up to elk and moose. Thats what i would get

Answer 4

30-06 would actually be fine, if you learn your rifle. And if you don't, burning more powder won't be of much help.

Personally, I'm sticking with an old European 8x68, but it's nearly impossible to get factory loads for it in the US, so I wouldn't recommend it.

Answer 5

consider this. any of those are fine choices, price the ammo!!! 30.06 drops to much for what? 06 and 7mm are real close just one is way more money to shoot!

Answer 6

.300 Weatherby! Trust me...My dad hit an elk with this round and it dropped like enron stock.

Answer 7

The .300 win mag is a Great Gun But so is the 7MM Mag I shoot a 7mm mag and I have never had an Elk get away

Answer 8

the 338 because it is ballistically superior to the other flat enough shooting ammo is the easiest to find where you live and in elk country good ammo is cor-bon dpx hunter ammo using 250 grain barnes tsx this ammo is the most effective on elk because it is very quickly expanding has incredible penetration and semi truck hitting power and i can give you advice that find the one with the longest barrel length highest twist rate highly reputed accuracy and a very good action and i can suggest weatherby as a brand since they are incredibly accurate i have seen 2 inch groups at 300+ yards with a 338 win mag from a weatherby oh and the 338 has the largest cutting hole of the 4 since it has a very large bullet diameter i can also tell you sight your gun in at 225 yards because it is right at the average range for elk hunting

Answer 9

I would recommend the 300 Win Mag for your Elk hunt. It will work fine for deer also.

Answer 10

I have hunted and killed elk with a 30-06. It is a very versatile caliber that comes in an array of grain weights. I do not like the 300 win mag, only because if you look at the velocities, the 300 only pushes out about 200fps more than the ought 6. If your shots are typical, they wont be more than 300 yards. If you zero an ought 6 and the 300 at 200 yards, you will see that the ought 6 is less than 2 inches off from the 300. The 300 is a great round, but one must remember that as case capacity grows, the ability of powder to burn efficiently declines. I like the ought 6 because of the cost, compared to the 300. Both do the job. If you still want better long range capability, I suggest a larger bore. You can get the same velocity out of a 338, as you can with the 300, but with less pressure, and more bullet weight. this all translates to less recoil and better terminal ballistics.

I use Hornady rounds to hunt with. Check out their web and look at the bullet drop on an ought 6 at 300yards, and the 300 win mag, at 300 yards. The ought 6 is 7.2 inches, and the 300 win mag is 6.3 at 300. Both using the hot "light mag" 180 grain bullets.

As far as the 7mm is concerned, I dont think the round is as powerful as the 300 cal and the 338 cal rounds. Keep in mind that penitration is more influenced by bullet weight than speed. Also remember that you want to kill somthing, not just hit paper.

All in all, don't disqualify the ought 6. It is far better a choice than the 7mm rounds. Keep your mind on killing the Elk within 100 yards, and chose a gun to practice with. Ought 6 rounds can be found at a far better price than the others thus making it easier to practice the shot.

I bought my gun years ago, and was givin the same advise. If I were to chose again, I would still go 30-06 for a 30 cal. and 338 win mag if I felt like I needed more umph.

The remington line of Rifles are in my opinion the best for the money. I own other brands of better fit and finish with bigger price tags, but they don't kill any better.

I hope this helps.

PS Whatever you chose, they all can do the job. Good luck.

Answer 11

.300 win mag.....but unlike the first answerer...I do not recommend this rifle for deer.

Answer 12

The vast Majority of Big game is Harvested within 100 yards or less. The tried, true, tested an proven to be the best choice is the 30-06.* You have a greater variety of bullet weights to choose from , and it will cleanly, and efficiently harvest any game in North America.* Buy Remington, Savage or Kimber Rifle.* I use the 180 or 220 grain in mine.*

Answer 13

Sako finlight 300wsm or if you dont want to spend that much a remington 700. You cant go wrong with one of them.