Best Caliber for Rocky Mountain Elk?

Question

I'm looking to buy my own rifle for elk hunting with my dad in Eastern Oregon in the Northside Unit. It's a High Desert Area, lots of hills and juniper trees. Any shot taken will be less than 200 yds. My only rifle I've used for this in the past has been a borrowed 7mm WSM. Just looking for suggestions and supportive information of other possible calibers I could use.

Answer 1

300 wsm 300 wby any 300 magnum is too much gun for hunting mountains. It's fine when your hunting flat or semi flat land and want a flat shot for great distances. Under 200 yds it's too much gun. they are expensive to shoot $3.00 per round to $5.00 per round. If your some rich person that can afford the expense of the 300mags go for it.
People will brag on what they shoot no matter how stupid it is.
That knight_in_burntarmor guy got it right.
Find the gun that fits you.
308 30-06 300 mag all guns mentioned here can kill an Elk.
You need to find the one you Enjoy carrying.
I use My favorite gun to hunt with. It's a savage lever action and it's comfortable with or without a scope.
The frames matter. what's comfortable? Lever action, bolt action, pump action, semi auto.
The rounds mentioned will all kill an elk so you really should find the frame and round that fit you.
Then. run rounds through that gun lots of them. watch how it preforms for you. accuracy, comfort, kick and weight. Changes in weather matter too.
Boasting about my 308 wont let you know how to find a gun.
Saying things like...
"Oh my 55-06 is the greatest ak47 double barreled shotgun ever made"
makes about as much sense as saying
"shoot a 300 mag or a 243"

You have to find what you can afford to hunt with, what fits your particular hunting style. What has the comfort level to keep you accurate.The gun frame, action, weight and serviceability matter more than the round.
Don't listen to boasting people that will get you into something you don't like.

Answer 2

30-06, 308, 3040kreg (sp), 444 marlin, 4570 gvt, 270, 300 savage.
300 H&H
I personally don't care for magnum rounds. The forty calibers I mentioned are good in thick brush. The 444 Marlin will teach you to pad a shoulder. they kick pretty hard but every one of those will take down an Elk at two hundred yards without a problem.
I hunt Colorado we have the high plateau desert and these are guns I have used or still use. My two favorites are the 444 Marlin and the 30-06 but what I like and what you'll find comfortable might be different.
The best advice is to find the gun and round that fit you best. That 444 rides on my horse and we go out every day(I'm a rancher) I use it to take down problems Like cats or wounded stock or wild dogs (when my air tank for my pellet gun is empty or the pack gets too big)

Answer 3

Bob Ruark said "use enough gun".Peter Capstick went a little farther and said "use enough gun, but not more than you can handle".If you can comfortably shoot a 600 Nitro express, without flinching, and you can afford it, shoot it.I would reccomend a smaller caliber, though.If you have shot your 7mm enough, and are very comfortable and confident with it, keep using it.If you really want a different gun, try a270, 308,or 300 mag, it doesn't matter if it is a win mag, rem ultra or a weatherby, they will all be enough to do the job.Just remember, it doesnt matter what caliber you hit an animal with, if you can't hit them in the right places.

Answer 4

To the guy who said screw Jack O'Connor go read the Hunter's Shooting Guide, by Jack O'Connor. It is old but still has all the relevance today. See the stuff he did, and are you in the hunter's hall of fame? Or did you write for gun magazines? His stuff must not be that bad, I have followed it for years initially being a skeptic turned proponent of his wisdom. It must not be that bad as hunters have been using it for years since the 1700s. They didn't have magnums. Their guns were underpowered compared to ours. People have put more meat on the table with .30/06, .30-30 and shotgun slugs than all the magnums combined. The .30-30 is now being considered "underpowered" (bullcrap), my dad shot deer with it all the time when he lived in Wisconsin. His .30-30 he bought when he was 14 has killed at 25 yards to 200 yds. Shot placement is the key, magnums do not make up for bad shots or no practice because of their flat trajectory or velocity.

Arizona we have those same conditions, I haven't shot an elk in terrain like that in years, as I put in for the good units that are forested and less ranges. But, our desert elk ranges are 200yds or longer, unless you catch a heard close or stalk. This was back a while ago. Even in the forest I have caught them out in a meadow and taken 400yd shots.

The .30/06, .308, .270 are your best bets. I hear alot about the .338 winchester mag or .300 winchester mag for shooting long range or close range or whatever, especially in mtn territory. It is not true, I have seen all used, or used some like the .300 win mag myself and nothing is quick or a sure kill. The best thing is shot placement.

A magnum will kick the hell out of you, and is more than you need. I have dropped big big elk at long ranges with the .30/06. So did Jack O'Connor, he lived in Arizona and hunted all over the world. He used the .30/06 and .270 extensively. He used both and bagged grizzlies. Guides up in Alaska, I know, use the .30/06 and actually love when people come up with one because they know they probably can shoot better with it. They know that missing with a magnum is worse, it won't kill any faster.
The .30/06 can be loaded to within a few hundred fps of the .300 winchester mag with the same bullet weights! A few hundred fps don't matter. An elk don't care what it is hit with, and how fast. I have had a .30/06 bullet exit at 200yds, a .300 win mag with more velocity certainly will have more potential of doing that.
I recommend trophy bonded bearclaw ammo or Remington 165 or 180 grain core-lokt bullets. Both will and have always done the trick for me, the core-lokt a lot longer. I have shot elk at less than 80yds and out to 400 yds with the .30/06 and I have seen pretty much all the magnums used on elk and can't nor will those that used them say their magnum worked any better than the 06 or the .270. I have seen the .270 on elk and it was fine. You have to hit them right, that is what gets kills. The .308, .270, and .30/06 all are cheaper to shoot, easier to shoot on the shoulder, and just as good as a magnum. That is years of experience, not paper ballistics talking, I was skeptical of Jack O'Connor at first too, when I was a teenager and reading about then the .300 magnum or weatherby line of magnums, but now after doing the elk and deer and bear except for grizzly things that he has done, it isn't. The .30/06 is still the best caliber in what people can handle in power and recoil. It has cheaper ammo and lighter recoil so you can practice more which is what will produce kills. It has all the range of the magnums but not as flat, which is easy to figure out the drop if you practice. At 200yds no magnum is worth it at all, and personally you shouldn't be taking elk out pass 400yds either, even with magnums. Most people can't shoot past that and it raises ethical questions, plus it will take a long time in mountain country to get there and check for a hit and trying to follow a blood trail on the side of a steep mountain isn't fun.

Have fun be safe, practice and get an elk! The .270, .308 or .30/06 will be all you ever need for North American big game hunting, except the big brown and grizzly boys in Alaska, but then the .30/06 has worked there before. I will try to get up there to do that with the 06 some day. Shot placement is key not velocity and especially not the word magnum!

P.S. The magnum isn't bad, if you can shoot with it and practice with it, and have the money for it, I have no problems, but magnums aren't the cure for everything and aren't one shot kill weapons.

Answer 5

its more about how acurate you are/how comfortable you are with the gun you are planning on shooting. if the shots are to be less than 200 yrds, you could go with a 270 for a minimum. or go larger the 30/06 ,300, or the 7mm. my personal prefference would be the 30/06 or the 270. both will preform excelently well at that distance you will just have to go with a heavier bullet such as the 150 or 180 gr. good luck any thing larger than a 270 would be a great choice.

Answer 6

This is the subject of many a magazine article. Always good for an argument. For your range, there are those who would say that even a 270 or 7mm is more than you need. On the other end of the spectrum is the school of Elmer Kieth, who once posited, "You mean you can kill 'em too dead?" but anything vaguely in the 30-06 range would do, and the type of rifle and fit are completely personal matters. If you were to invite me along, I'd grab either my lever gun in 348 Win or a bolt gun in 8x57 or 8x68. That in itself is quite a spread, as you can see.

Answer 7

THE 300 WIN MAG IS DESIGNED FOR ELK
IT CAN PUSH A 180 GRAIN BULLET FATER THAN A 30-06 CAN PUSH A 150 GRAIN
THEY HIT HARD AS ##@!
I HAVE NEVER NEEDED MORE THAN ONE SHOT TO PUT A BIG NEW MEXICO ELK ON THE TABLE
THE SMALLEST I WOULD USE ON OUR ELK IS A 7MM MAG WHICH I TAKE AS A BACKUP IN CASE I SOMEHOW DISABLE MY 300
YOU WILL GET VARYING OPINIONS ON THIS QUESTION, BUT I AM SPEAKING OF MY OWN EXPERIENCE
THE 300 WORKS FOR ME
JUST REMEMBER TO GET A SCOPE WITH A LONG EYE RELIEF TO PROTECT YOUR EYE FROM GETTING BANGED UNDER RECOIL AND SHOOT OFTEN TILL YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH IT
NEW MEXICO IS ALSO HIGH DESERT WITH LOTS OF JUNIPER

Answer 8

300.Win Mag ,you owe it to the game you pursue ,screw Jack O'Connor,100 dollars for a box of ammo?that guy don't have a clue,you can pick up quality ammo for a 300 ,around 25 bucks a box.To AZ you are pretty long winded, but anyway i do not disagree with the fact that the '06 and 30-30 and shot guns killed much game but lets face the facts that the only reason for that is because they have been around for centuries,combined of course.I'm not quite clear about what people have been referring to since the 1700's in your statement?O'connors books?how can that be?Didn't he just die not to long ago?or has it been a while?anyway Ive read that he wasn't all he was cracked up to be ,as far as hall of fame,who cares,that means Nada to me ,i don't need any ones approval to know that my 300 will out shoot your '06,308,30-30 and 270.But thanks for your input.

Answer 9

7mm Remington Magnum, Trophy Bonded-Bearclaw bullet..

I saw what it did to a 900lb Elk - behind the shoulder, half way up the side - dropped it within 20feet of where it was shot.

Answer 10

i'm not partial to RMEF. they have controlled to restrict the get admission to to a lot of public land right here in Montana. they have lobbied to close logging roads, and different get admission to roads into elk habitat. the result has been very low success costs for hunters, even with all time inhabitants highs. in case you're a granola bunny hugger, then they may well be the gang for you. in case you're a accountable hunter that expects get admission to to public searching lands, then it it not your team.