Hard hitting cartridge for Elk.

[Ura-Ki]

I original bought one back in the early 90's when a smith down south started making them. He has since past, and nobody else continued making them..except me
Definitely a dangerous game rifle!

I've rebuilt several into .458 Win Mag and actually improved the reliability. It will function with full power factory loads and also hot reloads. I use an adjustable gas plug to fine tune reloads. It's nice to be able to to increase or decrease the gas needed to function.
It hold 5 rounds!
Oh Lordy the purists heads exploded on Facebook when I posted info about it..
The most expensive part is the barrel. Quite a bit of turn work since I start out with a .458 barrel blank

Damn, that's a sweet set up!

 

[Certaindeaf]

For a hundred and fifty yard gun, heck..

.358 Winchester - Wikipedia

Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy
180 gr (12 g) SP 2,700 ft/s (820 m/s) 2,914 ft·lbf (3,951 J)
200 gr (13 g) SP 2,500 ft/s (760 m/s) 2,776 ft·lbf (3,764 J)
250 gr (16 g) SP 2,200 ft/s (670 m/s) 2,687 ft·lbf (3,643 J)
Test barrel length: 24

either that or a .44 mag carbine

 

[mikeybuck]

Killed 3 nice bulls in the last 3 years with my 45/70.

I was shooting 400 gr speer, but found out that bullet was made with to soft of lead and would fall a part after hitting bone. I now shoot the 350 gr hornady interlock. No issues yet.

I run my loads around 1750-1800fps.

Recoil would be less than your 300wm, just a big push.

I do want a 458 socom

 

[mrorca]

I have a 375 taylor. 338 win mag necked up to 375.. Easy and reasonable to reload just right for what you are looking for. Only issue is getting one from the factory if you are not into building.

 

[Jamie6.5]

For a hundred and fifty yard gun, heck..

.358 Winchester - Wikipedia

Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy
180 gr (12 g) SP 2,700 ft/s (820 m/s) 2,914 ft·lbf (3,951 J)
200 gr (13 g) SP 2,500 ft/s (760 m/s) 2,776 ft·lbf (3,764 J)
250 gr (16 g) SP 2,200 ft/s (670 m/s) 2,687 ft·lbf (3,643 J)
Test barrel length: 24

Definitely an underrated cartridge for Western Oregon. And 158gr .357 slugs work really well for blacktail too.

 

[LuckySG]

I am moving to a .50 Beowulf this year and 500 gr bullets running down a 24 inch barrel and 5 inch brake. All that noise for the trees to hear the elk fall.

 

[Quartermaster]

I am moving to a .50 Beowulf this year and 500 gr bullets running down a 24 inch barrel and 5 inch brake. All that noise for the trees to hear the elk fall.

And on the opposite end of the spectrum I'm hunting with a .300wsm suppressed... our hunting party is weird.

 

[edslhead]

These look interesting.
Ruger® Ruger American Rifle® Ranch Bolt-Action Rifle Model 16950

 

[KKG]

I've owned several of the original 77s with the Tang Safety and several #1s which are the same way. I can't say I'm a fan of the new Rugers when you handle them side by side. I had the pleasure of meeting Bill Sr. many years ago and I really believe he Knew what made a Great Rifle. I own a #3 in .45-70 Govt. that shoots 1" groups@100 yards all day long. That and Good shot placement would handle any Elk I've ever seen.

 

[Goosebrown]

Anything less the a 700 nitro is just taking too much risk of loosing your elk with a flesh wound.

It helps by turning the meat to sausage in the field so you can pack it out easier. Bring a lot of ziplocks...

 

[Goosebrown]

I've owned several of the original 77s with the Tang Safety and several #1s which are the same way. I can't say I'm a fan of the new Rugers when you handle them side by side. I had the pleasure of meeting Bill Sr. many years ago and I really believe he Knew what made a Great Rifle. I own a #3 in .45-70 Govt. that shoots 1" groups@100 yards all day long. That and Good shot placement would handle any Elk I've ever seen.

Shot placement and not taking a shot you should not is WAY more important than getting the most powerful cartridge you can stand to do the work a 308 or 30-06 can do just fine.

Remember that there have probably been more elk taken with a 30-30 than any other caliber.

Honestly sometimes gun forums seem to be about penis size comparisons.

 

[Bon Sauvage]

Apparently there is not a whole lot of love on this site (or most any other site for that matter) for the .444 Marlin but unite this cartridge with a 265 gr bullet and it will do the job just dandy.

 

[KKG]

Remember that there have probably been more Elk taken with a 30-30 than any other caliber.

Except of course for all of those taken with a .22 on the "Res".

 

[Goosebrown]

Apparently there is not a whole lot of love on this site (or most any other site for that matter) for the .444 Marlin but unite this cartridge with a 265 gr bullet and it will do the job just dandy.

444 would be a great choice anywhere except where you might have long shots which is pretty much nowhere except the East of the state.

 

[Joe13]

It helps by turning the meat to sausage in the field so you can pack it out easier. Bring a lot of ziplocks...

Now that's funny right there

 

[Vaultman]

Thank most of you all for the advice.

For the skeptics, I am not compensating for shot placement or any other personal problems.
I have killed elk at long ranges, and am quite a capable shot. The purpose of this thread was 100% NOT "will a 30 caliber work on an elk at close range?" I want something designed for hard hitting bone breakage. Something with a solid bullet if need be. The 45/70, 444 marlin, 35 Whelen are in the ball park. 375 Ruger is in the running as well. I am not a recoil sissy, and cannot help you that are. You can take your 308 and go pout in the corner. I want a shoulder bustin' performance rifle. And I can take it in my shoulder as well, for you smart-arses.

 

[Slope77]

338 - thump 'em close or thump 'em far.....your needs may change later and it will still work.

45-70 is cool and carries nice, but not a lot of versatility. 35 Whelen good pick too.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

45-70 sucks at accuracy with distance.

 

[Certaindeaf]

45-70 sucks at accuracy with distance.

Yeabut at the 150 yard max distance (and minimum of 250gr bullet weight) stipulated by the OP it makes it pretty simple..
there's a heap a cartridges that will satisfy this easily.

 

[KKG]

45-70 sucks at accuracy with distance.

Certainly, it seems you have not done much work with the .45-70 Govt. especially at longer ranges. I've Fired a few(actually several hundred) at 1,000 meters down at the NRA Whittington Center and with the right Rifle and load it will easily keep all shots inside a 12" Bullseye. Maybe you simply haven't found the right Rifle or Load.