HELP! Good all around large game caliber?

[JRuby]

So you're saying in the right hands the 7mm Mauser is sufficient?

I love the 7*57 and the 6.5*55 but to me there are better cartridges for elk..I have used my 7*57 as a backup rifle. I personally believe good elk cartridges start with a 30-06 pushing a stout 180g pill. It is hard to mess with success so use what works. One of the largest elk mounts I ever saw in Prairie City was killed with a 300 savage in the 30's
. I have confidence in a 06 so that's my choice for minimum cartridge.

 

[pharmseller]

Edited below

 

[pharmseller]

Nope

I am saying with the right load and in the hands of a very knowledgeable man a 7x57mm can be enough . No one here (despite their fantasies ) is WDM Bell and we aren't likely to see another one of his like in the next several generations . He had a deft skill for the task.

I know that will probably hurt a lot of folks feelings who think they are rather accomplished hunters but the truth of the matter is WDM Bell and some of his peers were men who stood alone compared to the rest of the crowd.


Again lots of skilled hunters died attempting what WDM Bell did

So it's the man, not the cartridge.

In other words, the 7mm Mauser was sufficient because it was in the right hands?

 

[DeanMk]

No worries. Did you skip that post the first time through? I thought I was clear but maybe not.

I did this time, because the email alert I got to new posts in this thread put me about 3-4 pages ahead of that post.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Nah. Go full stupid and 105mm and be done with it

With the added benefit that your elk is automatically and instantly field dressed and skinned.

 

[osprey]

Hunt with whatever chambering you shoot well and have confidence in. There is no one right answer. To imply there are only a select few elk worthy cartridges is fallacy and shortsighted. I can extoll the virtues of cartridge x all day long and somebody is bound to say they shot an elk with it placing two perfect shots and the elk got away. So it goes. That being said, there is some good advice backed up with real world experience in these threads if you can navigate through the hyperbole and bs.

 

[eldbillbo]

I have owned and shot a 300 Weatherby since I was 16 (1982) with regular off the shelf Weatherby ammo. I have killed many large game animals in many states with my 300 Wby BUT my son wants to hunt elk with me this year. I know you can kill an elk with any caliber but I've haven't shot anything WITH another caliber. I don't really need to hear the story of how your g-pa shot an elephant with an air rifle. I have never had to track a wounded animal with the 300 and don't really want to. No, I don't shoot 1000 yards or animals on a dead run. My 300 is from 1982 and it was good then but what is good now? Long and short range with knockdown power. Now there are too many different calibers and guns. I know, opinions are like ______ BUT I really want to know what do you think? Thanks, Jason

Well, I know this is on page 5 and you should have your answer now or you are totally confused by now.

You know your boy better than anyone one here and you have been using something that worked for you since you were 16. And this kind of question gets asked about 30-40 times a year across gun forums. and the most common answer is 30.06. That may not be the best answer for your boy. But if he is 16 and built like you were at 16 odds and you have had great success with your .300 Weatherby it seems something like that would be good. Weatherby ammo does cost more and you should consider its advantages over a .300wm and 30.06 and .308 or whatever you think your boy can handle. the .30 Calibur bullet has proved itself over and over and over as being a successful round for Elk there is no magic bullet that will do a whole lot better than it and if you start looking at smaller or less powerful cartridges then although there may be advantages there are also some disadvantages with some of them.

Think of the terrain and the range of shots you take and what it will be taking, Sure I can take an Elk with a 30.30 but I am not a ninja anymore and there are just not that many elk that I can sneak up on although In thick brush a shorter 30.30 carbine would be quite effective if that was the only kind of hunting I did but if I am looking at an elk 350 yards across a draw I want to feel confident that that sucker will go down I don't think a 30.30 will do that even with perfect shot placement. I used to hunt with a 30.06 I have let bulls go that I would have otherwise shot at with a .300wm due to it being evening hunts and I did not want to have to try and track blood in the dark. and usually, those would be the only bull I saw in the whole season and that is why I went to a .300wm. But on the flip side, I have gone down in the brush and Jumped elk and an open sight 30.30 would have done the job as I was usually less than 50 yards from them but You have to consider what style of hunting you do most. I am older now and not as energetic as I used to be so I like to plop my butt against a stump and watch a tree line which is why I use a .300wm

How does your boy handle shooting your rifles if flinches, if kicks him back in a way that he loses sight of his target If it's too heavy for him then look at a .308 or 30.06 or some of the other suggestions.

 

[DeanMk]

My dad's elk gun was his 8mm Mauser.

 

[Lennie]

Rifle Recoil

What are the single biggest obstacles to accurate rifle shooting? Recoil and muzzle blast! If rifles didn’t kick and make a deafening noise,

gunsmagazine.com

Some great advice

 

[PORSCHE928S4]

.30/06, history has placed this one at the top of the heap, none can match it's record, none even come close!
Want faster, 7MM Mag, wanna hit hard, .338 Win Mag!





Notice how any improvement requires a Magnum? Yea, no thanks!

Love the 338 WM !

 

[40Garand]

For elk and mule deer, 300 WBY if you can afford it, and 300 WM if you need to budget. On blacktail 308 get's it done.

 

[Olderguy]

Since you have had such a fine experience with the 300 WM, why not have him use a 300 WM?

 

[bbbass]

Let me tell you about this air rifle.... it is a .560 with pellets that weigh in at 3lbs.... you have a battery in your backpack to make it run:

 

[PORSCHE928S4]

I have had a Tikka T3 in 338WM for years and yes it was light and great for long walks in the woods but man painful to shoot . I got rid of the hollow plastic stock and put on a Bell&Carlson stock had a Sako slim muzzle break installed topped it off with a DNZ scope mount and a Swarovski 4-12x50. It has the recoil of a 308 now anyone that shoots it is surprised it is super loud unless you are behind it lol.

 

[bbbass]

had a Sako slim muzzle break installed topped it off with a DNZ scope mount and a Swarovski 4-12x50. It has the recoil of a 308 now anyone that shoots it is surprised it is super loud unless you are behind it lol.

Nice!!!

One of my elk hunting partners had a (Browning or Weatherby... I don't remember) in .338 with a muzzle break. It was great to shoot and really put the elk down. Another advantage for the group was we always knew who was shooting when he shot... sounded like artillery.

 

[PaulF]

Id probably go with a 700 nitro express just to be on the safe side, and as an added bonus it doubles as a good home deffense rifle, you know in case you need to take a Kraken, or other mythical beast.

 

[VanceInWA]

Well Jason, got your answer yet? Looks like there is support primarily for the common cartridges 300 WM, 308 Win, and 30-06 Spg. No surprise, all tried and true, so no need to look further. However, I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest you go beyond vanilla and at least consider an alternative, the 6.5 PRC. Compare ballistic tables and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, and look at the real-world experiences hunters are having with the round, it speaks for itself. Recoil is also quite tame compared to others, which is part of the reason for its accuracy. I know, of course, that I'm bringing fire down on my own position with this suggestion that you consider an outlier, but so be it, just trying to expand your thinking box. BTW, if you're only hunting in the denser woods west of the Cascades then I'd favor DeanMk's suggestion, .358 Winchester. Pretty much perfect for rainforest work, that one.

 

[Zechariah]

Love the 338 WM !

30-06 all around is number 1 for me. I want a 338wm or 338rum I've done alot of research for about a year now and I'm really leaning towards the 338wm and want it to be a BAR semi auto I think it would be sweet elk rifle! The 338wm really is quite versatile.

 

[DirectDrive]

1) 30-06 if the kid can be happy with that
2) 300WBY if you want common ammo
3) 300PRC if the kid wants to best the ol' man

 

[VanceInWA]

30-06 all around is number 1 for me. I want a 338wm or 338rum I've done alot of research for about a year now and I'm really leaning towards the 338wm and want it to be a BAR semi auto I think it would be sweet elk rifle! The 338wm really is quite versatile.

I totally agree Z. The 338 WM is a fantastically versatile round that is pretty much it for North American game. The only downside is recoil. For me personally I can go through a box of 20 rounds 250 grain at the range and not experience any real problems, beyond that and I might start feeling it. But some people are recoil sensitive even to something like a 30-06, much less 338 WM, so unfortunately it just doesn't work for all. Makes me wonder if the BAR can help reduce the recoil issue?