Elk Caliber
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You are currently reading a thread in /k/ - Weapons
You are currently reading a thread in /k/ - Weapons
I'm going elk hunting for the first time in Colorado and I'm in need a of a new hunting rifle. I've hunter white tail deer with .308 before, and really enjoyed it, but people tell me it's not powerful enough for elk. I've been told 30-.06 is good but that round appears to have roughly the same ballistics as .308. I've heard good things about the 7mm Rem Mag and 300 winchester magnum.
What caliber does /k/ recommend for hunting elk in the rocky mountains of Colorado?
>>30518545
.308 should be just fine, assuming you use expanding ammo and a decent powder load, and most importantly, can actually hit.
use a big game round.
.308 win is cutting it a little too close, for a humane take down.
you'll never feel worse, than after you only mortally wounded an animal. having to watch it running away while struggling with slow death. then you catch up to it just in time to see it struggle those last few breaths and heat beats.
>>30518545
All the calibers you mentioned will get it done. The key is being super familiar with your rifle and its dopes at various ranges. A .308 you have been shooting for years is better than some super magnum that you just bought.
Placing a shot in the vitals with a slightly less powerful caliber is better than missing and gut shooting some poor animal.
No offense, but you sound like you need more time at the range, shooting at say 200-500 yards.
There are too many people who are like "Hey guise, I am going on a big hunt next week. What rifle should I buy?"
>>30518545
Your .308 with any premium grade bonded bullet will do just fine. Practice a bunch, then don't shoot further than you feel comfortable you can actually hit something.
>asking about hunting on a online fursuit suit repair collective
You're spot on about .300WM and 7mm RUM. I personally load my .300WM with 180g Barnes TSX.
>>30518545
6.5x55
This isn't some rpg with defense and vitality stats, 308 will kill it dead IF you're a good shot. I advise against it, especially because it might not even be legal where you live, but many intermediate round can do.
>>30518860
You speak from experience...? I took my Swede loaded with big long 160-grain Hornady round nosers on a cow elk hunt once and felt confident of the outcome, but got nothing to shoot at.
>>30518545
Buy a cheap Marlin 1895 in .45-70 and youre good for anything in North America.
308 is fine just use a proper bullet and PRACTICE. that's what matters - the projectile that hits the animal, where you hit it and at what velocity. only difference between a 308 and a 300 win mag is the velocity, and thus the distance that you can reliably expect your projectile to expand at. magnums are overkill for people who don't hunt beyond 300-400 yards.
don't listen to people who recommend headstamps but not bullets as they're mostly a bunch of yokels who don't shoot much.
>>30518545
>elk
.308 is fine if it's a proper hunting load to do the job. 30-06 is said to reliably take down any mammal in the US, including Alaska. .308 is not at all far from 30-06 with standard loads. Just ensure you are within an acceptable distance and can make a clear shot. If you don't think you can land a clean shot through the lungs, just don't take it until you think you can.
>>30518545
Like everyone here has said anything you listed will get the job done.
I use 30-06 myself while friends and family use either that or .308 but I have seen every thing you listed there be used successfully.
You should hunt with the gun you are used to in all honesty, as the .308 is suitable for the job. The most important thing to keep in mind if you are worried about your .308 is to not take a shot you are not comfortable with.
>>30518584 speaks the truth, having done exactly this over a decade ago nothing gives me more regret than taking a shot I wasn't 100% comfortable with.
300 winmag does great.
.308 is fine for moose so it's fine for elk. Idk what fudd said it wasn't.
>>30519091
Yep. over here in Scandinavia it is the most used cartridge. Drops Elks since 1894.
Most people have/had krags and swedish mausers.
Shot placement is key.
>>30518545
Well, I've been told not to use 22lr of course. So I've went with 22 wmr and hey, let me tell you, the increased challenge of landing the perfect shot really ramps up the thrill. I find it reliably brings elk down inside of >10 meters.
>>30518545
I use a 30-06 (180 grain min).
A few co-workers use 300 WM.
One guy uses a .338 and the crazy co-worker uses a Weatherby 30-378 which he reloads for. Crazy uses a 308 for deer and below, while the 30-378 is for elk/moose/bears
All of them have said that they want to drop the animal with little suffering.
>>30518545
7mm mag is the gold standard in this neck of the woods, mostly because you can reliably drop an elk from five yards to five hundred if need be, but if you're fine being limited to 300 or so yards (especially if you don't think you could take an ethical shot at longer ranges at your current skill level) then a .270 with a 150gr round-nose is recommended. Many locals actually hunt with much more comfortable rounds at shorter ranges; chamberings with ballistics comparable to 7x57mm or .257AI are popular because you can use that one rifle for pretty much anything larger than a rabbit.
There are some people who hunt with calibers like .338 Lapua or similar rounds for taking really, really long shots but honestly at those ranges it's more like LARPing as a sniper than anything else.
>Dude lmao watch me use my $5000 rifle, $2000 scope and $20 handloads to drop an elk from 1300 yards I'm such a badass
>>30521532
American elk =/= yuro elk
Yuro elk are what we call moose; the animal in the OP is called wapiti in Europe and is often shot at several hundred yards because the terrain they inhabit is open during the rifle seasons while most moose here are taken in thick cover under 50 yards. .308 at 30 yards is a hell of a lot different from .308 at 300 yards.
