# What rifle to get ?



## nickslandscaping

I'm a bow hunter all my life and i'm thinking about trying rifle. what is everyones prefrence on what kind of rifle to get for elk? thanks


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## agrotom

My main Elk rifle is a 700 Remington in .300 Win Mag topped with a leupold 6X42. Shoot 180 or 200 grain bullets, it works like a charm. :sniper:


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## Bob Kellam

7 Mag, 300 Mag, 338UM any will do well for Elk.


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## farmerj

I would have to recommend the 270 Remington, the 280 Remington.

I would NOT recommend a magnum.

There are several cartridges on the market that will give you the performance to do the job on elk. The gun doesn't kill the animal, shot placement does. To be able to make the shot, you need to be comfortable with your gun. Too many times I hear people say that cant shoot there gun because they are afraid of the recoil.

A 280 or 270 will have about 14-18 pounds of recoil energy. A magnum will have somewhere arund 40-45 pound of energy.

Every guide I have spoken with about elk hunting in Montana and now starting to look at Colorado expect 2 thing from the client. To be comfortable with your gun. And no more than 22" of drop at 400 yds. The 22" of drop is because if you zero your rifle at 200 yds, at 400 yds your bullet will drop about 22". This will allow you to takea 400 yard shot and place your cross hairs on the back of the elk, and put the round in the boiler maker.

The other factor you want to look at will be retained energy at distance.
The 280 will have around 1200 lb/ft of energy, the 300 WSM for a similar bullet weight will have around 1600 lb/ft. North American large game, NOT dangerous game, will only require 1000 lb/ft. For only 400 pounds of energy, I would rather NOt have to deal with that recoil.

In the end, try to see if you can fire different rifles. MAke a list, things you like, things you dont like.

I have shot a couple of magnums, 7mm and 300. I don't like the recoil. If I can find something that will do the same job without it, I will.
270, 280, 7mm-08, .308, .30-06, 284, 6mm rem or even the 260 fit into those catagories. The 6mm and the 260 though I will admit are on the very extreme end and almost too light.

It comes to this. Everyone I have talked to that shoot magnums, can shot 10-15 times before they get tired of getting beat up. A normal cartridge you can shoot till you get tired. you need to preactice at all ranges to get a feel for what your rifle will do. I don't see enough practice getting done with a magnum to make the shot of a life time, on a hunt of a life time.


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## agrotom

I shoot my .300 Win. all the time and the recoil is very manageable. I can shoot a box of shells on the bench and still survive!! The 30-06 and 35 Whelan work very well if you have problems with recoil. Just have a rifle thats not too cumbersome and that you shoot well out to 250 to 300 yards. :beer:


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## sdeprie

There has been some good discussion about caliber with a number of valid points. I must agree with the point that whatever you get, you must be able to shoot that one well. There are still lots of hunters out there for elk with a 30-30. A wise old adage tells us, "Watch out for the man with only one rifle. He probably knows how to use it." Writers used to say the 270 was minimum for elk, but with the premium bullets available, I would not be afraid to use a 6.5, or even a 25 cal. They would have to be premium bullets placed just right. As a bow hunter, you will probably not need 3-400 yds range, but it's nice to have.

Now, the rifle, most new rifles are good and have good points. Go for what fits you best. Something to keep in mind, if you get a new Savage and you get tired of that 270 cal, it's realtively easy to change to 30-06, or even 35 Whelen. The barrel swap looks pretty easy to do.

My preferred rig is a 280 Rem New England Single Shot. Just because I like to be different. I have 160 gr Barnes XLC BT's loaded to about 2900 FPS and that is ample for deer, elk, moose, etc.


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## People

Elk are a tough animal. I would recommend the biggest gun you can handle. Yes you can use a smaller cartridge and kill an elk every year. I do like how my 7mm STW works. I like the 300 win mag in a good heavy rifle. My STW is a Rem 700 in the mountain version. Yes it kicked so hard I could not shoot it more then three shots I had subconscious flinch so bad I could not shoot it. I had to have a muzel break installed My Grandpa has a STW that is about 10 to 13 lbs and I can shoot that all day with out any problems. Some people do not like carrying heavy guns around. Like Farmerj said make that list and see what happens. I do like having more power than I need. Hunting does not always happen like a rifle range. Some times bad shots happen and a little more energy may make the difference between finding the animal and not.

Farmerj is smarter than he lets on that list is a good idea


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## Goose Bandit

7mm rem mag will do the job just fine


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## pmjde

Get a Tikka or Sako there is no out of the box gun made that will out shoot them. Before they leave the factory every gun is tested and must shoot a five shoot group of one inches or less at 100 yards. I have a Tikka Whittail hunter in 300 win mag I had a muzzle brake put on and you can shoot that guin all day long.It will shoot sub one inch groups at 100 yd. Two inches high at 100yd 1 inch high at 200 yds 6 inches low at 300 yd. 180 gr accubond. 75.5 gr RL 22 Droped a mulie in Montana this past october with one shot at 300 yds...


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## jeep_guy_4x4

I am in the market looking for a rifle for medium to large game rifles...I would like to start with deer/pronghorn and then progress to caribou....and eventually elk /moose.

I found a lot of valuable information at the following link....

http://www.chuckhawks.com/index2.guns.htm

basically I found this site philosy comparable to farmerj's comments and his synoppsis.....

I was eager to run out and purchase a rifle chambered in a 270, or 300 magnum to have one gun to do it all....

Now I am leaning to purchase two rifles...one for caribou and smaller and then one for elk/moose

Also everyone I work with has magnum cartridges....and they all comment on how they go to the range the weekend before the season and take three to five shots to make sure there rifle are on and thats all they shoot cause it recoils too much..funny thing is we deer hunt in michigan and never shoot more than 50 yards at a deer, hell probably 35 yards since we hunt state land...none of us have farms or relitives with farms.....But everyone bought magnums just in case they go out west some day....

everyone seems to miss deer every year at less then fifty yards....My father in-law drops one every year with his 30-06....

Anyhow this site has been helpful to me to make a selection for a rifle...

Good luck....


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## Whelen35

If you are leaning twords two guns, then I would go this rout. A 25-06 for the smaller stuff, or a 257 Roberts if you get into reloading for the first one. It has what it will take to handle animals up to 500lbs, and with the right bullet, do a fine job on things up close. It can and will also be a great fox and yodel dog gun. For the other gun, I think a gun able to handle up to 300yds shots is fine, likely 95% of more of big game is taken at much less, and also a gun that would work great for close range drop where they stand gun great for bear, elk, moose, and anything up close is the 35 Whelen, or the 350 rem mag. Now the term "mag" is more hype than size in this case. Either will shoot a 225gr bullet at 2600-2700fps, and a 250gr smasher at 2450-2550fps, or a 200gr bullet at 2700-2800fps. If you again reload, you can load pistol bullets from 125gr at 38spl speeds and even have a short range gopher gun. I know ammo is not availabel at every gas station in hunting country, but this is a versatial choice. If you don't reload,and want ammo availabel almost everywhere, then get a 30-06 it has more factory load choices than anything else available here in the USA. Personally, the people who keep on saying that they only shoot animals at very long range are not hunting anymore, they are shooting. I think that there too many things that can go wrong in a hunting situation that we need to try to get as close as we can to the game we are HUNTING to limmit the chances of a bad hit. As a bow hunter, I doubt that you will be wanging away at 400yd game, but I see it every year, and have had too many deer come into my yard missing legs, or hit in the back third of the animal and they come into my yard because they think it is safe and crawl under the hedges to die. Sorry for the rant, but a 25-06 and a 350 rem mag would be a good 2 gun start, good luck with your choices, but don't buy into the biggest gun rip roaring thing, many animals have met thier match with things deemed too small by todays standards.


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## Hangfire

My two deer rifles are a .270 Weatherby and a .30-30 Winchester. I feel with a well placed shot either are very capable of taking down any deer in North America.


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## Albertahunter

what baout the 270 wsm, anybody use them for elk, moose, deer and bear. what about the kick, compared to anormal 270.


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## Burly1

I think that recoil means different things to different people. I am not particularly sensitive to recoil, but I do know that almost any caliber in a Remington 700 BDL kicks too much for me. It's something having to do with the geometry of the rifle against my physical dimentions. I have shot the .30-.378, in a Weatherby rifle and don't have any problem with the recoil. If you handload, I think the .300 Winchester magnum may well be an ideal all around cartridge. It can be loaded to handle the largest North American ungulates as well as to velocities that will equal the old reliable .30-.30, for short range woods hunting. It is an inherantly accurate cartridge available in a wide range of factory rifles. In the proper platform it is a credible 1000 yard cartridge, but is comfortable to shoot when loaded to milder velocities. In addition, I don't believe that there is a wider selection of bullets available for any other caliber. This makes the big .30 a handloaders dream/nightmare, if you will. .300 Win Mag ammo is nearly as common as .270, .30-06 and 7MM Mag, on convenience store shelves. There are a confusing number of rifle/cartridge combinations available to us today. My best advice might well be for you to join a shooting club, and try as many rifles and cartridges as you can, before making a commitment. Good shooting, Burl


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## DJ in OH

On the subject of recoil, I think an important factor to consider is bullet weight. My .300 win mag with a 180 grain bullet has a recoil energy of about 35 lbs. Whereas if I load a 150 grain bullet the recoil energy drops to 28 lbs. Likewise my .308 which is a heavier gun has a recoil of 13 lbs with a 150 grain bullet and 17 lbs with a 180 grain bullet. (Calculated using Point Blank software)

Obviously the magnum has more kick to it, but I don't feel that the difference between my .300 WM with a 150 grain bullet and my .308 with a 180 grain bullet is hugely different. A premium 150 grain bullet will certainly do the job on elk.

I wear a shoulder pad when I shoot either one on the bench since I feel the kick of either one on the bench but I don't even notice it out in the field.

I shoot the .300 just as well as the .308. I have shot it enough to know that yes, it will kick but it's not going to kill me. I think it is kind of fun to feel that much power. I'm not worried about taking it out in the field for elk. I have shot it enough to feel comfortable with it. I can shoot a box of shells out of it on the range and not think twice about it. I think a box each time is plenty if you shoot often enough (2-3 times a month). It's too expensive to shoot much more than that.


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## jclav

Ther are a lot of calibers that will do the job. When considering some of the less popular cartridges keep this in mind. I know hunters that have gone on a guided hunt perhaps in Newfoundland or AK. They fly to their hunt and end up in a little town in the middle of no where . They forgot to pack their ammunition or they lost it. You will be lucky to find a common caliber readily available let alone some of the perfectly good lessor known or used calibers. I do all my big game hunting with 1 rifle. From WT to moose. The popular ( trendy ) thing to do these days is have 5 different rifles 1 for each species. No matter what be comfortable with what you shoot.


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## arctic plainsman

Had to throw this out, 7x 57 anyone?
William H Bell's elephants to my moose, Montana elk, and west coast black tail deer.


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## Mike_Ulmr

I got a winchester 300 ultra mag and shoot 180grain bullets, it gets the job done. I also take my winchester 270 for a back up, it works great for mule deer and I would assume it would take an elk down. That is what I think, but anything from a 270 and up would get the job done as long as you know how to shoot. :sniper:


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## Trapper155

I would go with a 270 or 243 for smaller game but a 338 for elk and big game becuase i shoot the heavyist shells i can get for elk in the 338 and it has a muzzel brake which make a huge effect but it still kicks hard but i dont feel recoil when shooting at an animal and with it it only takes one shot also if you take headshots the 338 is fine for deer, it will drop a deer in it track with a head shot but there isnt much left of the head, also 7mm is a good deer and elk gun combo. :sniper:


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## arctic plainsman

I appreciate and respect everyone's caliber preference, but .338 for deer? Ouch!!!!!!
About three or four years ago I used a 7x57 Mauser loaded with 175g Hornaday's to take a 58" Alaska moose. I pasted him twice thru the ribs, and 125 yards from where the first shot hit him he ran out of breath. 
Check my photo files on this web site for the 66"moose I shot with my 30-06. Both bears were taken with the .338, more than enough gun for the brownie. 
For lower 48 hunting, buy a rifle, really several rifles you are comfortable with, and work on bullet placement. The fella above that was talking about the 257 Roberts and 25-06 couldn't have been righter.
Please forgive me if I'm stepping on somebodys toes.


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## honkbuster3

I really like my Winchester feather weight 30/06 with a Leupold scope. You can kill just about anything on the north american continent with that caliber. From Coyote to moose. The 30/06 will git er' done    :beer:


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## mburgess

.30-06 is the most versatile gun on the planet and has been around for 100 years and will be around for 100 more. The versatility in bullets will let you hunt anything in north america except maybe big bears? If you check out the ballistics of the Hornady light mag cartiridges they are pushing 3100 feet per second with 150 grain bullets which is nipping on the .300 mags heels. No need for the big whopper stopper.


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## gazoo

I will not get rid of my Remington 700 30/06 topped with a bushnell banner 3-9X40 scope. Best all around rifle I have ever used.
:beer:


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## Decoyer

For what it is worth, I drew an ND elk tag last year and decided to use my 30/06 with 180 grain nosler partitions (the federal big game premium loads). Im no expert on ballistics. I dropped a bull in his tracks at 275 yards, but I still wish I would have had a little more fire power.


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## Remington 7400

.30-06, .7mm mag, .300 win mag


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## goosehunter29

what about the 300 wby..........????? Accumark........200 grain NP's???? Seriously...who feels the recoil in the excitement of the hunt ????


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## sdeprie

Just to check things out, I went back to the original question to review it. Yep, the question was about a first time rifle for a bow hunter. I agree, at the hunt one seldom fees recoil. However, a first rifle owner is going (needs) to spend a lot of time at the range. Assume a significant amount of recoil sensitivity or someone is going to develop a significant flinch. Even a 25-06 produces a lot more recoil (and noise) than a bow. I would avoid any magnum, at least until a new gun owner is comfortable with the noise and recoil, is comfortable shootingt situations, and finds the need for a magnum. I would stay away from wildcats, or I would recommend te 6.5-06. Enough reach and engery, penetration, etc fr anything he wants now. Otherwise, I think any caliber from 25 to 30 based on the 30-06 (25-06, 270, 280, 30-06) or 308 (260, 7-08, 308) would be more than adequate, and less expensive. I'm not against powerful loads. My personal favorite is the 338-06 JDJ, now with factory brass. PS, I thought about correcting all of my typos, but then I thought "What the heck. Let them see how hard it is to type with a daschund on your lap, licking your face, etc." :lol:


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## alsatian

Get a .30-06. In good hands this is ample cartridge for elk. The value of a .30-06 is its versatility. It is suitable for any big game animal from pronghorn up to Elk and Moose (while most prefer heavier cartridges when their lives depend upon it, historically many big bears have been taken with .30-06). Most of the advantages of other cartridges over the .30-06 only apply in specialized circumstances, for example for shots over 300 yards. Most shooters, myself included, are not sufficiently skilled marksmen to justify taking shots over 300 yards and thus the greater range supported by magnum cartridges generally is an illusory advantage for these shooters who will ethically restrict their shots to less than 300 yards. The disadvantage of more powerful cartridges is that the recoil and report of the cartridges is also greater; the disadvantage of less powerful cartridges is they become marginal for Elk and Moose.

I don't disparage having other rifles in your battery -- I have other rifles in my battery. But a .30-06 is definitely a good place to start.


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## Plainsman

You have had so much good advise I don't know if I should add anything. I would say go out and try a few calibers if at all possible. Some people are very recoil shy and will never recommend a magnum because they think everyone feels like them. I have seen 225 pound guys whine about a 308, and 150 pound fellow shoot 300 Ultramags all day long. Some rifles are different, and some people are different. I'll flinch from a 223 if I don't have earplugs, and shoot a 450 magnum shot after shot with no flinch if I have earplugs. Don't get me wrong, the only time I shoot without earplugs now is if I forget. That's to often.
I agree that the 30-06 is very versatile, but if you hand load the 300 Winchester Magnum can be loaded below 308 factory, and a good 200 feet per second beyond factory 300 Win Mag. That leaves the 30-06 in the dust. Some tout the Ackley improved, and they are great weapons, but forget your ammo and you are shooting anemic loads in comparison to magnums. 
The 338 Ultramag is a fine weapon, and so is the 338 Win Mag, but start shooting beyond 400 or 500 yards (which many will not, just an extra comment) and you would be surprised that the magnum 30 calibers will carry more energy at long range. The 338 Ultramag on the other hand will push heavy, high ballistic coefficient bullets fast enough to outdo the 300 magnums at all ranges. 
People had very good advise. Shoot the largest caliber that you can shoot accurately. You can shoot rifles that are to small, but it's hard to kill them to dead.


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## joebobhunter4

i use a 7mm-08. its bigger than a .270 and a little smaller than a 7mm mag... i think its a lot easier to shoot because its a lot lighter and lighter bullets... they go farther fast and still hit really hard... for instance... i know this isnt elk wise... but at 100 yards... i blew both of my antelopes front shoulders up... like literally... enter hole was probably 3 inches in diameter than exit hole exploded it and was probably 6 inches in diameter... i guess it depends one were u place your shot...


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## duckduck...goose!

.338 or .308 bolt action rifles

they work like a charm for big game.

shoot 250 cal


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