# Elk rifle



## GooseBuster3 (Mar 1, 2002)

I am going on elk hunt this fall and am planning on buying a new rifle. I have been thinking of 338 dakota arms custom or a 340 weatherby. Any info would be great.


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## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

GB3

338 is what I would buy, but that is because I own one. I ended up putting a brake on mine to control it a little better. VERY hard on the ears. The gun is very accurate with some practice.

Bob


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## TN.Frank (Nov 12, 2005)

Have you took a look at the .35 Whelen. It's an '06 based ctg. that's suppose to be pretty good on Elk, Moose, ect. Do a google on it. I think Remington still chambers their 700 for it and they did a short run in their 7600 Pump too.
http://www.reloadbench.com/cartridges/35w.html
http://www.reloadammo.com/35whelenload.htm


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## Remington 7400 (Dec 14, 2005)

You don't need that much power for elk. 7mm Rem. Mag is PLENTY. Personally I prefer .30-06 with 180 grain handloads, but the longest possiable shot in the area I hunt is only 150 yards. If you're heart set to GO MAGNUM  the 7mm Rem is the way to go, flat, fast, and effective.


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## Scooter (Nov 4, 2005)

Forget the Dakota and the .340 go with the .338 Ultra Mag! I have one and it's the cat's *** let me tell you it shoots very accuratly and the recoil is managable with a little practice. If you go with the .338 Ultra get it in the new Model 700 XCR it's Remingtons best all weather rifle and comes with a R3 recoil pad from Limbsaver. With handloads you get 250gr slugs at 3000fps that will level anything in North America! Barnes now makes a 250gr TSX by the way and that would be a good bullet choice for elk in my opinion.


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## mallard (Mar 27, 2002)

The 340 is a good gun as are the 300's,338,etc.Any one shoot the 300 wsm?I really like the sako rifles because of there accuracy.If you want a weatherby rifle,go for the accumark.A well constructed bullet that shoots well out of your gun is also a very important decision to make before a trip of a lifetime.


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## GooseBuster3 (Mar 1, 2002)

Well I went out tonight and did some looking and the Browning A Bolt 325 wsm is going to be gun of choice. I did alot of reading and searching and that sounds like caliiber shoots alot flatter then the 338. 
Thanks for info guy!


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## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

Good Cal. Good Gun.

Here is a link

http://www.browning.com/products/featur ... .asp?ID=77

It has some speed and punch to it.

Bob


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## Whelen35 (Mar 9, 2004)

First, why a new gun? Do you not own a gun to shoot elk?? If not, then get one. Severa; guns will drop an elk it you hit it right. Ig me, I would chose a standard chambering. 338 win mag comes to mind. The 340 would be a good choice from a cost piont, but a 338 would work fine. Get what you want, and just hunt!!


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## coyote hunter (Dec 21, 2005)

300 win mag is what I use for elk hunting


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## dieseldog (Aug 9, 2004)

Hey GB3 if you haven't bought yet look seriously at the 300 Rem ultra mag. All the serious elk hunters that i know carry it or the .30-378. The ultra mag is the poor mans answer to the .30-378. I also had thought about the .325.


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## TN.Frank (Nov 12, 2005)

LOL, this is kind of striking me as funny, all the "high powered" ctgs. being suggested. Ya'll did know that Wesson took out his "new" .357 Mag back in the 30's and killed Elk, Brown Bear, Moose and all manner of game with it, don't ya'. That "little" .357 Mag. killed em' just fine, not that it'd be my first choice but it should tell ya' something. Placement is more important then power. Many, many hunters killed all of the above with the 30/30 Win. when it came out in 1895(the Win. 94 came out in 1894 in 38-55 Win and 32-40 Win., it didn't come out in 30WCF until a year later in '95) and they thought it was "magic" on killin' game.
Get a dang 30-'06 and be done with it, LOL. :beer:


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## TN.Frank (Nov 12, 2005)

"Colonel Doug Wesson promoted the first Magnum by using it to take antelope, moose, elk, and grizzly bear. The age of handgun hunting had arrived. Early 3 1/2 inch .357 Magnums became popular with FBI agents after one of the first was presented to J. Edgar Hoover. And no less a future personality than soon-to-be General George Patton, purchased a 3 1/2 inch .357 Magnum in Hawaii in 1935. Fitted with ivory grips to match his Colt Single Action .45, Patton called his .357 his "killin' gun." Patton used the ivory gripped mis-matched pair as a trademark and actually had two holster rigs made up by S.D. "Tio Sam" Myres so he could wear either gun on either side as desired. This caused much confusion as it is still often erroneously reported that he carried a pair of Colt Single Action .45's."
http://www.rt66.com/~korteng/SmallArms/1stmag.htm


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## Scooter (Nov 4, 2005)

I think that was neat little bit of history on the .357! But now as far as an "elk rifle" goes let me start with that fact that I think above all else shoot only what one can handle! Now for the rest of the story as far as I am concerned when a person is looking at elk hunting more often than ever before western state elk hunting is an expensive task starting with tags that cost almost $500 I've purchased guns for less money. Now if you figure in the cost of an outfitter and or purchase your own equiptment you can add on $1500-$4000 and then add on trasportation cost to hunt location and home still not cheap. Now I put myself in this situation and say I'm on my last day of the hunt and have finally seen an elk that is a shooter and within my comfort zone even on the long side of that zone and my shot presentation is not perfect say a quartering away angle no clear path to the vitals am I going to shoot or not. I will shoot for I have practiced with my rifle which would happen to be a .338 Ultra Mag enough to know that I can darn sure hit what I aiming at even out to say 400-500 yards some don't feel comfortable with that but know your own limitations and practice out to that distance. Know I know at that distance I have enough horsepower left in my 225gr Barnes TSX to dump him and also enough to penatrate to where it is going to kill that elk. The bullet may start from behind his vitals but it will travel forward to his vitals and out the other side. I wouldn't do that with a .357Mag or even a .270 Winchecter but it's all about being prepared to deal with anything that may present itself. Placement is everthing but sometimes you may have to place your shots in a round about way so be prepared and only shoot big powerful calibers if you can shoot them well.


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## TN.Frank (Nov 12, 2005)

I think I was just trying to point out that you don't have to call in artillery to kill an Elk. They've been killed in the past with calibers that one would never consider an "Elk Cartridge". Personally, a 180gr 30-'06 is more then enough gun for elk even out to 400 yrds if the hunter can do his part and place the shot on target. More power won't make up for bad shooting and in most cases a more powerful ctg. will induce a flinch that'll make accuracy worse, not better so use as much gun as you can shoot accuratly but don't over do it. It's not like in the Bear thread we've got going on here where you're shooting at something that can kill and eat you. A nice thing about the ol' '06 is that it's everywhere and there are many different rifles chambered for it. 
:beer:


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## Scooter (Nov 4, 2005)

Well said Frank I do agree use as rifle as you can handle!


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## mr.trooper (Aug 3, 2004)

I'm feeling frisky, so ill recomend the 9.3x62mm Mauser!


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## 1shotWonder (Oct 10, 2005)

I like to combine the best of both worlds, Sako rifle in Weatherby calibers! I have a 75 in 270WBY, and soon to join him will be the 75 stainless in 300WBY.


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## dennis_d (Feb 1, 2006)

.458 win mag...so they dont go to far


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## dogdigger (Jan 26, 2004)

what about an arrow? can they still kill elk? from the looks of this thread the elk have grown a lil since i saw them last if you have to have a .338 or .416 to kill them. its the damn global warming i know it. next thing you know you will need at least a 3/4 ton chevy to run over a deer, the half ton jsut wont get it done anymore.

mark


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## Grunter (Feb 11, 2006)

Get a 325.WSM, Go out west and shoot an Elk. Come home and shoot a Deer. Go up North and shoot a Grizz. etc....etc....etc...

One Gun will "Get er Done"!! :jammin:

Dave


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## honkbuster3 (Jan 11, 2006)

A great rifle with a little bit lighter recoil is the 300 ultra magnum. You can reach out to a great range and knock em' dead. Another great option is the 7mm mag. Either one is a great gun. Good luck on your hunt. :beer:


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## hammer1 (Feb 26, 2006)

30.06 or greater..all mentioned are great choicles


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## Remington 7400 (Dec 14, 2005)

Just use the .460 Weatherby, they will go down RIGHT NOW!

If you want a long range rifle try a LAR Grizzly single shot is .50 BMG.


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## RiveRat (Sep 19, 2004)

Wow, have I been sleeping for twenty years or something? Have Elk gained 2000 pounds and grown trunks? Serously, elk are not that hard to kill. I have a friend that has killed at least a dozen with a surplus 30-40 Krag. They were just as dead and just as hard to pack out as if you'd used a .458 on em. I've killed my share with an '06 - 150 to 180 grain. Jack O'Connor's lavish praise of the 270 Win. still has about half the state of Idaho hunting (successfully)with them. I think that you'd be welcome in any Elk camp if you could nail a beer can with a .308 Win 180gr. at 150 yards every time. You wouldn't be welcome if you were spraying a .338 all over the hillside. Shooting accuracy is the most important thing you can bring to camp. Only you as the shooter can determine if you have too much gun. If you can shoot the heavy calibers well, by all means bring one. Personally, I think that the old reliable 300 Win. Mag. will handle about any Elk situation you will get yourself into.


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## swift (Jun 4, 2004)

I killed a 7x7 bull this fall in Idaho with a Custom Weatherby Mark V. I shot two cows a couple years ago in Colorado with a 7mm Mag and didn't know I hit the one. That led me to increase the caliber. Elk are tough to kill much tougher than a moose. Use the biggest caliber you can shoot accurately. One thing to consider is if you end up in the rocky mtns and forget your ammo most every gas station will have ammo for the 300 win mag or 338 mag but that trendy new 325 or 340 wby may be hard to find. I found that out a few years back in Montana when I went over for a depredation hunt for WT does. I took my 220 swift with an ammo box full of 100 empty brass. I grabbed the wrong box. Lucky for me I always bring two guns.


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## pennsyltucky (Oct 30, 2005)

how big a boy are ya?

375H&H would do u real good 

that is, if u dont mind a heavier gun, and u can learn to shoot it. then u can always go to africa without buying a new gun.......


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