HorseDoctor
PMA Member
Lots & lots of great choices, but a 300 Win Mag will do all you need to do!!! Nosler Accubond, 180 grain will reach out & "touch em" !
jimfaststeel
New Member
7mm Rem mag, 160 accubond
montanadan
New Member
Another vote for 300 win mag. Used for years in Montana and can do all you are asking and more.
AZHunter
Iowa Boy At Heart
This is almost like asking "Chevy, Ford, Ram, or Toyota?"
All of the above (.270 wsm, .300 wm, and 7mm) are all great choices. You can also look at the .300 WSM, .270, .260, .280, .280 AI, .308, .30-06, 6.5 Creedmore (if you want to go "exotic"), 7mm-08, .300 RUM, 7mm RUM, 7mm WSM, etc....
I've seen both elk and deer taken with .243 and .25-06, but I have a hard time recommending them for elk, personally. I've seen big bulls dropped to all of the above-mentioned cartridges, plus many, many others and at ranges from 30 yards to 600+ yards. A friend of mine's son killed a giant 5x5 bull with his 7mm-08 at 400 yards and a solid mule deer at closer to 500 yards. The bottom line is find a good rifle with good glass that you can shoot well and not get recoil-shy with. If you already have good choices at home, start there. If you have to go buy new, look at the above choices and you can pretty much pick one from a hat and win.
If I had to pick one of all the above mentioned, I'd look at either the .300 WM or .300 WSM to save some weight, but that's probably because I own a .300 WM and love it. If I was starting new, I'd go with the .300 WSM to get the exact same performance in a lighter weight rifle. The only concern with the .300 WSM is if you hand-load. The magazine length in most rifles will limit what you can do with bullet seating depth adjustments to fine-tune the accuracy. You'll be able to seat your bullet way farther out than the magazine length will allow. I'd probably even go with a .280 AI just to go against the grain a little and continue my streak of being different.
All of the above (.270 wsm, .300 wm, and 7mm) are all great choices. You can also look at the .300 WSM, .270, .260, .280, .280 AI, .308, .30-06, 6.5 Creedmore (if you want to go "exotic"), 7mm-08, .300 RUM, 7mm RUM, 7mm WSM, etc....
I've seen both elk and deer taken with .243 and .25-06, but I have a hard time recommending them for elk, personally. I've seen big bulls dropped to all of the above-mentioned cartridges, plus many, many others and at ranges from 30 yards to 600+ yards. A friend of mine's son killed a giant 5x5 bull with his 7mm-08 at 400 yards and a solid mule deer at closer to 500 yards. The bottom line is find a good rifle with good glass that you can shoot well and not get recoil-shy with. If you already have good choices at home, start there. If you have to go buy new, look at the above choices and you can pretty much pick one from a hat and win.
If I had to pick one of all the above mentioned, I'd look at either the .300 WM or .300 WSM to save some weight, but that's probably because I own a .300 WM and love it. If I was starting new, I'd go with the .300 WSM to get the exact same performance in a lighter weight rifle. The only concern with the .300 WSM is if you hand-load. The magazine length in most rifles will limit what you can do with bullet seating depth adjustments to fine-tune the accuracy. You'll be able to seat your bullet way farther out than the magazine length will allow. I'd probably even go with a .280 AI just to go against the grain a little and continue my streak of being different.
JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
This ^^ is what I was going to post, thanks for saving me some keystrokes.
With a .243, a .270 and a 7MM Rem Mag, I'd be carrying my 7MM. I have enough safe queens already to go buy another.
AZHunter
Iowa Boy At Heart
This ^^ is what I was going to post, thanks for saving me some keystrokes.
With a .243, a .270 and a 7MM Rem Mag, I'd be carrying my 7MM. I have enough safe queens already to go buy another.
Always there for you, Randy! When you finally get your AZ archery tag, I'll even carry your arrows for you!
I also meant to point out that, when I finally get a bull on the ground with my bow and go after one with a rifle, I'll grab my .30-06 over my .300 WM because I'm that much more comfortable with my '06. A rifle you can shoot comfortably will improve your accuracy and despite what many magazines and TV shows say, you don't really need a .30 magnum (or any magnum) to kill an elk and certainly not a mule deer.
Having said all that, after I get my 15.56 Swaros, I plan to build up a sem-custom .300 WM or .300 WSM to have a long-range hunting rifle, unless I go for a 6.5 Creedmore to be different. Yep, I'm a walking contradiction...
JRudd
Aim small miss small.
Thanks for all the info! looks like i have a lot to choose from and cant really go wrong as i have given thought to all while kind of narrowing it between the .270, .30-06, and .300! I appreciate all info and calibers, and wanted any and all answers thats why i left the post vague in the beginning!
the only time recoil ever bothered me was after i got scoped when i was 10. that lasted for a year or so, but havent had an issue with even the lightest gun with the sharpest recoil since then, when i learned to aim small, and forced myself to guide the gun and let the gun do the work. Im set on buying a new gun for this trip, and really looking at the Remington 700 BDL, and the Browning X or A bolt in any of these calibers. Keep suggestions coming as id like to hear all and pros/cons of each
Im thinking 4-12x40 or bigger for a glass. I am not really stuck on any brand, having shot a lot of Nikon, Redfield, and my fair share of Leupold. Any other suggestions? or what do you have your rifle topped with?
thats why i left the post vague in the beginning!the only time recoil ever bothered me was after i got scoped when i was 10. that lasted for a year or so, but havent had an issue with even the lightest gun with the sharpest recoil since then, when i learned to aim small, and forced myself to guide the gun and let the gun do the work. Im set on buying a new gun for this trip, and really looking at the Remington 700 BDL, and the Browning X or A bolt in any of these calibers. Keep suggestions coming as id like to hear all and pros/cons of each
Im thinking 4-12x40 or bigger for a glass. I am not really stuck on any brand, having shot a lot of Nikon, Redfield, and my fair share of Leupold. Any other suggestions? or what do you have your rifle topped with?
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JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
I JUST swapped out the Leupold 2-7x off the 7MM for a Vortex Crossfire II 4-12x 44MM scope last week. It is bore sighted but hasn't hit the range.
Earlier in January, I replaced the 3-9x on my Savage ML 10 II with a Vortex Crossfire II 4-12x 40MM adjustable objective Dead-hold BDC. Again, mounted and bore sighted but hasn't seen range time yet.
Vortex tends to have good reviews and MidwayUSA.com has them at a decent price. Time will tell how well they hold up. Some people in the customer reviews are saying to spend the extra money for the next higher class, the Diamondback.
HorseDoctor
PMA Member
I have always liked Leupold glass and am very pleased with their CDS (custom dial system)! I have a VX2 4-12 (on my muzzy), three VX3 4.5-14s and a VX6 3-18. All of them (except the muzzy) on Winchester model 70s (just because I like the model 70). Really can't go wrong with the Rem 700 action though. Again, lots of choices but that's what I have/like.
AZHunter
Iowa Boy At Heart
Take a serious look at Savage rifles. You can get onto many western hunting forums (Coueswhitetail out here) and you'll find an abundance of hunters that use Savage. Savage seems to have beaten Remington for out-of-the-box accuracy and overall quality. I was a die-hard Remington guy until I started researching new rifles. Savage always seems to come out on top anymore. Way back when, I used to think you get what you pay for with Savage, but they've really improved their quality over the last decade and have kept pretty much the same price point. Ruger is another good one to look at. When I'm ready, unless I go completely custom, I'll probably get a Savage and modify it. Of course, that Ruger Prescision is one I'm having a hard time saying no to, as well. I've heard good things about the new Mossberg line, but I've had no real-world experience with them. Weatherby is a hard one to beat, too. They have some entry-level type rifles that are a little cheaper, but still hold that Weatherby quality and accuracy. And ditto with HorseDoctor on the Win 70! Their newer runs seem to be back to the pre-64 lineage.
As for glass, its usually a case of get the absolute best glass you can afford and look into the 50mm objective range. I have Zeiss Conquests on my .25-06 (4-14x50) and 30-06 (3.5-10x50) and a cheap Simmons on my .300 WM (probably why I don't hunt with it). Having said that, Vortex is a leader among many western hunters and probably where I'll go next, especially after looking through my daughter's lower-end Vortex on her Savage. I put a Diamondback on hers because of some of the quality issues and frequent returns that seem to go with the Crossfires (sorry Randy). You get really good glass for a fraction of the cost of other name brands and they have a good range of entry-level to high-end models. I can throw some Vortex models out if you're interested. The best thing about Vortex is their warranty. Best in the market. If you even accidentally drop your rifle and break/damage your scope, they'll fix it or replace it at no cost to you. Not many others (if any) will fix your mistake for free! And its fully transferable. They don't care if you bought it new or used, they'll cover it. When I got my Zeiss scopes, it was only because I stumbled across a killer deal on them. Otherwise, I was on my way to getting Leupold. Hard to beat Leupold, too!
As for glass, its usually a case of get the absolute best glass you can afford and look into the 50mm objective range. I have Zeiss Conquests on my .25-06 (4-14x50) and 30-06 (3.5-10x50) and a cheap Simmons on my .300 WM (probably why I don't hunt with it). Having said that, Vortex is a leader among many western hunters and probably where I'll go next, especially after looking through my daughter's lower-end Vortex on her Savage. I put a Diamondback on hers because of some of the quality issues and frequent returns that seem to go with the Crossfires (sorry Randy). You get really good glass for a fraction of the cost of other name brands and they have a good range of entry-level to high-end models. I can throw some Vortex models out if you're interested. The best thing about Vortex is their warranty. Best in the market. If you even accidentally drop your rifle and break/damage your scope, they'll fix it or replace it at no cost to you. Not many others (if any) will fix your mistake for free! And its fully transferable. They don't care if you bought it new or used, they'll cover it. When I got my Zeiss scopes, it was only because I stumbled across a killer deal on them. Otherwise, I was on my way to getting Leupold. Hard to beat Leupold, too!
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Forestryguy
Member
Check out the Rokslide forum. There is a lot of information on there about everything that you are asking.