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Good Elk Gun??

S

Slim

Guest
Hey all!! I need some advice, and knowing from the experience on this sight you guys can help. I need your recomendation on a good Elk rifle. Not high end and not junk either a good middle of the road gun that will probably get used twice a year chasing bulls in colorado? Give me your thoughts.
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I would go with a 7mm Weatherby Vanguard that shoots Remingtons. The 7mm was designed specifically for Elk. The gun will go for about $400 and will come with a target shot a the factory with a 1 1/2" group or better at a 100 yards guaranty. Mine shoots 2 groups at 200 yards. It is a great gun that wont break the bank. I would go with a Leupold 3x9 or a Simmons 44 mag.
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if your buying new it would be worth your while to check out a Tikka. Heck of a rifle. Lots of calibers. Great trigger. Comes with rings and swivels. The wood stock guns look awesome and believe it or not are still etched by hand. all for less than 500.00...:bow
 
Does anybody remember the "formula" for deer ammo? It was so many grain bullet with so many pounds of pressure at 100 yards. I can't remember the numbers, and to tie it in with this post how does it differ from elk loads?

The 'Bonker
 
i like the 300 wsm, packs alot of punch and is flatter shooting and has more nock down power than the 7mm. i little pricey but it is worth it, winchester makes it in the model 70 featherwieght hell of a gun you wont regret the extra buck.

mike
 
I have been elk hunting in Montana for about five years. Although I am yet to down a bull I think that i may have some knowledge of the subject. I personally use a Browning White Gold Medallion chambered in.300 win mag. This is a great cartridge as it has very good trajectories as well as knockdown power. You can also get a fairly heavy bullet (180's) witch add to your knockdown power. Elk can and will run 7 to 10 miles without stopping when spooked so you want to make sure you drop him on his A$$. Also i would recommend Federal Premium cartridges loaded with trophy bonded bear claws. They have great retention and mushrooming. This year was my first year with the .300 since i won it at the RMEF banquet but i see a lot of locals shooting 30-06 and .270 Wins. as well. They .300 Weatherby is also a great cartridge. You can get most in the A-Bolt from Browning which is a good quality gun for the price. You have many options from the composite and blued to my white gold with the A-Bolt. I would defiantly recommend that you get a bolt action, just much more reliable. If you want to drop some cash my hunting buddy just picked up a Sauer by Sig Arms. This gun has the best safety mechanism I have ever seen. The safety button is located inside the trigger guard I think and pushes up. It is absolutely silent. This has always been a problem for me as you try to be quite but you can’t stop you safety from clicking. I would also recommend that you bring a spare. I bring my .270 with every trip just in case.

As far as scopes go i could only afford so much being a starving college student with a hunting addiction. I have my .300 topped with a Leopold Vari X III 3.5x10x50. Elk hunting make sure you get a large objective(i think, the last number) lens. I was also looking at Zeiss, a great optics manufacturing that has moved assembly to the US and can now import all the parts and assemble them here for a far cheaper retail price. about $600-$700 when 5 years ago you couldn't touch one for under $1200. Well there are my ideas. I would like to chat and rant about elk hunting much more, maybe a big game conference would be a good addition.

Dave
 
Thanks for your ideas so far, alot of the dealers, cabelas, basss pro, dunn's have recommended 30-06 I havent seen much talk of it here are they on or not?

thanks
 
The 30-06 has probably killed more elk than the next 3-4 calibers combined. You can't build it in a short action bolt gun though so they tend to be heavier than the new short magnums.
 
The -06 is a great choice and would have been what I would have suggested to you from my side of the counter. The 7mm, .270 and even the 300 would be good, but it is hard to argue with the time honored performance of the 'oh six. It reloads well, can be bought at most gas stations in Col.(if you run out), and is almost infinite in the choices of loads and bullet design. My model 64 knocks raged holes @ 100, but you can get a 2" grouper from Savage for easily in the $400 range w/ a scope. A great twice a year gun. Good luck and post your hunt results so we can see them.
 
I've hunted with a Remington 30.06 bolt action since high school. Great gun, plenty of knock down power. 150 or 180 gr.

You can't read an article on a good all around rifle without seeing the 30.06 mentioned.
 
Cant say for sure with Elk but for Caribou my .300WSM did an awesome job, what a fun gun to shoot!
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hard to beat a reliable like the 700 Remington .30-06

If you had an Encore muzzleloader you can get rifle barrels for them or the other way around. They are pretty slick.
 
Tough question, with no single right answer. There are a lot of good elk calibers, and each has their following. I tried 338 mag on someones advice, but I did not like it. (mine was nto accurate, too much gun and too expensive to shoot) I went to a 300 win mag, and love it. My hunting buddy likes his 7mm Mag, and the most sucessful elk hunter I know swears by his old 270.
For a gun I'd recomend remington 700, with a 3X9 or stronger Leupold scope.

IaCraig
 
if you want to go the odd 6 route remington makes one the model 710 cambered in 270 or 30-06 with a 3 by 9 by 40 bushnell on top of it for about 350, new introduction last year part of the 700 bdl family. might be a great option for you. and i agree you cant the reliability of a remington.

mike
 
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