Hi All,

What is a good caliber of gun to take elk hunting. We are planning a trip and i was wanting to get some opinions on what you guys thought was a good caliber.

Thanks,
Trevor.

You will find opinions throughout the forum. Here is some of the most recent on calibers for Elk.

300wsm, .325, or .338?

The last post sums it up - its mostly about shot placement.

Years ago, it's said the 257 Roberts worked well. These days nothing short of a .308 caliber magnum will work.

Grumulkin wrote:

nothing short of a .308 caliber magnum will work.

With improvements in bullet technology, where does the data come to support this?

.270 winchester.
enough said.

I'm sure you could use a 22 hornet, not that I am recommending that. The point should be take what ever rifle you are capable of shooting well. If thats a 243 you should be very very good. It's not that a hole in the lungs won't kill the elk, it will, it just may take a little longer. The problem comes when the bullet hits some heavy bone and breaks up. This where the lite fast bullet has it's down fall. Heavy bullets on the other hand can continue on and get to the vitals.

So there it is the no answer, answer. Personally I went with the larger bullet moderate velocity approach. What ever you choose make sure you can shoot the rifle well. When the round is sent down range you should not have to wonder if you hit the mark or not. You should be wondering how fast the bull will drop. If you have to track, you will have two holes leaking blood instead of one.

Longwalker

There are certainly alot of suitable calibers for elk hunting and alot of opinions. The 30-06 has served me well for elk hunting though the more I shoot the 300WSM the more I like it.

slimjim wrote:

Grumulkin wrote: nothing short of a .308 caliber magnum will work. With improvements in bullet technology, where does the data come to support this?

I think you missed the point slimjim !!!




Use any gun your comfortable with but know it's limitations !!!

Shot placement, Shot placement, Shot placement. Yes know your guns limitations, know the anatomy of the animal your shooting, and make a one shot clean kill. A .308 will work just fine

very well said savagenut. as the saying goes "beware the man who owns but one gun, he probable knows how to use it"

I have always been a fan of the 7mm mag for elk hunting... i mostly prefer it for the ballistics, it has a very flat trajectory and can reach out and touch 'em at a pretty good distance... just about anything in the .30 cal range will also do very nicely, but with the heavier bullets comes the more lob in the shot... its really more about how you like to hunt, and the types of round you feel most comfortable with

its really more about how you like to hunt, and the types of round you feel most comfortable with

Shot placement, Shot placement, Shot placement

That really says it all. Many like the .300 WSM and the 7mm Mag. My
personal choice would be my .300 WBY Mag. This is an unbelievably accurate rifle (1/2 MOA easy with a 180gr bullet and 77.1gr RL-22). I also LOVE the way the brass lasts for reloading - at least 7 to 10 reloads from any brass I've tried so far. My friends are buying new brass more than twice as often for their .300 Win Mags.

I've only ever shot one and that was with a 30-06 using a 180gr. Hornady SST bullet. The elk took two steps looking as if it hadn't been hit and then fell over sideways dead before it hit the ground.
Don

I have shot a number of elk using different calibers.
My Mr. Holland and Holland in 375 did a fine shot so has the 7mm mag. But my favorite go to rifle is the old 270 win using 130gr. ABs over top of IMR 4350 powder it has never let me down.

Blessings,
Dan

There are many good or great Elk cartridges, the better question is what does everyone else use for the terrain they are in.? Me, I use a 45-70 or my 35 Rem, but I hunt Elk in (100 yd visibility) very thick bush. For more open areas I use a 30-06.