Elk rifle minimum question.

[Texans42]

Not sure I would trust a guy that told me I could use a 30-06 but not a 28nosler

Old school outfitters hated the 7mag, get handloaded to hot with cup and core bullets.... not my agruement just what I’ve listen to from many an outfitter.

Think modern bullet constructive has corrected the mid-conception.


I’ve killed many a cow elk out of my alfalfa and corn with 22-250 so I have no dog within anyone’s agruement for or against.

[coker737]

260, Your comfort level, and shot placement
Go for it......

[Sackett]

Some of us would rather bring a gun to a knife fight then the other way around.

So he shouldn't use a Kabar to kill his elk?

Elk are tough critters for sure but we kill them all the time with arrows and 60 lb-ft of KE. A .260 with a good bullet will do just fine. Using a larger caliber is good, but if you can't lug it up the mountain while walking elevation 10 miles+/day, then that extra .040 inches ain't getting you anything but a sorer back

[LWC]

Make sure you use a tough bullet. Buddy of mine killed his bull with a 260. Personally, I'd go a little bigger if you already have the guns. Heavier bullet will normally perform better at quartering angles. Broadside it doesn't really matter.

[Smokeater]

All the other aside, I'm taking a decent weight 30 cal., especially if it's thick where I'm hunting. I'd hate like hale for a twig to cost me a bull....or a cow. Ain't got nuthin' to proove and would rather have pics and backstrap than "regurts"!lol

[txtrophy85]

my question is, to all that are saying " oh yeah you will be fine" how many of them have ever killed a elk or an elk sized animal?


I shot my elk with a .257 wby mag. carried it because I liked the rifle. 1st day in, at last light, a big mature bull steps out; two shots at 260 yards and he was done. a split second before I pulled the trigger I wondered to myself " man I hope I have enough gun for this...." Next year I went and got a .300 win mag.


Elk, especially on OTC public land or limited entry units, are hard to come by. You can hunt for a week and only have 1 split second opportunity. Why would you compromise your trip, all the time and money by carrying a .260 Remington? Shots get long, angles get bad, a lot of times you don't have a rock-solid rest....hedge your bets with a bigger caliber. Your not shooting deer out of a blind over a feeder....you don't always have time to get a good rest and pick your shots exactly how you would like them.


You don't need a .338 but I would bring a bigger gun than a .260 Remington.

[docmay]

I think the 260 is fine if you stay 300 yards and in. I personally think closing the distance on elk isn’t that tough as I have killed several with a bow. It’s much better to hit that bull in the chest with a 260 vs the a&$ with a 300! My good friend guides a bunch and his go to round is a 7mm-08. Another outfitter I know has had numerous clients kill bulls with his 6.5 creedmoor. The results that I have seen have been impressive. I watched my wife kill a huge longhorn steer with a 7mm-08. One shot and done. My stepson killed a bison with the same round. One shot.

[Texans42]

my question is, to all that are saying " oh yeah you will be fine" how many of them have ever killed a elk or an elk sized animal?


I shot my elk with a .257 wby mag. carried it because I liked the rifle. 1st day in, at last light, a big mature bull steps out; two shots at 260 yards and he was done. a split second before I pulled the trigger I wondered to myself " man I hope I have enough gun for this...." Next year I went and got a .300 win mag.


Elk, especially on OTC public land or limited entry units, are hard to come by. You can hunt for a week and only have 1 split second opportunity. Why would you compromise your trip, all the time and money by carrying a .260 Remington? Shots get long, angles get bad, a lot of times you don't have a rock-solid rest....hedge your bets with a bigger caliber. Your not shooting deer out of a blind over a feeder....you don't always have time to get a good rest and pick your shots exactly how you would like them.


You don't need a .338 but I would bring a bigger gun than a .260 Remington.

Of my own elk.. 3/w 22-250, 25-06, 257wby, 270, and bow....

watched 2/w 30-30, 2/w 7-08, 3/w 270, 3/w 308, 3 w/300win, 1/ 6.5-284

You had doubts because people put them in your head. Not because it wasnt capable. Head stamp is a product of range more so then any thing. I wouldn’t use a 300 win mag with 215 vlds if my max range is 300

[muzzlebrake]

If you have no problem hunting over on Brokeback Mountain then carry one dem girlyman calibers that don't kick. Otherwise something in the .30 cal size with 165-180 gr bullets is good. .338 would be even better.

[TxBowHntr]

Of my own elk.. 3/w 22-250, 25-06, 257wby, 270, and bow....

watched 2/w 30-30, 2/w 7-08, 3/w 270, 3/w 308, 3 w/300win, 1/ 6.5-284

You had doubts because people put them in your head. Not because it wasnt capable. Head stamp is a product of range more so then any thing. I wouldn’t use a 300 win mag with 215 vlds if my max range is 300

On the elk you shot with a .22-250, where did you shoot them? I would assume the head. Not being confrontational, just curious. Thanks!

[175gr7.62]

On the elk you shot with a .22-250, where did you shoot them? I would assume the head. Not being confrontational, just curious. Thanks!

I finished off a 600lb 5x4 on a big high fenced ranch about 8 years ago with a 22-250. Guy had shot it in the ham with his recurve and I ended up driving up on it the next morning. Only shot I had was the very top of the head or tight behind the shoulder. 60gr Nosler Partition at about 140yds. Went about 30yds and did the stanky leg. Hit a rib going in and went between ribs going out. Bullet was just under the skin on the far side.

Definitely on the light side for an elk but a quality bullet in the right place and he could tote it very far.

If you feel you NEED to use a 469 Nitro Creedmore Weatherby Magnum, by all means, go for it. You are wrong, but it isn't hurting anything.

The chief complaint I hear when talking to guides my dad works with is out of state hunters. They think they need big magnums to kill their elk. It is a once in a lifetime trip and they buy the meanest thing they can come up with to take on their trip. The don't handle the recoil well, they haven't shot it much, and basically they just aren't proficient with it. The results often are not good.

[twosixteens]

22 Magnum 22LR is a little on the small side

[Pauly G]

Im a fan of .300 Win or Rum, I just cant leave home under .300 caliber, whats in your wallet?

[Texans42]

On the elk you shot with a .22-250, where did you shoot them? I would assume the head. Not being confrontational, just curious. Thanks!

Two spine(one behind ear, other neck/shoulder crease which is spine, one lungs. Pretty sure I was using 80gr TSX

Obviously two dropped, third went 80 yards and fell over. I’m not saying it a great choice, it’s all I had at the time, it was also in a section of alfalfa and corn stubble.... so tracking is more just getting on top of the truck... , the point is we over think things, and if we spent as much time shooting as we do agruing heads Stamps we would care less about headstamps.

We do more harm with these threads then good. All we do is kill confidence in a very justifiable cartridge

[texasbbq]

The chief complaint I hear when talking to guides my dad works with is out of state hunters. They think they need big magnums to kill their elk. It is a once in a lifetime trip and they buy the meanest thing they can come up with to take on their trip. The don't handle the recoil well, they haven't shot it much, and basically they just aren't proficient with it. The results often are not good.[/QUOTE]


This is the issue not the head stamp.