quote:

Originally posted by Santa Claus:

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:
Deer only

1 .270 Winchester
2. 8x57
3. 6.5x54R,
followed fairly closely by about 30 others

Elk

1. 7x65R
2. .300 Weatherby

Moose

1. .30-06
2. 8x57
3. .338 Marlin Exp.

Whatever gets up in front of me, including the bigger dangerous bears
1. .376 Steyr
2. .338 Win Mag
(but not blackies... for them any of my deer, elk, or moose favourites would suit me just fine)

Just wondering why the 8mm Mauser is fit for Moose but, but not for Elk? Long shots.... ???

Santa Claus

I don't think the question was either "What is the ultimate cartridge...." or "What is the best cartridge...." It was "which cartridges do you prefer ...."


I prefer cartridges other than the 8x57 for elk for several reasons. 1. My 7x65R Ruger #1 is the nicest handling rifle I own for use in the woods, 2. It uses relatively heavy bullets (11 grams) and 3. it shoots a tiny bit flatter than heavy bullet loads in the 8x57. The 8 is okay with me for deer, which I usually shoot at 40-100 yards, or moose, which I have shot at ranges as short as 15 yards, but never over 200 yards.

On the other hand I have killed elk at range's which everyone here probably would think a lie, when I was doing control work. So every little bit of flatter trajectory makes a difference to me in that situation.

Is the 8x57 satisfactory for elk? Of course it is!! It just isn't one of my top preferences for my own elk hunting applications.

So far this year we have shot one whitetail doe with a 223 wssm two whitetail does with a 30-06 and we have shot two mule deer bucks and two does with a 20 gauge slug gun.

For me the winner is the slug gun. I am planning on setting up another one for next year.

Deer
270 Winchester
300 Weatherby
300 Savage

Elk
300 Weatherby
270 Winchester
300 Savage

Deer: 358 norma
375 HH
270 win
30-06

Elk : 9.3x62
458x2" american
375 HH
350 rem mag

Elk sized game.
338WinMag.
338-06.
300WinMag.
270Weatherby.
270Win.
25-06.
Deer.
338WinMag.
338-06.
300WinMag.
270Weatherby.
270Win.
25-06.

I have several other chamberings, but these are my choices I made several years ago, they all work, some better than others and they all overlap for usefulness, but I have to say that the 338WinMag with Nosler 225gr Accubonds @ 2890fps is my all time favourite for practically all large bodied animals.

Cheers.

Elk sized game
35Sambar
35Whelen
356 Win
375H&H
8x68s
300SAUM
270Win

Deer sized game
the 35's
270win
8x68s
300SAUM

For deer and elk I would choose the 338 Win. Mag

Deer: 270Win
Rest: 300Weatherby
Things that bite back or can hurt you: 375HH

Deer - 7mm-08

All purpose - .30-06

Bad stuff - .416 Ruger

Deer: 25-06, 270, 280, 30-06
Bigger stuff: 338 WM, 35 Whelen, 9.3x74R

I use two rifles pretty much interchangeably.
358Win. and 30-06. Depending on the bullet used either should be good on any game in the lower 48 from bobcat to moose.
I have other rifles but those two are the ones in which I have the most confidence.

If you asked me to grab a rifle to go hunt deer or elk tomorrow, it would be my 30-06. It's not perfect, but it has been very reliable over the past 11 years.

here in pa i use either , 257 roberts 35 remington , 30-06, 280 rem, 7mm Rem mag or 300 rem ultramag, i have used a pistol for deer my 454 casull but my go to rifle would be the 7mm rem mag for everything 150 grain bullets will handle most big game i'm after i shoot it well and plus its an all weather gun stainless and synthetic stock

.300 WM for elk size
.270 win for deer and such

If you ask this question every week, my answer would probably be different..
For elk I love the .338 Win. and the 9.3x62 depending on the area where I hunt, but I also love my .270 or 300 H&H unles I'm horseback then my model 99F 99 Savage in .308 would suit me for deer and elk..Then for deer my 250-3000 mod 99E or m-94 SRC win in 25-35 would have to come into play, depending on the Red Gods of Hunting on that particular day..


But if I boiled all my guns in some kind of a witches brew, I suspect my FWT. 30-06 with 200 gr. Noslers at 2600 plus FPS would float to the top. I use it more than any other gun I have, and have owned it longer. So thats my answer and I'm sticking with it this week.....

Well this week it's

308 Win
25-06
270 Win
7x57

30-378 with a 220gr Berger VLD
7MM-08 WITH a 139gr Hornaday
25-06 with a 115gr Berger VLD
243 with a 90 grain Sierra

308 Win works, yet again, on elk...

The problem with these kinds of questions is that every caliber mentioned will do yeomans work on elk or whatever if the bullet is properly placed and of proper construction, even the lowly 25-35 will kill an elk with gusto at 100 yards or so with a heart shot.

Thats why you get so many different answers. The choice gets smaller as the animals get bigger however, but not by a hell of a lot.

I took my first two elk as a poor man with my 25-06 and 120 gr Partitions.

My ranking with what's in the closet now would be:

Elk only:
300 WM
30-06
7mm-08

For a combo:
same as above

For deer only:
7mm-08
25-06
30-06
243 win

I am not an elk hunter (yet), but my lone deer rifle is the classic .270 Winchester Model 70.

I have taken Elk with my own rifles that follow. .270 WSM, .300 Winny, .340 Wby, .338 Lapua, .358 STA. I have taken Deer, both Mule and Whitetail with my rifles that follow. .257 Wby, .270 WSM, 7mm STW, .300 Winny, 30-30. I do all the loading for each. Good shooting.

To answer the true question hidden inside your rating statement, whats my favorite go to rifle if I get asked to go kill a deer today.

My favorite go to rifle is my beloved Win. m70 chambored for the 270 win.

If for some untold reason that rifle was not available, my next selection would be my vintage mint 1975 ruger m77RS in 30-06 but it could be trumped by a few others?

quote:

Originally posted by RMiller:
So far this year we have shot one whitetail doe with a 223 wssm two whitetail does with a 30-06 and we have shot two mule deer bucks and two does with a 20 gauge slug gun.

For me the winner is the slug gun. I am planning on setting up another one for next year.

Hmmm...I would have thought the whitetails would be the ones to fall to a 20 gauge, due to shorter distances in the river bottoms. I have one that I carried in Connecticut, a Mossberg with a rifled slug barrel and peep sights. I had 12 gauge guns before that, but got tired of recoil and realized that I hadn't missed anything with the 20 gauges that I would have gotten with a 12 gauge.

I just have the 7mm magnum for elk, but it's been enough and handy for deer as well.

I have two '06's one's called a 7mmag for some unknown reason.
Used the '06 itself for many a muley, and 11 elk too, then got the notion to go for something faster with more thump. .300Win/m.

One elk I shot with it was with an old CoreLokt at 200yds and it blew up on the ribs & didn't even enter the near lung on a cow elk. Have gone to 200gr Game Kings now they a much better job.

Yeah, I know, more game has been killed with C/L's than any other bullet. This was a bad bullet that's all. Same batch has killed over 30 other elk by buddies in the very same loading in .300win's. Some as close as 30 feet without blow up.

Anyway,
George

For Deer:
25-06
280 Rem
256 Newton
6.5x55
6.5 grendel
7.62x39
6x45

For Elk:
338 win mag
300 H&H or Win Mag
35 Newton
30-06
416 Rigby

35 Whelen
30-06
308 Norma
264 Win Mag

Deer 338-06

Elk 338-06

I keep my shot to under 300 yards

On Nov. 2nd I responded with the following:
1. 9.3x62 Mauser - 250 grain for deer, 286 grain for elk
2. 358 Win. - 200 gr for deer, 225 gr for elk
3. 300 Win Mag - 180 gr for everything else.

I didn't think about the other calibers that I have but, seldom use. I think they would probably work for one or both species. They are:
4. 223 for deer
5. 25-06 for deer and maybe elk if it was all I had.
6. And, the good old 30-30 that, over the years, has probably taken most everything you can hunt in N. America. However, for some reason, it doesn't work any more.

Deer
.30-06
Then everything else.

Elk
.375H&H or the .338 pretty much same same.
.30-06
Then everything else.

Deer and elk

1. 9.3x62
2. 358 win
3. 6.5x284
4. 308 win
5. One do my 375s wby/RUM

Just deer

1. 6.5x284
2.308 win
3. 260 or 6.5x55
4. 6BR Norma

Ed

Elk

Open terrain...300 WM
Heavier cover....9.3x62

Deer

Open terrain...270
Heavier cover...9.3x62
100yds out of a stand...6.5x55 (90% of deer in the East)

Well, I've never hunted elk.

Since I just ferried my most recent 338WM over to Africa, the only thing I have in the US to use for elk is a trusty CZ 416 Rigby that is used for load development. 2800 fps with 350 gn TTSX ought to handle Wapiti. Now I just need the opportunity.

I'm not sure what to say about deer. I never see shootable males on public Calif land. So I suppose the little 243 in the closet would work as well as the 416 Rigby would work. The Rigby rifle is a little heavy for carrying up and down mountains but I look forward to the opportunity. The Rigby is flat enough, has good diameter, and ought to handle things. In Africa I've used the 416Rigby on everything from guinea fowl to buffalo. Here is a little 35 lb. oribi from last year:



201 yards, worked pretty well.

300 RUM with 180 grain Accubond

Deer only 270 Win
Elk only 270 Win

Okay, after all my essence.

9.3x62 plus Norma PPC Bullet

shoot it, forget it, pack it up
So easily the world goes round and round and....
And this is true, not only because I'm hunting sika and Roedeer in Germany.This system eases hunting a lot.

well, we've gotten some chances to hunt on private land in Calif and have some deer results since 2013.

With a 270 Win shooting little 110gn TTSX at 3350fps, three deer haven't run over 40 yards (1DRT). All bullets exited, broadside or mostly facing.

With a 338WinMag, shooting 185gnTTSX at 3125fps, two deer DRT (one 302 yards mostly facing), one 60yd twisted sillouette in grass/brush poorly shot ran 150 yards for finishing shot. All bullets exited.

So for deer: I would happily use our 243, 270, 308 or 338WM. And with an all copper bullet like a 62gnTTSX I would even shoot little California blacktails with the grandkids' Tikka 223.

For elk: maybe next year my son and I will go for a first elk.
The 338WM will probably be shooting a 223grain HammerHunter at 2825-2850fps.

Our second rifle will depend on reliable accuracy. The Kimber Hunter in 308 and CZ 416Rigby will be competing to make the "team". Tie will go to the 308 since it weighs 6.7 lbs scoped and loaded and the CZ weighs 10.8-11.0 lbs scoped and loaded. That's a lot of carry difference, so the Rigby better start shooting 0.5"-0.75" day-in, day-out after up-coming bedding. The Kimber is a little looser 0.8-1.25". It's gotten lucky sub-1/2MOA but not consistently, we are going to try some more bullets like the Absolute Hammers in 151gn and 162gn. This all assumes that son doesn't buy a 338 for US this year. He would prefer a used Tikka (Beretta isn't importing the Tikka in 338 anymore), but a Ruger, or Win70 to match his 243 Featherweight, would work. There are so many nice long shooting irons in the US these days. we were practing the 45Colt Blackhawk yesterday at 100 and 200 yards. It's a camp gun but shoots pretty well once we get the distance. Nice little gun.

PS: Son's 243 Featherweight is accurate with 70gn Hammer Hunters. Should he take it for elk?
We are thinking, No. See above.
Elk are big, like Roan antelope and Waterbuck or more. A big caliber would be better for a fast shot in timber, even for a slow shot at 300-400 yards.
My wife's leftie Tikka 270 shoots 1/2MOA with 118gnHammerHunters very accurately and would work well for elk, so it waits out the competition above as a reliable backup.

quote:

PS: Son's 243 Featherweight is accurate with 70gn Hammer Hunters. Should he take it for elk?

If I was spending a lot of money on a elk hunt and had other bigger choices.

I would not take a 243 no matter what bullet