The bull I shot was during the Cascade Elk season in the Santiam unit up around Timothy lake and shots a rarely over a 100yds the other elk I have shot were in the east Northside unit shots over 250 yds are rare.

Cobra,

That comment on the 55 grain Ballistic tip in a 243 was just a little "bait for bitching" to a few who have ragged on my fanny in the past.

It was not meant in a serious tone at all, hence the LoL. ( Laughing out loud).

By some of your posts on the politics page, I can see you are an upstanding Canadian. I salute you my friend ( eh?)

Cheers and Good shooting
seafire

My vote would be something in the .375 family from the H&H shooting 260gr accubonds around 2850fps up to the .375 RUM shooting the same bullet 3100fps. A .375 Weatherby would be a good middle of the road caliber. A .358STA (with 225's around 3200fps), a .338 Win., or a .340 Weatherby are also good choices.

.338 winchester mag

Awww;

Since everyone is spouting off mags and it is the season again for the Magnum vs Non Magnum arguments,

I vote for the 338/06, with throwing an honorable mention to the 35 Whelan and the Good Old 30/06.

'Course I dont' feel under gunned when I am hauling my 7 x 57 with a 175 grain SP with an MV of 2650 when I am hunting in timber or expecting my shot to be within 250 yds.

Any votes for a 55 grain Ballistic Tip in a 243 with 20 grains of Blue Dot? LoL

Cheers and Good Elk Hunting
seafire

Darn you Seafire! Now you're letting everyone in on the best kept elk secret cartridge.
Been living in Colorado right on 30 years and have used everything from a .25-06 (was really young then) to a .375 H&H magnum (couldn't go to Africa last year and the rifle begged me to take it hunting). As long as a good bullet is used and heavy for the 7mm's and .30's, these work fine. My hunting buddy and I now use either our .338-06s or the .338 WSMs we just built.

The 8mm mag is for pussies. (grin)

The ideal calibers for the 400 yard shots would be a .338 or .375 RUM .

A .300WM should do it, and so the Alaskan (.338WM). For longer ranges, then a .340, .338 RUM, .330 Dakota, or .338 Lapua. But again, who can argue with those folks who have been killing elk for many years with their .30-06's?

One think I am certain of: For Alaska game, including elk, the .338WM is king.

Cobra,

Quote:

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Do you have any conception of the recoil of the cartridge you are suggesting?

---

Well, actually I do! Works real well on elk too!



It really doesn't kick too bad, as my Ruger weighs a ton, (well that would be a slight exaggeration, it actually weighs just under 12 pounds with Ziess scope and loaded). It don't have no muzzle brake either, OH MY.



I can also honestly say I have NEVER once felt the recoil when hunting. That statement holds true for my 500 too, which by the way, kicks WAY harder than the Rigby ever dreamed of.



Second would be my 300 Win mag shooting 200 grainers at 2900 fps for the range spectrum specified. I really don't see the benefit of the 338, never have and never will (perhaps that is just me though). Actually, the 375 bore seems pointless to when the 416 bore is readily available (again personal preferences play a significant role I suppose in these selections).



ASS_CLOWN

Ditto the 338 WM... it's as close to the "ideal" as one could hope to find.

Isn't this the kind of hunting the 8mm Remington Magnum was designed for?
Cheers...
Con

There is a reason for my username, and it doesn't refer to the Winchester version of the .358!

I would use my 338 RUM with break if no else is around. I have some bullets loaded to 3050fps with the 250gr bullet and at 500 yds its not a yard low.

Recoil Pad

I constantly find myself defending the underdog. I feel that the 8MM Rem Mag is the most underrated and neglected elk cartridge ever. It handles 220 gr pills better than the 30's, and has better bc's than the 338's.
I know, these days it is a custom only rifle. Or at least would require a rebarrel job to get one. And we don't even want to start on the scarcity of factory ammo. Decent bullets for handloaders are even hard to find. But I believe that even a big bull would succumb rapidly to a Sierra 220 launched at 3000 fps with proper bullet placement.