I think the 7-08 is a good choice if you use a 160 gr. Nosler or some super premium bullet and let him keep his shots to 150 yards or so and be sure they are broadside...It won't do the job on going away shots very well...

I would also say if he can handle a 30-06 or .308 then so much the better for elk..He should use all he can handle..If he wounds and elk in his early career he will never become a hunter as a rule...

I did learn that the old 30-30 with that heavy slow 170 gr. bullet is a better killer of elk at 100 yards and for broadside shots than most percieve it to be, ask anyone that has used it properly or anyone that has killed an elk at 200 yards with a 30-06, about the same!

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
I did learn that the old 30-30 with that heavy slow 170 gr. bullet is a better killer of elk at 100 yards and for broadside shots than most percieve it to be, ask anyone that has used it properly or anyone that has killed an elk at 200 yards with a 30-06, about the same!

That .30-30 is very popular here with the guys who work in the high country. Damn near the number 1 Elk cartridge for the type. Shots are short, rifle is too, and easy to carry.

7mm-08

Have your child try the .308 Win. He/she will grow into it before you know it and can be used as they grow bigger.



Here's a pic of my 11 year old son taken March 2008 in Namibia with a springbok that he took with a Remington Model Seven .308 Win 18 1/2-inch barrel. I added a Limbsaver slip-on buttpad and recoil cheekpad to dampen the recoil and add weight. It still kicked but if your child is taught that recoil is part of the physics equation, that recoil does not hurt as bad as what comes out of the barrel, and to concentrate on the target only, then I don't see why not let them start with a .30 caliber and a more effective elk getter than lesser calibers.

Also, check out 11 year old Springbok hunt, Namibia 2008 under Hunt Reports - Africa.

Namibiahunter

Someoldguy,
For what its worth, the 6.5 is a great elephant rifle with a solid and the size of a hole in the brain is not argueable..but with a soft point bullet the equasion changes IMO..

I tried the 6.5-06 on deer and antelope and also shot a cow elk with it, and I was not impressed at all with its ability, and it killed no better than a 257 Roberts or .243 IMO but on a limited number of about 8 or 9 animals..at any rate I sold it and never went back...I did replace it with what turned out to be one of my all time favorite calibers, the 7x57 Mauser.

Whats everbodys take on using a muzzelbrake on this gun?

I was seriously considering putting braked barrel on this gun, but after talking to a few people, I'm up in the air now.

I'd second those who said 7x57. That's what my 10 yar old shoots for whitetails, and it's plenty of gun for elk at under 200 yards, with good bullets. After all, the 7x57 has killed everyhting up to and including elephats in the right hands (and with the right bullets, of course!), so you're certainly not going under-gunned...
Also, the 7x57 is easy to reload down to virtually zero recoil, performs well in a short light barrel, and will give him a gun that he can carry for a looooooong time to hunt virtually anything that doesn't want to eat him or stomp him into the mud.
Oh, and if 7x57 isn't an option, then the 7mm-08 would be the perfect 2nd choice.
Get the kid a 7x57 or 7mm-08, you'll both be happy you did!
Jeremy

I like the 7x57 also, and the 6.5x55 (both of which I have) - both capable light calibers for big non-dangerous game, if you keep the range within reason. I chose the .308 Win for my son's Africa gun because he could handle it well enough to get one true shot in at 150 yards. Also, if ammo is lost and needs to be bought in Africa, the .308 Win is available (and probably the 7mm Mauser, too, but I don't know). The 7-08, I think, you'll have a hard time finding it in African stores.

Namibiahunter

Someoldguy,
Well your sure right, you gotta stick the bullet in the right place and if you do about anything will work and work well, if you don't then nothing works very well...end of story!

7x57 or 7-08 will work with the best of them and very little recoil. Even these may have too much recoil for some 10-year olds.

160gr .7mm or 180gr 30/06 will do at 200 yards, whatever he shoots best!!!!!!!!!

Cant wait to hear the progress on the young lads shooting and hunting.

quote:

Originally posted by jsl3170:
I have a question after reading this thread: why is it that a 10 year old or a woman can use a small caliber rifle on elk, but when men discuss it such calibers are no where in sight? Somehow with adult man size comes the need to shoot an adult man size rifle cartridge at the same game animal that moments ago was despatched with aplomb by the small caliber round... dunno.

For what it is worth, I've been around lots of elk, including rutting bulls at various times, but have yet to hunt one with a rifle so my comments are admittedly without basis in fact. However, the question stands.

Somewhere online there's a chart that lists ft/lbs energy requirement for a clean kill on an elk.

Neighbor hunts the Rocky Mt. Elk with a 300 Win. Mag. and some heavy bullets -- like 190 gr. Rocky Mt. Elk are out in more open country and shots run in the 200 -- 300 yd range.

Locally, we hunt the Roosevelt Elk, which is larger than the Rocky Mt. Heavy cover woods, and nominal ranges are 75 yds. Preferred gun is 45-70 and 350 gr. or 400 gr. bullet, loaded stiff.

Hunting Roosevelt with black powder we use locally a 54 cal. 425 gr. conical and 85 gr. ffg. That's a stiff load.

Elk are large animals, and it takes a large caliber gun to take one cleanly.

At the risk of pissing on your campfire, I can't imagine any rifle suitable for elk that could be managed by even the largest of 10 yr olds.

Although I did meet a scrawny 10 yr old "recoil junky" who thought shooting the 45-70 Govt. was a hoot. But he'd done lots of shooting and was of a breed all to himself. The Casull was another gun he liked shooting.

quote:

Originally posted by 45-70 Govt.:
At the risk of pissing on your campfire, I can't imagine any rifle suitable for elk that could be managed by even the largest of 10 yr olds.

I suppose all the elk killed EVERY YEAR with any number of rounds such as a .270, .280, 7x57, .308, .260, .358 Win, 338 Federal, 8x57...Not to mention the .243, 25-06, 6.5x55... Are all just flukes?? Wow, I guess these new armor-plated Elk require something with an armor-piercing bullet! You better just get you a 50BMG and be done with it. We don't want any bullets bouncing off an elk because of sub-standard caliber choices!!!!

If you're looking to buy a factory rifle, 7mm-08 would be my first choice.

It sounds like in your post that you are going to have a rifle built. In that case, I'd choose a 300 Savage. I had an Remington 700 short action rebarreled with a 22" factory contour barrel. I then bought a youth stock on Ebay and saved the full size stock for when he gets bigger. I load 130gr bullets for practice and deer hunting and 165gr for elk.

I also had some iron sights put on the barrel since I keep all his shots under 100 yards for the time being.

I grew up hunting on big West Texas ranches but we didn't have any elk, however my dad and uncles were avid elk hunters and we took three trailer loads of mules and horses to Colorado every year and hunted elk, at the end of the hunt we sold the livestock to waiting outfitters, made money and paid all our expenses.

We hunted until everyone got an elk no matter how long it took..We didn't have tents, we slept under tarps in blankets and made camp in a different spot every night..It was tough at best, come snow or whatever..Us kids were young and in football shape but we were not half as tough as those old men that were basically raised outdoors and lived much of their life under a wagon.

In those days we used 30-30s, 25-35s and I had one uncle that had a magnum in my eyes, it was a 300 Savage it killed like the hammer of Thor. I always wanted a Springfield 30-06..The elk were not so weary I dont' think and we shot most of them on clear hillsides. Just step off the horse and shoot..

Today elk hunting is totally different, at the first shot here in Idaho, the bulls go into the black timber, swamps and dark holes and you have to go dig them out on foot..Today I hunt elk with a 300 gr. .338 or 375 or even a 400 gr. .416, I take whatever shot I get on whatever bull I see and I want to put them down quick so they don't go off down a drainage and die and then have a 3 day backpack to the horses and another day to camp and another day to the trail head..When you hunt these elk with lighter calibers its hard to put them down with anything lighter than an 06 and even it is not optimal...You don't get many chances at bulls so you had better take what you can get.

It's a different world than the one I grew up in.