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I recently put a deposit down for a "management" bull hunt in western Nebraska. The guide states the bull will be roughly 700lbs on the hoof with average ranges of 70 to 200 yards. This is a free range hunt on a huge ranch. Now for the cartridge/bullet selection I have on hand: 7mm Rem Mag with 160gr Partition or 160gr Winchester Fail Safes. Also have 175gr Partitions. Rifle shoots both 160gr and 175gr Partitions well, have not shot any Failsafe yet. 30-06 with 180gr Protected-Point Partitions. Rifle shoots 180gr well enough. 375 H&H with 300gr Partitions (heavy rifle but no doubt it will take an elk). Since this hunt will be on the tail of my annual deer hunt, I'm inclined to use one of the mentioned 7mm Rem Mag cartridges for elk and bring some 160gr Accubonds for deer. Thoughts? Please limit responses to those choices I have listed. BH1 There are no flies on 6.5s! | ||
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The 30-06. It's been killing the very dead for 100 years. I'm just not impressed with the 7 mag. We killed a bear with a '06 and a 7 mag on the ranch this year. Both less then 175 yards both shot in vitals, 7mm took 4 more shots, '06 just an unneccessary finisher. I'm sure there will be plenty of posts to prove me wrong, but there is one guy's recent first hand experience. I'm sure all three will quite handily kill your elk, my buddies wife shot one year before last with her 25-06. 30-06 is just my pick of the three(and I am a 300 Wby guy, so no bias here). | |||
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My favorite elk load for over 20 years, 162 grain hornady spbt, 4831, 7mm. | |||
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Take the one you like best as they will all do well. The elk I killed last year had a carcass weight of 325 Lbs. (no head, hide or hooves) It fell to a 140 grn .277 Accubond ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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Take any one of them you like they all will do the job just fine. I'm not a 7 mag fan but that doesn't change the fact that it is a fine elk rifle. My choice would be a vanilla 30/06 and 180 grain bullets however if you shoot the .375 well it would be fun to get an elk with one even though it is more rifle than you need. | |||
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Since you are inclined toward the 7mm, go for it, one of the best. Mine always liked the North Fork and Partition. Good shooting. phurley | |||
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Whichever you like. No elk will know the difference Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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For simplicity, use the same rifle you're taking deer hunting. If you are changing ammunition, be sure you have resighted properly for each load. However, I would recommend simply using the same ammunition for both. | |||
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