Best Elk cartridge

[AKHunter]

Yes there are elk in alaska. Years ago they were transplanted to some islands in S.E Alaska and Raspberry and Afognak island near Kodiak. As to the .30 cal being up to the task . I have full confidence it them. My wife shot a 58" bull moose at 400 yards with my .30-06 handload 180grn partition. It was passthrough penetration, both front shoulder blades/double lung shot.

I would hunt anything that walks the earth with an .30-06 given the proper shot opportunity and quality ammo. Some will think that nuts. Lesser calibers have killed the biggest/most dangerous game.

[MOD 70]

I thought you had elk there but wasn`t sure. Thanks for the info. S.E alaska sounds a little strange as I would think that most of your islands would be in S.W. Alaska. I agree that moose aren`t that tough,they can be if things go wrong but usually they just lip-skid as you said. Elk are way, way tougher than moose and while I agree with 99% of your posts, I still think that for elk hunting, if you might have to make a tough angle or "Texas heart-shot" to take that once-in a- lifetime bull, a .30 cal of any kind might be a little short on doing it. I`d rather hear that I used too big of a gun than that I should have used a bigger one.

[AKHunter]

Hmmm, I am not sure I would take a "texas heart shot" even if it was a huge trophy. I have thought about that often and I always came to the conclusion that should I decide to take a shot on an animal leaving directly away from me, I would go for the back of the neck or head but that also depended on range- no more than 200 yards. But I still may pass. I have only had a couple chances to actualy select an animal as opposed to shooting the first legal critter I encountered which normaly is the case. The moose antlers I hold in my avatar was fortuntely "the first legal" I saw last fall, lucky me .

A couple years ago I had a moose come to a slough I was watching. It came out early and immediatly started feeding on the edge of the water facing directly away from me at 150 yards. I watched for 2 damn hours with it in lawnmower mode. 6 times I nearly busted it in the back of the head. I had a rope-along for water retrieval but I decided I didnt want to deal with that with darkness coming on. Took a chance made a cow call and it moved to me right away .Got a heart shot on it instead and no water to deal with.


Incidently, the bull I got last fall. He started running away, I cow called, stopped him, had to move to get a shot angle. He ran again, cow called again, stooped him, he turned to face me, frontal heart shot. Never hunted elk personaly but I am confident that if one can remember to make a cow call in the heat of the moment, one will get the bulls attention and maybe he will present a shot for the hunter. Something to keep in mind. I had to remind myself of that option.

Since I havent hunted elk, only seen videos. Tell me what you mean by them being tough. I expect a well placed shot in an elk will be just as effective as a good shot on any other big game critter. Do they have a tendency to run or ?

[baltimorelaw]

.338 Win Mag

[mtm1]

I've taken Elk with my .416 Rem. and 340 WBY. This year I'll try my 378 WBY with 270 TSXs at 3150 fps. When I hunt Elk I'm generally travelling 1000+ miles and spending a few bucks. I may only get one or two chances and want to be ready. If you have Elk at the end of your block you can take your time and pick your shot you can probably get away with slightly less gun.

[Idaho Dave]

Originally Posted by AKHunter

Since I havent hunted elk, only seen videos. Tell me what you mean by them being tough. I expect a well placed shot in an elk will be just as effective as a good shot on any other big game critter. Do they have a tendency to run or ?

in my experince they are pretty sturdy, but not unstoppable. but I would be ready for anything the pics are a little deceptive as to body size which is similar to a medius sized horse.
bull.jpg
iii.jpg

this bull from this fall took a 120 (or so) yard shot from a 7mm mag in the lungs and ran about 5 miles and sat under a tree. When we found him you could here him breathing from well over 100 yards away and i was sure he woudnt be getting up as it took us over an hour to find him. approching from his back carfully as soon as he heard a sound, about 70 yards, he hopped up and took off running like he was fine. had to shot off hand as he ran or he would have gone for ever. hit him in the neck and broke his spine. probably 150 yards. when we gutted him he was missing a big pices of one lung and had maybe 2 quarts of blood in his chest. that seems like a pretty tough critter to me as most of the animals I have lung shot take about 2 steps and expire.
sameday watched the boy hit a big spike with the 300 win in the lung area and he went down like some one had flipped a switch. that bullet hit ribs going in and there wasnt lung left to speak of.

[7mmremmag1995]

Originally Posted by samuel

There are three cartridges that I always liked,.7mm mag,.300win mag,and .375H&H..Had no trouble dropping them with little or no running with a double lung shot with any of these.I like Midas,s .338 but that is a lot of gun. sam.

and .375 isn't a lot of gun???

[AKHunter]

Idaho dave; In a prior post I mentioned my lack of confidence, or appreciation for a 7mm mag, I cant remember the title/thread I posted under. Your example just bolsters it. Your experience with the animal you mentioned may be due to poor bullet performance or some other factor you did not reveal in your story.

I have the utmost confidence a .30-06 will take an elk cleanly with a well placed shot and I dont believe it would travel 5 miles after a lung shot . I have a difficult time understanding how any animal can travel that distance after a double lung shot with a quality bullet.

The two quarts of blood that you found seems awful small as well for such a large animal, so once again I have to go back to bullet performance.I would like to know which bullet/load you used. Of the moose I have taken and or field dressed it was a matter of gallons of blood (even after a heart shot)in the body cavity. Granted moose are larger , but an elk is a big critter as well.

Additionaly, I failed to mention earlier my choice for such game as elk. I would have to say that I would literaly have to flip a coin( provided I am not hunting elk in Alaska), the choices being my 06' and my .338. I have an equal fondness for each.

[Midas]

Originally Posted by 7mmremmag1995

and .375 isn't a lot of gun???

I think what sam means, is that most 375 H&H's are chambered in large, heavy "safari rifles", while the .338 Win Mag is usually chambered in lighter weight rifles. So when you shoot them side by side, the .338 Win mag kicks more, because it is in a lighter weight rifle.

[wirehunt]

7mm08 or 260 their just a bigger deer, go put the bullet in the right place and the job is done, if you think you can't do that then go to the range and do some more shooting, you need the practice. I wish you guy's weren't so hung up on this double lung thing. The order of life is blood then air...

[AKHunter]

I am not hung up on it. I am taking an example that was given and using it to maintain some continuity. Exactly, an elk is a bigger deer so why should they be tougher than an even bigger deer like a moose? Maybe, the sense that elk are tough comes mostly from deer ( mule and whitetail ) hunters that get to hunt elk as well and are using those as comparisons ?

Idaho dave: is that a muzzleloader in the photos?

[mtm1]

I think ones idea of Elk guns has a lot to do with the type of country you hunt them in. I hunt Elk in northern B.C. far from any road or other form of civilization. When you're packing a load of deboned meat out and see Grizzly tracks at every stream crossing you feel more comfortable with a suitable gun. For the type of hunting I do I feel cofortable with something more than .30. I don't believe in seeing how small a gun you can get it done with.

[Ron AKA]

Originally Posted by AKHunter

I am not hung up on it. I am taking an example that was given and using it to maintain some continuity. Exactly, an elk is a bigger deer so why should they be tougher than an even bigger deer like a moose? Maybe, the sense that elk are tough comes mostly from deer ( mule and whitetail ) hunters that get to hunt elk as well and are using those as comparisons ?

I think the issue is that the elk is the largest game animal hunted in the lower states. So it is probably natural to equate the biggest cartridges to the biggest animal hunted. I also suspect that elk is not easily hunted and one goes out with the notion (hope) that you get that one long shot at the world record sized elk, and you have to blast it off the map!

Not so in Canada and Alaska, where I would suggest the average moose, grizzly, Kodiak is significantly bigger than the average elk. Hunting is not easy in Canada either, but I would suggest most consider them to be a somewhat overgrown mule deer, and not needing the largest calibers on the market. We see them all the time, as elk farming is very popular in this area (velvet off the antlers and for the meat), and I just have a hard time thinking they are really that big of an animal.

Ron

[wirehunt]

An interesting thing with elk, I've spoken to a lot of old deer cullers here and they all say that elk are easier to kill than a red stag, maybe it's something to do with the bigger target area/kill zone?

[Choco]

125 mm APFSDS

[vikingpreacher]

Originally Posted by AKHunter

Yes there are elk in alaska. Years ago they were transplanted to some islands in S.E Alaska and Raspberry and Afognak island near Kodiak. As to the .30 cal being up to the task . I have full confidence it them. My wife shot a 58" bull moose at 400 yards with my .30-06 handload 180grn partition. It was passthrough penetration, both front shoulder blades/double lung shot.

I would hunt anything that walks the earth with an .30-06 given the proper shot opportunity and quality ammo. Some will think that nuts. Lesser calibers have killed the biggest/most dangerous game.

I find the versatility of the .30-06 amazing. You can use it for anything from prairie dogs (with Accelorators) to Brown Bear, with a well placed it will take anything in N. America just as well as anything else.

[Midas]

Originally Posted by mtm1

I don't believe in seeing how small a gun you can get it done with.

You seem to prefer just the opposite

[Brother Bob]

Originally Posted by Midas

You seem to prefer just the opposite

Yeah, LOL that's great, Midas.

[billy]

the best?
thats easy
one of the most common cartridges in america
416rigby
even walmart has it.

[Skat]

+1 .30-06

Id love a .375 H&H though. Id use as an excuse to get 1.. Thats me though