Elk rifle

[notsure]

I own a Tikka T3 chambered in 300 WSM. It's a great rifle out of the box. Tight chamber, excellent single-stage trigger, and fairly well balanced for such a light rifle. I did replace the butt plate with a Simms recoil pad. It's not a rifle you'll enjoy shooting off the bench, but that's not what it was designed for. You'll really appreciate it after lunch at 10,000' on the side of mountain

[wvmntnhick]

From your list I would go with the T3 in 300 win mag.  Never been a fan of the short mags.  That being said, since you reload I would suggest .280AI.  If I were buying/building another that's what it would be.  Not a lot of overkill for whitetails and more than adequate for elk.  Plus an Ackley-ized cartridge just looks cool.  I've hunted with a 257 AI for years and honestly as good as it shoots I wouldn't have a problem using it on elk out to 400 with the right bullet.   

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280 AI doesn't do anything for me. Having played around with it, there wasn't enough gain over the 280 rem to get excited about. Fire forming the brass left it "stretched" and thin at the neck IMO. Heck, can hot rod the 280 and already be nipping on the heels of the 7mm RM. Lots of guys like the 280 AI. I just couldn't justify the headache involved personally.


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[TauntoHawk]

Pick a good bullet and none of it matters. 


In your situation I'd pick the chambering I wanted in the rifle that best suited me and I'd shoot the whizz out of it. 


No elk will ever know the difference when hit where it's supposed to be with a quality bullet.

Got that right. While I've never killed an elk, I've killed a pile of deer over the years with everything from 22 Hornet to 338 win mag. Truth be told, as much as I love the 270, I'm honestly tempted to just get a 270 wsm and say heck with the rest. 140-150 grain Nosler AccuBond would do the trick. As would a 130 grain Barnes. Just keep telling myself that "bigger is better" and the longer I tell myself that, the less I believe it.


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I always had the need a big gun to chase elk until I started hunting them. I want accurate, flat, fast and not a chore to carry. A good bullet does the rest.
If you want to add one of those mag calibers I don't think you can go wrong, I'd probably go 7rem mag in the Tika lite.

I was pretty surprised my first trip west when a guide said he never used anything bigger then a 7-08 and 139gr bullet on western game. But most of the elk I've seen killed were with "deer rifles" and all were very short recoveries. I can also understand the want for more punch when the difference of 200yds could make a bad pack out a horrible one or there's potential for going over a cliff or bluff possible.



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[Gobbler2577]

From your list I would go with the T3 in 300 win mag.  Never been a fan of the short mags.  That being said, since you reload I would suggest .280AI.  If I were buying/building another that's what it would be.  Not a lot of overkill for whitetails and more than adequate for elk.  Plus an Ackley-ized cartridge just looks cool.  I've hunted with a 257 AI for years and honestly as good as it shoots I wouldn't have a problem using it on elk out to 400 with the right bullet.   

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280 AI doesn't do anything for me. Having played around with it, there wasn't enough gain over the 280 rem to get excited about. Fire forming the brass left it "stretched" and thin at the neck IMO. Heck, can hot rod the 280 and already be nipping on the heels of the 7mm RM. Lots of guys like the 280 AI. I just couldn't justify the headache involved personally.


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You're exactly right.  They are more work for maybe modest gains.  I've decide Ackleys are like redheads, either you love them or you don't.  I'm weird I guess because I love Ackleys AND redheads!

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[Gobbler2577]

From your list I would go with the T3 in 300 win mag.  Never been a fan of the short mags.  That being said, since you reload I would suggest .280AI.  If I were buying/building another that's what it would be.  Not a lot of overkill for whitetails and more than adequate for elk.  Plus an Ackley-ized cartridge just looks cool.  I've hunted with a 257 AI for years and honestly as good as it shoots I wouldn't have a problem using it on elk out to 400 with the right bullet.   

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280 AI doesn't do anything for me. Having played around with it, there wasn't enough gain over the 280 rem to get excited about. Fire forming the brass left it "stretched" and thin at the neck IMO. Heck, can hot rod the 280 and already be nipping on the heels of the 7mm RM. Lots of guys like the 280 AI. I just couldn't justify the headache involved personally.


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You're exactly right.  They are more work for maybe modest gains.  I've decide Ackleys are like redheads, either you love them or you don't.  I'm weird I guess because I love Ackleys AND redheads!

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[shatcher]

280 Ackley Improved all the way!  Custom or semi custom options out there.  7 mag performance without all the blust and blunder.  Inherently accrurate.  Fire forming brass simple as 15 grains of pistol powder followed by cream of wheat to the neck followed by plug of toilet paper.  Fire into the air.  Voila!  I won't give my loads, but elk to beanfield whitetail!

[Crghss]

Don't know if I'd shoot any of those calibers out of a "lite" rifle.

7mm RM in xbolt would be my choice. As a reloader that 26" barrel gives you plenty of option.

[SteelerFan]

I've changed my mind 3 times just reading this thread! LOL

.270 or .30-06 in the Xbolt is what I keep coming back to... but that is just me. Hunters will never agree on one caliber. That's why they make so many. I'm a life long fan of the .270 - but it is limited to generally to the 130 - 150 gr range. The '06 (to me) gives a little more versatility with bullets. Not the extreme range in weight, just the more practical  150, 165, 180 range.

Have fun with your quest. Be sure to post updates of your choice - and your hunt!

[Chordeiles]

300WM FTW!

I'm probably the last person anyone should take advice from, about gun buying. I like 'em all!
I have a 7RM and 300WM. Don't have the Wizum buy I do have a 300SAUM. I prefer the 30 cals because they put bigger holes in targets(how's that for scientific reasoning?) 

You've gotten some good suggestions and I really don't have anything to add, especially since I've been on the fence about my next gun purchase for about 3 months.

Good luck on your elk hunt(s).

[dejake]

30.06 is good enough for any animal in north America, and a boat load of weight ranges.

[Bowguy]

30.06 is good enough for any animal in north America, and a boat load of weight ranges.

30-06, jack of all trades, master of none. Best at nothing but good if one gun is your only option for "every animal in North America." Why exactly couldn't you shoot a .300 win mag at any game animal in the continent? Imo except for varmints n small game  it's a better caliber for big stuff.
Would you say polar bears are suited perfectly w a 30-06? Big brown bears? Bison? Woodchucks? Prairie dogs? Squirrels, rabbits, valuable furbearers? ? It's not a perfect scenario having one gun for "every animal in America".  And think about cost. You'd keep changing sights to suit the load costing you money to check zero. , kinda like a payment plan on a phone instead of paying up front. Besides does anyone actually hunt w accelerator rounds??
Food for thought
Not saying it's actually not a really good caliber it's just not best at anything n that argument drives me nuts w the obviousness that it's not well thought out. My buddy used one in Africa for plains game. It's totally suitable for lots so make no mistake what I'm saying. He even shot 2 zebra w it. Supposedly they're very hardy. As I stated mid range is where it would really shine, not extremes. Check ballastics with others n see if there's a vast dif? There's not.

[dirt road ninja]

When a new round comes out they still compare it to the old 06.

[Bowguy]

When a new round comes out they still compare it to the old 06.

Let's think this through. The 30-06 is a great 55 gr varmint gun yea? If so when these new tiny varmint calibers came out did they compare it to the "great 06"? When the .223 super short came out did they compare that? That's kinda my point. Apples to apples the 30-06 is a good mid range cartridge. It's a compromise on its ends. Leave it mid range where imo opinion it should be, is there any difference between that n a .270? Almost the same cartridge. Look at ballistics on lots of mid range guns. They're all close and all good rounds including the 30-06. Like I said is it "best" on varmints? Better than a 22-250? Faster than a .220 swift? Less damaging than say a .17?
Let's go up, is it better than say a .300 w 180 grain bullet? More authoritive than a .338 or .375?
Not apples to apples though and not 30-06 strong points. That's all I'm saying.

[wvmntnhick]

Had 2 30-06's. Down to one and if I ever get tired of this one, it goes back to the gentleman I bought it from. Been asked in the past which cartridge was my least favorite. Always said 30-06. Never been a fan. For my intended purposes, the 270 did the same job with less recoil and better trajectory. As I review thoughts here, almost leaves me tempted to get the 270 wsm and the 300 WM in the same platform. Looking at the recoil aspect, that browning x-bolt is starting to look a bit better. With scope and all it should still come in at least 4# lighter than my STW.


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[davisd9]

I've changed my mind 3 times just reading this thread! LOL

.270 or .30-06 in the Xbolt is what I keep coming back to... but that is just me. Hunters will never agree on one caliber. That's why they make so many. I'm a life long fan of the .270 - but it is limited to generally to the 130 - 150 gr range. The '06 (to me) gives a little more versatility with bullets. Not the extreme range in weight, just the more practical  150, 165, 180 range.

Have fun with your quest. Be sure to post updates of your choice - and your hunt!

You can get up to 170 grain bullets, last I checked anyway, but the 130 grain barnes is all you need in a 270.  The 110s are awesome bullets as well.  The 130 grain bullet is what the 270 win was designed for and I always did better with it than any 110, 120, 140, or 150.  A good bullet goes a long way.  Nothing wrong with the 30-06 but I prefer the tamer recoil of the 270.