Elk Hunting Caliber

[xphunter]

Gotta watch that XPHunter fellow, he keeps leaving the buttstock and part of his rifle barrel home when he shoots and hunts. Shows up with some doggone short thing. It never seems to get any better...

Guy

I am not sure how to respond...
I actually have more rifles, than most would imagine, but they hardly ever get used.
Within the context of this thread, I have a total custom (left-hand bolt/port) fast twist 28 Nosler, built with the best of components, that would work great for elk and hills, that has never been fired. It was literally built with 1K elk in mind.
I am going to end up selling it, since I will never use it. Pretty sure my son-in-law is going to get it at family discount price. He is saving up for it currently.
F-Open Rifle - 284 Winchester (Right Bolt/Port)
F-TR Rifle - 308 Winchester (Right Bolt/Port)
Custom 6.5 Creed by Darrel Holland (Left-Hand), PROOF carbon wrapped barrel. I let different families use it every year, and it has taken big game in WY and SD (Whitetail, mule deer, antelope, and elk). It is my loaner and teaching rifle.
Left-Hand 6XC (Can't remember if it is a Krieger, Bartlein or Brux) with a McMillan stock (Trued Rem 700)
Left hand trued Rem 700 6.5x47 Lapua, Krieger barrel, with a McRee Chassis. It is also been a loaner and teaching rifle.
Left-Hand Rem 700 BDL 300 RUM. Bought it used-Real clean-Never shot it. This one will go on the chopping block, as well as the left-hand 6.5x47 Lapua
Lightweight Tikka right-hand (New in the box) 30-06. Going to move it as well.
A couple of AR's...

Probably more rifles than what you guessed...

 

[JD338]

I guess it's safe to say that Ernie is a rifle crank!

JD338

 

[xphunter]

I guess it's safe to say that Ernie is a rifle crank!

JD338

Yep, that's me

 

[West Fork]

I am planning a Wyoming Elk hunt for 2026. I need to be prepared to take shots out to 600 yards. I am looking at a 7mm PRC and 28 Nosler. I would appreciate your thoughts on the best caliber and rifle choices.

I would plan on being equally prepared to take shots at 60 yds. A rifle that handles well, carries easily, and a scope that allows a wide FOV will net a lot of elk.
In 35+ years of guiding I’m not aware of any outfitters (assuming you’re going on a guided hunt) tell a client to be prepared for 600 yd shots.

 

[salmonchaser]

I would plan on being equally prepared to take shots at 60 yds. A rifle that handles well, carries easily, and a scope that allows a wide FOV will net a lot of elk.
In 35+ years of guiding I’m not aware of any outfitters (assuming you’re going on a guided hunt) tell a client to be prepared for 600 yd shots.

Welcome aboard. Looking forward to your insight.

 

[JD338]

I would plan on being equally prepared to take shots at 60 yds. A rifle that handles well, carries easily, and a scope that allows a wide FOV will net a lot of elk.
In 35+ years of guiding I’m not aware of any outfitters (assuming you’re going on a guided hunt) tell a client to be prepared for 600 yd shots.

Welcome aboard West Fork.
Your perspective will offer valuable information.
Where did y guide?

JD338

 

[Ridge_Runner]

stay within your comfort zone, thats the main thing, but the more you shoot long, the farther your comfort zone is, been doing this long range thing since 1983. You practice enough at 750, get a method that works for you and 600 all of a sudden ain't that far. I still remember when 400 was a long, long ways. These days its close, but to some folks it seems impossible. I remember once a buddy was giving me a hard time about being to "anal" about my zero, till I removed a crows head at 510 yards, he today is forever pestering me about shooting at 500-1100 yards, and he is a much better shot than he was back 20 years ago.

 

[SJB358]

stay within your comfort zone, thats the main thing, but the more you shoot long, the farther your comfort zone is, been doing this long range thing since 1983. You practice enough at 750, get a method that works for you and 600 all of a sudden ain't that far. I still remember when 400 was a long, long ways. These days its close, but to some folks it seems impossible. I remember once a buddy was giving me a hard time about being to "anal" about my zero, till I removed a crows head at 510 yards, he today is forever pestering me about shooting at 500-1100 yards, and he is a much better shot than he was back 20 years ago.

Well said RR. Shooting long doesn't mean you have to hunt long either. I love to shoot as far as I can myself and trigger time never hurts the bottom line for preparing. I know when I spend the summer shooting and getting behind the guns regularly my confidence level is much higher than when I let life get in the way of shooting.

 

[lhsako]

I'm a staunch .338 advocate.however in your case I would choose a premium bullet 180- 200 grs. (depending on the twist you have) that shoots tight in your .300 Bee. You need penetration! Then shoot extensively at 500 and 600 YDS from field positions. This will reveal much. What scope do you have?

 

[CT.HNTR]

I'm a staunch .338 advocate.however in your case I would choose a premium bullet 180- 200 grs. (depending on the twist you have) that shoots tight in your .300 Bee. You need penetration! Then shoot extensively at 500 and 600 YDS from field positions. This will reveal much. What scope do you have?

I have a Leupold VX6-HD 3-18 x 44

 

[lhsako]

I have a Leupold VX6-HD 3-18 x 44

Nice glass buddy!

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Either will work easily for elk to 600...Hell a 270/280/3006 will do it. I've killed a pile of elk with various 7/300/338 mags from 500 out to 1150, and seen probably 100 more killed out to 900 with the calibers listed above. They all work and did the job as long as we did ours.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

There's a reason that the FTW Ranch (Home of the SAAM Training Centre in Texas) only has ranges and teaches shooting out to 700 yards max...wind gets to be the biggest issue, and then there is the added variable of elevation when facing uphill/downhill shots...including thermals, etc.
No one has ever made a first shot, cold bore hit on their target at 700 yards!

How big is said target at 700? Maybe they need some better shooters...

I have no problems going out to the range, laying prone with a bipod, and smacking a 16" gong at 1K on CB shots on any given day, even with 10-20 mph winds. It's really not that hard with enough practice and the right rifle/equipment.

Elk are a pretty big animal, pretty hard to miss in my opinion. Three to four times the size of a deer, so you have easily twice the size of vitals. Picture an elk broadside, now put a 16" circle on the front shoulder. That's really all you need to hit and elk will die.

There are range finders, confirmed drop charts, ballistic programs, kestrels, scope levels, and angle indicators that guys use to make these longer shots. All depends on what you're personally comfortable with. And you really need to practice out to the furthest distance you plan on shooting game.

 

[Blkram]

How big is said target at 700? Maybe they need some better shooters...

I have no problems going out to the range, laying prone with a bipod, and smacking a 16" gong at 1K on CB shots on any given day, even with 10-20 mph winds. It's really not that hard with enough practice and the right rifle/equipment.

Elk are a pretty big animal, pretty hard to miss in my opinion. Three to four times the size of a deer, so you have easily twice the size of vitals. Picture an elk broadside, now put a 16" circle on the front shoulder. That's really all you need to hit and elk will die.

There are range finders, confirmed drop charts, ballistic programs, kestrels, scope levels, and angle indicators that guys use to make these longer shots. All depends on what you're personally comfortable with. And you really need to practice out to the furthest distance you plan on shooting game.

You would have to go their website to check on the size of their 700 yard target to answer that question.

And as they state, no one has hit it with their first, cold bore shot. Their claim, not mine. And they have a great long range shooting school on site.

Can you hit the target you shoot at 1000 yards with your first cold bore shot every time?
How about a different target of similar size at another range?

Yes, elk are big animals, but their vital zone is 10" not 16". Even a moose, which is larger than an elk, does not have a 16" vital zone. It is 12".
And even experienced hunters mess up shots on elk at normal hunting distances of less than 300 yards, their first time. And yes, with a bullet retaining the appropriate amount of energy, with the sectional density to ensure proper penetration and expansion into the vitals, will cleanly take elk. But a marginal hit, and a wounded elk can cover miles in a short amount of time, and perhaps even be unrecoverable. Not an animal to mess with!
How many elk have you hunted, or taken?

Yes, there are is all the technology in the world...but in the end, it is the skill of the shooter that ensures that the shot is still placed in the vitals of an animal.
And as you state, the shooter must be comfortable with making that shot on an animal, that may or may not still be standing there when the bullet arrives. And they need to know what their limitation is to ensure that shot under varying circumstances.

Now add the extra pressure of the following to the shot, on a live animal, whether it be a gopher in the open prairie, or at a big game animal that you may be paying thousands or tens of thousands of dollars for that shot opportunity, that is not the same as when practicing on paper or steel at the home range:

• Unknown environment - uneven wind with varying currents in the various ravines or swales between the shooter and the target;
• Different elevation and elevation changes in the field compared to the field where your regular practice range is;
• Elevated heart rate and breathing of the hunter at the time of the shot, which may be exacerbated by:
  • Excitement of the moment;
  • The physical exertion expended in the final push of the stalk to the final shooting location; and
  • The varying elevation and oxygen in the air at the elevation where the shot is occurring, which is quite often not the same as home and/or the home. range.

With all of these added variables, can the shooter still make that first, cold bore shot at that range?
And that is most likely the reason why no one has ever made that shot at the FTW Ranch...not because they are not good shooters.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

You would have to go their website to check on the size of their 700 yard target to answer that question.

And as they state, no one has hit it with their first, cold bore shot. Their claim, not mine. And they have a great long range shooting school on site.

Can you hit the target you shoot at 1000 yards with your first cold bore shot every time?
How about a different target of similar size at another range?

Yes, elk are big animals, but their vital zone is 10" not 16". Even a moose, which is larger than an elk, does not have a 16" vital zone. It is 12".
And even experienced hunters mess up shots on elk at normal hunting distances of less than 300 yards, their first time. And yes, with a bullet retaining the appropriate amount of energy, with the sectional density to ensure proper penetration and expansion into the vitals, will cleanly take elk. But a marginal hit, and a wounded elk can cover miles in a short amount of time, and perhaps even be unrecoverable. Not an animal to mess with!
How many elk have you hunted, or taken?

Yes, there are is all the technology in the world...but in the end, it is the skill of the shooter that ensures that the shot is still placed in the vitals of an animal.
And as you state, the shooter must be comfortable with making that shot on an animal, that may or may not still be standing there when the bullet arrives. And they need to know what their limitation is to ensure that shot under varying circumstances.

Now add the extra pressure of the following to the shot, on a live animal, whether it be a gopher in the open prairie, or at a big game animal that you may be paying thousands or tens of thousands of dollars for that shot opportunity, that is not the same as when practicing on paper or steel at the home range:

• Unknown environment - uneven wind with varying currents in the various ravines or swales between the shooter and the target;
• Different elevation and elevation changes in the field compared to the field where your regular practice range is;
• Elevated heart rate and breathing of the hunter at the time of the shot, which may be exacerbated by:
  • Excitement of the moment;
  • The physical exertion expended in the final push of the stalk to the final shooting location; and
  • The varying elevation and oxygen in the air at the elevation where the shot is occurring, which is quite often not the same as home and/or the home. range.

With all of these added variables, can the shooter still make that first, cold bore shot at that range?
And that is most likely the reason why no one has ever made that shot at the FTW Ranch...not because they are not good

I might check out their site, but not at this specific time as Its not really that important to me. I know plenty of shooters who routinely make CB shots past 700 yards on deer, elk, and targets, myself included.

I already stated above I've shot a pile of elk, to be exact, I honestly dont know, I lost count, if i had to put a number on it id say around 20. Shot my first elk at 14 at 500 yards, and haven't missed one since from 200-1150 and I'm 40 now. I have also witnessed at least a 100 more killed during that time, with me setting up 90% of those friends and family rifles out to 1K. So I think it's a safe bet to say I've been around and shot more elk than probably 90% people out there, besides guides and outfitters...It doesn't make any difference to me whether you believe me or not. I'm just sharing my experiences and telling it like it is. There was a time our party shot 10-12 elk a year for 10 years straight...And we continue to shoot at least 5-8 every year anyway.

The type of elk hunting we do is wide open huge canyons and draws. You rarely get a shot under 300 yards, it just doesn't happen. The average shot is around 400-600 yards. This allows you to spot and stalk, get properly set up to take your time and make a good shot. I've been shooting long range for 25 years, on a private 1K and 1400 yard range that is 5 and 20 minutes from my house, and studying ballistics the same. You're not telling me anything I don't already know honestly.

I'm not going to make this into a pissing match, again just sharing my experiences and thoughts on the subject. I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what it takes to kill elk after 30 years and probably 150 elk later. Take it for what it's worth.

 

[Blkram]

Sorry if you took my response wrong or as a personal attack. That was not my intention. My sincere apologies.
My questions for you were to better understand your experience and abilities, as I do not know you. (And I did not see your post previous to the one I responded to which stated this information.)
If you read my post, you will see that I agreed with much of what you stated, adding other insight for others who may read it so as to illustrate the variables and challenges to hunting vs long distance shooting (not meant to be directed at you). You are obviously the exception, not the norm, seen today by many new to this past time.

 

[SJB358]

I have hunted the same ground as Jorey quite alot for elk and when he says you stand a good chance at shooting more from 400+ than under is pretty true. I'd have to ask the Old Goat, but I know he's probably got it written down what our average range has been. Not saying you need to shoot ultra long, but being prepared to shoot long definitely tips the scales towards you packing an elk home versus not.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Sorry if you took my response wrong or as a personal attack. That was not my intention. My sincere apologies.
My questions for you were to better understand your experience and abilities, as I do not know you. (And I did not see your post previous to the one I responded to which stated this information.)
If you read my post, you will see that I agreed with much of what you stated, adding other insight for others who may read it so as to illustrate the variables and challenges to hunting vs long distance shooting (not meant to be directed at you). You are obviously the exception, not the norm, seen today by many new to this past time.

No worries, we are all good here!

I was just saying either of those 7 mags he mentioned will make short work of elk at 600 yards, that's just getting started really. My furthest elk kill was 1150 yards with the lowly 7mm RM and a 162g AMAX at a mere 2925fps. He went 40 yards with a lung hit and collapsed with all 4 feet in the air. I've also shot elk with 7-300 Win, 300 Win, 300 RUM, 338 EDGE. I think the closest elk I have killed was 250. The majority have been from 500-900. I have never lost a single one myself.

Here's a few pics of our gods elk country. As you can see, it's mighty hard to get many shots inside 300 yards. This is what ultimately got me into, and starting to shoot long range and study ballistics. The success rate is much greater when you are able to be a better marksman up here. Also, this is all NF land, not private. Most of the time you only got 1 opportunity, so you'd better be a good shot and make the most of it. Elk hunting is not just a time to get away and enjoy the woods for us, it's a way to feed our family for the year.

 

[SJB358]

Boy that looks familiar!

 

[Blkram]

We have a lot of similar terrain here in north eastern BC for elk hunting. Beautiful country ranging from open agricultural fields, mountain alpine, poplar stands and dark timber, and ravines and river valleys. Fortunately, my longest shot on an elk was at 475 yards, and I underestimated the range on that one as 400 yards, and my hunting partner had a range finder and used it afterwards( as I did not have one at the time), and he was not beside me when I took the shot to tell me the distance.
Otherwise of all the rest of my elk over the years have been taken at 5 yards on out to 370 yards (Only 2 beyond 258 yards), with the 6.5x55, 270 Wby, 280 Rem, 7mm Rem Mag, 7MM STW, 300 WSM, 338 Win Mag, 358 Win, 35 Whelen, 376 Steyr, and a crossbow.