New (Old?) Elk Rifle

[DrMike]

Get a 6.5 Creedmoor.
Everyone knows it’s good for elk, elephants, and the ever elusive eclectic erstwhile enigma named Betty.
All the gals, but especially Betty, love a man that shoots a 6.5 Creedmoor. If you don’t have a man bun I’ll rent you one you can clip to your hair.

Vince

True, dat.

 

[BK]

Get a 6.5 Creedmoor.
Everyone knows it’s good for elk, elephants, and the ever elusive eclectic erstwhile enigma named Betty.
All the gals, but especially Betty, love a man that shoots a 6.5 Creedmoor. If you don’t have a man bun I’ll rent you one you can clip to your hair.

Vince

But what about Karens?

 

[BK]

Must be a bias. The .308 is a fine cartridge, but it isn't better than the 30-06. Either will accomplish all that a hunter will ever need for most of NA. Few of us are sufficiently talented to take advantage of the minor differences between these two cartridges. The man armed with either of these will find that he is more than adequately equipped to hunt most of the world. I like 'em both.

I don't THINK I'm biased against the .308 (like I am the .270), I just don't think about it. I have a decent Ruger Hawkeye .308 that I hardly remember I own...

 

[Vince]

But what about Karens?

For Karens you need to move up to a .35 Whelen.

 

[RL338]

After seeing my 30-06 with a Barnes 150gr TTSX flattened a whitetail , an elk won’t stand a chance.

 

[preacher]

Tikka T3x Lite in either 7mm/08 ( 140-160) or 308 (with 130 Barnes) is your Huckleberry for a "Mellower rifle" my friend! Have a great time, let us know what you decided? Thanks pard.

 

[bob_dobalina]

Tikka T3x Lite in either 7mm/08 ( 140-160) or 308 (with 130 Barnes) is your Huckleberry for a "Mellower rifle" my friend! Have a great time, let us know what you decided? Thanks pard.

This has been a fun thread but my new rifle attention span is short! I am doubling down on the 300 wsm. It's just too perfect for my needs. I want to try to pick up one in a tikka and sell my sako 300 wsm, sounds crazy but I think they offer a little more flexibility for reloading with mag length. I would like to find some new brass first though if that drought goes much longer maybe I will be done with the wsm after all.

I went through a 7 SAUM phase, and if I see a deal on a 7 PRC I'll be all over it. I would like a 7mm08 too but I'll be buying one for my kid soon enough and I'll borrow his

 

[preacher]

I have twenty (20) I'll give you for $20. This covers postage and my time to mail it! Interested?

 

[Bonz]

For Karens you need to move up to a .35 Whelen.

300 WSM is a great round, I just have to diverge here, so forgive me.

I started my elk and deer hunting career in Colorado in the early 90s with a 300 Winchester magnum. Spent 10 years with that great cartridge, did everything I asked it to.

Then I read an article by Gary Sitton in a Petersons Hunting magazine. Talked about a 35 Whelen Ackley improved he had used on a hunt... A 250 grain bullet at 2600 FPS really floated my boat. I did some research comparing charge weights, bullet weights, velocity, and the Whelen met my goals very efficiently inside of 400 yards which is the furthest I'll ever shoot in my unit.

Found a pawnshop Mauser 98 with a 270 barrel on it, picked up a Brownell's short chambered .35 Whelen Shilen barrel and took it to a gunsmith. I split the cost with him on the Manson reamer for the Ackley Improved version and the rest is history. I haven't carried the 300 Win Mag in 21 seasons.

The 300 Win Mag was phenomenal, however, there hasn't been an elk or a deer in the past 21 years that the 300 Win Mag would've done any better on inside of 400 yards.

From the start I diverged from the 250 gr bullet philosophy. Other than 2 seasons (and 2 elk) when I used a 250 gr Hornady spire points for nostalgia sake, I have been using lighter weight Barnes X bullets to stretch the trajectory. The .358 200 TTSX as far as I'm concerned is the holy grail of elk bullets for the 35 Whelen or improved version. Using the new Speer data and extrapolating for Power Pro Varmint powder, that bullet can be pushed to a velocity that wasn't even talked about 15-20 years ago.

 

[cloverleaf]

This!

Another vote.... Dad said one of the better things he did as he gained more "experience" was to quit loading his 7 Mag so close to the Max. But far be it from us to try and talk you out of a "new" rifle... . CL

 

[preacher]

Please forgive my short hyjack Bob- Hey Bonz! I was in Bible College back in OK when I read that same Gary Sitton Article! I don't remember where I read it, but it "ruint" me for about 30 yrs, ha. In '95 I finally found a Classic, had it reamed out to the AI. I loaded it using the the Bob Hagel Method. I got the original Barnes 250X to 2550-2600 best accuracy...It would go much faster, but opened up.

 

[BK]

Please forgive my short hyjack Bob- Hey Bonz! I was in Bible College back in OK when I read that same Gary Sitton Article! I don't remember where I read it, but it "ruint" me for about 30 yrs, ha. In '95 I finally found a Classic, had it reamed out to the AI. I loaded it using the the Bob Hagel Method. I got the original Barnes 250X to 2550-2600 best accuracy...It would go much faster, but opened up.

Man, I miss his writing. It's his fault I want two more or less identical rifles in .280 (or AI) and .338-06 (probable AI).

 

[SJB358]

Great thread. Enjoyed reading this.

Pretty tough if you pick something from around 270 up to 35 caliber that’s going to work like crap on elk to 400…. You’d almost have to try and make a lot of bad choices, in A row.

 

[Blkram]

Man, I miss his writing. It's his fault I want two more or less identical rifles in .280 (or AI) and .338-06 (probable AI).

This is why I have said many times that if I was forced to pare down to 2 or 3 rifles, I would be hard pressed and end up with matching rifle/scope packages in 280 Rem and 338-06, and as the the third a 25-06...or a 7MM Rem Mag and a 338 Rem Mag, and as a third a 416 Taylor. Then even the cartridges are based on the same case!

It is also why I now have the following sets:
- LH Rem 700's in 280 and 338-06, and 250AI and 300 WSM;
- LH Sako 85 Hunters in 6.5x55 and 9.3x62;
- Winchester Model 94 Big Bores in 356 Win and 375 Win;
- Winchester Model 88's in 250 Savage, 7mm-08 and 338 Federal;
- LH Browning X Bolts in 6.5 Creedmoor and 6.5 PRC;
- Marlins in 30-30, 338 ME, 356 Win, 375 Win, 41 Rem Mag and 444 Marlin; and
- LH Ruger M77's in 376 Steyr and 416 Taylor.

my wife says it's an addiction...I say it is a passion...as an addiction is usually a problem requiring rehabilitation...and rifles are an accumulation...that puts meat on the table!

 

[BK]

This is why I have said many times that if I was forced to pare down to 2 or 3 rifles, I would be hard pressed and end up with matching rifle/scope packages in 280 Rem and 338-06, and as the the third a 25-06...or a 7MM Rem Mag and a 338 Rem Mag, and as a third a 416 Taylor. Then even the cartridges are based on the same case!

It is also why I now have the following sets:
- LH Rem 700's in 280 and 338-06, and 250AI and 300 WSM;
- LH Sako 85 Hunters in 6.5x55 and 9.3x62;
- Winchester Model 94 Big Bores in 356 Win and 375 Win;
- Winchester Model 88's in 250 Savage, 7mm-08 and 338 Federal;
- LH Browning X Bolts in 6.5 Creedmoor and 6.5 PRC;
- Marlins in 30-30, 338 ME, 356 Win, 375 Win, 41 Rem Mag and 444 Marlin; and
- LH Ruger M77's in 376 Steyr and 416 Taylor.

my wife says it's an addiction...I say it is a passion...as an addiction is usually a problem requiring rehabilitation...and rifles are an accumulation...that puts meat on the table!

Ooh, I like the Sako pairing...

 

[Blkram]

Ooh, I like the Sako pairing...

Yes, and they have pretty wood too! And they both shoot 1/2 MOA with factory ammo.
I believe the pic is posted in the Sako Love thread (IIRC)...Had DrMike post for me as I cannot post pics myself.

Update:
Found the thread where the pics were posted...New 9.3x62...unfortunately the images are no longer visible.
Perhaps DrMike could post them again here???