How about this for a hypothetical question: You have won a lottery draw for a rut elk hunt on one of the big southwestern reservations. All expenses paid. Shots can be inside 50yds to as far as the eye can see and the bulls are 350++ but as always the big boys (380+) are scarce and wary. What rifle/cartridge/bullet would you choose??? What shots would you be willing to take with your cartridge of choice regarding range and angle?? The point is instead of worrying about adequate let�s talk about what is the absolute best elk cartridge in the world?? john
My 300 jarrett with 200 gr accubonds @ 3015 fps has worked well for me. 340 weatherby, 250 gr bullet, would be my second choice. For the 300wsm guys. My wife shoots one, has pounded a couple of good elk.
I'd take my 6.5x284 with 140gr . I originally bought the 300RUM for this but, the 6.5 is a gift from a good friend who quit hunting and offered it to me in his will. Since his health doesn't let him hunt much anymore, he has gifted it to me so I can get some use out of it. That could sway me to take it, as he would feel some pride that I did that thinking of him. He is a NAM Vet who was told upon his return to the states after the war, he would never walk again. He was shot and hit with mortor rounds during a battle. He is a super christian and really good man, who has had a tough life. He fought hard and got himself walking again. We hunted several times for whitetails and hogs, and had a blast. i trained a brittany for him that was out of a litter his female produced. My shorthair (at the time) taught that brit how to back and honor from distance. He used to be a point stealing lil SOB. We shot a lot of game farm pheasant and chukar (he couldn't handle a whole day in South Dakota with his health), and is always fun to be around. We talk weekly and reminisce and just keep each other up to date! Sorry for the ramble
I’ve killed a couple using a .300 Win Mag and 180 grain SST and 180 grain Accubonds. My daughter killed one using a .308 with 168 grain Barnes TTSX. Someone else said shot placement was key and that’s exactly right. You have to use enough gun but you also have to be able to put the bullet in the right spot.
I’ve been drawn for archery twice and still haven’t got my elk. If I had a chance to gun hunt, I’d use pop’s 308 Norma Mag. Don’t know about the “best” cartridge but I know it’s plenty to get the job done and my old man loves that gun. It weighs a load and at 78 he still packs it through the woods.
That's exactly what I did choose after studying the various ballistics long and hard ... still haven't gotten drawn for an Elk but I've killed two big Mulie's with it out west and one of them was at 253 yards ... DRT. Get a decent rifle and scope ... that cartridge will do the rest.
Since I never got to hunt an Elk (yet) I like the 150 grain bullets for whitetail and mule deer ... they've got plenty of punch and I'm sure would work just fine on an Elk too but considering the accuracy of the 180 grain was within a hair of the 150 grain, I think I'd use it for an Elk just to have that little extra. I didn't practice past 300 yards so that's as far as I shot but I did try a bunch of different brands of ammunition and there wasn't really a lot of difference in any of them. Since I didn't reload the 300 WSM, I just bought the Winchester Supreme XP3's whenever I went hunting.
