Grew up hunting whitetails with a .270 at short ranges (200 yards or less). 6 months ago, I was dead set on buying a 7mm mag to hunt elk this fall because everything I read online taught me that my .270 didnt have enough “knockdown power” for such a large animal at the longer ranges found out west. A friend of mine with far more hunting experience mentioned this thread when he heard I wanted to buy a magnum, and I read the entire thread over the next few weeks.
Against my better judgement, I decided to forego the new magnum and built a rokslide special instead - Tikka T3x in .223, SWFA fixed 6 in Mil/Mil and a suppressor. I told myself this would just be a training rifle so I could get comfortable dialing for long range, as I’d never dialed a scope before. There was no way I’d actually use the little .223 for elk though, that would just be crazy.
I spent the money saved from the magnum on ammo and practice instead, firing about 300 rounds at ranges out to 700 yards in the month leading up to my elk hunt. While this may not seem like much shooting to you all, I grew up with the “3 shots at 100 yards before deer season to make sure the gun is on” method of practice and otherwise never shot my hunting rifle, so this was a vast improvement for me.
Going into the elk hunt, we decided on a max range of 500 yards in perfect weather based on my ability during practice sessions at the range. My Tikka with a 20” barrel and a suppressor keeps the 77 TMK above 1800 FPS out to about 570 yards, so yet again, against my better judgement the Tikka went from a training rifle to my elk hunting rifle because I shot it so much better than any other rifle I owned.
Two days into my first elk hunt, a group of cows came out at about 350 yards and I was able to put 3 solid hits on a cow with the 77g TMK, causing her to go down within about 50 yards of my first shot. Damage was very similar to what others have posted and better than what I was used to seeing with my .270 using Core-Lokt ammunition.
I know this post is long, but I write it in hopes that if others on the fence about what to buy, it will highlight the value of getting a rifle you shoot well and then actually taking the time to practice with it. Thank you all for the wealth of knowledge and advice you provide and know that I will always be grateful you helped steer me away from buying a magnum and likely missing/wounding my first elk.