Buying new elk rifle

[Iowafarmer]

I’m thinking of buying a new elk rifle got some cash burning a hole in my pocket. Considering x-bolt hells canyon, tikka, Bergara wilderness open to opinions thinking 6.8 western or 300WM little concerned about ammo availability for 6.8 I don’t reload any input would be helpful

 

[CAElkhunter]

300 WM is a great elk cartridge with many options for loads from many different manufacturers.
You can use many different grns and bullet types. I prefer 180 Nosler or Barnes X. Both fly well.
It is such a common round that you can generally find the ammo for it you are looking for.
I have found it shoots factory loaded ammo very well.

I also have a 300 RUM but I still really like my 300 WM as an all around rifle. It killed elk just fine out to 400 yds before I started using the 300 RUM. The downside of the 300 RUM is ammo is much more limited as it is more of a specialty/niche caliber.

 

[5811]

I shoot with a guy that has a wilderness. Great looking gun and shoots as good as it looks.

 

[hearteater]

I’m thinking of buying a new elk rifle got some cash burning a hole in my pocket. Considering x-bolt hells canyon, tikka, Bergara wilderness open to opinions thinking 6.8 western or 300WM little concerned about ammo availability for 6.8 I don’t reload any input would be helpful

I have a 300 win mag tikka t3 lite with veil wideland camo and cerakote I am looking to sell. It's a tack driver I bought it for an elk hunt sighted it in and never wound up going on the hunt so it's sitting in my safe basically brand new. Let me know if you're interested.

 

[Rooggvc]

Here are some threads to look at. Just some food for thought.

.223 for bear, mountain goat, deer, elk, and moose.

DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ 176 PAGES? HERE'S THE CHEAT SHEET. “Bullets matter more than headstamps.” “Spent primers offer the supreme tutorial”. I’ve read it here and elsewhere online. It got my attention. I started digging and asking questions and listened. The 77gr TMK delivered by a .223...

rokslide.com

6.5 Creedmoor/260 for Deer, Elk, and whatever else.....

Seeing that the 223 thread is such a success, I thought maybe I would start one for the Creedmoor/260. Seems like people are asking a lot about using them and various bullets, especially for elk. I've used mine for the last few years almost exclusively. I have some pics of bullet damage, albeit...

rokslide.com

6mm /.243 hunting success on Big Game

With the success of .223 and 6.5 threads on big game, thought I’d throw this one into the mix. Show and detail your results harvesting big game (deer, bear, elk, moose, African game) using 6mm/.243 cartridges. Please detail bullet, MV, impact velocity, and whether hand load or factory ammo.

rokslide.com

Ice/snow comparison between rifles

I have been asked by multiple people to do an ice and snow reliability eval between rifles/actions/triggers. Tthis is not a “test”, it is just a view at what generally happens. Doing a legitimate test requires more rifles and consistent conditions than I have. So… The rifles: 1). Tikka T3...

rokslide.com

 

[Slick8]

I think those are all good rifle choices, in that price range I'd also look at savage.
Be sure you get one with a fast twist barrel if you intend to shoot heavy VLDs.

You said elk and you don't hand load that says 300 winny all day long. I'd also consider a 7 rem mag and the new kid on the block the 7 prc. Unlike the 68 western the prc will have the hornady machine backing it.



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[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Go to a few stores and shoulder, fondle, etc as many of them that you can. This will likely whittle the potential rifle list down quite a bit to only those that fit you and meet any other criteria you may have.

From there see which chamber options it has and then compare to the partial list of threads compiled by RedBeard88.

 

[elkguide]

Very biased and opinionated here but after spending many years guiding and hunting elk, I grab a .300 Win Mag almost always when I'm hunting elk. I have seen elk shot with weapons from .41 Magnum pistols, to .30-.30 rifles, to the big Lazeronis and while the biggest smile on my face was always when a hunter came into camp with a beat up old .30-06 that he had shot deer with for years.

My preference was and still is a .300 Win Mag for caliber in whatever brand of rifle that fits you the best and that you can shoot comfortably and consistently.

 

[Hoyt Ag]

I have been shooting the 6.8 Western since last year. Ammo is pretty abundant for it here, I have about 250 rounds stocked. I am about to order a 7mmPRC and try that this fall on mule deer. The Backcountry Hunt with Joseph Von Benedict has a lot of recent podcasts on those 2 rounds that are worth listening to. My go to before these was the 300 win mag.

 

[mms2]

no handloading screams 300wm all day... ammo availability is a thing.

 

[BigNate]

Cartridge choice doesn't matter a whole lot anymore. There are bullet choices that make about anything useful for hunting at the range you're considering. Cost, weight, recoil, and available accessories would be factors to consider. (Triggers, mounts, rings, etc.)

My son bought a Bergara hmr iirc, and load development was easy. It stacks holes at 100y. Because of his experience I'd consider them or the Tikka. Xbolt isn't making my list at this point.

 

[Phaseolus]

Since you said elk hunting rifle choose something in .30

 

[hiker270]

I'm totally biased on elk rifles. 300 win mag.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

6.5 creed in a tikka is a pretty optimized solution.

 

[Brandon.miller.4]

Alot of opinions here but I honestly wouldn't have advice for you unless I knew what ranges you intended to shoot at. Even then, there are far more experienced people on here to guid you in the right direction. I too suggest taking a look at the threads redbeard suggested.

 

[Beendare]

The most knowledgeable rifle guys I know really like that 28 Nosler

 

[southLA]

.300WM or .30-06

 

[sodaksooner]

Seekins...... I had a few growing pains with it, but took the brake off of it and really enjoy it now. 300wm fwiw for a lot of reasons mentioned above.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I love my winchester .300 win. mag for a lot of reasons. I have taken three Elk with it, none of which went more than 20 yards. I really like it because it was my brothers and he left it to me when he passed away.

 

[snowymtnwolf]

If for sure under 500 yards, then many options exist. If going deep, 300 PRC appears to be the winner

Many pod casts and reviews online supporting the deep shot for big old elk utilizing 300 PRC

I’m going that route here soon.

And never know if animal at 300 yards will keep moving, grazing, etc out to 500 and beyond and terrain/light forces shot that deep.


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