Gun for Elk Hunting in Thick Timber

[Choupique]

My close range elk rifle is a 26" barrel model 70 .338 win mag with a 3-15 swfa

I've shot deer at less than 20 yards with that rifle. Get close enough to an elk for that extra 6" of barrel or extra 1x of zoom to be a problem and then worry about it. It never will be.

 

[egreen4257]

You have already seen how difficult timber hunting can be. Instead of investing money to try to become more successful at that style of hunting have you considered other styles of hunting first? Maybe you should do a little homework on the maps and satellite image and give a more semi open area a try. There is something to be said for seeing elk before they see you. Good luck.

Yeah you guys have talked me out of spending impulsively but at the same time I still want to do more research for a more fun gun in the future. It would be nice to bag something with my grandpas Weatherby first though. We did a lot of escouting and some boots on the ground scouting prior to season. I think we were just caught off guard by not seeing any elk any morning or afternoon out in the grass fields. We figured they were smart enough to bunker down after the first few shots were fired opening day. 7 days of nothing lol.

 

[wyosam]

You have already seen how difficult timber hunting can be. Instead of investing money to try to become more successful at that style of hunting have you considered other styles of hunting first? Maybe you should do a little homework on the maps and satellite image and give a more semi open area a try. There is something to be said for seeing elk before they see you. Good luck.

There are certainly places to hunt elk that require less skill than in the timber, but successful elk hunting also requires hunting them where they are sometimes. When everyone is complaining there are no elk around, and nobody is killing anything, I think it makes them easier to find- you already know a bunch of the places they aren’t.


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[35WhelenAI]

EVERYONE needs a .358.

Lol, thought you were referencing the 35 Whelen/AI. 358 Win is an amazing round.

I've been in the field for 30+ years with a lot of close friends shooting all manner of cartridges and calibers and seen 40+ elk on the ground. There is nothing more decisive on hard angle shots at short range, or for that matter at 350-400 yds than above said 35 Whelen/AI. 358 Win is just a slightly shorter range version of the awesome Whelen. If you jump them in the timber, it's a sight to behold. If you're set up on a meadow and they're almost a quarter mile away, it's the same site to behold when they drop at the shot.

 

[egreen4257]

There are certainly places to hunt elk that require less skill than in the timber, but successful elk hunting also requires hunting them where they are sometimes. When everyone is complaining there are no elk around, and nobody is killing anything, I think it makes them easier to find- you already know a bunch of the places they aren’t.


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Thanks for the advice, I would like to get better at all forms of hunting, just more tools for my toolbelt. Wish I was prepared for more than just elk this season, I think I'm gonna snag a leftover tag for deer and try my luck with that the next two weekends, I should be able to handle a deer by myself pretty easily.

 

[35WhelenAI]

Reality is a good bullet that can handle penetration from any reasonable angle in this day and age is more important than the outright the diameter (caliber).

I'm partial to larger calibers because I've used a .358 diameter bullet for over 22 years. Previous to that I was in the camp of the 30 cals. Keep in mind it's elk and deer combined so I'm not thinking of a 150 lb animal, I'm thinking of 500 to 600 lb animals with respect to the performance criteria of a bullet or cartridge. No contest with respect to on game performance and animal reaction at impact in my experience. It's a decisive difference.

I'd like to hear from hunters that have taken a frangible bullet into the timber and taken a hard angle shot from the rear or the front in the timber.

For me, many harder angle shots have come in open territory, where I can place the bullet where it needs to be from many different angles. Waiting for an animal to change its presentation doesn't make sense when I can overcome that with proper bullet selection. I don't need to be concerned about the shot choice when I go with my bullets of choice. And it ain't frangible...