Looking For Suggestions - (Elk) Mountain Rifle Build Shooting Copper

[2Stamp]

Well, my CA ridgeline with 22" barrel, in 280ai, fits that bill. Barnes 145 LRX hits 2000fps at around 530yds. I know CA has a bad rap. I'd still recommend the 280ai, but reloading is kind of a must for it. Factory ammo is hard to come by in that cartridge. I do also like my 7mm-08.

 

[Fen]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'm leaning towards a Tikka T3x Lite Roughtech in 30-06 (22.4'' factory barrel), 7 Rem Mag in the same (24" factory barrel) or a Bergara Carbon Wilderness in 7 PRC (22" factory barrel).

The 280 seems like a good compromise but hard to find factory ammo for. I did look into 300 WSM. It has some serious recoil though it comes in a smaller package, however the ammo seems a bit expensive and hard to come by for me as well.

Either way, I'm leaning towards getting a TBAC 7" or 9" silencer for whatever rifle I get if folks have any experience with either?

 

[eyeguy]

Since you are going with copper bullets you can get buy with smaller diameter bore IE 6.5 or 7MM if you choose and still get the penetration needed for big animals like elk. 280 ai, 30-06, 6.5 prc 7mm prc. Lots of good choices out there.

 

[westslopelaker]

Kimber Montana in 7mm-08 - checks all your boxes

 

[wabash503]

Take a closer look at 6.8 Western. All the advantages of modern BC Numbers on a 270 bore, but not as much recoil as the 7s and 30 cal. For those that know, they love em.

 

[LightFoot]

So many good answers. In my (limited) experience and (not so) humble opinion, a Tikka 300 Win or WSM is never wrong for the NA29.

Since you want to shoot copper, plenty of factory options up to 180 grains.

If you reload or go to a good reloader, your options are near limitless.

Lots of folks are loving the hammer bullets. I used the 7mm 143 HH for a season and went back to lead. I wouldn’t feel handicapped if I needed to go back to them, but I still prefer lead.

This is my Tikka 300 Win that may be the best value on the market. I still need to do the limbsaver addition.

Note: I have two custom rifles from two very reputable manufacturers… the Tikka shoots as good as both of them.


>>>——JAKE——>

 

[Jaquomo]

I have a Tikka 3X Lite .270. I shoot copper. I don't have a lot of experience with it but it is a fine shooting rifle for a factory tool.

 

[kcm2]

Hornady Superformance 270 Winchester with 130 gr CX bullets works very well on elk. In a 20" barrel, they chrono at 3144 in my rifle. All I need for elk out to 500.

 

[Erikerowley]

300 RUM is the only elk medicine

 

[JK47]

I have a Savage 110 Ultralight. It’s a great rifle. Got mine to beat up hunting in the mountains instead of ruining my wood stocked rifles.

My caliber is 28 Nosler. It’s a great round for me and what I hunt. Lots of factory loads out there.

I handload, and the load I settled on pushes a 150 grain Barnes TTSX 3,250fps. 1/2 groups at 100. At 500 yards it’s still over 2,300fps.

 

[Str8shooter]

Was in the same camp a couple years ago. I landed on the Savage 110 ultralite .270 shooting 129gr LRX at 3050fps. (maintains 1800fps past 600yds at 8500ft) 22in barrel with a CGS Hyperion K. The savage bolt and stock sucks but aside from its grittiness, cycles well and is more accurate than I know what to do with (will routinely put bullets in the same hole) and with a Zeiss V4 on top is a delight to carry and shoot. Muleys, Elk, and Barbary Sheep have all been quickly put down out to 380yds. I was a .300 win mag shooter for many years (the 150 gr TTSX and GMX where also great) but realized the extra horsepower, sore shoulder and reduced scope sight picture maintenance after the shot particularly in field positions with that recoil was just plain overkill with more negatives than positives for my typical western hunting conditions.

 

[Corvus Corax]

You could meet the goals you laid out in your first post with a 7mm-08 rem. or a .270 win. Factory loaded ammo starting at 2800 fps out of a 22” Nosler e tips should stay above 2100 fps out to 400+ yards in either chambering.

 

[OXN939]

Tikka T3x Lite Roughtech in 30-06

This would be a great choice. I've been shooting copper exclusively for 7 years, and a mountain rifle in '06 pushing a quality mono is perfect for elk. I load 168 grain Barnes TSX in mine, and get similar velocities to factory .300 WM ammo. Have killed two mature Nilgai bulls with that load, which says a lot about its terminal abilities. Plus everything is cheaper and more available than magnums, for both factory ammo and reloading.

 

[duckcarver]

I'm shooting a Tikka Roughtech Ember in .300WSM and do not reload. It shoots 180 gr. Nosler E-tips very well. It puts 5 Federal Premium 180gr. Barnes TSX through single jagged hole, but is occasionally finicky about ejecting the Federal brass. Barrel is threaded. With a Limbsaver recoil pad and Nomad Ti suppressor, recoil is very manageable.

 

[Ridgehunter]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'm leaning towards a Tikka T3x Lite Roughtech in 30-06 (22.4'' factory barrel), 7 Rem Mag in the same (24" factory barrel) or a Bergara Carbon Wilderness in 7 PRC (22" factory barrel).

The 280 seems like a good compromise but hard to find factory ammo for. I did look into 300 WSM. It has some serious recoil though it comes in a smaller package, however the ammo seems a bit expensive and hard to come by for me as well.

Either way, I'm leaning towards getting a TBAC 7" or 9" silencer for whatever rifle I get if folks have any experience with either?

I don’t have experience with the suppressors but I have a bergara wilderness ridge in 7mm rem mag. As others stated the 700 action makes it easy to upgrade a chassis later. I have a leupold vx5 on it with a custom dial set up for the Barnes ttsx 150 grain and I couldn’t be happier with the gun. The muzzle brake makes it feel like I’m shooting a .308 (I’d assume it would be similar with a suppressor) and I can see my shots through the scope pretty well. I have a lot of experience shooting copper and my bergara really like the ttsx bullets. You shouldn’t have an issue on a bull with the ttsx under 500 yards even with factory loads. I won’t shoot past 500 but if I were to, I’d probably order a dial for 145 Barnes lrx. I’ve only shot spike elk and deer with the ttsx but it’s performed really well for me. I had an experience shooting a deer 3 years ago through the heart at 50 yards with the 7rem mag and 150 ttsx. Didn’t recover the bullet, as expected but it was hardly a pencil-through the heart. It took of about a quarter of the heart and I’m convinced a double lung shot without hitting bone would have been plenty of energy transfer and trauma for a short track job. I also shot a deer in ca years ago at 70 yards at the base of the neck and dropped it, I was able to recover the bullet perfectly mushroomed against the hide in the far side. That was a .308 but with the ttsx as well. Hope that helps.