(New Member) Elk hunt caliber

If you're recoil sensitive, 6.5 creedmoor is great. Inside 300 it'll put down an elk no problem. 140gr partitions slap.

I think you short changed the 6.5 by a lot…

There’s a lot of 223 and 6mm elk kills at distance on this forum. I too used to think larger was better when it comes to elk hunting but my mind was changed after reading here and being on a cow elk hunt (not my hunt) where a cow took a bad shot from a 338 WM and we never recovered her.

It’s all about what someone shoots well and can spot impacts/misses with. Other than that, shoot a quality non mono bullet and just go hunt


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Awesome response and info thank you. Although, I’m accustom to some of the bigger 30cal rounds, I didn’t consider the magnitude of it through a lightweight bolt. I’m not yet into reloading and was trying to factor in the best round with off the rack accuracy. I’m sure they all will shoot ‘good enough’ but there are a lot of opinions floating around. I’m glad to hear 7mm-08 and 270 win do sound like a good compromise.
Look at a 7 prc. the newer cartridges have better performing bullets, pretty accurate for factory ammo as well. The older classic cartridge choices are all good, but if you are going to buy something specific for this hunt, I would want something that is inherently accurate, and if you download the 4DOF app from Hornady, it's damn close to being perfect solutions.
 
@Banks815, fellow Northeasterner here, where you at, curious where you are shooting for practice at longer range? Have you elk hunted or hunted in the west much?

If you are like me in living in the east and not getting as much practice at truly long range as folks with easier access to open terrain, I'd personally get a gun that you (and your shoulder) will also be happy doing lots of practice with and that you'd also want to use locally or for any other traveling hunts for deer, or whatever other big game.

You have probably noticed the feedback you are getting is all over the map. Here's a few links that are on topic--if you haven't already read these they may be eye opening, and will surely provide a window into the full spectrum of perspectives on this topic--both the "use more than enough gun to make up for your shortcomings" crowd and the "use only as much gun as needed so you can prioritize shootability" crowd are well represented in all 3 links.



 
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