Smallest elk rifle

[Backpack Hunter]

My kids will get to start off with my 243 and the barnes ttsx bullets. Elk hunting is usually a close range sport where I go. Archery works well too

I'm a fan of the 243 for myself with pretty much deer and everything smaller. You think it packs enough "punch" at 300 yards, or are we talking much closer?

 

[squeekieslayer]

Looks like a few votes for 7mm-08 out there. Comparatively what is the recoil like on a 260? Can't say I have ever shot a 260 of any flavor.

As for questions concerning why, it's for a small framed child who will eventually grow up to be a beautiful woman.

Totally makes sense then. I wasnt trying to hurt feeling or be mean, i understand everyone has limitations. I understand the "i have this rifle... will it be big enough for elk?" question. But have always been curious why people purposely push limits if they dont have to. Most of the time its due to speed or some other hype. Your answer makes my argument irrelevant.

Joe

Joe

 

[Justin Crossley]

The .260 will be about the same as a 7mm-08. It really all depends on bullet weight.

I feel that the .260 is one of the best calibers available for a young hunter.

 

[Jason Snyder]

I am shopping for a rifle for my daughter also. I have pretty much come to the conclusion that either a 7-08 or a .308 are absolutely the ideal cartridge for a lighter weight rifle that still has plenty of punch for anything in the lower 48. Both of those calibers are more than enough gun for elk out to 300 yards.

How many times have you heard people espouse how well a .308 kills critters? All the time. It's because they are 1) damned accurate and 2) a pleasure to shoot. I used to buy into the "when a shot goes bad" theory. I don't anymore. Shot placement is everything, and I've learned there really is no need to push the envelope and take iffy shots that can quickly turn into crappy shots. I am teaching my daughter the same philosophy.

 

[Browtine]

Looks like a few votes for 7mm-08 out there. Comparatively what is the recoil like on a 260? Can't say I have ever shot a 260 of any flavor.

As for questions concerning why, it's for a small framed child who will eventually grow up to be a beautiful woman.

We have several kids in our household shooting 7-08s. Great cartridge. However, keep in mind that a full house 7-08 in a light or youth sized rifle will still pop a smaller person pretty god. I'm downloading them for my 10 year old's practice sessions.

 

[Sam Millard]

We have several kids in our household shooting 7-08s. Great cartridge. However, keep in mind that a full house 7-08 in a light or youth sized rifle will still pop a smaller person pretty god. I'm downloading them for my 10 year old's practice sessions.

Yep, I bought my daughter a Ruger compact in 7-08 that ended up kicking like a mule. Didn't bother me, but scared her. Went to a 7 pound 243 with no problems. She now hunts with a 7 pound 260 and loves it.

 

[280Ackley]

I just worked up a load for my son to use in my .280 AI. I am using .280 brass with barnes 120gr TTSX in front of 38 grains of H4895. It is shooting 3/4 in group @ 2600fps. It has about the same recoil as the Ruger American in .223 he was using. The velocity is high enough for proper expansion on shots out to 300 yards according to the Barnes website. Plus I get fire formed brass out of the deal . I would also caution you on the 25-06. I have one and love it but it has a pretty sharp rasp. I think it kicks just as hard with the 117 grs as my .280 does with 168 grs.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Totally makes sense then. I wasnt trying to hurt feeling or be mean, i understand everyone has limitations. I understand the "i have this rifle... will it be big enough for elk?" question. But have always been curious why people purposely push limits if they dont have to. Most of the time its due to speed or some other hype. Your answer makes my argument irrelevant.

Joe

Joe

No worries, and no hurt feelings. I didn't disclose much "why" detail so people would frame their own arguments.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Justonemoreshot; thank you for the table.

 

[JustOneMoreShot]

You are very welcome. The website is interesting and I used to pour over it for hours a day several years ago. I don't agree with everything on it but it does provide a lot of good information and ideas.

 

[Huntr]

I killed my elk last year with a custom 260 Rem. Wouldn't hesitate to use it again, and to ranges that far exceed 400 yards.

 

[GFY]

I shot my first 6 elk with a .243 then went to a .270 then a .300 WSM. The last elk I shot with a rifle was three years ago and was again with a .243. Every elk I have shot with the .245 has been inside 150 yards. Never have had a problem. If you are shooting much further I would suggest moving up in bullet diameter.

 

[flyingbrass]

7mm-08 is what my son shoots!

 

[Chad E]

I was looking for a rifle for my wife last year and looked at a bunch of different options and did a lot of research. She's pretty small and hadn't shot much before meeting me so I was fairly concerned about recoil. All my research and looking at different guns led me to narrow it down to two calibers the 25-06 and 7mm-08. I ended up going with the 25-06 because it was mostly going to be a deer rifle with a fair amount of coyote hunting thrown in. Had I wanted an all purpose big game rifle I would of gone with the 7mm-08 just because of the higher bullet weights available. That being said I am super impressed with the 25-06 she shoots it extremely well and the kick does not bother her at all. I worked up a load for it that is lights out with a 110 grain accubond. She was able to take her first deer ever with it a couple weeks ago and the results were impressive the deer only made it 15 yards from where it was initially shot. Having seen the performance on the deer and having killed a few elk myself I wouldn't hesitate to say its capable of taking an elk at reasonable ranges with a good shot placement but I would however try and work up a load for the 120 grain partition if elk was the goal. As with any caliber shot placement is key.
The one last thing I would add is keep in mind the weight of the rifle it has a huge impact on recoil. I personally don't mind recoil to much but I have shot a couple youth model rifles in fairly light calibers that kicked/jumped like crazy so sometimes lightweight isn't always the best option.

 

[luke moffat]

My opinion is solely based on moose, black bears, grizzly bears, mountain goats, dall sheep, and caribou NOT elk so take it for what its worth. I have seen animals killed with 243, 7-08, and 308. Not 260 yet but my wife has one and we hope to get to use it on an animal at some point. That said if I was buying a rifle for a growing hunter with the idea of an elk rifle it would be 7-08 or .308. Reason being you can load them down with 120TTSX (7-08) or 130 TTSX (.308) for the recoil shy and still have them going at or above 3K fps for a realatively flat shooting round. At 300 and even to 400 yards the "lousy" BC of a 130 TTSX isn't much to "worry" about IMO. A 260 140 accubond at 2850 with a BC of .509 compared to a 130 TTSX at @ 3050 (what I get out of my 20" barrel .308) is only .5" difference of elevation difference (in favor of the 130 TTSX) and the 130 TTSX drifts 4" more than wind drift at 400 yards. And in a 10 MPH wind you likely aren't going to be shooting elk with at 400 anyways. At 300 yards the difference is only 2".

But what the 308 gives you that the 260 doesn't is the ability as the shooter gets older to use the same rifle with significantly heavier bullets. Eventually you will could be using 165 to 180 Accubonds at 2800 to 2650 fps. That is more lead than a 260 will ever be able to shoot. Not saying the 260 is a bad choice, but I believe the 308 gives one more options especially when ranges are limited to 300-400 like you say. At those ranges the lighter bullets of the .308 or 7-08 with the not as "cool" BCs are a non-factor in my opinion.

I think folks get wrapped up (myself at time fall into it as well) too much with the bullets BC and SD. Placement is everything. I just don't see a reason to limit yourself with a 260 that can only shoot 100 to 140 ish (yes I know they make 160s but I'm not advocating loading 220s in the 308 either )grain bullets. Options are a good thing and the ability to load up different loads as the person grows is a great option. At the end of the day they all work, so why not choose the one that gives the most options. Sounds like you aren't trying ot setup a LR rig but a youth rifle so don't worry about BC.

 

[Sam Millard]

My opinion is solely based on moose, black bears, grizzly bears, mountain goats, dall sheep, and caribou NOT elk so take it for what its worth. I have seen animals killed with 243, 7-08, and 308. Not 260 yet but my wife has one and we hope to get to use it on an animal at some point. That said if I was buying a rifle for a growing hunter with the idea of an elk rifle it would be 7-08 or .308. Reason being you can load them down with 120TTSX (7-08) or 130 TTSX (.308) for the recoil shy and still have them going at or above 3K fps for a realatively flat shooting round. At 300 and even to 400 yards the "lousy" BC of a 130 TTSX isn't much to "worry" about IMO. A 260 140 accubond at 2850 with a BC of .509 compared to a 130 TTSX at @ 3050 (what I get out of my 20" barrel .308) is only .5" difference of elevation difference (in favor of the 130 TTSX) and the 130 TTSX drifts 4" more than wind drift at 400 yards. And in a 10 MPH wind you likely aren't going to be shooting elk with at 400 anyways. At 300 yards the difference is only 2".

But what the 308 gives you that the 260 doesn't is the ability as the shooter gets older to use the same rifle with significantly heavier bullets. Eventually you will could be using 165 to 180 Accubonds at 2800 to 2650 fps. That is more lead than a 260 will ever be able to shoot. Not saying the 260 is a bad choice, but I believe the 308 gives one more options especially when ranges are limited to 300-400 like you say. At those ranges the lighter bullets of the .308 or 7-08 with the not as "cool" BCs are a non-factor in my opinion.

I think folks get wrapped up (myself at time fall into it as well) too much with the bullets BC and SD. Placement is everything. I just don't see a reason to limit yourself with a 260 that can only shoot 100 to 140 ish (yes I know they make 160s but I'm not advocating loading 220s in the 308 either )grain bullets. Options are a good thing and the ability to load up different loads as the person grows is a great option. At the end of the day they all work, so why not choose the one that gives the most options. Sounds like you aren't trying ot setup a LR rig but a youth rifle so don't worry about BC.

Geez, somebody sure is BC sensitive!

 

[luke moffat]

Agreed...but the animals aren't sensitive to it inside MPBR

 

[Chad E]

To tack on to my previous post I am super impressed with the on game performance of the 25-06, I think it is a phenomenal deer round and will probably steal her rifle for a few deer hunts in the future. If/when my wife draws and elk tag I plan to purchase a 308 more or less for all the reasons Luke stated above and I believe my wife can handle the recoil and still shoot accurately. I personally believe shot placement is everything so by all means pick a caliber or load that the shooter can handle and shoot accurately. I'd much rather see a 243 round go through the boiler room than a 300 round go through the guts.

 

[martin_shooter]

Killed an elk this year with a .270 with 130 grain bullet at 394 yards. Bull took 5 steps and dropped. IMHO the .270 is one of the most underrated long range hunting cartridge out there. I've seen a 150 grain .270 bullet swing a gong harder at 600 yards than a .264 mag. A HIGH quality factory round with good placement is all you need. If your looking to outfit a new hunter the recoil on a .270 is nothing. The shells are also relatively inexpensive and widely available. The biggest factor is getting people out to shoot the gun and be comfortable with whatever rifle you decide. The .270 was my first rifle handed down to me from my dad. In my 13 years of hunting with it, I've killed whitetails and muleys out to 650 yards with the animal usually falling within 75 yards.

 

[Touchdown88]

My wife shot her bull elk with a custom 270 that my Grandpa built. For practice we would blow up watermelons with a 22-250 that is a twin to the 270. I like having the option of doing most of the target shooting with varmint guns with one or two range sessions with the larger caliber rifle. I find most of the problems associated with newer hunters not to be the recoil but actually finding the target in the scope. Other than people getting scoped, I've never personally heard of someone feeling recoil while shooting at an animal.