Which caliber?

[Mr Drysdale]

I am an Eastern hunter coming west this fall to hunt Elk. I own a Browning A-Bolt in 308 caliber and a Tikka Super Lite in 7RM. Both are scoped with VX3i 4.5 x 14 x 40. While I would feel confident with either I would like opinions on which you would consider the best option, which bullet and why. I will be bringing both with one as a backup. Both are shooters with current ammo for Whitetails.

 

[MikeHoncho]

Both are good calibers for elk, pick which ever you are most accurate with. If you expect to shoot at longer range, 400+ yards, I recommend the 7mm. As far as bullet choice, I am a fan of the federal fusion and the partition. Both penetrate deeply, and neither has a plastic tip, which deform in the Tikka mags from recoil (a pet peeve of mine). For the .308, the 180 accubonds are money.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Ross]

Tough to go wrong with a 7mm for elk. A little more knock down power and reach out and touch them if needed. I shoot the tikka in 7mm and have had good luck with 154 gr Hornady ssts. They are money for me and extremely accurate in my gun for a factory load.

 

[Soilworker]

I'm no expert but I just bought my first elk\deer rifle for hunting here in Idaho and I went with a Tikka T3x Hunter in .308. After reading GunDigest Shooter's Guide to Rifle Marksmanship and The Long Range Shooting Handbook I was convinced I wanted a .308. I wanted something on the lighter kicking side since it was my first high powered rifle and I want to practice a lot but I wanted to be able to elk and deer hunt with it. Those books seem to think that .308 is a good all around caliber and plenty accurate out to reasonable hunting distances.

 

[6mm Remington]

Either would serve you well.

7mm Rem with 160 gr. Partitions or Accubonds
308 Win with 165 gr. Partitions or Accubonds.

 

[dah605]

Either will work. I'd go with a heavy for caliber bullet choice that is accurate--no point in going with something like a Berger 195 in the 7mm if you don't have the proper twist rate to stabilize the bullet. 160+ grains would be the best options. The 7mm will likely give you a longer effective range accounting for the minimum velocity for bullet expansion.

-David

 

[jack88]

Either would serve you well.

7mm Rem with 160 gr. Partitions or Accubonds
308 Win with 165 gr. Partitions or Accubonds.

Perfect setups. If you cant knock an elk down with these you really need to work on your shooting.

I have even shot a small bull elk with a 140gr accubond from a 7RM and he took one stutter step and it was over.

 

[handwerk]

Both good options but if it was me and I shot them equally as well I'd pick the 7mag with barnes 150 TTSX's, though as they say the partition is never a mistake.

 

[Bar]

I use a muzzleloader so both of your choices have more power than me. Pick the one you like most.

 

[elkguide]

Which ever one you feel like carrying that day. I personally like the .30 caliber magnums but when I was guiding, I was always a lot happier to have a hunter ride into camp with his trusty old rifle that he had shot a ton of game with, than to have him come to camp with the newest, greatest, fastest, most perfect rifle, that he was afraid of. As to bullet choice, in the 7 I have always liked the 140 - 160 grain bullet and in a .30 caliber 165 - 180 grainers are where I would go. I have had great success with Nosler Partitions and Hornady Interbonds and Bergers.