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Old August 13, 2016, 12:16 PM   #1
chuckscap
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Big bores for elk hunting

I've always been a fan of being a "one rifle" for everything kind of guy. For many years it was my BDL in 270, loaded with 150g Partitions at 3000 fps . I killed everything from grouse, javelina, deer, elk, black bear and finished off two grizzlies guiding in the early 70s with it. Since I gave that to my son, I've been using my 500 Jeffery in the same manner. My theory is, if I'm going to use it to hunt dangerous game, I'd better be damn familiar with it. It is a sub MOA rifle. With me shooting (I'm the limiting factor) I can keep my 570g A-Frames (at 2300 fps) in a 6" circle sitting with a sling at 300 yards which is about as far as I will shoot at elk anymore. I prefer jump shooting them in the black timber. Anyway, so far I've gotten a 450 lb feral hog at 8 feet and a cow elk at 225 yards with it. Taking it elk hunting again this year, looking for a big bull, maybe brown bear hunting in a few years once my kids are out of college.

So anyone else using 375 H&H rifles and up for elk hunting?

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Old August 13, 2016, 12:27 PM   #2
flashhole
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That's a nice pig.

Looks like shot placement will not be a problem for you.
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Old August 13, 2016, 04:36 PM   #3
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Nothing says you can't use a 500 Jeffreys for game animals. Kind of like swatting a fly with a Buick, but if it's your "1 rifle go anywhere" gun, why not?
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Old August 13, 2016, 04:42 PM   #4
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I was thinking something along those lines too. I would be content using my 7mm Rem Mag' on Elk.
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Old August 13, 2016, 06:23 PM   #5
chuckscap
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Thanks. "They don't get up" As a friend told me in Montana in 1970 when I asked him why he was hunting deer with his Dad's pre-64 M70 in 375 H&H.
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Old August 13, 2016, 06:31 PM   #6
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Hunting is something we do for fun. I believe in using the gun you enjoy using as long as it is big enough to be ethical and not so punishing the shooter can't shoot it accurately. It isn't the path I'd take, but that doesn't mean it is the wrong path. Nice work.
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Old August 13, 2016, 07:30 PM   #7
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My dad has given away or sold all his rifles but his .300 Weatherby. He rarely hunts anything but elk anymore but it is now his do everything gun. He and it get the job done. I can not remember the last time he did not kill what he was shooting at. As a matter of fact I can not remember him ever not killing any big game he shot at.

I have other options but my 7mm Rem Mag is my go to cover most bases gun.
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Old August 13, 2016, 10:52 PM   #8
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Whatever works.

My family has been know to take the big boys out even for squirrels and rabbits. .450 Nitro, .458 Win Mag, .416 Rigby, and on down the line...


Quote:
So anyone else using 375 H&H rifles and up for elk hunting?
I'm a fan of .444 Marlin - almost as much for my comfort with Marlin 336 family rifles as my love of the cartridge.

This year, I have three 444s to choose from. One is scoped. One is wearing a peep sight. And one has factory irons.
If I can decide which one to take, I'll be good to go.

Like you mentioned being your preference, I often find myself in the dark timber. (Very) Short range is much more common than 100+ yard shots.
In fact, my last Elk [scoped 444] was taken at just 75 yards (first shot) and 25 yards (just to make sure) -- even though we were in one of the few little open areas with options for 150+ yard shots in the valley that my family was hunting.
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Old August 13, 2016, 10:57 PM   #9
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I generally go the opposite direction. I've hunted with 300 weatherby all the way down to 6.5 grendel for elk. this year I am flip flopping between a swedish mauser and an M1 garand for the elk gun.
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Old August 13, 2016, 11:03 PM   #10
Deaf Smith
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500 Jeffery? Why not? I've used .338 WM on deer (yep, kills them dead it does!) So why not a 500 Jeffery!

Bet you are a crack shot with it.

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Old August 14, 2016, 02:52 AM   #11
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My biggest bore is a rather sedate 9.3x62, so I don't even meet the 375H&H minimum

But last I checked it was still legal for Cape Buff in some African nations, although the odds of me hunting Africa declined greatly once my kids came along.....

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Old August 14, 2016, 07:58 AM   #12
Dranrab
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Dance with the one that bring you!

Where did you get that hog? I have seen very few that had that much white on them. They were all in the Pascagoula River swamp.
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Old August 14, 2016, 09:06 AM   #13
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Once you have enough power, having more is just a personal preference. It may not help, but it doesn't hurt either, as long as you can shoot it well.

I have used my 375H&H a lot for hunting elk, not because that amount of power is needed, but because I like the rifle a lot, and because where I hunt there are LOTS of grizzlies, and I just feel better with the 375H&H in my hands when I am seeing grizzlies around.

But when I am hunting elk in the places where there are no big bears I have often used my 270s. This year I may take my 8MM Mauser, and/or my 300 H&H. Last year I am my wife used a 270 short mag and a 308 Mossberg MVP. We took our elk just fine.

I do not recommend using minimalist calibers to new elk hunters because many of them come from states where they don't get to hunt elk often, or at all, and you may not want to turn down a shot because it's not quite the right angle, knowing you may never get another chance for a very long time, or maybe never again.
I believe a 243, a 257 Roberts, a 6.8SPC or a 6.5 Grendel will kill elk if you don't try to make them do things you shouldn't, but 270s 30-06s and 308s are all very common rifles to find at most guns stores all over the USA, so when I talk to hunters from other places I usually tell them to bring something of at least 6.5 Swede power or better. A lot more power is fine as long as they can shoot it well.
If someone is going to come out to Wyoming (or any other place) for a once in a lifetime hunt, I would probably recommend they bring something that is not so specialized that they may need to turn down 1 out of every 2 elk they see. Any rifle in the 270 to 30-06 range that shoots a good bullet that will expand and hold most of its weight is fine for elk.

Penetration is important, but we don't need elephant killers for elk. It's fine to use an elephant rifle if you have one and you like it, and if you can carry it all day long at high altitudes in steep country, and if you can shoot it well.

I once killed an elk with a slim wood stick with a 190 grain steel blade on the end. It's called an arrow. I used a wood laminate bow to launch it. I worked just fine.

I have also hunted and killed elk with 44 mag handguns, always with open iron sights and not worried that I would not get another chance, because I live close by and I can hunt them several times a week for 2 months every year. If the shot was not a sure thing I didn't fire. When I fired I killed my elk, and so far every one shot with a handgun was a 1 shot kill.

My old friend Bob Ellis killed elk with his 257 Roberts regularly with factory 117 grain ammo, but he was a VERY good marksman and he would turn down shots that were not perfect. I never knew him to fire twice either. Living when the elk live, you can do that, and not worry much about having an empty freezer.

So if you can hit an elk in the right place with a projectile that penetrates well and give you a wound of 1" diameter or larger, you are going to bring home elk meat, but YOU are going to bring home elk meat, not your weapon.

99% of this is about the hunter, not the weapon.
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Old August 14, 2016, 11:42 AM   #14
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For a while I hunted deer and pigs with a 458 Win Mag. I used 350 grain Hornady RNs @ ~2000 fps. Judging by the exit wounds they expanded well, but I'm not sure because I never found one. The animals dropped where they were.

I finally stopped because I got tired of hauling a 9+ lb rifle around to do a job I could do just as well with a much lighter rifle. I sure wouldn't want to haul one up a snow covered mountain at 10,000 feet.

But if that doesn't bother you and you can hit with it, then by all means go ahead.
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Old August 14, 2016, 04:35 PM   #15
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Quote:
It's fine to use an elephant rifle if you have one and you like it, and if you can carry it all day long at high altitudes in steep country, and if you can shoot it well.
+10 for Wyosmith's comments.

My guide in South Africa (2010) told a story of a guy who brought his 300 win mag for plains game. The guy was sighted in pretty good but either missed shots or made bad shots on two animals causing some extended trailing. Following number two, the guide finally convinced the guy to use his .30-06 and they had good shots thereafter.

Shot placement is everything no matter what game you're shooting at.
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Old August 14, 2016, 04:41 PM   #16
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I want to hear about the pig. Looks more like an escaped domestic than a wild hog. I bet it was tasty.
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Old August 14, 2016, 05:17 PM   #17
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Someday, I hope to have a .375 H&H, and a bunch of other things. More importantly, I'd like to live a lifestyle where I can justify them.

I attended a seminar recently on elk hunting, and the sage advice seems unanimous; use an adequate caliber that you can shoot well, instead of the dinosaur slayer that you're intimidated by.

If that shoe does not apply, please don't wear it.

I've got a cow elk hunt coming up in just over a month. The .270 will once again be the premier weapon, with the .308 as backup.
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Old August 14, 2016, 05:52 PM   #18
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It is your shoulder. I would not abuse mine shoulder that way, but mine has been reconstructed.
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Old August 14, 2016, 08:50 PM   #19
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We had few in our gun club that hunt elk with 375 H&H and that's about largest I know of.

I hunt with what I want and your can't fault someone for doing that.
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Old August 14, 2016, 09:13 PM   #20
shootbrownelk
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I'm with Reynolds. I have a .375 H&H Model 70. I did use it a lot for Elk in Western Wyoming in Grizzly country. I have since developed arthritis in both shoulders and I have turned the .375 into a safe queen.
I don't hunt in Teton park anymore since the wolves, and have since downsized to my Model 70 in 30.06. I also just bought a 600 Remington carbine in .243 because even the 30.06 recoil is painful, and I may experiment with it and some Hornady E-tips.
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Old August 15, 2016, 07:22 PM   #21
chuckscap
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I've gotten somewhere north of two dozen elk with the BDL in 270 Win I bought in the late 60s. I killed a bunch of deer and black bears too with it, so I know it's plenty of gun for elk. I gave that rifle to my youngest son (he's right handed, my older son is a leftie and he has one too) and he got his first elk with it already. I bought a used 270 Weatherby Mark V but just can't find myself to want to take it out in the woods. The 500 just comes up to my shoulder naturally and swings like a fine shotgun. So the 500 it is ...

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Old August 16, 2016, 10:20 AM   #22
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I may get me one of those if the mastadons or wooly mammoths ever start trampling my flower beds.
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Old August 16, 2016, 04:05 PM   #23
flashhole
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I'm still hoping to hear about the pig.
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Old August 16, 2016, 04:37 PM   #24
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I head shot a boar with a 375 at about ten yards. No tracking involved
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Old August 17, 2016, 11:30 PM   #25
chuckscap
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Shot the pig at a 1000 acre fenced ranch with my son south of Craig Colorado. The owner had imported a bunch of Russian Boars and I guess they mated with some hogs he had and are rampant throughout his ranch. We hunted with dogs. My son got a bigger one with his 270, shot it in they eye at 15 feet. Need a finishing shot to quiet it down. I think we paid $250 each.



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