Prefered elk cartridge for a 300 yard shot.

[Boogershooter]

I completely agree that he needs more range time. Problem is he thinks that 2 or 3 shots at a 16 inch gong at 300 yards is good enough. He'd rather tell stories about all the great shots he's made over the years. His optics are quite capable. Thanks for all the helpful opinions.

[ZeroJunk]

Sometimes when I read stuff like this I wonder if the father in law has a thread going somewhere about the son in law.

[TimSr]

Honestly, none of the rifles will do what your FIL wants it to do any better than his .30-06. What you have to change is your FIL, and where he shoots his elk. If elk are dropping off into the nasty terrain after being shot, you have to change where he's shooting them.

I have to agree. It's like stopping a car by shooting a hole in the gas tank. Unless you break the chassis or kill the engine, it's not going down until it bleeds out. Doesn't really matter what caliber you use that's passing through the ribs. I just don't see that much meat on the shoulder that's worth taking a bleed-out shot to save, but the simple truth is, he can't have it both ways. If he wants to save that extra pound of burger meat on the shoulder, he's going to have to go down in the ravine and recover it.

[AllenJ]

Getting elk back to the vehicle is the toughest part of the hunt, no doubt. When I first started hunting them in the early 90's we used to ground skin, quarter, and then pack each quarter out on a pack frame. If there were four of us, that equaled one trip, if there were only two of us we made two trips. For the last 7 or so years we now still ground skin them but use the gutless method, leaving I don't know how many pounds of worthless bones behind. If your divide the lose meat between the hind quarters front shoulders you can easily pack out and entire elk in three trips with each pack load weighing in the 80 pound range. Sounds like a lot but with a good pack it is truly not all that hard. Only twice in my time hunting elk have we been able to get the vehicle right up to the animal(s), and I hope for it every year but it's just not that common where we hunt.

[Deja vu]

IF it was me I would go with a tried and true 30-06. That is an all american round!

Most any thing that you can shoot accuratly enough to hit at 300 yards will have the power to be effective if a vital is hit.

[Jack O'Conner]

I've had good luck taking Wyoming bulls with my .308 rifle but my longest shot was approx. 225 yards. I suggest a rifle chambered for 7mm Remington MAG for those long shots. Recoil is about the same as a 30-06 which isn't too bad at all.

Jack

[Mobuck]

I've stayed out of this discussion since I'm not much of an elk hunter but since it's staying close to the top, I'll give my opinion.
I've only shot 5 elk before health and money took elk hunting out of my life. Two of them were under 100 yards with the 7mm Rem mag and it performed quite well. The other 3 were 300 yards plus with the 300 Win mag. As far as I'm concerned, the 300 WM is the top choice. It hammers the elk with more authority(perceived) than the smaller calibers. Immediate bullet effect is more apparent(my experience) and the animals were obviously showing signs of being hit.
In addition, the 300WM is all the gun I can handle well so the answer is plain. I've watched guys hitting all over the target with 338 Win mags and bigger while commenting the rifle was "good to 400 yards". My Son killed his first bull with one shot from a 30/06 while one of the .338 guys fired 5 times and the guides spent half the night finding it.

[Arizona Fusilier]

So every year, more or less, your FIL reliably bags an elk. And nearly every time, it falls into a ravine, making recovery difficult.

Man.....I wish I had that problem.........

[Boogershooter]

Arizona I know I should appreciate the opportunities I have and truely I do. It's just a hard pill to swallow when he isn't willing to make any changes that would make my family's trip much more enjoyable. Glad the old fart is still hunting.

[Ifishsum]

We always used to try and get our elk out whole - until one year we had no choice but to quarter and drag/pack one out due to terrain and blowdown. It turned out to be the easiest and quickest recovery we'd ever done...and left us wondering why we ever tried to get one of those beasts out in one piece. Since then we've only tried to get one animal out whole, just because there was a road we could drive in on 300 yds downhill from the kill site. And then we had to call for help to get in into the truck bed because the boy and I of us couldn't quite do it. If help hadn't been only 20 minutes away it would have been butchered right there. It's really easier that way.

[Worc]

Any of the cartridges you mention would be fine. I use the .300 Wby mag. with a 180 gr AB Weatherby load for elk. I've not had one go more than a 100 yards yet with most taking only a few steps before tipping over. It has 800 foot pounds more energy at 300 yards than the 30-06 with a 180 gr with a MV of 2,820fps (Superformance). Important if that big bull happens to move slightly as you pull the trigger or you have a less than perfect angle. It's also flatter shooting and mine shoots sub MOA of a back pack. Using a gun like a Accumark the recoil is not bad at all due to the weight of the gun with scope. A good sling and a good back pack like an Eberlestock with built in scabbard makes hauling around a heavier rifle in elk country much easier.

[The_Jerkman]

I would have to mention the above reasons Worc mentioned. As the saying goes you can't kill anything deader than dead. Personally I would rather have a larger caliber gun just for the added insurance as well as range with the rifle. As long as you can comfortably shoot the .300 Wby mag. then that would be my go to and you absolutely need hearing protection when shooting that gun and even more critically if you have a brake installed on it. One shot with a break and no protection you can burst your eardrums

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[Boogershooter]

It's funny that yall commented on this thread today. I picked up a box of hornady 180 grain interlocks this evening. I know it's a soft bullet but at 300 yards it should be perfect for the velocity of the 300 weatherby. I also picked up a couple boxes of hornady 200 grain sst's for the 338wm.

[Saskhunter]

There is no bullet that can be shot from any shoulder fired rifle that will drop an elk on the spot every time. There are some places you can shoot an elk that will drop it on the spot every time, and you can do it with almost any cartridge, but those targets are small and not suitable for 300 yard shots.

You can't solve the problem with a new rifle. You can't ask him to hit the brain or spine from 300 yards. You could get closer and "spine" it first and then walk up and kill it, but apparently his "spot" is somehow more important than solving the problem you have. You have a problem.

It seems to me that having an animal run a short distance in the few seconds between a killing shot and becoming unconscious is a fact of hunting life. If it was my FIL I would set up to haul the animal better and go hunting. Money spent on that would be more helpful. It would feel pretty futile to be hauling the elk out of the same spot while the FIL watched holding his new expensive gun.

And I have to ask. Does he have no understanding of just how inconsiderate and self centered his demands on his hunting partners are? I would consider explaining the issue in clear terms, FIL or not. The issue here is stubborn selfishness more than a cartridge question.

[Charles S]

It really sounds like you have a good understanding of the problem and solution after reading through the complete thread.

You already know this, but you are looking for a hardware solution to a software problem.

The 30-06 is completely adequate for elk at 300 yards with any premium bullet. No other reasonable caliber will be guaranteed to anchor an elk at that distance with that shot.

I really don't feel changing caliber is the solution. Of course it is not my family, but my brother and I have had a similar issue. He continues to make his choice and I choose not to bust my butt afterwards. A lot of work to recover his animal may have him re-think his solution. It is easy not to change if you have no repercussions from your choice. A little "skin in the game" may make him re-think his shot.

[Paul B.]

Coming late into the conversation and I know there are other elk hunters with more experience than I have. I've shot elk with the .300 Win. Mag., 30-06 and .35 Whelen.
The .300 mag. was a one shot DRT shooting a 200 gr. Speer Hot Core at nearly 2900 FPS.
The 30-06 was again a one shot kill shooting a 165 gr. Nobler Accubond at2900 FPS. Elk ran about 30 feet and died.
The.35 Whelen took four elk and distances of 150 to 350 yards using the 225 gr. Barnes TSX at 2700 FPS. Two of the shots including the 350 yard shot were DRT. The other two were hit a bit too far back as they trotted away from me. Both were instants stops at impact and required a finisher. Bad shooting on my part. My point is maybe some of those old timers had something when they used rifles with a bigger bore. FWIW, the two that needed that second shot were at 240 and 275 yards. Maybe old Elmer Keith had something on the ball when it comes to hunting elk.
Dunno if I'll ever do another elk hunt. My wife had a stroke so I had to cancel my hunt for this year. I'm 77 years old coming on 78 shortly. If the good Lord sees fit to allow me another hunt, It'll be the Whelen that goes with me.
Recoil isn't much worse than the 06 with a stiff 180 gr. load as compared in my two rifles, both in Remington M700 Classic style. The only change made is both have Pachmeyr Decelerator recoil pads.
Just my humble two cents worth.
Paul B.

[Boogershooter]

Paul good to see you back. Havnt heard from you in awhile. My prayers to you and your family.

[Art Eatman]

Crossed fingers for you, Paul.

Looks like there's more than enough good advice and commentary in this thread. Leave some for the next fella.