Indians For Guns

Hello Friends,
I was looking to buy myself a good rifle for some Elk hunting. I do have 243 win, Tikka, T3 and a 30.06 Savage both very accurate rifles. As I have hurt my shoulder I am looking for something milder but effective too. I was thinking of 270, Please let me know what would you buy and why.

A .270 is a necked down .30/06 and less recoil is definitely not what it's known for.AFAIK, a .30/06 with appropriate bullets is as good as anything else.How about fitting a softer recoil pad and a muzzle brake to the .30/06 and a strap on protection pad to your shoulder?The first two should take a lot of bite out of the kick. Adding weight to the rifle may help too.

Best-
Vikram

Elk are approx sambhar sized animals. I suggest you get your shoulder fixed or rested for the 30-06 with heavy loads. Where are you based now? what are your 30-06 loads?
I do prefer matter over mind-heavy matter-when it comes to big animals

The 270 Win while a great flat shooting cartridge isnt particularly soft on the shoulder. I have a pre War Model 70 with an original Steel Butt plate chambered for the 270 Win. The rifle is scoped with a Ziess Davairi 6x24 with a 56 mm objective. The whole rig weighs close to 9 pounds and is great for those notional 400 yard shots but i find my 375 H and H more fun to shoot. It has less to do with the butt plate and more to do with the fast burning powder I guess. For a good elk rifle why not try the 7 x 57 Mauser. It has a mild recoil, soft muzzle blast and is sufficiently flat shooting.
Best Wishes

The .30-06 is more than adequate for any game in N America. Get a decent recoil pad and you're set.
Personally I wouldnt take a shot at game at 400 yards, but then that is me.

Hi there!
> As eljefe mentioned Elks are Sambar sized animals.
> My personal experience with Sambar is - use a 30.06 rifle loaded with 180gr Silver Tip cartridges - especially if you are looking at distances of 175 to 250yds.
> 180gr Silver Tips provide deep penetration and controlled expansion and has a flatter trajectory than a 220gr soft nosed bullet.
> Shot placement is all important - for this you need to zero your scope with 180gr ammo to hit the target at 170yds. This will allow you to judge as to how high you have to aim if your quarry is beyond 180yds. The best bet is to get a high neck, behind the ear or a shoulder shot (either of which)will give a clean kill or anchor the animal for a second shot.
> Get your shoulder in shape - light massages with herbal oils & warm fomentation should put you in action - use a soft shoulder pad to absorb the kick.
> Happy shooting.
Cheers
Brihacharan

There's nothing wrong with the 30-06, as others have said. Beyond that, and beyond your recoil tolerance, you should consider where you are hunting -- what the terrain is like.

Elk are not woods/forest animals. They are plains animals -- grazers -- who have adapted to the forest due to population pressures. They are not like deer, which are browsers. They are grazing plains animals.

Elk will range much more than Whitetail or even Mule deer. They will move around, taking weeks to complete their movements and return. Often, the will bed down during the day on the edges of forest clear cuts, staying just far enough into the wood to see out, but not be seen. They will often graze during a full moon, so hunting can be less productive during those times.

Regarding their eyesight, hearing, and sense of smell: If you see, hear, or smell and elk, you are too late, because they have long since sensed you in the same way. They are much much smarter than deer!

If you are mainly hunting in open country or relatively open forests, then you want something that has a flatter trajectory and can reach out there. On the other hand, if you are hunting in heavily forested areas, you will want something heavier that will give you better performance through the trees.

Often, out West in the forests, one will encounter what we called "dog's hair pine," which is a stand of young lodgepole pine. Such a stand will consist of trees from 1 to 2 inches in diameter and 10 to 20 feet high. You will have a heck of a time getting through such a stand, as some will be bent or broken from the weight of winter snows.

Mr. Bull Elk likes dogs hair pine stands. He can get in them and you will smell him, but not see him. Where you have terrible problems getting through these trees, Mr. Bull Elk will just lay back that huge 6 point or royal rack of his and light up the afterburners, bashing through the woods with such a noise that you may wish you had an extra pair of underwear with you.

In this sort of hunting, you may want something like 338 or even 45-70. Some guys love the old BARs in 338 for this sort of thing.

So you really might want to think of where you are hunting, as well as what sort of recoil you want to deal with.

For instance, in Montana, some of the largest bulls can be found around the Ft Peck reservoir. This is open high dry plains country. The bulls are very large for Montana, and it is hard to draw a tag in this area because of the hunting competition. But this is the sort of open country where a 7mm Mag might be a better choice than a 30 06.

If you are going to come over and hunt without a guide, you are kidding yourself. Successful elk hunters have scoped the area they intend to hunt and know the regular movements of the elk herds and the paths they take. They will get into position and will generally have a good idea of when the elk are going to be in a certain area, and they will be there waiting for them. If you think you will show up for a weekend or a week and claim your trophy on land that you are unfamiliar with, and have not scouted and reconnoitered well, you are kidding yourself and wasting a pile of dough for the trip. In a case like this, you won't need to worry about what rifle to pack -- just take a few rocks to throw, and you'll be just about as likely to take a bull.

Areas that are not as heavily hunted by the locals will be very far up into wilderness areas, which can make horses almost necessary, another thing that makes a guide a good choice for the non-resident elk hunter.

Thank you Vikram, Eljefe, Shooter50, MoA, Brihacharan and Timmy for taking the time to write to me, your fellow outdoors man. I think I will go with my 30.06 with some modifications to it as suggested by you all. I am currently based out of beautiful California and plan to hunt in Idaho this fall. I plan to use Federal Premium, Nosler AccuBond in 180 grains. I have a good friend there and he is helping me with the guide service, so that I do not waste my time. Hopefully I will be ready my then with my shoulder injury
Best