Advice on 1000 yard elk hunting rig?

[MTsmith]

Before this year, I thought long range hunting was 500 yards for elk and deer using numerous .264 caliber guns.
I then went to Colorado and shot my buddy's long range custom 300 WM and took a nice six point bull at 902 yards. Watching that vapor trail and then the shock wave through the elk was incredible. Now I need my own true long range elk gun.
His gun is a modified 7mm Ruger M77 with a 30" bull Douglas barrel shooting 210 Nosl LRAB at 2887fps. This gun weighs in at 15#. This combo was devastating and dropped the bull on the spot.
I have quite a few potential 30 cal "donor" guns to customize but I thought I'd pick people's minds as to their input.
I'm in fairly good shape and condition and don't mind packing a 15# gun a few miles and I'm waffling between sticking with a heavier 30 cal bullet or asking a gunsmith to put me together a good 28 nosler throated for heavier bullets (195 Berger?).
Any thoughts or input would be appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[Plinker147]

For a true 1000 yard elk gun I would stick with Magnums 7MM or bigger. Any of the 7MM Magnums loaded with the heavies will work. Any cartridge from 7WSM to 338LM will fit the bill. Pick your favorite and go, 28 Nosler is a good choice.

 

[Hand Skills]

What about 30 Nosler?

Doesn't receive the hype of the 28, but in your 'case' it might provide the best of both worlds?

 

[Timnterra]

I think you will be happy either way you go. One word of caution, I don't like being pigeonholed into one bullet. What if you build the 28nosler and the barrel doesn't like the 195? I would build a rifle intended to shoot heavy bullets, not one in particular. If you run the numbers there isn't much difference between the 195 and 180 performance. The Hornady 180 eldm actually has a better BC than the 195 Berger. As for the 300 you have a bunch of good high bc bullets that will do the job.

 

[Elk Hunter 338]

TIMNTERRA nailed it and I preach it daily!! stick with the 30 cal of any flavor and have your choice of any bullet weight way better option in my book for when elk are primary concern

 

[86alaskan]

Or, do what I did and have a nice custom 338 RUM built. You can have it set up around 250-300gr bullets and have a pretty good variety of excellent bullets to choose from. As an added plus, you'll have the authority that a big 338 comes with when trying to anchor a bull at long range. Or a well built 30cal will wok, the choice is yours, the sky is the limit.

 

[Elk Hunter 338]

338 are bad *** too …. to many great choices!! that's it one of each ha ha

 

[Tomg]

I have both the 338 Lapua and 28 Nosler. I much prefer the lighter recoil of the 28 with 180gr berger over the 300gr Lapua bullet.

The only negative is the 28 nobler brass has been hard to find.

 

[bkillion28]

Why could he not run 180 if the 28 nosler didn't like the 195s, the brass was hard to come by for awhile but I just ran across a few boxes in sportsman warehouse 2 weeks ago

 

[lancetkenyon]

.300 RUM pushing a 230 Hybrid @ 3068fps absolutely rocks elk as far as the shooter and conditions allow.

Most of all...practice, practice, practice. Get a cartridge that allows this. 7RM, .300WM are both better choices for more shooting. But, you can always load a 28 Nosler or .300RUM DOWN to those velocities, but not vice versa.

 

[Mach 1]

I'd go with a 300 wsm. You can build it on short or long actions and they are substantially more efficient than the 300 win mag of 7mm rem mag. I've had about everything and I've pretty well settled on the 300 wsm. My favorite is a stiller actioned rock creek barreled gun. Typically the unbelted cases are a little more accurate than the belted magnums but being it's a hunting gun I dunno if it would make any difference.

 

[lancetkenyon]

Typically the unbelted cases are a little more accurate than the belted magnums but being it's a hunting gun I dunno if it would make any difference.

7RM
Cold bore shot


3 more on a different target immediately following


5 shots @ 200


5 shots @ 806

 

[WeiserBucks]

7 RM will flat get it done, have no reservations. A fast 30 or 338 is even more of a good thing.

Make no mistake, if the bullet isn't placed properly they're all wasted time and money. Practice, practice and then spend some time practicing.

 

[MTsmith]

Thank you for all of your input. After seeing that bull's reaction to a 210 grain 30 cal bullet, I am really tempted to stick with a 30 cal. I do however have quite a bit of 28 nosler brass already though.
I live in Billings, MT. Does anyone have a particular gunsmith that they could recommend for me to work with on this build?
Thanks again.