Best Caliber Rifle Elk

[INVICTUS]

Hi everyone, so I am new Elk and deer hunter. I grew up hunting mostly upland game. I am going on a guided Elk hunt in October in Idaho and I looking to purchase a larger caliber rifle than my 6.5 creedmoor. I've ready many articles debating this topic. I am a big guy 6-3 230. Not afraid of a little sore shoulder or kick. For a new hunter would you go 30-06, .300 MAG or even 300 WSM. I hunter mule deer there last year and the terrain is steep so and rugged so obviously weight is an issue. I was looking into the Tikka superior WSM or lite 300. Would appreciate any guidance! Thank you.

270 win . Great Elk round and somehow it seems to have been forgotten these days. The 270 was sort of the standard for long range flat trajectory and I guess it wasn't new and didn't receive the marketing. It's definitely still very effective.

Good luck on your hunt.

 

[TheLongRanger83702]

Where in Idaho?

 

[Jimbarnett]

Hi everyone, so I am new Elk and deer hunter. I grew up hunting mostly upland game. I am going on a guided Elk hunt in October in Idaho and I looking to purchase a larger caliber rifle than my 6.5 creedmoor. I've ready many articles debating this topic. I am a big guy 6-3 230. Not afraid of a little sore shoulder or kick. For a new hunter would you go 30-06, .300 MAG or even 300 WSM. I hunter mule deer there last year and the terrain is steep so and rugged so obviously weight is an issue. I was looking into the Tikka superior WSM or lite 300. Would appreciate any guidance! Thank you.

.300 H&H long time proven

 

[Calvin45]

I'm biased to what I own…300 win mag. It's Just so darn agreeable to work with, versatile in application, and it's everywhere.

 

[tx338]

I might be biased towards the 338 Win Mag, but as many others have stated, pretty much any flavor of 7mm to 300 magnum will work fine on elk. I'd be more worried about what ammo I could source to get a bunch of practice rounds down range before your hunt.

 

[pony doctor]

Hi everyone, so I am new Elk and deer hunter. I grew up hunting mostly upland game. I am going on a guided Elk hunt in October in Idaho and I looking to purchase a larger caliber rifle than my 6.5 creedmoor. I've ready many articles debating this topic. I am a big guy 6-3 230. Not afraid of a little sore shoulder or kick. For a new hunter would you go 30-06, .300 MAG or even 300 WSM. I hunter mule deer there last year and the terrain is steep so and rugged so obviously weight is an issue. I was looking into the Tikka superior WSM or lite 300. Would appreciate any guidance! Thank you.

I have hunted elk all my life and taken them with 270 Win, 7mm Rem Mag,, 30/338, and even the 308 Winchester. you want a relatively light nimble rifle as elk country can be rigorous. You also want s good muzzle brake and or supressor to enjoy shooting most any rifle capable of taking Elk. It is basically not the caliber that matters most, it is shot placement and knowing the " energy" of the round and thus the limiting distance of that round. Taking elk at 1000 yards, in my opinion is not ethical nor necessary.

 

[jaspepp]

Just go 300 win and be done. Lots of off the shelf options, even more if you hand load. I do believe the tikka does their 30 cal barrels in 11 twist, that's the only down side. It limits you to about 200 gr if you're looking for the long sleek high bc bullets. Just to throw out another rifle to look at, the browning hells canyon speed is an awesome option that fits your bill pretty well to. Either way, no one has given bad advice here yet. Everything listed on here has been a very good option

 

[284ackley]

Hi everyone, so I am new Elk and deer hunter. I grew up hunting mostly upland game. I am going on a guided Elk hunt in October in Idaho and I looking to purchase a larger caliber rifle than my 6.5 creedmoor. I've ready many articles debating this topic. I am a big guy 6-3 230. Not afraid of a little sore shoulder or kick. For a new hunter would you go 30-06, .300 MAG or even 300 WSM. I hunter mule deer there last year and the terrain is steep so and rugged so obviously weight is an issue. I was looking into the Tikka superior WSM or lite 300. Would appreciate any guidance! Thank you.

If weight is an issue; Bergara Mountain 2.0 or preferably Bergara Highlander in .300 Win Mag

 

[ridgewalker]

JMO&E, but 30 caliber is my preference. 17 elk in about 40 years (mostly meat cows). A good premium bullet is needed. I've used 165-200 grains. I keep shooting until they are down and still ready for a bit after that. I've used 30-06 and 300 WM in Remington 700, 78, 7600, Winchester 70s (both CR and PF), and Tikka Lite.
You are 100% correct in wanting a light weight rifle if you hunt the Rocky Mountains! You can walk for days up and down until the opportunity comes. Personally I think a Kimber Montana in 30-06 with a Leupold VX5 2-10x with illuminated reticle would make an excellent mountain rifle. Not too light.
Best of luck in pursuing your ultimate Rocky Mountain big game rifle/cartridge!

 

[Elkmann]

Hi everyone, so I am new Elk and deer hunter. I grew up hunting mostly upland game. I am going on a guided Elk hunt in October in Idaho and I looking to purchase a larger caliber rifle than my 6.5 creedmoor. I've ready many articles debating this topic. I am a big guy 6-3 230. Not afraid of a little sore shoulder or kick. For a new hunter would you go 30-06, .300 MAG or even 300 WSM. I hunter mule deer there last year and the terrain is steep so and rugged so obviously weight is an issue. I was looking into the Tikka superior WSM or lite 300. Would appreciate any guidance! Thank you.

I've taken elk with 338WinMag, 300WinMag and 7mmRemMag. All will work fine. If I only could have one it would probably be the 300WinMag.

 

[M70_MAN]

You can't go wrong with a 300Win or 300WSM in a Tikka. I'm a Winchester model 70 guy myself, but have at least 6 friends that shoot Tikkas in one of the 300s and they've all been easy to find a factory load for. Lots of good ammo choices out there for either (when you can find them), but I would lean toward the 300 win since Tikkas are all built on the same action length. I haven't shot one of the latest production, but aftermarket recoil pads have been good investments on my friends' T3's.

 

[tvarden]

Favorite Elk Cartridges in order: 338LM, 7RM, 300WM..

 

[Tree Farmer]

Many great suggestions regarding rifle/ cartridge choice. At this stage, if it were me, I'd find10 boxes of ammo in any caliber I could find with a bullet that will perform on elk and then pick a rifle in that chambering. Not much time left between now and October. I reload and am now hoarding the components I have to make sure I have ammo for next fall. Factory ammo is no more available than powder, primers and bullets.

 

[Stryker56]

Hi everyone, so I am new Elk and deer hunter. I grew up hunting mostly upland game. I am going on a guided Elk hunt in October in Idaho and I looking to purchase a larger caliber rifle than my 6.5 creedmoor. I've ready many articles debating this topic. I am a big guy 6-3 230. Not afraid of a little sore shoulder or kick. For a new hunter would you go 30-06, .300 MAG or even 300 WSM. I hunter mule deer there last year and the terrain is steep so and rugged so obviously weight is an issue. I was looking into the Tikka superior WSM or lite 300. Would appreciate any guidance! Thank you.

I had my first elk hunt in 2020, and got talked into buying a 300 Win Mag for it. I shot a nice 6X bull at 302 yards. My 30-06 or 7mmRem Mag would have done the job. A 7mm Remington Magnum with 162 grain bullet will do nicely. Good luck.