First elk hunt. Leaning toward Tikka

[rustyshackleford]

My savage Lwh 30-06 tips the scales at 6 pounds, 11 ounces with a Leupold VX-3 3-9x40 scope and weaver steel rings. I can't imagine a huge difference with a 7mm mag as far as recoil.

Perhaps I have this whole thing backwards. I should probably get an upgraded optic first for my 116 and do some experimenting this year. If I find that it doesn't fit the bill, I can upgrade the rifle and transfer the scope over the winter. That'll give me all spring and summer next year to get it dialed in. I have 20+ months to get this figured out.

I'd look hard at a Leupold VX-5 3-15x44. If you want a real knock down drag out load and don't handload I'm pretty sure nosler does a 200 gr accubond at 2700 ft/sec

 

[Huntz]

A 30-06 or 270 Win.will do everything you need it to.Practice,practice ,practice from field positions.Shooting from a bench is fine for sighting in.Any outfitter worth his beans will get you a close shot.Do not make any shot you are not comfortable with.Some outfitters will try and bully you into taking an unethical shot.Let them know ahead of time what your limitations are and stick too it.A lot of outfitters will say if you don`t take a shot that you had your opportunity.If they have that kind of attitude,give them no tip.I do a lot of checking up on outfitters and guides as many of them will just give you a ":Wilderness Experience".I do not need any "Wilderness Experiences"I need to see game.Hopefully some helpful hints.Good luck on your hunt,Huntz.

 

[Tac-O]

I'll be taking a 30-06 when I go. This is the load I'll be taking. Gun is a model 70 with a 22 inch barrel. 5$ says if you asked the outfitter what load he uses it's gonna be some flatbase load with less energy at 500 than my 06

That's a good looking load! Have you ever shot an elk at both ends of that range it? I'm wondering how that bullet does at those speed ranges

I decided to go with a 180gr Speer hot cor for my Tikka '06. From what I've read, as long as speeds are under 2800fps it performs fantastically in elk.

 

[tedscouton]

I will be heading back to CO again this year with a Bull Elk tag and my gun again will be my 30-06 shooting 168 T-TSX's. I always practice out and beyond 500 yards but rarely need to shoot past 300. Useless you spend lots of time shooting that far I would not recommend doing so.

 

[tedscouton]

Any good outfitters I know would rather have there client shoot a 30-06 well than move up to a magnum.

 

[vancewalker007]

2021. Montana elk and mule deer combo. I don't own a magnum. I figured I'd take my 30-06 with 168gr Nosler Accubond and limit my shots to 400 yards.

A call to the outfitter this week may have changed my mind. He's pushing the 300wm as his go to and the 7mm RM as a second choice. Now don't get me wrong, I've wanted a magnum for years now and I am leaning toward the 7mm (always wanted one).

I want a Tikka T3x Superlite. I've read that the slower twist rate could be problematic for the 175 grain loads. Can anyone help confirm or deny this?

Outfitter says the average shot is under 300 yards but a 400-500 yard shot (Or longer) is not uncommon. I want to keep this rig light without breaking the bank. I'm not aware of another rifle that is under 6.5 pounds (regular t3x is my second choice but the same slower twist) and under a grand.

Have you ever shot you 06 or any rifle 300-500 yards? I'd go out with you best know 30-06 load and shoot 300-500 yards and figure out if your rifle can hold enough accuracy to do the job. I'd shoot from a steady bench and from various field shooting positions. This exercise will tell you if you need a more accuracy harder hitting rifle or if your current rifle is going to be good enough. If your 30-06 will reach 1800fps at 500 yards under the environment you intend to hunt in and you and the rifle can hold groups small enough to kill and elk at 500 yards forget a new rifle and practice like heck with you current setup.

 

[Bill_h]

You have received lots of good advice here. Both rifles will kill elk. The 06 bullet will fall a lot further (and be more impacted by the wind) than the 7mm or 300WM if you are shooting 300 - 600 yards. If you take the 06, spend time with your dope and get really comfortable dialing or holding for your shot and be able to set up quickly to take a shot. A guy in my elk camp last year miss dialed his 06 for a 400 yard shot and missed. Don't be that guy
One of the things I like about my 300 WM (180 gr partition handloads) is that it shoots flater than an 06 so less room for error. The ability to put an accurate round on target quickly (every time) is much more important than the energy level of the bullet.

 

[One Hole]

Don't fall into the trap - if you shoot the -06 well, forget about a new rifle and focus on practice, inclines, declines, ranging, calling, getting in the physical shape you can and learning how to find elk. Just my $.02

 

[Buano]

The outfitter said that his average client is in their 60's and often have health limitations.

I'll be 45 next year when I go. Because of this, they are talking about setting up a wall tent for part of the hunt and doing some more remote hunting, hence my desire to keep the rifle light.

I primarily hunt the southern Adirondack mountains. I've hauled my Tikka M595 Walnut 308 (almost 10 pounds loaded with redfield 3-9x40) up and down the mountains. Once I got my 111 LWH, there was no going back for me. The difference at the end of the day after wallowing through 18" of snow was huge.

A typical hunting day for me is climbing 1000 feet in elevation during the course of the day. I know this is a far cry from what Montana will be like. I need to drop 20 pounds. This will finally be the thing that pushes me to do it.

As far as optics, I don't own anything more than a 4-12x40 scope. Never needed anything more here. Shots are 100 yards or less with the exception of visits to my uncle's house down south in farm country. Even then, 2-300 would be rare.

Assume you will do 2-3 times the climb per day that you are used to. By day 3 this adds up in leg fatigue. Your guide will limit what you do by how well you can keep up. If you get tired you will cover much less ground and have fewer opportunities.
A 4-12x scope is enough magnification for shooting 600 yards hunting elk or deer, but yes, 3-18 is nicer — especially if you have two mature bucks standing together and have to instantly decide which rack is better. Keep your scope set at the lowest power for the fastest shot on close animals you stumble over (or stumble over you). You generally have time to change the power on longer shots. A "throw lever" for changing scope magnification saves time and is worth the $12-$20 they cost.
Don't let people tell you this will be alien to how you are used to hunting — it will be very similar, just steeper and potentially at greater range, with more calling. It's unlikely you will be able to control your scent as well as many Eastern deer hunters do as showering and washing clothes may be "limited". Elk STINK, especially during the rut. FYI: I've been on several remote guided elk hunts in Montana & Idaho, gotten my bull before lunch the first day each time (almost unheard of), and never taken a shot you would call long where you have been hunting.
You DO NOT need to buy different hunting clothing! (I've been told otherwise by guides.) Good footwear is a must. I had a pair of boots literally fall apart on my first hunt and was blistered by the time I got back to camp. At high elevations you may see 85° and sun one day and 20° with wind the next, so if you are traveling by horse strap on whatever clothing you may want to have handy.
Montana requires an orange safety vest or orange clothing. Your day-pack will help obscure some of the orange and make you somewhat less noticeable to animals.
Your hardest task will be deciding if you should shoot a legal but non-trophy elk early in the hunt when you may not see another! (Talk with your guide about REAL probabilities where you are hunting and decide that up front.)
Take a good camera!

Have fun!

 

[rbTanzan]

Tikka is a great carry gun, light and accurate out of the box.
Their largest offering is a 338 Win Mag. A great elk caliber.
I've owned two of these and would recommend considering the caliber and the rifle. Very accurate and very light. A Tikka in 338 jumps a bit, but are very comfortable. (Check the twist on Tikka in 30 caliber. They typically use 11", which is a tad slow in my opinion.)
(If you want more shooting with muzzle break, then the Ruger African is a nice model.)

You can get nice 210gn, 225gn and 250gn bullets for the 338, according to your style.
My current 338 is a Ruger Hawkeye and shoots the 210gn TTSX at 2975 with 72gn R17. good primers, easy extraction, sub-MOA with multiple bullets after bedding. Hammer Hunters "213" are also 210 grain. (I am testing these as well, but in initial testing the TTSX has proven more accurate. Hammer Hunters use smaller powder loads because of a longer bullet.) (The 225gn CEB Lazer and 225TTSX are also great. If you want high BC and more weight for super penetration then the 250gn LRX is nice with a .602 BC. I load the latter to the second grove for more capacity and velocity. The nose is tapered to fit SAAMI throats even when seated further back. Nice design.)

PS: I just checked on the Tikka site and found two relevant items.

First, the Tikka models use an 11" twist for 300WM, 30-06 and 308. My memory was correct.

Secondly, Tikka has apparently dropped the 338 WinMag from it line up. I am not surprised because the Tikka action is quite light and I had been thinking that it could have benefitted from just a tad more metal.

Should you be interested in a 338 Win Mag there are many other manufacturers. Ruger Africans have dropped the 338WM though still carry the wonderful 416 Ruger and 375 Ruger. The Ruger Alaskan model currently offers 338 WM and 300WM, both with removable muzzle brakes.

 

[MontanaJack]

A commonly accepted threshold for the minimum amount of kinetic energy needed to kill an elk is 1500 ft-lbs. For whitetail deer, the minimum amount of kinetic energy is 1000 ft-lbs. Following is a chart published for 165 gr Accutip bullets. Note that the effective range for elk with a 30-06 is 400 yards. That said, I've shot elk @ 400 yards with a 30-06. Hit a bull 3 times in the boiler house (heart - lung area). I was hunting very deep snow and it took me about 45 minutes to climb a steep hill in waste deep snow to get to the elk. He had run about 100 yards and layed down. He was waiting for me, head erect and my final shot from 50 yards put him down. Retired the 30-06 that day and got a 300 Win Mag that is much more effective. That said, the light guns have punishing recoil. I'm 70 now and can't hunt busting through timber any more. My heavy, custom 300 Win Mag would be too heavy to pack all day. Take your 06 in case you have a lot of hiking and limit your shots to 400 yards or less. Depending on your venue, you may not have to pack a 300 Win Mag too far. If that is the case, get one with some weight and use it for those long shots. 190 GR Berger VLD Hunting bullets seated 0.010 off the lands are accurate and deadly. The elk drop immediately with a well placed shot out to 600 yards.

Range (yards)	Drop (inches)	Velocity	Energy	Time (seconds)
0	-1.4936	2800	2872	0.00
50	-0.1498	2697	2664	0.05
100	-0.0014	2597	2471	0.11
150	-1.1424	2499	2288	0.17
200	-3.6756	2403	2115	0.23
250	-7.7145	2310	1955	0.30
300	-13.3837	2218	1802	0.36
350	-20.8209	2128	1659	0.43
400	-30.1783	2041	1526	0.50

 

[Bdog35]

2021. Montana elk and mule deer combo. I don't own a magnum. I figured I'd take my 30-06 with 168gr Nosler Accubond and limit my shots to 400 yards.

A call to the outfitter this week may have changed my mind. He's pushing the 300wm as his go to and the 7mm RM as a second choice. Now don't get me wrong, I've wanted a magnum for years now and I am leaning toward the 7mm (always wanted one).

I want a Tikka T3x Superlite. I've read that the slower twist rate could be problematic for the 175 grain loads. Can anyone help confirm or deny this?

Outfitter says the average shot is under 300 yards but a 400-500 yard shot (Or longer) is not uncommon. I want to keep this rig light without breaking the bank. I'm not aware of another rifle that is under 6.5 pounds (regular t3x is my second choice but the same slower twist) and under a grand.

Don't need big , huge bullets just well placed and you will be good. 7mag 162 grain , 300wm 165 grain and that's plenty big enough.

 

[Stevenstl86]

If you don't have a magnum then I agree with the outfitter. I have shot dozens of animals with 7mm RemMag and 300 Win Mag. I'm not sure about IF you can find a 6.5 lb in either caliber, but in the 300 it make make shooting it problematic due to recoil/rise. I've used mine on 4 African trips threeSpain hunts, and hunts across US and Canada. Depending on game I shoot 150-200 grain bullets, with good success and ability to shoot out to 450+ yards. Not a custom gun but a Browning Xbolt. This gun has a milder recoil than my two Rem. 700's in 7mm, and is lighter and easier to carry. I've found in looking for ammo, either is often accessible, but in South Africa you can always find 300, not so often 7mm. I'd just suggest you think about what you'd like to hunt in the next 15-20 years and buy that gun now. That's what I did in 2005 with the 300 and 15 years later I have put kudu to steenboks to prong horns to ibex on the wall with it. Good luck!

good god,I hope I am someone like you in my next life. Still trying to figure out where to go to elk hunt.

my vote would be 300 win mag or 300 prc. Remington does make a 300wm 5r gen 2. I think it's to heavy for a hike but if your in good shape I don't think it would be too bad.

 

[Winkmeister]

But wait, there's more...
Great idea in upgrading the glass-- if your current '06 proves accurate at 400, no need to replace the rifle you know. Spend more time behind it with the new scope in a variety of field positions/ stances.
When working up the "DOPE" though, allow for the change in situation-- elevation (going from the NY Ads (4-5k) to the CO Rockies (6-10+k; check with outfitter), temperatures, and humidity (or lack thereof).
I believe (but defer to more practiced minds here) that your shots will shoot flatter and retain more energy in the thinner drier air that you will be going to.
Found this when trying to determine if summer low(er-)land shooting is similar to highland pre-winter:

How Ballistics Are Affected Out West - Petersen's Hunting

Some years ago my buddy Dave and I traveled from Illinois to hunt antelope on a high plateau in

www.petersenshunting.com

AND HIKE YOUR MOUNTAINS VERTICALLY EVERY CHANCE YOU GET.