First elk hunt. Leaning toward Tikka

[adiredneck]

Yes, I know you've all seen a Tikka before, but...

LGS called yesterday to tell me it had arrived. I did not plan on picking it up until after the 10th so that it would go on next month's credit card statement, but I had to make a trip close by the shop to pick up my sons mountain bike anyways.
I found 30 pieces of brass in my basement from loading for a buddy a few years ago. He bought the dies and took them back once he started reloading so I needed dies. Stopped at Runnings and found that they had Hornady dies (my preferred type) for $35. picked up a box of plain jane Remington ammo in 150 grain to do the break in and fire form some new brass... also picked up a Leupold Back country base $$$ (wanted a cheap set of Weavers for now) but this was all they had.
I've settled on the VX5HD in 3-14x44 so I'll need 30mm rings later. I'll probably go with the Talley 1 piece ring/base combo.

They had no 175gr bullets at all. I'll have to order some from with my cabelas points. I only have 139gr for my daughters 7mm-08 model seven.

So now I have to figure out what rifle is going to go scopeless for the summer while I work up some loads for it. It'll probably be my 308 tikka m595. Speaking of which, here's a picture of it next to the new one. Every time I pull it out of the back of the safe I am reminded of what a gorgeous rifle it is..

 

[dogz]

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.)

Good point, know in advance what you'll be happy with and stick to it. Don't pass a elk on the first day that you'shoot on the last day!

Also, keep in mind, that you dictate what distance and shot you'll take and not the guide.

Your 06 is a fantastic elk round, if you're used to it take it and use it and dump the idea of a new rifle at this point in the game.

 

[tahoe1305]

Didn't see it in the thread doing a quick scan but limbsaver recoil paid is a really good $30 upgrade for those tikkas. The stock recoil pad sucked. Only adds an ounce too. Get the airtech version of your interested.

 

[Will16]

Budget is 1k for an optic. I'm wide open for suggestions. I've always wanted a Trijicon. Maybe this is the time.
I'm looking at B&C stocks also.

Tract toric uhd 30mm or nf shv f1

 

[fremont]

I've become a huge fan of the 270wsm. It's become my favorite deer caliber. After seeing how deep 140 accubonds at 3200fps penetrate, I wouldn't hesitate to use as an occasional elk rifle.

A friend just went through this calculus (e.g., "What gun do I want to cover the waterfront from antelope to elk?") and ended up with that Tikka 270WSM Lite. I'm helping with loading and that Hornady 145 ELD-X over Re-26 is producing good accuracy and velocities. Neither he nor I have any qualms about him using this chambering on elk. I'm not a huge fan of the tupperware stock and flimsy magazine, but it's light and can shoot bugholes. Topped with a Zeiss V4 Conquest 4x16x44 IIRC; nice setup.

 

[Backcountry sports]

A friend just went through this calculus (e.g., "What gun do I want to cover the waterfront from antelope to elk?") and ended up with that Tikka 270WSM Lite. I'm helping with loading and that Hornady 145 ELD-X over Re-26 is producing good accuracy and velocities. Neither he nor I have any qualms about him using this chambering on elk. I'm not a huge fan of the tupperware stock and flimsy magazine, but it's light and can shoot bugholes. Topped with a Zeiss V4 Conquest 4x16x44 IIRC; nice setup.

Great caliber I have 3 of them all shoot great

 

[montana west]

tikka are great especially in the blue syn- 7mm mag a true western rifle the short mag are ----. dont buy one.

 

[bigngreen]

tikka are great especially in the blue syn- 7mm mag a true western rifle the short mag are ----. dont buy one.

The short mags are exceptional in a Tikka, much easier than the 300, 7 Mag or 338 mag. I build a lot of WSMs, SAUMs and Sherman Shorts on Tikka and they are just an excellent platform!

 

[montana west]

B your are a great gunsmith......

 

[adiredneck]

I took a gamble and set up my dies off the once fired brass I had.
I forgot I had some 160 Sierra Gamekings in the cabinet. There were 26 left, so I loaded them up yesterday and went shooting with a buddy. The box of factory remington 150's were 2" off to the left at 100, but the elevation was never touched. I shot 6 of them and then moved on to the 160 Sierra. I ran a patch through every 3 shots while the barrel was cooling.

The 160's needed 3 more clicks to the right and my last two were in the bullseye at 100. They definitely had more recoil, but it wasn't bad. Load was 62gr of H4831.
I was using the Nikon 4-12x40 off my 116 savage with Warne rings. I didn't even have to loosen the rings.
My brass was growing another .002 more than the once fired that I had, so I had to loosen my sizer just a hair.

 

[Country Bumpkin]

The Elk in the photo below was taken in Utah with a 30-06 at 150 yards.

I don't recommend a new rifle to shoot beyond 400 Yards unless you want another project and have the time to develop a rifle to shoot accurately beyond 400 yards. Save your money and get some good gear for your trip such as new binoculars.

Lots of good advice in this thread. A super light magnum rifle is terrible to shoot without a muzzle break. My first 300 RUM was light and didn't have a break and the barrel twist was too slow. I couldn't shoot it without lacrosse shoulder pads. I rebuilt it several times. I've taken game with that rifle at just short of 1000 yards, however, the rebuild process and load development took years.

Optics are important. However, I wouldn't focus on "glass". You should consider a first focal plane scope so you can dial in your drop. Holding over works but much less certain as distance increases. I also recommend a good rangefinder that will automatically calculate and display the ballistic solution.

One of the threads above mentioned that shooting elk at distance is much more work. That is for sure true but it sounds like you have an outfitter. They can do most of the work.

If you are going to build a new rifle, I recommend using the heaviest bullet you can and choose a case with enough capacity so you can achieve aMV > 2,900 fps. Use the Berger twist rate calculator on line to make sure you get a barrel with a fast enough twist. I use a 230 gr bullet in my 300 RUM and 170 gr bullet in my 270 WSM. Both rifles are good on Elk and Mule deer >> 500 yards. I have worked with friends to develop LR hunting rifles in 300 WSM and 300 WIN Mag and neither case had sufficient case capacity to realistically use heavier bullets. The 300 WM had a MV of 2700 ish fps with a 215 grain bullet. The 300 WM works fine but is outperformed by my 270 WSM at distances > 600 yards.

All of the above suggests hand loads. You can buy ammo for a particular rifle from companies like Gunworks, but that can get very expensive. If you don't already hand load, that is adds additional time on this project.

Have fun in Montana!

That's a beautiful bull, now let's see that Mulie next to it

 

[tomsd]

A Tikka is as good as you can find - for the money. Think of it as a bargain priced Sako - and they use the same barrels - made in the Sako factory. Should be able to get sub MOA with a little experimenting with different types of ammo.

 

[tomsd]

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.)

Good point, know in advance what you'll be happy with and stick to it. Don't pass a elk on the first day that you'shoot on the last day!

Also, keep in mind, that you dictate what distance and shot you'll take and not the guide.

Your 06 is a fantastic elk round, if you're used to it take it and use it and dump the idea of a new rifle at this point in the game.

Ahhh yes - the old adage: A Bird in the hand is worth two in the Bush. Especially if you like Elk meat.

 

[tomsd]

Yes, I know you've all seen a Tikka before, but...

LGS called yesterday to tell me it had arrived. I did not plan on picking it up until after the 10th so that it would go on next month's credit card statement, but I had to make a trip close by the shop to pick up my sons mountain bike anyways.
I found 30 pieces of brass in my basement from loading for a buddy a few years ago. He bought the dies and took them back once he started reloading so I needed dies. Stopped at Runnings and found that they had Hornady dies (my preferred type) for $35. picked up a box of plain jane Remington ammo in 150 grain to do the break in and fire form some new brass... also picked up a Leupold Back country base $$$ (wanted a cheap set of Weavers for now) but this was all they had.
I've settled on the VX5HD in 3-14x44 so I'll need 30mm rings later. I'll probably go with the Talley 1 piece ring/base combo.

They had no 175gr bullets at all. I'll have to order some from with my cabelas points. I only have 139gr for my daughters 7mm-08 model seven.

So now I have to figure out what rifle is going to go scopeless for the summer while I work up some loads for it. It'll probably be my 308 tikka m595. Speaking of which, here's a picture of it next to the new one. Every time I pull it out of the back of the safe I am reminded of what a gorgeous rifle it is..

Nothing wrong with a .308 for taking Elk, using what - 180 grain ?