Ultimate Budget Caliber

Is anybody honestly taking shots at elk at 1000 yards? I have never been elk yet (another 7 or 8 years of preference points needed) but I've had plenty of family members and coworkers who have and most shots have been inside of 300 yards with the exception of my neighbor who pegged an absolute monster at 600.
People do, and yes successfully, but nobody should try it unless they are confident in the shot and wind call. They should be hitting targets even further on a consistent regular basis before trying a live elk at 1k. 1k is actually noticeably more challenging than 800.

To @cowboyarcher, I agree with @Dean2, cost of ammo is pretty negligible compared to other things, even for you who won't have much in travel expenses etc, assuming you plan to hunt near home. Besides that, the options that you mentioned, there really is very little and sometimes literally no difference in cost to handload. My choice for elk was a 7 rem mag. If you want something cheaper to shoot (so you can practice A LOT before elk season) and are willing to limit your range to say 600, then 6.5 creed is another option. Some will tell you that's not big enough for elk, I say you just have to know its limits. I personally prefer the magnums for elk though.
 
Thanks for all the thoughts, fellas.

For what it's worth, I do hand load and the 4 calibers I mentioned in the OP were meant to be representative of the types of cartridges one might pick for such a use case. I am looking for something that I can practice a lot with. I understand that my skills are not up to a longer shots on game, but I want a round that can delivery the energy when I am. I fully intend to practice at those distances.

I've had some wildcats and other rounds that are more difficult to source components for and am just not that intersted in chasing those any more. 'Budget' may not have been the best term, but it really is a consideration for me currently. LRH is not a cheap sport, but there are cost effective ways to do it. It seems a 300 WSM/WM will be tough to beat, all things considered. Now I wonder which high BC pill would be the best to source in larger quantities and at a high value.
 
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[QUOTE]rustyshackleford

If he isn't handloading you can scratch 3 of the 4 off this list.



If you read the actual post the OP made Butterball is actually wrong about not handloading and the question wasn't intended to be limited to the four examples, they were just representative of the genre, but I was trying to be polite and not pick on his shortcomeings. It is not a courtesy he offers others but no point in perpetuating the nonsense.
[/QUOTE]
And you are absolutely correct, I misunderstood the OP's post and am out of line All apologies
 
Thanks for all the thoughts, fellas.

For what it's worth, I do hand load and the 4 calibers I mentioned in the OP were meant to be representative of the types of cartridges one might pick for such a use case. I am looking for something that I can practice a lot with. I understand that my skills are not up to a longer shots on game, but I want a round that can delivery the energy when I am. I fully intend to practice at those distances.

I've had some wildcats and other rounds that are more difficult to source components for and am just not that intersted in chasing those any more. 'Budget' may not have been the best term, but it really is a consideration for me currently. LRH is not a cheap sport, but there are cost effective ways to do it. It seems a 30 WSM/WM will be tough to beat, all things considered. Now I wonder which high BC pill would be the best to source in larger quantities and

One final comment, you do not have to do all your long range practice with your hunting rifle. There is nothing wrong with using a 308 or even 223 to 1200 yards for 90% of your practice. You still learn shooting fundamentals,, wind read and all the rest of the stuff you need to be comfortable with. Then do the last 10% with your hunting rifle to get comfortable with how it behaves out to 1200 yards and to make sure your shooting fundamentals are good for the heavier recoil. I have done that for years. I also shoot thousands of gophers a year with 22RF and 17 HMR, 17 FB off of sticks to hone those skills. All practice is good, it doesn't have to be really expensive.
 
One final comment, you do not have to do all your long range practice with your hutning rifle. There is nothing wrong with using a 308 or even 223 to 1200 yrds for 90% of your practice. You still learn shooting fundamentals,, wind read and all the rest of the stuff you need to be comfortable with. Then do the last 10% with your hunting rifle to get comfortable with how it behaves out to 1200 yards and to make sure your shooting fundamentals are good for the heavier recoil. I have done that for years. I also shoot thousands of gophers a year ewith 22RF and 17 HMR, 17 FB off of sticks to hone those skills. All practice is good, it doens't have to be really expensive.

Good word here, thank you for it.
 
Thanks for all the thoughts, fellas.

For what it's worth, I do hand load and the 4 calibers I mentioned in the OP were meant to be representative of the types of cartridges one might pick for such a use case. I am looking for something that I can practice a lot with. I understand that my skills are not up to a longer shots on game, but I want a round that can delivery the energy when I am. I fully intend to practice at those distances.

I've had some wildcats and other rounds that are more difficult to source components for and am just not that intersted in chasing those any more. 'Budget' may not have been the best term, but it really is a consideration for me currently. LRH is not a cheap sport, but there are cost effective ways to do it. It seems a 30 WSM/WM will be tough to beat, all things considered. Now I wonder which high BC pill would be the best to source in larger quantities and
300 WSM or WM will do the job no doubt. I like the 7 rem mag from a lighter recoil perspective more than the cost of ammo perspective, because there is little difference although 300 WM does take slightly more powder. FWIW, at 1k my 7 rem mag from the ballistic calculator has 1511 ft-lbs of energy, and the 300 will have noticeably more so plenty to kill an elk. Only issue left to solve is making sure you can place the shot well. Hope it goes well for you.
 
Thanks for all the thoughts, fellas.

For what it's worth, I do hand load and the 4 calibers I mentioned in the OP were meant to be representative of the types of cartridges one might pick for such a use case. I am looking for something that I can practice a lot with. I understand that my skills are not up to a longer shots on game, but I want a round that can delivery the energy when I am. I fully intend to practice at those distances.

I've had some wildcats and other rounds that are more difficult to source components for and am just not that intersted in chasing those any more. 'Budget' may not have been the best term, but it really is a consideration for me currently. LRH is not a cheap sport, but there are cost effective ways to do it. It seems a 30 WSM/WM will be tough to beat, all things considered. Now I wonder which high BC pill would be the best to source in larger quantities and

Inexpensive high BC pill I'd say 200 gr SGK or 175 SGK for 30 cal and 7mm respectively. In applied ballistics those bullets are cited as having an especially good form factor among Sierra bullets and they tune real easy. If not those I'm sure the ELD-X's would also be economical and well behaved
 
Thanks for all the thoughts, fellas.

For what it's worth, I do hand load and the 4 calibers I mentioned in the OP were meant to be representative of the types of cartridges one might pick for such a use case. I am looking for something that I can practice a lot with. I understand that my skills are not up to a longer shots on game, but I want a round that can delivery the energy when I am. I fully intend to practice at those distances.

I've had some wildcats and other rounds that are more difficult to source components for and am just not that interested in chasing those any more. 'Budget' may not have been the best term, but it really is a consideration for me currently. LRH is not a cheap sport, but there are cost effective ways to do it. It seems a 30 WSM/WM will be tough to beat, all things considered. Now I wonder which high BC pill would be the best to source in larger quantities and
In a scenario like this the other thing to remember is from most expensive to least you will only notice the difference. A wild cat you need to fire-form for will, at least at first, cost nearly double in powder, bullets, and range time if you have to drive a piece to shoot. For others if its the 7 mag at 98 cents a shot and the 300 ultra at 1.04 a shot for like bullets the extra 6 cents a pull just doesn't make any practical difference. You still have to get the time behind the gun with that load at distance and it will cost $400 or $418. Now If this comparison were run to specific components and you started taking hi end premium bullets Vs. cup and core you might see a noticeable difference. A .40 Cent bullet against a $1.00 bullet may bring you from $400.00 prep to $620. Again, if you have the time and gear invested in making yourself a legitimate 1000 yard elk threat, that extra dough is probably in your couch cushions.
Thank God my wife doesn't read this stuff.
 
One of the worst mistakes I've seen guys make is thinking they can roll out with their hunting rifle and put a few rounds through it and think things are going to be awesome!! Thee best cold bore shooters I know, guys who will consistently put a bullet through the cross hair put a LOT of rounds through their hunting gun, I personally am not ready to go into season with under 400-600 rounds a year just on my hunting rifle and I shoot a lot in my hunting areas at actual spots I've killed elk before, some places I have rocks rolled up on trails just for that purpose and every day I spend in the field I shoot at least once cold bore.
 
The 30-30 can work perfectly.
The catch is that you have to be a hunter and do some stalking to get closer.
Use whatever you have, most anything can be made to work.
I know a stupid jerk that shot an elk with a 45ACP hardball round out of an Army issue 1911.
Took a while but he got it. This is not a recommendation for either cartridge just putting out the idea that you don't absolutely have to spend most of your Elk hunting budget on a special rifle. In Colorado the locals (I lived there many years) consider the 7-08 a good enough minimum. If you make a 500 Yard shot you might have to travel miles to get to the spot.
Elk have a habit of using their last seconds to go to the most difficult place for the hunter to haul the meat out of. Because of that, I really do not want to make a seriously long shot to kill one unless I know for sure that there is no 400 foot deep ravine handy for them to hide in.
 
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