Wanting a new setup .300WM or like setup for Elk

[NeedForSpeed]

New to the site, I thought I would reach out for some advice. I am about to go on my first Elk Hunt with a rifle, I have been several years with a bow but decided to book a hunt for second rifle in Colorado and looking to get a rifle ready for the October hunt. I was thinking a .300 WM and wanted to see what thoughts were on that or if I should consider something else. Second question would be for your opinion on best out of the box rifle these days for long range hunting. I was seriously considering the Christensen Mesa Long Range, Weathrby Mark V Accuamark, or a Bergara Premier. Or maybe there is a better option, I would like to be $2500 or less for the gun not including optics. I'm not going to shoot competitively but would like to have a good 1000 yard setup. Fairly experienced shooter, however new to the semi custom/custom market for a rifle and most of my rifle hunts in Missouri cap at 300 on whitetail so this is somewhat of a different need, we shoot out further but mostly just for fun.

Thanks in advance

I was in the same position and after looking at a bunch of choices, went with a Fierce Fury Carbon 300 WM. Its 6.6 lbs without a scope and right around 2500 with a brake and its a sweet rifle. I have a Seekins Precision Havak PH 1 and its nice too, but Id lean Fierce

 

[Litehiker]

.300 PRC in Browning X-Bolt (regular or Long Range model)

I'm currently having my .300 Win. mag Remington 700 re-chambered in .200 PRC.

Eric B.

 

[corsteve]

300prc in a ridgeline w/ 8/32 sightron is a good choice have one a real shooter light weight with 220 berger bullets great combo or a 300wm is also a great caliber your choice

 

[mdmiller]

300prc in a ridgeline w/ 8/32 sightron is a good choice have one a real shooter light weight with 220 berger bullets great combo or a 300wm is also a great caliber your choice

bowhunter23, where about in Missouri you live. I'm in Illinois on on the river, Mississippi that is!
PASA range is about a 30 minute drive from my house, 600 yard range if you close by.
Let me know?

 

[Backcountry sports]

What rifles do yo have already? I only ask, because every year we get guys show up in our Elk camps from back east, with brand new rifles that they aren't familiar with. I've seen it cost guys an Elk many times, if you already have something you kill Deer with, say .270 or larger, considering using that instead.

Ok, with that out of the way.... I'd look at the Ridgeline, instead of the Mesa LR, if you like the Christensen rifles. That's a 10lb bare rifle, the Ridgleline will save you 3 lbs right off the bat.

Dont buy a Montana rifle there out of buisness

 

[bowhuntr23]

Thanks All! I appreciate the information, I should have clarified I do want to purchase a larger caliber to have as a part of the collection, I am easing my way to in to hand loads using a friends setup who is fairly proficient. Working with lilharcher right now I think he has one that will for my needs!

 

[257Tony]

Dont buy a Montana rifle there out of buisness

Did someone recommend one?

 

[Joshleh]

Seekins Havak seems like it would be a good choice for under your price cap. Lots of caliber options that would get you to 1000.

Absolutely love my 2 seekins havak. My 300 prc is unbelievable. Shoots 1/2 moa with 225 eldm factory ammo. And doesn't seem to have the recoil my 300 win has.

 

[Backcountry sports]

Did someone recommend one?

Just didnt want him to get one because no wty or gaure

Absolutely love my 2 seekins havak. My 300 prc is unbelievable. Shoots 1/2 moa with 225 eldm factory ammo. And doesn't seem to have the recoil my 300 win has.

Great choice I use a cooper 92 7mm 1/2 at 100 yds with 168 Berger like a 308 recoil great to pack 92 ounces gun only

 

[Wapity hunter]

30 call is good but if you don't want the recoil and need a flatter shooting calibre with more energy at 1000 yards , use 173 ELDX in
7mm WSM OR 7mm STW.
Build up a good handload with RL26 or IMR 7828ssc . Hand loaded these two will be the goods at over 1000 yards.

 

[dm406]

Seekins Havak seems like it would be a good choice for under your price cap. Lots of caliber options that would get you to 1000.

We have a Havac in 6.5 PRC and several custom built rifles, my option isyou get alot of rifle for the money, and this Havak shoots sub 1/2 minute groups out to 900 yds (as far as we have been able to prove)

 

[Buano]

New to the site, I thought I would reach out for some advice. I am about to go on my first Elk Hunt with a rifle, I have been several years with a bow but decided to book a hunt for second rifle in Colorado and looking to get a rifle ready for the October hunt. I was thinking a .300 WM and wanted to see what thoughts were on that or if I should consider something else. Second question would be for your opinion on best out of the box rifle these days for long range hunting. I was seriously considering the Christensen Mesa Long Range, Weathrby Mark V Accuamark, or a Bergara Premier. Or maybe there is a better option, I would like to be $2500 or less for the gun not including optics. I'm not going to shoot competitively but would like to have a good 1000 yard setup. Fairly experienced shooter, however new to the semi custom/custom market for a rifle and most of my rifle hunts in Missouri cap at 300 on whitetail so this is somewhat of a different need, we shoot out further but mostly just for fun.

Thanks in advance

Without knowing your finances or current arsenal, it's hard to give a perfect answer.

I consider a .300WM the minimum for elk hunting. Yes, I know people take elk with .243s, but I believe in using enough gun so wounded animals won't be left to die 2 weeks later if something goes wrong.

If you are going to be hunting elk regularly or whether this is a once and done trip makes a difference whether a new rifle may be justified.

My first elk was taken with a 7MM Rem mag. The first shot would have killed the elk as it made it to the lungs, but it may have taken longer than I would have liked — time in which the elk may have run off a cliff & shattered those antlers. That was with a perfectly placed shot from extremely close range. I wasn't satisfied with that performance. Since then I have carried 2 rifles to hunt elk, a .300 Weatherby Alaskan and a .338/.378 Weatherby Accumark. Both are on the heavy side for trudging up and down mountains, but both are capable of reaching out and putting something down. The .338/.378 is devastating on elk. When I pull the trigger, the animal tumbles. I really like that! Now the good part — I picked up both these all-weather Weatherby rifles used for much less than half the new price, both were like new, and both SHOOT well under 1/2 MOA. The only thing a custom rifle might add to the performance of these two is a slight weight reduction.

What not to skimp on are your optics. As you have been bow hunting elk I presume you have good binoculars and probably have a spotting scope. I recommend having the best binoculars you can purchase without your wife filing for divorce. I carried new Leupold binoculars on my first elk hunt and returned them to the store immediately upon returning. Then I bought Swarovski binoculars. Now I'm considering range finding binoculars.

 

[Coyote_Hunter]

…

I consider a .300WM the minimum for elk hunting. Yes, I know people take elk with .243s, but I believe in using enough gun so wounded animals won't be left to die 2 weeks later if something goes wrong.

As do I. In my experience (37 elk hunts), there are a lot of reasons why animals are wounded rather than killed. Poor shooting is one. Bullet failure is another. Rarely is it the choice of cartridge used.

One of the primary reasons for bullet failure is failure to match bullet weight and construction to the velocities at which it is used. I've seen more elk wounded and lost after being shot with a .243 Win that all other cartridges put together. A thin-skinned cup-and-core bullet at high velocities is going to come apart much more easily than bullets which are heavier (and slower) or more stoutly constructed. Partitioned, bonded, mono-metal and hybrids tend to hold together better, providing deeper penetration. While I've killed elk with cup-and-core bullets, and while they work most of the time, my strong preference for bolt rifle velocities is bonded (Nosler AB/ABLRX and Swift Scirocco II), mono's (Barnes TTSX and LRX) and hybrids (North Fork SS and SS/HP). Unlike cup-and-core bullets, I've never seen one of these fail.

…
My first elk was taken with a 7MM Rem mag. The first shot would have killed the elk as it made it to the lungs, but it may have taken longer than I would have liked — time in which the elk may have run off a cliff & shattered those antlers. That was with a perfectly placed shot from extremely close range. I wasn't satisfied with that performance. …

Sounds like a bullet failure to me. I've killed more elk with a 7mm RM than all my others combined. I eventually got a .300WM and .338WM. The .300WM doesn't really do much my 7mm RM can't do. The .338 does make larger holes but I haven't seen animals with the .300 or .338 go down any faster than with the 7mm RM.

What not to skimp on are your optics. As you have been bow hunting elk I presume you have good binoculars and probably have a spotting scope. I recommend having the best binoculars you can purchase without your wife filing for divorce. I carried new Leupold binoculars on my first elk hunt and returned them to the store immediately upon returning. Then I bought Swarovski binoculars. Now I'm considering range finding binoculars.

Good optics are necessary but there are diminishing returns. The first 20+ years I used my 7mm RM and a $39 Bushnell Sportview 3-9x exclusively. Never lost an animal or found the dusk and dawn performance inadequate. (Never liked the scope, though.) Now most of my rifles have Burris and Leupold scopes. I have Leupold binos and am not particularly happy with them and I had a Leupold laser rangefinder that was supposed to go to 1000 yards and had a hard time past 300.

 

[LRNut]

A 1000 yard rifle and an elk rifle, to me, have different requirements.

The 1000 yard rifle would get a heavy barrel and stock to reduce recoil. Extra weight is the last thing I want on my elk rifles.

As to cartridges for elk, the .300WM is a fine choice. Used a 7mm RM for 20+ years with not problems, got a .300WM to see what I was missing. The answer was "nothing". Still, I don't find the .300 recoil objectionable and I hunt elk with it every other year or so. Still use the 7mm RM and .30-06 rifles and all have taken elk equally well.

More important than your choice of cartridge is your ability to shoot the rifle you choose well. Chances are good you will take your elk at under 300 yards and very high that you will do so under 400 yards. In my 38 hears of hunting elk, I've taken exactly one a range beyond 411 yards. That one was at 487 and, while I used a .338WM, a .308 Win or .30-06 would have done the job. I've taken elk at 411, 400 and 350 but all the others have been under 300. If my rifles are shooting into an inch or so, they are more than accurate enough at 600, which is the limit of my regular practice.

If you want to buy a rifle for $2500, go for it. I once took a .30-06 elk hunting, first time it was in the field. Due to a slip in a boulder field, it looked worse after the trip than any of my other rifles with multiple dings in the stock and scratches on the barrel, action and scope. Plus, weather can suck with wet, so I'm going more and more stainless/synthetic. Something I don't care if it gets banged up a bit.

Coyote Hunter has some great advice.

I have only shot 9 elk; 5 6x6s or bigger, one 5x5, 2 rags, and a spike. Only one elk was beyond 200 yards. All were shot with a .338 WM.

The other thing is if you don't have a place to practice to 1000, don't worry about shooting an elk at 1000. I would also say, having lived in the Midwest, a 1000 yard cut/road through thick forest isn't the same as shooting in wide open spaces that are anything but flat. It is hard to believe the change in impact going from 1000 feet to 9,000 feet at 1000 yards has on a bullet until you have practiced doing it.