Seen the post about the elk. Leaving here in a couple weeks for our first elk hunt. What’s everyone favorite elk gun and load? For those with a lot of experience on it. What is your typical range that your shots come?

The one you shoot the most accurate. Nostler partition.

I've shot 6 elk with my 280 Hornady 139 grain,50 yards was the closest other 5 were 250 to 420 yards.7mm mag or the 300 would be a very good choice also.You need to hit the spot,bigger calibers don't make up for a bad shot....

I use a different rifle/cartridge every elk hunt. No matter what you use, do like WI Outdoors said. Shoot it well, know where it shoots and put the bullet where it belongs.

270 w/150 gr. noslers. Range from 75 to 275 yards.

Hit location is the most important think, most any caliber will do. As said above what you are comfortable with and NOT a new gun off the shelf that is bore sighted in only.......jk

Whatever you are the most comfortable shooting. My old rancher friend used to use a 243 and that it. He hated big calibers. My buddy’s girlfriend shot her bull last week with a 243 also. 250 yards he walked 30 yards and tipped over 95gr pro hunter bullet. Personally I’ve shot about a dozen elk most with a 264 win mag 120gr Barnes TTXP. Wife shots a 270 130gr Nosler. Son shoots 7mag 140gr Nosler. 40- 445 yards. I’ve helped lots of people get elk with tons of calibers most probably shot from 75-200 yards. Shoot straight and shoot until they tip over.

7MM-STW flat shooting recoils not bad.

Everybody has their own level of accuracy. Get close enough your confident in where your bullet will go.

Will be shooting a 300 PRC with 208 gr Barnes LRX. Have been shooting it all summer, really like it. Other guys will have 308 and 30-06. Both will be shooting the federal terminal ascent out of them. Sounds like we are in the right mix of calibers.

I have shot a lot with a 270 with a 130 grain bullet. Mostly 400 and in. Where you hit them is a lot more important than what you are shooting them with.

9 times out of ten when I grab a rifle for anything bigger than coyotes its my trusty old 270.

I only went to colorado once and didnt shoot an elk. But sighted my 35 whelen in out to 300 yards. Not sure if I could have had a shot reach out to 100 yards in the mountain.
Good luck. My brother and his boys are headed out to colorado the 21st I think.

have fun its a blast out there.
i have no gun help for you tho, we have only been archery huntin for elk.

I've killed a few with a .270 .....they don't always go down immediately though

I read an article, maybe thirty years ago , by Zumbo I believe it was . He said you can take an elk down with a smaller caliber with a perfect shot , but a less than perfect shot ( happens often) you will wish you had a large caliber. His go to was the .338 I believe

I recently bought , but haven't shot , a 300wm .....for the next time I decide to rifle hunt instead of archery hunt an elk

This. Knowing your limitations is a huge part of a successful hunt.
Osky

I've killed a lot of elk with a 7MM Rem Mag. Transitioned to a 300 WSM. Both great guns. I've killed a few out to 200 yards but most under 200 ft. Closest was about 3 ft.

Would love to find me a 35 whelen. More I look at it, the more I like it. What do you have it in?

I was in Cody a few springs ago and stopped in at Gunwerks to chat and see what those folks were offering. The fellow I talked with mostly said he used an 8mm Rem mag for elk. When I mentioned that I had a .35 Whelen he commented "now that's what you want to shoot elk with".

FYI, I've only bow hunted elk, but do have a load worked up for the Whelen using a 225gr Nosler partition.

If one looks at Hammer Bullets they make a 200gr solid copper specifically made for Whelen rifles with the older 1 in 16 twist rate. Customer ballistics are pretty impressive
.

My elk and everything else hunting rifle is a Sako A7 300wsm. I load up 165 gr Grand Slam bullets with 66 grains of 4350 powder.
Deadly on everything we can hunt in Wyoming.

Spouse shoots a Winchester featherweight 300wsm and he loads 180 gr Accubonds for his hunting, same 4350 powder.

So very True

I shot most of my elk in CO with my 30-06 using 150 grain Barnes TSX reloads. The last few years I went I used a 300WSM, 165 grain Barnes TSX bullets. I had won it in a gun raffle. Closest shot was about 100 yards. Farthest around 250. Didn't see a lot of difference in killing power between the two calibers. Shot placement is the most important.

When I was looking for an elk rifle I was surprised to see how much respect the 308 received for its size in the recommendations.

Favorite is 300 win and have shot elk to 450 yards. But ive hunted with .308, .270 , 30.06 and been successful. I like Barnes bullets , not a fan of the partition especially at close range and hitting bone. But we did recover the elk after a long tracking job

I love my .338

270 WSM with Barnes 140gr TSX. Regardless of caliber, I personally would never shoot an elk or moose with a lead bullet. They dissipate way to much energy on impact. Naturally a perfect shot and you could drop one with a 22lr. But the solid coppers carry so much more energy through the animal and do a lot more damage to the vitals.

.54 PRB 95gr FFF

What?

My .284 Winchester and a 139 gr BTSP , or in heavy timber a .300 Weatherby mag or a .338 Winchester mag all 3 will do wonders on a elk when given a chance .

lead bullets fragment. On impact the tissue absorbs a lot of energy as the bullet fragments and you’ll find the fragments remain in the muscle tissue. Monolithic bullets like the Barnes Copper bullets still expand but rarely break or fragment. The bullet carries much more energy all the way through. The most impressive part is looking at vital organs on more marginal shots. Whitetail I shot that only had one lung lobe shot through looked as if someone took a baseball bat to the lungs, heart,…. Never had fragmenting bullets do that much damage

I’d take a partition over an ELDX any day. I do like Barnes very much but have zero issues shooting lead tip bullets for elk, deer or whatever.

I purchased a Ruger M77 in a .280 caliber I mostly bought it as a sunny fair weather stand hunting collectors item gun I thought I already had the gun that would be my go to deer hunting gun for the rest of my days of deer hunting That was also a Ruger 77 But in a different caliber I killed my first deer with the 280 on the first hunt I used it to hunt It was a tough shot that did not allow much time to think about it So on the first time using that gun t to hunt I made a tough shot on a deer And it was the first of quite a few more over the next 25 or so The gun was a great fit and that made it easy to get on the deer quickly And that made it possible to get a good shot The caliber had little to no recoil which was another reason it was fun to hunt t with I had no intention to ever use it much or perhaps more than a few times when I bought it But once I had some success with it I just could not bring myself to not take it most of the hunts I was on during my hunting days And consider myself blessed to have been given many great hunts and part o f them was possible because I had a gun that made it possible ric olsen and others have said find a gun you like and shoot well and the go enjoy yourself

With the partitions I know where
they are going and what they do when they get there.
Heard good things with some the alphabet bullets
but can't remember their call sign
when buying.
The "research" om the maker's blog
doesn't work for me.

Edit. I've not chased elk
just love the discussion by all.
Another wish for the Whelen