thehunter Posted January 13, 2008 Report Share Posted January 13, 2008 Have hunted turkey for years & some deer. Want to try for Elk at somepoint in next few years. Wyoming would be a dream come true but could settle for KY. Anyway, what's the minimum gun that need to get the job done. All I have is a Winchester 12 gauge. Do I need a 30/06, 30/30 or what? Also any ideas on what successful but low budget hunt might cost, keeping in mind am the sole breadwinner & a family man? You can't imagine how much I'd like to give it a try though!!...Look forward to hearing from someone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OJR Posted January 14, 2008 Report Share Posted January 14, 2008 Welcome to the forums! I live in Idaho and have shot elk with both a 270 and 30-06! One shot is all it took and that was it! I never take a shot over 300 yards and either of these rifles work great at that range! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebeilgard Posted January 15, 2008 Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 welcome to the forums. definately not a shotgun. i use a 270, and never had an elk get away. if i were to purchase a new gun and hunt with only 1 gun, it would be the 30-06. you can load down (54gr) for a prairie dog, and load up (250gr) for a grizzly bear. and a bunch in between. and, if you're ever hunting and run out of shells, any store will have them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Colorado Bob Posted January 15, 2008 Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 My elk rifle is a Remington 700 with a leupold VarX_III 2.5x8 scope in 30/06. I use 180 grain factory loads. Remington, Winchester, Tikka, Ruger, Savage all make good guns. Find the one that fits your budget in a 30/06. Get good a good scope----4X works well for a fixed power---3x9 in a varible. Leupold IMO is the best. CB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJL Posted January 15, 2008 Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 Also any ideas on what successful but low budget hunt might cost, keeping in mind am the sole breadwinner & a family man? DIY 1 Week in Colorado........ Tags ..................$500 Gas to and from Indiana..............$350 Lodging..............$500 Meals.................$250 New Gun.............$750 New Gear............$250 Animal Processing..$250 Misc................. $250 _________________________ $2600 minimum 1 week of Elk Hunting in Colorado ........priceless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted January 15, 2008 Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 If you are going to have to go out and purchase a dedicated rifle to use as an elk gun.......I'd opt for something that brings a little more tom the plate. were I to spend $2600 on an elk hunt and have something go wrong due to "not enough gun"............well.............. If you already had the .30-06 or .308 sitting at home, I'd tell you to use them if finances didn't allow for a new gun. If you're going to have to buy a new gun for the hunt, look into the .30 and .33 caliber magnums. Yes......a .243 will kill an elk. But there are better tools in the drawer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvertip_co Posted January 15, 2008 Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 DIY 1 Week in Colorado........ Tags ..................$500 Gas to and from Indiana..............$350 Lodging..............$500 Meals.................$250 Gun.............$350 New Gear............$250 Animal Processing..$250 Misc................. $250 _________________________ $2200 minimum 1 week of Elk Hunting in Colorado ........priceless . I'd have to lower the gun price some. You can get a good used 06 or 270 almost anywhere for 350.00 But then the add'l 400.00 might go for gas if it goes to 4.00 a gallon. I spend 1200.00 a year ( elk & mulie combo) and I live here. So there ya go. The estimate is pretty close. I'd like to add that if I had only to buy one rifle, ever, for all my hunts big and smaller, it would be the 270. However I use 270, 06,and 7mm Rem Mag at diff times depending on how I feel. For a new rifle there no better package gun than a black Sav 111 270 that comes with the 3-9 scope for 399.00 most places and less when on sale. It carrys really light for our high mtns here and will whammy out a long ways without much drop. Use the 130 for deer and 150 for elk. Hornady Lite Mag ammo with SST bullet will make it stretch another 100yrds effectively. http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=89774718 Good luck, email if you need more specific help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebeilgard Posted January 16, 2008 Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 the price sounds pretty close, imho. good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coles Posted January 16, 2008 Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 in my opinion a 270 is about as small as you should use for elk. as for what rifle to get/use i would have to say get the biggest rifle that you can shoot effectively. that means no flinch, pulling your head off the stock, etc. sure a 338 will kill an elk but not if you cant shoot it will enough to make a lethal shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehunter Posted January 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 Best Gun to Elk Hunt With You all are so nice!! This is great! Thank you. Taking all this into consideration. Keep any advice coming if & as want to. Oh & believe me you all will know not if I go but when I do go. I will qualify it that it'll be a few years but it WILL HAPPEN. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ousoonerfan22 Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 welcome to the forums. definately not a shotgun. i use a 270, and never had an elk get away. if i were to purchase a new gun and hunt with only 1 gun, it would be the 30-06. you can load down (54gr) for a prairie dog, and load up (250gr) for a grizzly bear. and a bunch in between. and, if you're ever hunting and run out of shells, any store will have them. Steve, Which .270 bullet are you using on elk? Thanks, Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest yarddog Posted January 29, 2008 Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 i would agree that too much gun is worse then too little gun.a 270 is all you need to kill elk and you will practice more with it.learn to shoot and hit your target at 300 yds and under,my first shot at an elk was under 100yrds and i shot over its back,there is so many lessions to learn about elk hunting that if you want to do yourself a big favor go with a guide your first time out and pay attention and ask questions.i know it will cost more but trust me it will pay for its self in the long run.i have spent more money in mistakes and hard lession's learned then a good outfitter would cost. i see you are from IND well elk hunting is nothing like you hunt in IND so read anything you can get your hands on about it. PS my best advice is if it is not waterproof dont take it with you(first year elk hunt i have never been that wet and cold before) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebeilgard Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 good advice from yard dog. elk hunting will be cold, with a capitol C. i use primarily barnes triple shok bullets. a poor quality bullet will hurt even a well placed shot. get a good bullet. 150 grain is what i use in my 270. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zirkel Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 Yard dog, Good advice about clothing. Don't buy cotton. It might be good for sitting in a tree stand but it could kill you in the high country. Zirkel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted February 1, 2008 Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 Welcome to the forums. Think if I were buying a new gun to take on an elk trip it would be in .30 caliber, most likely a .30-06. You can get a gun for less than $750 mentioned, but it will likely run well over $750 if you get a decent rifle and top it with decent quality glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 Dunno boys. I surely will not claim to have the elk hunting experience that some of you do. I've never shot one. But I have seen them up very close & personal. They are big. A lot of folks talk about a moose's inability to take lead. You shoot them....they die. I know (knew...he's passed now) an old Algonquin in Quebec that killed his moose with a .25 rimfire. But I've never had any elk hunter tell me that elk are eager to die when a bullet hits them. They are tough critters with a large will to live. For all the more differenc there is in rifle and ammo price..........I'd sure hate to have something go wrong on a once in a lifetime hunt. I'm still sticking by the choice of a .30, .33 or .35 magnum of some flavor or another. Something that would give me the edge if I had to shoot at a bad angle. Something that will give the best chance of breaking the animal down right where he stands. I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my trip having to fetch a 700 lb. animal up out of here if he happened to run just a tad too far after the shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJL Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 My neighbor gets his elk every year with his trusty .243. It's generally a 20-40yrd. shot in his back yard. Placement is crucial......"right in the ear" as he says it. I prefer a .338 win mag. in the center of the vitals. .30 cal is the ideal gun. I plan on going to Africa in a couple of years, so lets start shooting the .338 for everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebeilgard Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 sounds like this hunt needs to be in jjl's back yard... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJL Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 We had cows and calves we had to chase out of the driveway this morning so that we could go to church. They're somewhat nuisances this time of year. During Sept. and Oct. they're up in the high meadows, when the snow hits they move down to see us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ousoonerfan22 Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 That's awesome! Are you allowed to feed the elk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJL Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 No. Wouldn't want to either. Deer and elk are browsers. When they're offered hay or grain they over-eat and the winter is actually harder. Not a good idea, besides, the DOW watches that sort of thing very closely. We've had a woman who was putting out hay for the bighorns because she felt sorry for them, 30 days and $10,000 later she learned her lesson. All of the ranchers erect buildings around their hay stacks to keep the elk and deer out. Not only to protect their hay, but to protect the elk and deer. They seem to do just fine on twigs and whatever grass they can find, at least they have so far. When you see the DOW dropping hay into remote regions, it's because the animals are starving. They give them enough to stay alive and that's about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest yarddog Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 just thought i would tell you a friend of mine bought an mossberg 101 atr 30-06 from walmart for a little over $300 and it is a tack driver he loves it. he put a buris fulfield scope on it and he said he would have no problem taking it elk hunting, and he has been elk hunting before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 You may want to consider the Remmington 300 ultra mag. You can purchase cartridges for it that are powered for animals from deer to Moose (at least that is what Remmington claims). I purchased one years ago, but haven't had the money to use it on a big game hunt yet. Another idea, borrow one for your hunt if money is short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aksheephuntress Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 I love my .338 Browning A-bolt.I haven't needed anything else up here-besides the .22. My dream gun, though, is one of those Kimber Montana rifles in the .270 caliber, for sheep. ....Has anyone shot the Kimber in the .325 WSM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 I love my .338 Browning A-bolt. Spoken like someone with possibilities of a bright future in the OTPG. I'd think a .338 A-Bolt would have to be among the top few "all-around" guns for North America. ....Has anyone shot the Kimber in the .325 WSM? One of my customers at work shoots the .325 WSM........I think in a Kimber. He loves his. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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