bigbulls

Amazing isn't it James.

The .308 is as good an elk cartridge as most. Thousands upon thousands of elk have fallen to the .308 and similar cartridges. I have use a .270 and 7mm Rem mag and the dead elk never knew the differance between the two.

I recently purchased a .338 ultra mag to hunt with. Did I need it? Heck no as any of the standard cartridges I have will do everything I will ask of the .338. I just wanted one............ Actually I wanted a .338 Lapua but it costs way too much for me to shoot so the .338 ultra was the next best thing.

The bottom line is you still gotta put the bullet into the vitals regardless of what cartridge you use.

Eagle338

I've never, ever, not once thought about recoil when I am bearing down on a big game animal with the intent to kill, no matter what I'm shooting. I do notfeel thekick or even really hear theshot. All my focus goes into the kill, I only really know the gun has went off because the picture in the scope jumps, meaning it is time to jack in another round and immediately repeat if needed. FOCUS! If you are at the rangethen recoil can be managed in other ways.

wtcurle

I shoot a 308 for hunting everything including elk, moose, bear and deer. place your shot well and you will have no problem.

ShatoDavis

308 has suffiecient Kinetic energy to kill an elk out to 400 yards. the trick is hitting the vitals at that range. A method that some subscribe to is maximum point blank range. This method takes into account the ballistics of a cartridge and the vital area of the animal you are hunting.

For example: Lets assume that an elk has a vital area approximately 12 inches square (ie 12 inches tall, and 12 inches wide). Lets further assume that you are hunting with a 308 win load with 165 gr bullets(BC .47)at a muzzle velocity of 2600 FPS. Now the maximumheight of the ballistic arch is 6 Inches above line of sight, and the minimum is 6 inches below the line of sight (12 inch vital). With this info we can calculate that the 308 win has a maximum point blank range of approx. 350 yards. The "true zero" would be 290 Yards, +5.2" at 100 yards. That puts the appex of the arc at approx 170 yards (+6 inches), and -6 inches at 345 yards. So in theory if your weapon was sighted in this way you could aim at the center of the vital area and kill an elk from muzzle to 350 yards. Now the trick becomes doping wind drift and of course getting the elk to stand still broadside to you long enough to put it all together.

James B

Shoot the 308 enough and hitting the vitals at 400 yards is no harder than with any other rifle. The 385 meter Turkey on the silhouette range is a very small target but you learn where to hold and the 308 will do the rest. Its an accurate and very efficient cartridge. No matter what you shoot, you have to shoot it enough to know its trajectory.

[email protected]

When hunting big critters, use the biggest gun you can shoot well! A good hit with a .22 is better than a miss with a 458 mag, and most hunters can handle a 308 pretty well.

ELKampMaster

Okay, you're doing okay, a basic truism.

Arghhh, the old "polar extremes" fallacy.All or nothing, one way or the other.I would say on truly big game a clean miss with ANYTHING is abetter situation than a hit with a .22! (Say a 700# 5x5)

I'd say even mostjuvenilles should be able to handle a .308 pretty well.
Most healthy adult hunters (and younger oneswith attitude)shouldhandle the 375 H&H pretty wellif they are so inclined to learn and chose to apply themselves to that mission. [and avoid 7.5 pound rifles] Americans as a whole live pretty sheltered lives.

BTW .308 will work on elk --- a reasonable starting point within limitations, especially for beginners or non-progressors. Probably not the choice of folks that consistentlywant lots of flexibility in taking their shot opportunities and those who want more consistent anchoring oftheir game.

James B

BB. Yes it makes a man wonder. Folks thought they had the world by the but when the 30-40 krag appeared. It took every game animal in NA with no problem at all. There is nothing wrong with progress or just something new. However that does not mean that the older cartridges without much progression will not do the job as well as ever. Hunters with a little skill made hunting with the 30-40 krag and 7x57 Mauser easy and effective.

If a guy can afford a rifle for each and every purpose, let them have at it. I hate however to see a guy with a 308, 270 or 30-06 or 30-40 krag, think they have to purchase a cannon to hunt animals that have fallen to these standard cartridges for decades.

I can see that many do not realize the effectivness of a rifle like the 308 in the hands of ahunter who knows how to use it. If you have a 308, use it and you need not be humbled for it.

Doe Dumper

You havta sit and laugh readin this mag mentality. Im wondering how the pioneers didnt starve to death because they didnt have a gun that would kill anything bigger than a squirrel over 25 yards after listening to some on here. The 45/70 even bounced off the elk over 40 yards.....mass starvation and epidemic in the old west due to hunger. Amazing...they wore em out with everything from blackpowder to 30-30's..and now a 308 is marginal?? Okkkkkkkkkkkk....

Rebel Hog