early

3 elk.......one with a .270 150gr sp; two with a 30-06 180gr sp

hard as i tried i couldn't tell wich elk were more dead

LOL

early

whocares

Ihave killed three with .375 JDJ, Two with .358 Winchester two with a .45 Colt revolver.

ELKampMaster

Well, since I haven't seenthethread originator on this threadfollowing it's inception, I'll respond to your post....

Per your original point --- an astute observation (at least on the first part).

This is a different kind of "poll"in that ithas a bit more of a "over the course of time"aspect to it. I do appreciate the fact that it is limited to those who have actually taken elk (which keeps it real vs. peanut gallery theory).Overall the upshot appears to run parallel to the "favorite elk cartridge poll." I also see an interesting number of "I chose to upgrade my cartridge" stories.

Regarding "Mr. large caliber".... mychoice of weaponsranges from 22LR to 458 Lott(not counting .54 cal BP or 10 gauges). I enjoy my small bores plenty. Mid-bores are sweet. Large bores are interesting too. I believe the question in playreally centers onmatchingones toolsto the task to be accomplished.I believe the wider your spectrum of cartridges, the higher the likelihood of a moreunbiasedselection as one is not limited by lack of choice, pride or sentiment thus one can focus on "matching up" to the job at hand. Conversely, when one only has one rifle in the closet (or several rifles that are all essentially equivalent) and it/they are sub 30-06, thenmany folks seem togetirrate at the slightest suggestion that perhaps their doghunts near the rear of the pack.

Despite the flak I have recieved over timeabout promoting/restating our camp minimumof "30-06equivalent or better" for elk; it appearsour standard, bothstatistically and experientially,continues to be validated by majority of those who are actually doing the elk harvesting nowadays. I do acknowledge that it may chafe some folk's sense of "this is my absolute freedomof choice & I'll do whatever I want with whatever I've gotwhen I'm in the elk woods"; however, for this I make no apology, as thereareenough of voices out there advocating the use of the "more marginal cartridges" for elk togive this contingent sufficient comfort.

As far as goes, it just doesn't appear to be necessary, as the folks responding to these twothreads are pretty well making my case for me with little effort on my part, plus it is independent third party validation. It don't get much better than that.

MinnFinn

2 with .300 WM Winchester Supreme 180 gr Failsafe.
I plan to use the same round with AccuBond slug this fall. I've seen and heard many good things about the desing and characteristics of expansion and retention ofweight ofitupon penetration of bone, body mass, etc.of AccuBond.
I plan to stick with my .300 WM Tikka though. Very please with the rifle and caliberperformance.

stubblejumper

Since this was a thread asking for peoples personal experience,I decided to keep from any unnecessaryinterjecting and just let the thread run it's course.However it does appear thatmost people that have a fair bit of experience with several cartridges,tend to prefer the larger cartridges for their elk hunting.

Buckshot

1- 7mm08 140gr XLC through both shoulders and out the other side. With any luck Ill add another one this year.

Hey dont bust on EKM, he's the second coming of Elmer Keith.

ELKampMaster

Itend to favor what 80+% ofthe other postersprefer (i.e. 30-06 equivalent and up),and I guessif that is the "standard" then there must bea LOT of "Elmer Keith" fans out there. Never heard of Elmer Keith (or JOC for that matter) before joining this website --- have just never followed the gun rags.

IMHO, the 30-06 thru the 338 Mag"class"of rifles (can't believe he said that word [][][]) pretty welldominates amongst those who actually hunt and take elk nowadays[per the polls].

Using big bores (375+ for NA)on elk is hardly necessary (but totally optional with no real downside for the competent).On the other hand, avery good reasonto usebig boresfor elkispreparationfor hunting the kind ofgame thatismore commonly associated with those big bore cartridgesin ordertolog some "live trigger experience" on one of America'sbigger and toughergame animals (certainly more to them than southern whitetails) in advance ofgoing on a high stakes hunt. Isupposethere are thosewould advocate waiting to the very last minute toacquirethat kind offamiliarity; however, personally I wouldn't recommend it.

These two polls have pretty well segmented the "pack" of various elk hunting cartridges; some cartridges runat the front of the pack regarding their power and usage, sometendto fall more toward the rear of the pack in terms of power and usage. These numbers come from those doing the elk hunting and harvestingand they are what they are.
[The "other" poll being http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=1459421&mpage=18]

Different viewpoints from different folks areto be expecteddepending where they are coming from and where they are going to --- in their hunting goals, in their physical condition, in their stage of life.

Buckshot

There is only one problem with that, Elmer Keith didnt have access to anywhere near the quality of bullets we have today. But like with anything else "a mans got to know his limitations".

ELKampMaster

These elk huntersare who they are, and use what they use (premium bullets included),and (putting "labels" aside) the numbers are what they are.

"....Different viewpoints from different folks areto be expecteddepending where they are coming from and where they are going to --- in their hunting goals, in their physical condition, in their stage of life."

ELKampMaster

btt

Any other successful elk hunters out there?