ELKampMaster

308 is a close 30-06 equivalent and hence makes the minimum for our group.
Partitions or TSX, either ought to do okay with favorable shot presentation and selection.
Odd that out of 50-some-odd elk hunters who have actually harvested elk that the .308 never made the favorites list even though the 30-06 is a dominant force.

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=1459421&mpage=17

James B

OEH, Just don't tell the critters that. They were pretty impressed (or depressed) with the 2400 FPS.

I never found a better powder for the 308 than IMR 4064. They seemed to be made for each other. My 190 Grain loads wer super compresed loads. To the point that the bullets sometomes popped out a bit. I loaded them single shot so I good look at each one first.

Rammer

My old man, my grandpa and a few of my neighbors have never had an elk complain or get away after being shot with their "puny" 308s. The last elk my old man shot with a 308 was a few years back and he shot it with 180gr Failsafes. I know they have never had an elk go more than 25-30 yards after being hit.

James B

The 308 is really about as good as NA big Game rifles get. I could certainly hunt everything over here with the 308 and not feel under gunned. Its a very versitile round both in rifles and Handguns.

ELKampMaster

As good as they get, eh?

If so, then would you be so kind as to explain why do 58 out of 58 of our elk hunters here on this websitethat have actually taken elk,
DO NOTLIST ITas their favorite cartridge? (Not one!)

Poll: Elk Cartridge Preference:
http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=1459421&mpage=17

James B

I don't have a clue. I could have listed the 308 instead of the 30-06 because I can't believe that any elk could tell the difference. However I have used the 30-06 much longer as the 308 is much newer. With the possible exception of bullets over 200 grains, the 308 will do the same job in the field as the 30-06. I know for a fact that the 308 has been used a lot for elk hunting. Todays powders have leveled the playing field between the 308 and 30-06. If you like the short action, use the 308. If it doesn't matter then use the 30-06.

early

the medium size cow elk i shot last season (right through the heart) ran 25-30 yars b4 falling. i shot her with a -06 180 gr sp..seems like real similar performance ta me.

early

jaybird2

we have about 12-14 people hunting in our deer group every year and we all joke around about the power of magnums (that they cant drop deer in there tracks like the 308s lol) there is 4 ofus that uses 308,there is 4 that use mags(300 mag,7mm mAG,270wsmand a 7mmwsm) and ther is a few 270win and a couple of 30-06.but every deer shot this year with 308 (there was 5 of them)they all went down in there tracks and the mags only put one down in its tracks out of 6 deer shot with mags. i know that the 308 dosent have the power a mag will have but is just funny how they all just drop dead every time someone pulls the trigger of a 308.. over the years i also saw a few moose go down with 308s 6 out of 6 actually 4 went down in there tracks the other 2 only took a few steps before goin down and where i live(cape breton)we have big moose ,1200 pounds and then some......if u are goin to reload u should look at partions bullets or a good bonded bullet,good powder for 308 is varget,reloader 15 and imr 4064 is alsogood. u will have no problem with the 308 win on any deer or elk for that matter!!!!!!

early

the whole time i hunted with my Dad; he used a 308 and i used a -06..wich is better? is a question ive spent some time on. with today's modern bullets i don't think the 308 suffer's at all from decreased case capacity. i gotta -06 cuz i wanted available factory loaded ammo everywhere i went and i like the nastailga factor. but with today's profusion of factory offerings in 308 ammo it seems negligable. the short action also gives increased stiffness fer better accuracy and reliability with shorter cycle time. spare ammo is smaller and easier ta carry. im not trying ta fight with ya. i seriously doubt my experience stacks up against yours as i have only got 3 elk in ten years and packed out 6 or 8 a my Dad's. but i do think it makes fer very interesting discussion. i also think the 308 is largely overlooked cuz we (myself included) are a bigger is better bunch. we like the feeling of more power (if you will).. if i were gonna buy a rifle strictly fer elk would it be a 308???? probly not. but what about a multi task rifle fer medium game including elk (big game) at the top a the scale. i would surely not feel under armed fer elk with a 308..

early

James B

The world is full of therories some correct and some maybe not. Still others are unproven one way or the other. Many wonder why when two animals are hit and one goes down in its tracks and the other runs off a ways before it goes down. One Idea that I read a long report on suggests that many times, it depends on the position of the heart valve when the bullet hits. If the valve is open, the bullet and resulting shock may spur large quanities of blood through the system causing extensive brain damage. Part of thei test was performed on a large number of Cape buffalo during a culling project. The animals were studied after being killed and they found that this theory holds water pretty well.

Still another theory that might explain why lower velocity sometimes kills quicker, is something called bullet hang time. That is, the time that the bullet actually spends on or inside the target. I have read several articles on this subject as well. Out in the field, I have found that a well placed bullet from a 308 or 6.5x55 and others, will put game down every bit as quick as the bigger magnums. I have shot quite a number of animals with the 300 Win Mag as well as the 308, 30-06 and 30-40 krag. with simular hits, I have seen no difference in the terminal performance of simular weight and SD bullets based on increased velocity alone. I think that bullet placement, bullet constuction and then velocity in that order is what brings home the meat. Put a good bullet in the right place and velocity difference is not much of a factor. Bullet speed can make hitting a target a bit easier at long range but once that bullet gets there, its all placement and construction. This given that a caliber of sufficient size and power are used to start with. For deel elk and moose size critters, this would include a wide range of options.