O/T Rifles for out west...

[Doegirl]

I know one day I would like to go out West for some hunting. Archery and firearm.
Since some of you actually hunt out West, I would like your opinion on the "best gun" for larger stuff like elk and moose.
I'm not so much of a masochist that I like being beaten into submission with a .378 Weatherby Mag, but on the other hand, I certainly wish to not be undergunned.
I see many recommendations for 300win mag. With a muzzlelbrake, I could probably handle that. And lose the rest of my hearing ;D
Opinions?

[SPIKER]

I shoot a Remington 700A in 300 Win Mag, with a Muzzle Brake. Hands down, it's a monster setup.

[azslim]

I have killed a lot of game with a .270win, altho that is what I use for deer now and my .300wm for elk - my daughters use the .270 for elk. I have a hand-me-down .244rem that has taken deer, elk, moose and 1 bear. It is not the size of the bullet it is where you put it. We have guys show up quite a bit that carry guns that kill on both ends, most of them tend to flinch.

Oh, and archery deer tags for most of Az are OTC, the Strip and some units on the Rim are draw. If you want coues whitetail or desert mule deer come hunt in Jan when they rut. Pretty nice to head out in the morning in a tshirt and long sleeve shirt, then about 1000 take off the long sleeves.

[CopperHead]

Doegirl,
The best advice I can give use a cartridge you can accurately shoot. If you are comfortable shooting a 300 Win Mag. Then by all means go for it. What distances are you expecting to shoot or comfortable shooting? But a 30-06 is capable of cleanly taking an elk or moose with less kick especially with a muzzle brake within reasonable range.

Here are some links to compare the balistics of the two.

www.snipercentral.com/300.htm
www.snipercentral.com/3006.htm


If you decide to go with the 30-06 I would recommend an least a 180 grain bullet. Even though the 06 is capable of long distance shooting I would recommend shots on elk and definitely moose to 300 yards or less.

The magnums are definitely a good choice. With a muzzle brake the kick of the 30 caliber win mags is similar to the 30-06 but as you said are quite deafening. With some of the new ones, the 300 WSM and the 300 Ultra Mag, getting slightly better performance than the 300 Win Mag and usually in a slightly lighter frame due to the short action.

Bottom line shot what you can shoot accurately and with confidence.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Doegirl]

Thanks guys, for your replies. I guess my concern with the .300 mags is fear of the unknown since I've never shot any of them. I fired many guns in calibers ranging from .22-250 to 375H+H mag, and 12 guage slugs, but not the .300 mags of any flavor. I would venture to say I can tolerate "moderate" levels of recoil and still shoot with relative accuracy. Gritting my teeth and closing my eyes while I slap the trigger probably won't get the job done. ;D

[FlyinCedar]

Dont forget about the often overlooked .308, as it will easily kill anything in North America, as long as you can put the bullet where it goes

I have the Savage Model 10FP, which is the heavy bull barrel version, and with the proper optics (mine is fitted with a Springfield Armory 6-20x56), I would not think twice about taking a very long shot at an Elk with it. It packs the punch to put them down, and with very manageable recoil. Plus, Savage's rifles are very reasonably priced and dependable, as well as accurate. My Savage outshot a couple custom rifles i have owned, right out of the box.

This is a 5 shot group, from my Savage, from 273 yds... They are all right together except one to the lower left. This one is what most people would call a "flyer" because they do not understand that it is actually a cold bore shot, meaning it is the first shot from a clean, cold bore. The impact of this shot will always be different from your zero of groups of 3 shots or more. In precision shooting, you must record your cold bore zero, as well as your regular zero, and adjust accordingly...as for hunting like you are doing, this is not necessary, as it wont make much difference till you hit ranges of 500 yds and beyond.




Hope this wasnt too much info, as i tend to get a little carried away when it comes to shooting

[BT]

No 7MM fans huh?!....that would be one of my go to guns

[akdd]

A 30-06 will be plenty enough gun if you use good bullets.

[madoktor1]

Jul 6, 2009 12:25:18 GMT -5 akdd said:

A 30-06 will be plenty enough gun if you use good bullets.

x2. The only rifle I have ever used. I have shot many but only ever owned 30-06's. The also have one of the widest ranges of bullet weights and loads. I would recommend the 180 gr. also for elk.

[royden]

My first pick for you would be the .308. Very accurate, manageable recoil and reasonable weight in a shorter rifle.

Personally I would vote for the personal comfort at the end of two weeks climbing blowdown and hiking up and down the hills and therefor take the .308. My mom killed a lot of deer with hers - accurate as far as you want to shoot. Knockdown power is decent but I also would be less comfortable with it beyond 300 yards for elk. However, you are a bowhunter ... you can generally sneaky feet in to less than 300 yards . This caliber would be easier to find in a weight and length that you can throw to your shoulder quick. My suggestion for a scope would be a 1.5 or 2 - 8 power. You want that low power for brush shooting.

Next would be the 270 and then '06. Too me the .270 is at the bottem end of the envelope for elk rounds, however it gets the job done and is easy to carry.

I am not familier with the 7mm but the charts on it put it in the running also.

Personally I carry an old 03-a3 springfield 30-06 - it has been plenty of gun for me for 24 yrs. I tried the 200 grn accubonds in it for a few seasons and was unimpressed, I will go back to 180 grn bullets next time I need to reload for it. What I have always done with this rifle is shot a fouling round and then sighted in with a cold barrell single shot. At 300 yards the fouling round was always low left at 2-3" - interesting that flyincedar had the same clock position

I would stay away from muzzlebrake rifles for two reasons - one hearing, two vision. I could imagine (never witnessed so just guessing) that a follow up shot at dusk would be hard after having that big fireball to look thru from the first shot. I do know that the '06 at dusk looks impressive so I can only guess what a muzzle brake would be like.

jmh .02