GUNS!!!!!!!!

[riser4]

I sold a third of my ammo (4,500ish rounds) during the Armageddon of 2020. I am still shooting 22's and 45's and maybe 12's later this year.

I'll get 9,000 for that money next year.

Side note, what is the max number of calibers you can have before you consider yourself having a problem? I have limited myself to 12... make that 14. But I'm really trying.

Does 37mm and shot gun shells count too? Okay 17.

37mm??? I am curious. Tell me it's a real DD like a field gun, howitzer, or canon and not an imitation m203/m79/flare launcher.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

yada yada yada the 7/08 is a fine elk round.

[highangle]

yada yada yada the 7/08 is a fine deer round.

No argument here. The .308 is marginal for 400-700lb elk though [ask Jack O'Connor], a necked-down .308 even more.

Not a fan of short actions for wapiti, esp when an adequate cartridge doesn't cost any more. Short magnums will do, but they aren't any more pleasant to shoot than long ones, as they have to raise pressures fast so the kick is sharper, they're usually in too light a rifle too, and they're loud af.

The aforementioned .30-06 is still the all-around winner for elk. Does everything, with horsepower to spare, doesn't kick bad, widely available, and maximizes barrel life. Even though it was designed with a slide rule and a copy of Vega's Tables...It's probably around to stay.
These drop moose like whitetail out of an '06:

[snapt]

I've always liked my .30-06 for all north american game. It's a universal round that is found everywhere. I did get a .45-70 if I ever want to harvest a bison, but I enjoy plinking with that thumper a lot and likely will never shoot tatonka.

Funny story, I used to work with a guy who's an outfitter for Bison hunts on the elk refuge. Every year he had some bonkers stories about how fragile they are in reality. He'd warn clients to pick shots carefully when they're appropriately spaced, and with an 06 or larger it was common to accidentally kill 2 bison with one ill placed shot. Or a group of hunters ending up with more dead bison than hunters arguing about who only killed one and having the fish cop come sort them out. Pretty eye opening.

[highangle]

Funny story, I used to work with a guy who's an outfitter for Bison hunts on the elk refuge. Every year he had some bonkers stories about how fragile they are in reality. He'd warn clients to pick shots carefully when they're appropriately spaced, and with an 06 or larger it was common to accidentally kill 2 bison with one ill placed shot. Or a group of hunters ending up with more dead bison than hunters arguing about who only killed one and having the fish cop come sort them out. Pretty eye opening.

Don't you pay that guide to tell you when it's ok to shoot?

[leroy jenkins]

Maybe they should upgrade biathlon to skate skis and modern combat weapons with a 7.62 max bullet diameter?

That sounds fun. I've thought a mnt bike biathlon with handguns would be delightful.

[highangle]

That sounds fun. I've thought a mnt bike biathlon with handguns would be delightful.

That would push sum grip tech. Imagine having to manually uncurl your fingers before you shoot a handgun competitively, for time...

[Jacques Strap]

The .308 is marginal for 400-700lb elk though

For whatever my opinion is worth, I agree with this totally. I wouldn't step into the woods with an elk tag with anything smaller than a 308. Mostly, because nearly every elk I've seen shot, or helped track down, ran at least 100 yards before dropping, even when through both lungs and the heart. Unless you want to try and track that bull you just shot at 5:45pm over an ever-widening 300 yard range across mountain terrain with a minimal blood trail, you want sufficient penetration with maximum expansion. That means 30 cal or better, at least a .308, hard to argue with the '06, 300 Win Mag is an obvious choice too.

[snapt]

6.5 CR's limiting factor is bullet weight, but there are still lots of people tipping elk over with them. The Scandis kill tons of moose every year with 6.5 Swedes, but heavier bullets fit into those cases. My buddy has a sweet 6.5-06 Ackley improved that will ring steel at 1250 yards and put an elk down all the same. Plenty of folks kill elk every year with 7mm and 270, so long as bullet and shot choice is adequate they work every bit as well as a .30 cal round IMO

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Bullets matter more than headstamps.

[Conundrum]

Would you be willing to say bullets and propulsion matter more than headstamps?

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Construction. Using the right bullets, the .243 win is an elk killing machine.

I used to work with this Montana boy, he did a lot of guiding in his younger years. He'd say maybe three words a day, and when he did, you'd better listen. Geez that guy could find elk. We'd be driving into a remote job site and we'd see a herd of elk, and everybody in the rig would be cranking their necks at the cows and rags, and Kevin would point off in a different direction and whisper, "Nice bull". Sure enough to there'd be some gagger you could barely see but he picked out right away. And you can always tell someone who's always switched on, as soon as they see a nice critter, they whisper. Never slammed truck doors either.

Anyhoo, his son and daughter took their first elk with the .243, just like countless kids here in Montana. Lots of grownups still using it for that matter.

[exsparky]

I was lucky enough to be given a 25-06 20 years ago.

They shoot better (heavier bullet and more energy) than a .243 but I wouldn't ever take an elk with either.

[The Reverend Floater]

Well this thread went predictably off the rails. We even got some unsolicited parenting advice. Awesome.

FWIW I've killed two elk dead in their tracks with a .308, shooting 185g Swifts. But again, like everyone else here, it's anecdotal.

[snoqpass]

37mm??? I am curious. Tell me it's a real DD like a field gun, howitzer, or canon and not an imitation m203/m79/flare launcher.

A civilian can legally own a 37mm launcher

[snoqpass]

Interesting arguments about calibers most people buying the super duper magnums and such aren’t going to make up for poor marksmanship buy getting a bigger bullet

[zion zig zag]

Well this thread went predictably off the rails. We even got some unsolicited parenting advice. Awesome.

FWIW I've killed two elk dead in their tracks with a .308, shooting 185g Swifts. But again, like everyone else here, it's anecdotal.

I have to apologize, wasn't my intent. I realize that caliber is hotly debated but didn't anticipate all of the ancillary fallout.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

I was lucky enough to be given a 25-06 20 years ago.

They shoot better (heavier bullet and more energy) than a .243 but I wouldn't ever take an elk with either.

.25-06 is a fine elk rifle. Mouthy fucking things, though.

[mattig]

My good buddy has a 6.5 Bergara he got on a trade from a tenant who owed him money he's looking to sell since he mostly bird hunts. Vortex scope and a few boxes of ammo. Shoot me a text if you want me to connect them. Super nice rifle for the money, it misses deer just as well as my 308

Got a similar setup. .5MOA out of the box.
Shot deer with it, but probably won't hunt elk with it. I don't think it's unethical, just raises the odds of a long track and pack.

Looking for a .338 for elk.

If only one caliber, 30-06, 7mm RM, 7-08, 280AI, 300wm or Nosler 28, were on the short list. I decided to get a small gun and a big gun instead.

[Conundrum]

Regarding Vanguard pricing, seems you can find reasonable deals. If Zion's kid would consider a .308, he could easily be into a hunting rifle with a decent optic for under $1k.

https://www.zidaho.com/index.php?a=2&b=10345

[waxman]

Interesting arguments about calibers most people buying the super duper magnums and such aren’t going to make up for poor marksmanship buy getting a bigger bullet

fuckin' exactly, a 6.5 or 243 will kill an elk just fine, geez, you can use 'em on moose if you shoot more than a box of ammo a year

[TNKen]

I suspect that more white tails have been killed with a .22lr that any gun except perhaps the .30-30. Shot placement.

[highangle]

I expect you're wrong again, Ken. But we both know nobody can prove a statement like that, so it doesn't matter.

But Anyone who will shoot at a deer with a .22lr is a Certifiable Asshole, and deserves the same amount of respect he shows his game.

[highangle]

fuckin' exactly, a 6.5 or 243 will kill an elk just fine, geez, you can use 'em on moose if you shoot more than a box of ammo a year

A goddamn set of nunchuks will kill an elk too. I'm sure Ken has done it countless times.

But the point is to use a round that will still kill quickly if you don't get a good enough rest or have to hurry, or a floating spider web deflects it .3MOA and you shoot him in the fucking liver. Hydrostatics is a tough way to go, but sometimes that's how you kill him. And any place thick, you'll appreciate more bullet than less.

Protip: You can't shoot an elk too low in the lungs. I've cut sternum with a 2-blade Zwickey Black Diamond Eskimo and the bull covered 50yds in a half circle.
Most people who go on and on about 'shooting him in the lungs and lost the trail after 1/4 mile' are just kidding themselves. They shot too high, or too far back...Archery or rifle.

[highangle]

Well this thread went predictably off the rails. We even got some unsolicited parenting advice. Awesome.

FWIW I've killed two elk dead in their tracks with a .308, shooting 185g Swifts. But again, like everyone else here, it's anecdotal.

If you want to know the true meaning of the term "Dishrag", start shooting your deer in that little white patch right below their chin. Most professional hit you can make on a deer: It's instant like any neck shot, ruins no meat, and makes a .30cal hole going in, and one about the size of a half dollar coming out the back of his neck - right on the Y you or the taxidermy man gonna have to cut anyway.