Smallest elk rifle

Backpack Hunter · Oct 29, 2014

Hey guys, looking to see if I can find a general consensus as to what the smallest lightest kicking caliber is adequate for elk hunting.
Looking for small, light, ultra low recoil

, and quick kills to 300 maybe 400 yards.

Justin Crossley · Oct 29, 2014

.260 Remington would be a great option or a 7mm08 or a .308.

JustOneMoreShot · Oct 29, 2014

I agree with Justin. All of the three listed calibers would be low recoil and quickly take elk with a well placed shot. (It would also be important to add that the use of a well constructed bullet will be very important when using such calibers delivering less energy at the target. )

BruinPoint · Oct 29, 2014

I'll second the first two posts. I've done it x3 with 7mm08 and 140gr Accubonds, longest being 435yd. Saw the impacts through the scope on 2. The 260 isn't far behind.

RockChucker30 · Oct 30, 2014

6.5's kill stuff. I wouldn't hesitate to take a good shot on elk out to 300 with my 260.

hunting1 · Oct 30, 2014

My youngest hunts with a .308 and 125 NAB's. Makes me re-think the big calibers when everything he hits drops with this combo.

Shrek · Oct 30, 2014

Justin is right on. 260 rem or 7-08 would be my choice. The 260 would be tops but for the relative scarcity of factory ammo but the 7-08 is a little more common.

luke moffat · Oct 30, 2014

Shrek said:
Justin is right on. 260 rem or 7-08 would be my choice. The 260 would be tops but for the relative scarcity of factory ammo but the 7-08 is a little more common.

Why would the 260 be preferred over the 7-08 for elk?

Serious question as I can still count on one hand how many I've seen in person.

Shrek · Oct 30, 2014

Because the issue of recoil means the use of lighter bullets. The 140gr and 130 gr 6.5mm bullets have the best bc and with proper bullet construction will deliver the best down range performance. All three will kill anything as you know personally.

Rizzy · Oct 30, 2014

My kids will get to start off with my 243 and the barnes ttsx bullets. Elk hunting is usually a close range sport where I go. Archery works well too

JG358 · Oct 30, 2014

Anything 6mm or bigger based on a 308win case.

squeekieslayer · Oct 30, 2014

I dont want to sound like a jerk... but why push it? With lightweight composite materials and even carbon barrels with breaks and ports... you can shoot a larger rifle with lower weight and recoil and not have to worry about if its too small.

I just never understand the what is the lightest arrow and bullet debate... we all know bigger is better, so why take the risk.

Joe

sneaky · Oct 30, 2014

squeekieslayer said:
I dont want to sound like a jerk... but why push it? With lightweight composite materials and even carbon barrels with breaks and ports... you can shoot a larger rifle with lower weight and recoil and not have to worry about if its too small.

I just never understand the what is the lightest arrow and bullet debate... we all know bigger is better, so why take the risk.

Joe

Maybe some people like to keep their hearing and don't pack muffs everywhere they go. Bigger isn't always better and I would bet more elk have hit the turf at the hands of 30-30's than some of your newer big bores. A 7-08 will kill anything in North America. I've personally seen elk slap the ground from 120 gr
TTSX's. Also a lot of folks don't have the money to invest in carbon barreled rifles.

BruinPoint · Oct 30, 2014

squeekieslayer said:
I dont want to sound like a jerk... but why push it? With lightweight composite materials and even carbon barrels with breaks and ports... you can shoot a larger rifle with lower weight and recoil and not have to worry about if its too small.

I just never understand the what is the lightest arrow and bullet debate... we all know bigger is better, so why take the risk.

Joe

I disagree that bigger is better for normal hunting situations. Lighter rifles = more felt recoil = bad habits = poor shot placement. Breaks = more muzzle blast = bad habits = poor shot placement. Especially if we're talking kids or new hunters, I think that poor shooting habits due to muzzle blast and recoil create more risk of wounding animals than anything.

Between my wife and I, we've killed 9 animals (from pronghorn to elk) with a 7mm08 and none have given me the feeling that we're "pushing it" or "taken a risk". Longest recovery was 100yd (lung shot elk) and of those 9 kills, only one bullet didn't pass through. Good shot placement and bullet construction = dead animals. Why not do it comfortably?

squeekieslayer · Oct 30, 2014

sneaky said:
Maybe some people like to keep their hearing and don't pack muffs everywhere they go. Bigger isn't always better and I would bet more elk have hit the turf at the hands of 30-30's than some of your newer big bores. A 7-08 will kill anything in North America. I've personally seen elk slap the ground from 120 gr
TTSX's. Also a lot of folks don't have the money to invest in carbon barreled rifles.

I completely understand financial and physical limitations... but I am not talking about lugging a 338 lapua with a 5 pound scope and bipod around. My point is simply that the difference in cost, weight and recoil from a 260 and a 7mm RM is not that extreme. I think the one thing we can all agree on is that all things held equal, the correct bullet from a 7mm rm is going to pack way more punch then the correct bullet from a 260 and allow for a bit more wiggle room on a marginal or accidentally wrong placed shot... I know it is all about shot placement, but why risk trying to find the smallest calliber? It just seems like purposely taking a risk. If we are talking about small women and kids, i understand looking to a lighter option... but a healthy adult can handle much bigger calibers with less risk of "what ifs."

I am not trying to mean or anything, i just dont the mentality of looking for the smallest caliber to do a job. I have personally seen a "barely heavy enough" arrow become way too light on a hard quartering yet very well placed shot on an elk causing a wounded animal and devastated hunter... why risk it?

Joe

Joe

JG358 · Oct 30, 2014

squeekieslayer said:
I completely understand financial and physical limitations... but I am not talking about lugging a 338 lapua with a 5 pound scope and bipod around. My point is simply that the difference in cost, weight and recoil from a 260 and a 7mm RM is not that extreme. I think the one thing we can all agree on is that all things held equal, the correct bullet from a 7mm rm is going to pack way more punch then the correct bullet from a 260 and allow for a bit more wiggle room on a marginal or accidentally wrong placed shot... I know it is all about shot placement, but why risk trying to find the smallest calliber? It just seems like purposely taking a risk. If we are talking about small women and kids, i understand looking to a lighter option... but a healthy adult can handle much bigger calibers with less risk of "what ifs."

I am not trying to mean or anything, i just dont the mentality of looking for the smallest caliber to do a job. I have personally seen a "barely heavy enough" arrow become way too light on a hard quartering yet very well placed shot on an elk causing a wounded animal and devastated hunter... why risk it?

Joe

Joe

Oppinions on recoil vary. I know more than one grown man that cant accurately shoot a standard belted magnum because theyre uncomfortable with the recoil. I know smaller kids that arent phased by recoil at all. Whats right for you or I isnt whats right for someone else. A 100 grain partition out of a 243win will kill an elk just as dead at 2-300yds as a 250 grainer out of my old 358STA.

krueger · Oct 30, 2014

Im a big fan of the 25-06 with a 120 grain bullet. At first I was hestitant to take a 25 caliber elk hunting but after seeing 3 bull elk get dropped (furthest recovery was less than 15 yards after the shot), Im a believer now. Granted all 3 bulls were shot at less than 100 yards in the boiler room BUT they hit the dirt as quick as any elk I've shot with my 250 grain 35 whelen "elk" gun.

The 25-06 is a gem

Backpack Hunter · Oct 30, 2014

Looks like a few votes for 7mm-08 out there. Comparatively what is the recoil like on a 260? Can't say I have ever shot a 260 of any flavor.

As for questions concerning why, it's for a small framed child who will eventually grow up to be a beautiful woman.

JustOneMoreShot · Oct 30, 2014

Congrats on getting young kids (and female) into the field to enjoy hunting and practice game management. That is awesome.
Chuck Hawks has an interesting website that one could literally spend hours looking at and going over. This link will show a table listing different calibers and bullets with the different amounts of felt recoil.
http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

I know a few guys who cannot handle recoil at all. One was pounded by his fathers .300 Weatherby when he was in college and now he flinches when shooting even a .243. I know another guy who hates even moderate recoil and both use "small for the job" caliber rifles when hunting. I think that plenty of people would shoot better without the SuperUltraMega Magnum but few of them would likely admit it.

mtswampfox · Oct 30, 2014

Backpack Hunter said:
Looks like a few votes for 7mm-08 out there. Comparatively what is the recoil like on a 260? Can't say I have ever shot a 260 of any flavor.

As for questions concerning why, it's for a small framed child who will eventually grow up to be a beautiful woman.

Big fan here of any and all 308 based cartridges. My 338fed with 200 gr bullet has more felt recoil than my 243 with 90 gr bullet. Its the weight of the projectile. Diff between 7-08 and 260 with same grain bullet will be negligible.

Smallest elk rifle

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