KY elk tag drawn. 1st elk hunt caliber help

[dpowers311]

I was chosen for a late season cow elk hunt in Kentucky. I am a shotgun/slug hunter. never shot a center fire rifle. I was looking for a deer rifle when I found out I was drawn for the elk hunt. I am now looking for a deer/elk rifle. 270 is the min for Kentucky a lot say it will work good, others say 300 win mag and up.

I shoot a 12 gauge with slugs in my shotgun, I do not like the kick but they do a great job on deer. I also have some shoulder issues(frozen shoulder)

I have read so many post stating 270 kick more than a 30-06 and 06 kicks more. 270 has flatter trajectory but limited in bullet selection 130 -150 grain, 06 has larger selection and been around a long time. I have at my local stores both 270 and 30-06 ammo in good quantities.

Shots could be up to 200 yards but usually 100-150 yards.

Are the 270 and 30-06 almost the same with the exception of more ammo selection in the 06? Trajectory?

Rifles I am looking at are Savage 111 trophy hunter package, drawback on this one is lop is 1.5 inches to long and if I need to add a sims pad it will be greater. and the Tikka t3 it also is to long.

Thanks
Dave

[yobuck]

first off congratulations on being drawn for the uh uh hunt. lol.
maybe a youth model would be better as for the stock fit. otherwise
get one with a wood stock and cut it off to fit.
id personaly opt for the 06 due to bullet selection. even a 308 would work well
for the short distances you will be shooting.
im from pa and still spend about 1/3 of each year in the heart of the pa elk country.
we have lots of elk. even more than the state admits to having. its very common for large
groups to be in our yard. weve had 2 very large bulls killed in our yard.
most drawn are from other areas and they usually hire a local ahem, outfitter to drive them i mean guide them.

[stomp442]

What about a 7-08? A 168 grain bullet from one of those should be plenty at a reasonable distance with fairy mild recoil.

[Rooster 50]

If you have access to a 30-06 then use it. I have a 1963 Model 70 30-06 that has killed more Elk than i can remember from 75 to 400yds.
If you want to reduce the recoil try some loads with 150gr Accubonds. You will be point blank easily to 200yds and all you will need to do is make a good shot.
Hope that helps and good luck!

[big honkin jeep]

There is a very good reason the 30-06 with a 3-9x40 scope is the number one hunting rig in the country. Very versatile and can be used on any mid to large sized game in the lower 48 with great effectiveness. It would be my recommendation and will do a fine job on elk. The 30-06 isn't going to have the recoil of a 12Ga. The win mag is an effective cartridge but in my opinion just too much gun for most other things in the medium to large game categories especially with modern bullets.
The 30-06 is the parent cartridge case of the .270 Winchester with the bullet diameter and associated science being the main differences.
At 200 yards either cartridge will get the job done. The maximum point blank range (the point at which the bullet neither rises to 3" above the line of sight or falls below the line of sight) for a 30-06 with a 165gr bullet is about 275 yards. Just put it on the sweet spot and squeeze the trigger. No worries
The length of pull can easily be trimmed on the 110 series stocks and the recoil pad re shaped to fit or replaced with a youth model stock.
Another very good option might be to look into one of the Savage youth rifles chambered in .308 Winchester. It will have a shorter length of pull and still have a very effective .30 caliber chambering that is plenty for elk at the ranges you describe.
Welcome aboard Dave and good luck

[handirifle]

I have one friend that has killed many elk with his 270. Ranges varied out to about 200yds, and he always uses the 150gr round nose bullets.

Another friend who was a gunshop owner, used his 308 and Barnes 168gr TSX. Shot it in the shoulder at 200yds. Bullet was complete pass through. Elk ran about 20yds and dropped.

If I remember right, O'Conner (the writer) used a 270 and 130gr bullets and swore by the combo on elk. Since you mentioned the '06, and I happen to hunt with one, I would recommend it highly. A GOOD recoil pad and correct LOP goes a LONG way in mitigating recoil. My '06 is a piece of cake with my good pad on it. I also used a padded cheek rest, and that helps too.

Get the '06 and 165gr or heavier using standard bullets. A Barnes TSX in 130gr or up will do also. And the '06 driving a 130gr TTSX will way outperform the old 270 with a 130gr.

Congrats on the drawing, good luck on the hunt.

[yobuck]

I have one friend that has killed many elk with his 270. Ranges varied out to about 200yds, and he always uses the 150gr round nose bullets.

Another friend who was a gunshop owner, used his 308 and Barnes 168gr TSX. Shot it in the shoulder at 200yds. Bullet was complete pass through. Elk ran about 20yds and dropped.

If I remember right, O'Conner (the writer) used a 270 and 130gr bullets and swore by the combo on elk. Since you mentioned the '06, and I happen to hunt with one, I would recommend it highly. A GOOD recoil pad and correct LOP goes a LONG way in mitigating recoil. My '06 is a piece of cake with my good pad on it. I also used a padded cheek rest, and that helps too.

Get the '06 and 165gr or heavier using standard bullets. A Barnes TSX in 130gr or up will do also. And the '06 driving a 130gr TTSX will way outperform the old 270 with a 130gr.

Congrats on the drawing, good luck on the hunt.

old jack could walk on water in the eyes of many of his followers. whatever jack and others like him did was the way to do it.
im sure jacks opinions had something to do with the 280 rem never becoming very popular.
i often wondered if writers like him were lets say (rewarded) in some way for their expertly written opinions?
nah, im sure he paid for all those safaris out of his own pockets.

[dpowers311]

I purchase a model 116 in 30-06. Cleaning it up tonight and will take it Saturday and see how I do with it at the range. I think the range I go to has 125 yards for the longest shot.

Dave

[shovelheadave]

There is a very good reason the 30-06 with a 3-9x40 scope is the number one hunting rig in the country. Very versatile and can be used on any mid to large sized game in the lower 48 with great effectiveness. It would be my recommendation and will do a fine job on elk.

x2

Congratulations on drawing your tag !!!

[CharlieNC]

Good luck on your elk hunt; they are a majestic animal and great on the table. Wish I had discovered this when I was younger, willing, and able to try a backpack hunt. Now I am thrilled to go with an outfitter and a comfortable bed.

[5spd]

I purchase a model 116 in 30-06. Cleaning it up tonight and will take it Saturday and see how I do with it at the range. I think the range I go to has 125 yards for the longest shot. Dave
Good choice as it will handle anything in the lower 48 for the rest of your entire life.

[cheapshot]

I think you made an excellent choice. The .270 is a great round no doubt, but the '06 is a do it all cartridge. Also good choice on the 116, stainless is the way to go for a hunting rig IMHO.

[dpowers311]

Replaced the butt pad with a sims and it made a big difference. Groups are about 2 1/2 inches at 100 yards and 2 inches high. Just getting the feel of the gun before I make my ammo choice.

[BobT]

Congrats on the Elk tag! The .30/06 is a good choice. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you don't reload since this is your first rifle. In factory ammo I would take a hard look at the Federal premium loaded with the Nosler Partition or the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw bullets in weights of 150 grains on up.

Bob

[dpowers311]

I was just in the basement setting up my reloading bench and going to start loading 44 mag and 30-06.

[lscraig1968]

I shoot a .30-06 for deer and have shot it since I was 18 years old. If I do my part, it does its part. It should do just fine on elk. If you hit the engine room you will not be disappointed.

[Stockrex]

Is the rifle going to be ONLY for ELK?
270 min caliber? wow, CO allows 243,

You could get something like a 300 win mag and hunt everything from squirrels to moose,

Pls take into consideration that a rifle used only for hunting will probably be fired 2 or 3 times a year and about 10 rounds a year.
I would find a caliber that offers a good solid bullet or a partition in your caliber,
At 200 yards, 308, 270, 30-06, will do the job and will be cheap both rifle and ammo.

get a light rifle, practice shooting in every position, I am going to CO this year to some crazy unit where the terrain is very demanding, I usually carry my browning bar in 06, might carry a 243 savage this year.

[dpowers311]

Had a great time on my Kentucky cow elk hunt and tagged out Saturday afternoon. Didn't know what to expect with temps running 60-70 deg high winds and rain in the forecast for the weekend then Monday the temps were to drop to the teens. I hired a guide Hurley Combs ( Lost Mountain Outfitters) and it was worth it. I would have spent that money driving to scout and hotel plus the field dressing and hauling it out for you. My cow was halfway up one of the big hills and was one of the larger ones taken that day. I am not good with names and I am sure I would leave someone out but want to thank everyone involved in making my hunt a huge success and a great memory.

The morning started with us sitting on a coal road on top the mountain 1-1.5 hours before daylight, Hurley Sr (guide) myself , another hunter and 2 watchers. The plan was to cover a lot of area, glassing to find the elk then planning how to get close enough for a shot. When it was light enough to see the hillside in front of us there were no elk so we moved on to another location. Hurley Sr. went to the ridge. When you see your guide running back to you you get a little excited, Hurley Sr. had spotted a large herd of cows but they were to far away to shoot so we had to relocate to another ridge. We tried to head them off but another group got to them first and pushed them into the timber.

We covered a lot of area Saturday morning but the 1 herd was all we could find being windy as it was. The elk had bedded down in the timber.

We ran into a couple of guides and planned a stalk into the timber, with a guide and hunter going in and the rest spread out covering escape runs. The hunter shot and we saw the elk run through the timber but they did not move to us.

That afternoon we went back out. The rain was moving in and it was still windy. We glassed the hillside where we did the stalk and there looked to be 5 elk so we made the plan again with 4 shooters spread along the hillside and Hurley Jr. and me being the dog and going in after the elk. It would be a free handed shot no shooting sticks. This ravine was shaped like a "Y" we circled around to the leg of the "Y" and the shooters were on the on the "v" part and would be shooting down into the bottom of the ravine. We dropped down the hillside and started working around to the elk. The beat down trails and deer and elk droppings everywhere meant this was a big bedding area and used a lot. I noticed the gut pile from the one that was shot in the morning. It sprinkled several time as we moved to the elk. Once in the timber there was no wind and it felt 20 deg warmer. As we worked closer to the big tree that was our marker for the elk I could see the shooters up on top the hillside. We kept going walking on pine needles. Hurley Jr. told me to stay close it was going to be a fast hunt and when he moved out of the way it was up to me. I was told to check for horns first then lower the cross hairs and shoot if it was good.

We get to the spot and there was a ledge like a logging road, Hurley eased up to the edge keeping behind a big pine tree and looked over. When I seen him flinch I knew it was going to happen. He step back and told me they were 40 yards right below us. I eased up to the edge looked down the hill at the cow that was the farthest to the left and the only one standing. It was looking downhill so I looked at its head for horns then lowered the cross hairs and pulled the trigger. The elk just flinched Hurley started saying shot again as I had another round ready so I shot again and she just sank down. Then the woods exploded with elk that were bedded and there had been one with a collar and I thought if I would have seen that one I would have wanted it but it was to the right and might have ran the elk the wrong way for the shooters to get a shot. They had told us that elk when shot stay on there feet for many minutes sometimes, dead but still standing. There was no doubt mine was dead so I unloaded and pulled the magazine and put it in my pocket. We moved along the hillside to see where the elk ran to and then the shots were coming. I went back to wait for the shooting to finish so I could climb down to my elk. We are out of harms way protected by the hillside but it is still hair raising hearing the shots crack. There were a couple of 300 win's and a 270 being shot. The 270 was closest but I don't know what range they were shooting and the farthest was just over 300 yards. The shooters ended up getting the collared cow and a calf, they let the spike go which is good because that is considered a bull and would cost you $1750.00.



In the first picture the shot was from the large trees over my left shoulder the cow was standing at the brush just above my head. 40-50 yard shot. I was using a Savage 30-06 with Winchester powerpoints 180 grain sited in 1 1/2 inches high at 100 yards.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j297/sdp72002/elk_left_side_zps1b77240b.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j297/sdp72002/elk_legs1_zps20c44556.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j297/sdp72002/elk_front_2_zps4ac0aee1.jpg

[tufrthnails]

Great story. Congrats on the cow. I can't see pics here at work, but I will check them out this evening when I get home.

[rattfink]

Beautiful cow! And it sounds like a great hunt and now your family will have the finest meat known to man on the table. Congrats!