A WHOLE LOT OF INSULTIN' GIVEN,AND A LITTLE ADVICE NEEDED

[Dick Reece]

First off, let me say I know you boys can't hep it that you ain't Southern, that's a blessing from God that isn't given to just any ol' yahoo. Overlooking the fact that ya'll are from Idaho [ sounds like a confession, don't it

]Wyoming,Montana,Colorado,and other weird names like that, I need some practical advice.

Over the years It's come to my attention that you boys have a creature almost as big as our whitetail here, called a "Elk". I've longed to hunt one of those little things and see just how much fun it really is.Problem is, Everytime I bring up the idea, my buddies all get enthusiastic,until it's time to break out the ol' wallet and cough up change. In addition, we're still in a quandary [ sorry fellers,for usin' such big ol' words around you cowpokes

]as to which funnily named place to go to. As for camping gear, I've got enough myself, tents,stoves,etc., to put up 15 people.

So, I've got 2 questions. One is,I figure it'd take about 500$ per man just to get out there and back from here [West Virginia]and another 400-450$ for an Elk/Mule Deer permit.
Is that about right, cost wise?

My second question is, what is the best cartridge to use for hunting these timid little creatures

? I have a Thompson encore I dearly love. I've got a 45 cal muzzleloader barrel for it,a custom built .308 barrel with muzzlebrake for it, and a 22-250 barrel for it.I also have a Marlin cowboy model lever action 45-70. Keeping in mind that whatever I buy for hunting Elk out there,I'd like to be able to use on whitetail back here as well, what would you recommend as a cartridge ? I was thinking of getting a BAR in .300 Win Mag Short,or another barrel for the encore in the same caliber ? What say you poor,misguided Westerners to that

?

 

[Elkhunter]

PCM, that is the beauty of these boards. You can go on a good hunt with friends even if your other friends bail out on ya. I am sure that there are a lot of people on here that would share a camp with you for one of them funny and small looking creatures we have out here called an elk.

It happens all the time and some good friendships are made in the making.

I was thinking of getting a BAR in .300 Win Mag Short,or another barrel for the encore in the same caliber ? What say you poor,misguided Westerners to that

?
Whimpy caliber.

 

[Dick Reece]

Well, don't just stand thar,elkhumper, if thet's a whimpy caliber,name me a good-ern

!!

 

[Elkhunter]

I would go with at least a .416

 

[Dick Reece]

You must be Krazy,obviously I'll need to speak with someone normal to get a good answer

 

[Elkhunter]

Normal....If you want normal, you came to the wrong place.

If you really want one of them there 300wsm, I suppose it would work and do the trick for ya.

 

[Dick Reece]

Thanks,that's what I needed to know,what's the average distance for an elk shot, it can't be far or those little things'd be hard to see, eh ?

 

[Nut]

PC, Elky is right ....there are no normal people here

Heck I wouldnt know what to take for them little wapiti they have out west either.

C'mon guys lets hear it

Personally I would take either a 6.5x55(which many say is too small) or a 30/06 or a 300win mag or a .............etc etc etc

 

[Elkhunter]

Well every elk I shot, cepting one, was at 150 yards or less. Where I do most of my hunting, you are not offered very many long shots. Others have the need to shoot farther, but not here. I am going to hit another area this year so the shots may be longer. I don't know because I have never been ito this place before. We will be checking it out this summer. Anyway, for this elk humper, the average shot has been about 100 yards.

 

[Dick Reece]

So,a .308 in the right place might do the job,eh ? Especially a Nosler partition,which is all I hunt with ? I was thinking of my oldest grandson,in case he goes with my tired old hind end...someone will have to pack it all out other than me

 

[Elkhunter]

Here are a couple pics of a place I was hunting last year. It isn't like this everywhere, but a lot of my hunting is in the thick and nasty stuff.

 

[Dick Reece]

Man, beautiful pics,looks a lot like where I deer hunt,except the timber is a different variety...definitely Nosler partition country

 

[ELKCHSR]

If you want some thing with head gear, there are guy's here that may take you out, if you don't care what you get for your first time out and want to have a great time with good people and get to see thousands of these "Wimpy" creatures...Then the predation hunt around Thanksgiving is the one for you. We have a lot of fun, and will probably be setting up a place to stay not 10-15 minutes away from the shooting...Just bring your hiking shoes...The scenery is fantastic and you will be able to meet some very good people....

 

[Elkhunter]

Of course, you could also be hunting more open terrain like this.

 

[Dick Reece]

Man,beautiful pics,explain the poredation hunt more thoroughly, and how prevalent is that CWD now ?

 

[Elkhunter]

Or this. Nice open meadow and very thick timber all around it. Makes for a nice place to sit at first light before heading into the timber. This was taken on a scouting trip 1 1/2 months before the season opened.

 

[Elkhunter]

The predation hunt is a hunt to thin out the cows. It is an antlerless hunt and can be quite affordable for a non-resident, costing about $150 for an elk tag. There are several areas in N.W. Wyoming that have these hunts and they are generally later than the regular hunts. So far, we have been pretty lucky with the CWD around here, but I am sure we will be hit with it like other places sooner or later.

 

[Dick Reece]

Man, I'd love to go,I'd be giving up the first week of buck season here, but who cares??!~!

Let me think on it and calculate,what all would I need to bring ?

 

[Ithaca 37]

Any caliber from .25 up can be used on elk, with all the usual qualifiers about picking your shots. Personally, I'd advise staying at .270 or bigger. The 7mm calibers are great. Use 160 gr. Nosler partitions or bigger and you'll do just fine. I use a .280 Rem. handloaded pretty hot with 160 gr. partitions and I've never had a problem, but I do pass up the 600 yard shots all these other guys are always talking about.

I prefer to go into the thick stuff and hunt them just like whitetails, so 100 yards is a long shot. I've shot them further when hunting open areas and the sky's the limit, so just know how far you can shoot effectively.

Don't pay any attention to these guys who claim you can't hunt with anything smaller than a 300 Mag.

If I were planning on using the same gun for whitetails in the East I'd just use a .270, .284 caliber or 30-06.

If you don't plan on shooting elk at 500 yards in the ass and hoping the bullet will penetrate all the way to it's heart those calibers will be fine.

 

[Dick Reece]

Thanks..then this means I could probably get by with my favorite caliber as well, the .308?


Gonna get another BAR,wish I'd never sold the one I had, I'm thinking of either getting it in .308 or .300 WMS,leaning towards .300 WMS just to experiment with something new. Thanks for the input.