my personal choice as the ideal elk rifle

[340wby]

my personal choice as the ideal elk rifle?
thats easy, the 340 weatherby, why? well it allows me to effectively drop an ELK from 10-100 yards shooting off hand (I PRACTICE OFFHAND A GREAT DEAL) and out to 500 yards if I have a good steady rest
well sure IM going to tell you its performed FLAWLESSLY for the last 35 years ELK hunting, yeah BOTH my sons now have synthetic stock mark v weatherbys in 340 mag, and I own two mark vs and a sako 340 mag, for a total of 5 in my safe!
now would I do that if I was not THRILLED with the results???

www.weatherby.com/rifles/ball_340.shtml

www.cpcartridge.com/340wbyB.htm


if you load it with 250 grain hornady spire point bullets,to about 2900fps
BTW(H-4831 and IMR 4831 and FEDERAL 215 primers)work well.
I sight in 3.4" high at 100 yards
place the bullet into the arteries over the heart and youll have an ELK
DON,T assume it will DROP an ELK INSTANTLY,(it usually does) but if you place the shot correctly IT WILL KILL VERY QUICKLY

I also have a laminated card taped to the rifle stock with the drop data for my specific load and site in data, from 100yards to 500 yards in 50 yard intervals, and a lazer range finder.
the data looks like this for my load
range drop...tof............10mph wind drift
100...+3.36........................
200.. +3.46...2 tenths........2.7
300....-1.91... .35 tenths....6.3
350.....-7....... .41 tenths....8.7
400....-13.8.... .48 tenth.....11.6
450....-22.4.... .55 tenths....15
500...-33.1.... .63 tenths.....18.3
550.. -45.6... .7 tenths.........23.2

youll have a hard time finding a better ELK rifle in my opinion!, hits like THORS HAMMER loaded with a good 250 grain bullet! zips thru ,exits, leaves a huge but usually very short blood trail, whats NOT TO LIKE??? basically if your a good shot,have a good rest, any ELK you see inside of about 500 yards is potenially in your freezer with a single well placed shot! you won,t be wondering (DID I HIT THAT ELK?) YOULL KNOW)
btw if your not using the 225-275 grain bullets your losing much of the 340s power potential, if your thinking of using 180-200 grain bullets you might as well use your current 300 mag
btw the 250 grn .338 caliber sierria boat tails loose thier jackets regularly
the NOSLER 210 and 250 grains normally work as advertized
the 250 hornadys tend to penertate deeply and open slowly(MY CHOICE but it might NOT be yours)
the speer 250 grain grand slams work ok but the tropy bonded 225 grains work better

[deputydon]

I respect your choice and alot of the data ect. make sense. My choice? For 12 years I used a 25-05 w/ 120 gr. Nolser partation bullets.
Never lost an elk that I shot w/ it.

[340wby]

"25-05 " did you mean 25/06?

randy, one of my hunting buddies loves his 25/06 for mule deer!
but hes used it on ELK and says his 280 rem loaded with 175 hornadys does a better job at putting them on the ground faster.
but I know hes killed at least two ELK with his 25/06, its CAREFULL shot placement that gets most of the job done as Im sure youll agree

[deputydon]

Yes "25/06" is what I meant. And yes shot placement is the key to any hunt no matter what caliber.

[donnie]

Elk head shot at 50 yards with a .22 mag are just as dead as elk shot with a 416 rigby. I had the rare opportunity to have lunch with Craig Boddington a few years ago, he had just killed an elk with a .270 win and written an article about it. The thing is this, Mr Boddington recieved years of critical letters from hunters about his feeling that anything smaller than .284 was not elk medicine, and I couldn't wait to give him a load of crap for using the .270.
When I asked about this he grinned and said that "it was the fastest !@#$%^! one shot kill I ever saw!" He further said though that he still wouldn't recommend the .270 to the average hunter. Now obviously most of us here are pretty well seasoned hunters and would never take a marginal shot on an animal as tenacious as a bull elk, but in the right hands, under the right conditions as we all agree......
That said, .338 win mag but I'd sure like to own a .35 whelen too and maybe a guy should have a .45/70 lever gun with a reciever sight. They sit so well in a scabard for those horse back hunts.

[340wby]

if your looking for a good 35 whelen deal...

www.gricewholesale.com/specials_remington7600.php

Ive used the 35 whelen with 250 grain speer bullets loaded over various powders
imr 3031, h 4064, imr 4895, h380, imr 4320 ww748
the results are similar dead elk!
most under 250 yards some out to 350 yards, the best load (accuracy/velocity combined
was 53 grns of imr 4320 the most accurate was 55 grns of imr 4064
I use my 7600 remington 35 whelen or my ruger bolt action, when IM hunting the timber, now Id rather use my 340 wby many times, but that 35 whelen or my 358 BLR works great also


heres a picture from a differant thread that shows where to zap them for quick results..personally Id hold just a smidge higher than the red dot but anywhere really close and just above the dot will result in a very dead ELK with the 250 SPEER fired from the WHELEN


if your thinking about a 45/70 marlin ID suggest thinking about the 450 marlin,in a BLR..its box magazine and front locking bolt have big advantages over a marlin
the 450 marlin is fast becoming one of my favorite cartridges. you may not be looking at the cartridge in the same way I look at it, Im looking at it as a serious improvement over the 30/30 winchester,405 winchester and 444 marlin along with the 45/70 in most popular factory loads.
these are deer/ black bear and close range elk rifles not dangerious game stoppers
it may help to look at what those big bore lever rifles are used for and that having a fast repeat firing option in a handy carbine that has the potential of of applying massive stopping power at under 250 yards,maximum in rare cases, and under 100 yards in most cases.

compare the
405 winchester 300 grain at 2200 fps (1589 fpe at 200 yards)
444 marlins 240 grain at 2350fps (1010 fpe at 200 yards)
45/70 300 grain at 1810fps (1030 fpe at 200 yards)
450 marlin 350 grain at 2100 fps (1516 fpe at 200 yards)
30/30 170 grain at 2200fps (980 fpe at 200 yards)

none of the other options have both the option of using heavy bullets and higher veelocities in a easily obtainable carbine, the 405 is basically obsolete due to the lack of lots of modern rifles and limited ammo production. Im hopeing the 450 marlin catches on! as both the increase in CALIBER to .458 and and reasonable 350 grain bullet weight in factory loaded ammo make it potentially the most effective choice, if you think about it your throwing a bullet with twice the weight and frontal area to very similar velocities to the 30/30 which is the basic lever action deer rifle carbine
I doubt youll find many people who don,t realize the 450 marlin hits a noticably heavier blow than a 30/30 or 444 marlin

BTW the more I shoot my BLR in caliber 450 marlin the more Ive come to like the combo

and with its box magazine pointed bullets can be used

[donnie]

Nice enough guns the blrs but they just lack the classic lever gun look to me. I preferr the look of the win m94 or the various marlins. I wouldn't necessarily care about the magazine loading as a rifle of this type would be non scope wearing and meant for close range work in timber. And as long as I'm staying with the classics I'd stay with the .45/70 cartridge as well.
It can always be loaded to higher velocities, though I doubt one would need them or even realize the differance in the field. However The .45/70 certainly will stop dangerous game up to and including coastal brown bear. Bullet selection becomes paramount but there are several loadings available that will get the job done rather nicely.

[klsm54]

I just got a Grice Gun Shop Flyer in the mail today. I am a bolt action guy, but for Elk hunting, especially in timber where a second shot may be the difference between Elk steaks and an invigorating climb in the Rockies, that Remington 7600 in 35 Whelen ought to be about as ideal an Elk rifle as one could find.

I have had the pleasure to shoot several 7600's and can attest to their excellent accuracy. The Whelen may not be a 500 yard cartridge, but not everybody is a 500 yard shot either. The Whelen, with that 250 grain Speer Spitzer will reach out and touch a Bull Elk to 300 yards, easily. And the 7600 will give you that quick second shot also.....

[340wby]

I think those 35 whelen 7600 remington rifles are some of the most under rated, and reasonable priced ELK rifles ever made in my opinion, fast, accurate dependable. the only serious improvement Id suggest to the basic rifle is the OPTION of the laminated and synthetic stocks, that are available on the standard caliber 7600 rifles