Good all around caliber for deer elk and moose?

Originally Posted By: Tim NeitzkeAnyone going on a once in a lifetime hunt, had better pack an extra rifle or have one waiting for them, let alone extra ammo.


ok so "once in a lifetime" may be a bit of a stretch... but anyone traveling for a destination hunt can fall into the "oh [beeep] where's the ammo" scenario. doesnt matter if you forgot to pack it, it gets soaked or if a carrier lost it along the way - an airline would NEVER lose your checked baggage right? - or UPS/FEDEX destroy's your shipped ammo box... whatever.


the theory still applies and holds true.

30-06 has been proven to take any game in north america and its the one of the few ammo types you can find basically everywhere in a pinch.


Originally Posted By: Tim NeitzkeMy first Alberta black bear hunt started out with zero gear. I had to borrow clothing, a weapon and ammo for the first day and a half. Talk about something to stress over !
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thanks for hammering my point home
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I agree that the 30-06 can be had about anywhere and will work on NA critters. There are plenty of people are are happy with that route and that's fine. I also believe it's nice to live a little and look outside the box if you dare.

Sure glad I did not forget my ammo on my caribou hunt, it was 243 win.
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Yep, borrowing a rifle and ammo so I could hunt really sucked since I was there to bow hunt. Lucky for me I saw no bear the first night.
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30-06...killed many whiteeeess and muleys with that cal. Both bull elk and a couple moose. Just my $.02....easy to find caliber too, since I'm not a reloader. Last year used a 30-30 for last muley, spined him, but dead right on the spot by the time I got to him.
 
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The 30/06 is a great caliber, with either a 180gr or 200gr Nosler it has taken down many hundreds of Moose and Elk over the years, as far as Magnums go remember that a 300W Mag will start out 150fps faster so downrange that translates into the 06 arriving with the same bullet, at 260 yds at the same velocity, as the 300 mag does at 320 yds,(2400fps) So it will buy you about 60 yards, If you run the numbers, so unless you are hunting in a situation were you are going to have to take a very long shot, However if you just get fifty yards closer; you have the exact same thing? Without the recoil, the longer barrel and without the extra weight of the Magnum rifle. In fourty years of guiding for both I notice folks with Magnum rifles having a false sense of confidence in a gun that is less than 10% stronger , but they feel it is more like 50% stronger so always want to attempt shot from much further off??? I have mentioned to more than one of these guys that the bullet is going to be arriving with less velocity than a 30/30 at this distance and they thought I was nuts ????
If the gun was not going to serve double duty and be used for deer as well, and you were rebarreling just for Moose and Elk, then the 35 Whelen or the 338/06 are both calibers that when used on Moose and Elk are great killers that will flatten either when hit properly. The 35 Whelen when handloaded with RL15 and a good 250gr bullet can be pushed up to 2650 fairly easily, or basically a factory load, of .338WM.................. the .338/06 has the advantage of all the great selection of bullets that are available in that caliber.
However if you already have a .270W why not just load some Nosler Partition 160gr bullets for it, and it will easily shoot any Moose or Elk walking around North America if you do your part, then with standard 130/140gr loads its already probably the best DEER cartridge available.????? JM2CW
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While it's always a good feeling to buy a different rifle, like some others mentioned, if you load a premium bullet like a Barnes (my favorite), Swift, Nosler partition and others of comparable construction, you can use your .270 which you are already comfortable with.
 
Chuck Hawks had a great article called "Myth busting big game calibers"... For the most part I agree with it. I lived for awhile in Alaska. Most of my life on Coastal Washington. If I could only have one caliber for the game mentioned and expected to not shoot past 300 yards the caliber of choice would be the .308 Winchester. With todays modern bullets it will do everything you need it to and then some. I like a short 20" barrel.
 
The ballistics of a 338/06 are really impressive, the AI version a tad bit better.

Check into the chamber reamers for the 30/06, and with powders available you can get some very impressive numbers. I shoot the 180g Nosler ballistic tip at 2850 in my Rem 700 with a warm load of H4350, very accurate. The Ackley improved version of the 30/06 will shoot the 180's at 3000 fps in a 26" barrel.

Consider a #6 contour X Caliber stainless barrel, finished at 26" in the 30/06 AI version.

If you are a 7mm guy, then the 280 AI with a 24" #5 X Caliber barrel throated for a 160g partition is very, very accurate at 3030 fps with a little wiggle room left, for moose go the 175g partition at 2900-2950 depending on your barrel length.

ballistics of the 162g Hornady Eld-x are EXTREMELTY impressive at 3000+ fps, and with a long barrel, you could get 3100 in the 280 AI...deer.

Just in case you think that the elk are iorn clad, I have killed a few cows with the 243 and 95g partitions and killed two very big bulls with a 7 Mag with the old style 140g Nosler Ballistic tips, all dropped on the spot with NO attempt to get up and very little if any kicking going on with a single shot.

Elk or Moose running off would be a very difficult shot that would be best with a Barnes tipped triple shock or heavy for caliber Nosler partition.

In Az, two of the most popular Elk rifles with the experienced old timers is the 270 win with Remington 150g core loct ammo and the 30/06 with Remington 180g Core Loct ammo.

I was surprised at how easy elk were to kill vs a White Tail buck in the rut chasing a doe.

I have a friend in Flagstaff that hunts everything with a 7 mag and 120g Barnes NON tipped triple shocks...elk do not stop them. His thinking is not normal, but then again he hunts off of mules.
 
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