7mag or 300mag. you pick the rifle and optic to suite your range and weight needs.

I thought you already had a rifle for this. What kind of range do you typically shoot out there?

7mmRM or a 300WM in a standard weight rifle shooting 160/180 gr Nosler Partitions.. Those light rifles are easy to carry and hard to shoot...which is more important???

I like my 338 ultra magnum for range,knockdown and relatively light compared to other rifles I have.

I carry my Model Seven 7 SAUM with 160 grain Accubonds or Partitions with a VX3 3.5-10x50 scope. However, I wouldn't lose any sleep carrying my 270 Win with 130 or 140 grain Accubonds or Partitions with a VX3 3.5-10x50.

Anything from 7-08 and up are fine for elk and mule deer. It doesn't take a magnum to kill an elk.

That's the scenario the 7STW was developed for.
I'd just carry my 280.
Trox's rifle with would be an excellent option. Wish I had as good an excuse to get it.

Several good choices but mine would have a 7mm bullet on a short , fat case.

Ive killed two cow elk and first hand witnessed probably 4 or 5 more be taken two of the elk was killed with a 300win and the other a 300wby both bang drop. My two i took have been with a 140gr 270cal and a 140gr 6.5creedmore, 270 100yds dropped and flopped around never got up 6.5 200yd shot pass through ran 60yds or so dropped dead. The rest all with 130gr and 150gr 270cal and the one with a 150gr was right at 500yds one shot stood there a second then dropped. 30cal bullets and 7mm mag bullets do the job no doubt bout it and if thats your thing large magnum caliber that's great, but to say its required or probably the best you can take is in my opinion not entirely true. Whats the two rifle combos you said you had in mind?

Thanks for all the suggestions and offers.

I'm going to keep pondering...that 300wsm Kimber Montana sounds really interesting to me.


I have access to:

30-06 which is my main rifle here in Alabama. Two issues I have with it is I only have a 10 power scope (and I'm not altering the gun for sentimental reasons) and just wasn't sure the 30-06 was good enough for 400+ yards.

7mm mag - but it is a sendero with a heavy barrel

300 win mag - I dislike the 26" barrel. Probably going to sell.

270 weatherby mag - I swear it is heavier than the 7 mm mag.



Perhaps I'm just looking for a reason to buy another gun.

Last trip I took a 7mm and shot 139 grain bullets like a true rookie. The bull took 6 shots before going down. The first two were less than 50 yards and truest good shots.

Any of those three would work fine with a heavy tough bullet. I would recommend partitions for an animal that large.

30-06 is probably fine with a tough heavy bullet on the high end of the pressure scale.

You can kill them with a .22 but not at any great distance.

some thing about that weight and caliber . see a lot of bad luck on deer with them .

the 154 hornaday classic i shoot are hell on big deer .

180gr is almost 3600 fps.

Not gonna tell you what to buy, but I wouldn't worry too much about the weight of your gun. I do shoot heavier rifles better and while some "mountain rifles" are known for accuracy, you don't want to spend anytime at the range with them, cause they'll kill you. While I probably wouldn't tote that Sendero up and down the mountain, I wouldn't hesitate to take a 10-11 lb rifle/scope package. Instead focus on your fitness and you won't have to worry about the 3-4 lb difference in weight.

Good lawd! I must be Elk rookie MVP. Only elk I ever killed was with 1 shot from a 7mm WSM with 140 grain NBT . Trotted about 50 yards and fell over dead. Made a big mess out of his heart and lungs, looked like a bomb went off.

Kimber Montana in .300 WSM topped with a 14-16x scope of your choice would be ideal for a hunt of this nature.

Took about 4 pages of posts but TickaTicka got it right in my mind. You are Elk hunting not sheep hunting. You might be hunting out of the truck. Maybe off a horse. If not and on foot in steep mountains get in shape and get a good sling. I even have a pack that will carry the rifle for me and I carry a bear pistol on my front chest. I can get the rifle fast enough if I see something but you aren't jump shooting most likely. Keep that in mind how you are going to hunt. 4 pounds might not mean a darn thing.

On the flip side if I am hunting dark timber I carry something light. Usually in my hand so that if I see something I can shoot quickly. You probably won't do it that way. If you know you will then that obviously changes things.

Overall I'm not going to tote a Sendero but a regular weight rifle I don't see a problem with personally depends on the circumstances.

All that being said if I was on a $2k budget I would get a .340 Weatherby. When you shoot an Elk with it you'll understand why.

Kimber Montana 300WSM. Don't scrimp on optics. Go with Steiner, Swarovski, etc.

7mm WBY Accumark, 150 TTSX, Swarovski 4-12x50 works well for me, heavier than I like but it shoots well fits in a Eberlestock team elk scabbard and is easy to access while hiking. Shoots flat enough if you need to stretch it out a little and has plenty of thump.

I'm carrying my kimber Montana 300 wsm or 280 AI out west this fall