Im from nevada and i was invited on a colorado elk hunt for the 2011 season(I know its a long ways away). but I've also drawn a nevada mule deer tag and eventually want to get into larger and better game, is there a rifle round and or rifle company that would make good equipment in one specific round?

If you are talking about hunting elk or larger than elk game I would suggest you go with larger than .30 caliber. There is currently at least one conversation on this (elk) forum where some people are saying you can take elk with any caliber, and this is true - if you hit it perfectly. A .22 long rifle will put down anything on this continent if you hit it perfectly. As for myself, I do not alway hit my target perfectly. This is why I choose to hunt with something that can put an elk down with a less than perfect shot. You also want to hunt mule deer, and I suspect this means a possible shot beyond 200 yards. If not for this, I would suggest a .338 Federal (a .308 Winchester necked up to take .338 diameter bullets) or my personal favorite, a .338-06 (a necked up .30-06). Considering the extra range you might need, I would look long and hard at a .338 Winchester Magnum or a Weatherby in .340 or .338-378 caliber. Any of these three would put down anything you can find in North America, and at long range, too.

Now you need to consider bullets. An elk or a moose should be hunted with a bullet that can penetrate nearly a foot of muscle and still have the energy to deliver a killing blow. This kind of bullet often passes through a mule deer before it is fully opened. Either you must sight in for two different loads and re-sight or remember the differences between hunts, or go to a non-standard bullet like the Barnes Triple-X which will open fully in a deer but still pass completely through a moose (especially if fired from one of the three calibers I recommended).

You have the time to research the possiblities and decide what you like best. Choose what you are most comfortable with, and good hunting!

"....any other games that I can think of round"


Means only one thing = .30-06 for decades now !

the 30-06 would be my all annimal choice,you can find ammo in just about every store that sells it,

You do not need anything bigger than a 30-06 and I use my .308 very often as well. It is more about shot placement than how big your round is.

You do not need anything bigger than a 30-06 and I use my .308 very often as well. It is more about shot placement than how big your round is.

I specifically chose the 30-06 because it's proven and available more often as well. I've shot factory ammo in 150gn and 180gn, and hand-loaded 110gn that my wife can shoot comfortably and my Dad took his Mule Deer doe with this last year. I also hand-load 180gn and use this for Pronghorn, Mule Deer, and Elk. I know exactly where to put that reticle at 100, 200, 300, and 400-yards - taking my Pronhorn doe last year at 350-yards. I'll be out with those same 180gn for Pronghorn in Wyoming in 3 weeks and Elk in mid-October in Colorado. I have no doubt that, given the opportunity, my 30-06 will put my target on the ground - as long as I do my part of course! Good luck & stay safe out there...

I am particular to the 300 WSM myself. Great all around cartridge. I hunt deer antelope, elk and would be willing to hunt anything on this continent with it.

I am particular to the 300 WSM myself. Great all around cartridge. I hunt deer antelope, elk and would be willing to hunt anything on this continent with it.

7mm Rem Mag, 30-06, any of the 300 Mags. All can do the job inside 400yds if you do your practice (and a lot of it). Smaller gets iffy, larger gets abusive unless you start limiting range.

As kids, many of us did things & got by with it that defie's logic and good sense. Rancher I spent summers with haying, and elk season's with Dad at his ranch too.  We'd gone out before haying started to bring in some firewood for his winter supply & saw a great many pine squirrels. He commented I should have brought my .22 along as they'd make a good mess of fine eating.  The next day I went up there with a gunny sack to fill up with 'em.  That was around 1960 +- a yr or two.  Seems like I shot 20 or more of 'em.  Right after shooting several in short order closeby, and when reaching down to pick the last one up.  I saw another flicker beside a pine tree & took aim to nail another bushy tail.

In just a bit, a 5pt bull in velvet stuck his head around the tree trunk to see what I was up to. Not 50 feet away. Since the evening before and a few other times that summer. We'd gone out trying to get a 'summer elk' for the freezer.  Having that dumb A--d teenager's notions.  With much exp killing beef with the same rifle.  When his head turned just right for an under the ear shot I took it. I swear it looked like his head hit him the rear end before he went down.  You should have seen Orin's shocked look when I dumped a table full of bushy tails and the loins out of that sack!!  That's one of my most thrilling moments when he saw that meat & looked at me speechless knowing all I had along was that .22. The next morning we went out & brought back the rest of the meat.  That was in August, they're sure tame, and fine eating that time of year after lazing around feeding on the green grass all summer..

Not a chance I'd do that again and am not bragging about it now.  It's just a fact of one of those things I did and got by with as a kid of 15.  I sure don't advocate anyone else doing such a stupid illegal stunt, nor to use a much too small a caliber rifle either. I fully agree with these other guys on the '06 and 180gr bullets as being the bare minimum yet, very near perfect cartridge for elk.  Although I now use a .330WinM with 200gr Sierra Game Kings. Much of the reason is because I shot the chamber loose in the '06 & the gunsmith at the time told me that would be the perfect 300 I'd been harping about getting.  When he said the headspace was worn out, I told him to go ahead & rechamber it.  I haven't looked back yet. and it's still putting them all on a typing page at 300yds. When the original military barrel wears out I'll have it rebarreled with a Douglas, or Lilja tube in .300win/m, partly because I have two other '06's and no other 300 mag.

When you compare the 7mmag's ballistics table's to the 30'06. You'll discover there's only one difference between them besides' the quantity of powder each one requires. that's the fact a 7mm's heaviest bullet stops at 175gr and the '06 can go clear up to 240gr IF you can find 'em that heavy. I got some back in the '60's ONCE and never seen 'em that heavy since. I feel a 180-190gr is perfect in the '06, but, I went to 200gr's because of having a "But once" 180gr corelokt blow up on the surface of a cow elk's ribs in 2000 at 200yds.  That had to be a single bad bullet as there's been over 50 other elk killed w/o problems with the same batch of bullets, many of those with .300win/m too. I've reloaded ammo for a camp full of hunters so there's been close to a dozen of them that have shot the rest of those elk. A few in the timber at feet instead of yards. Not another bullet from that batch has blown up.  It only takes once for me to change when that kind of thing happens though.

Wish you the best,

George

 

my vote is for .300 win. mag. you can load from 110 gr. to at least 220 gr. bullets. but if you want one load a 165 gr. barnes tsx will work for just about anything. i just shot my first bull elk at 450 yds. with this load, one shot, so you know deer and antelope aren't safe. for bigger game like moose i'd probally go 180 gr. also in a barnes tsx.

The best gun to use for Elk , 300 Winchester Mag. with 180gr. nosler partition. It stops most any large game.

I can only share MY personal experiences with you. I've heard lots of experts talk about 300 & 338s with huge grained rounds. But my only experience has been hunting in Arizona and Colorado with a 7MM. I've personally witnesed 4 elk dropped in their tracks with a 7MM. 2 with 150 grain & 2 with 160 grain...No second shot was necessary. In AZ & CO you may only get one shot and it might be over 300 yards. Although those huge grains will definately knock the elk down, I wouldn't want to try to push a round over 160 that far. Visit some of the guide services for hunting in AZ & NM and you'll get this same recommendation. Just my .02