RIFLE RECOMMENDATION

Hello every body,New to the site,I have a question,I'm looking at my first muley hunt,and i would like to know what calibur to use,since this is my first hunt for muley's,I want to hunt elk to,So i would like to know what calibur you are using.THANK'S FOR ANY INFO. :not-worthy

Thank's Mikeydon
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Snake River Marksman
anything in the 308 or 3006 class will do you just fine. Premium bullets from 165gr to 180gr maybe 200 for the '06. I'm talking partitions or Barnes TSX or the like. If you believe the hype and you just gotta have a mangle um for elk, stick to a 300 short or win mag. Bullets in the right place is what kills critters, nothing else.
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AGCHAWK
Mikeydon, WELCOME to Muleymadness!

For me, I use either my 30.06 or .270 and either one is sufficient for both mule deer and elk.
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9er
IMO,

7mm or 300mag are the way to go

9er
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sneekeepete
I have been hunting mule deer for just under 10 years. I grew up hunting with a .243 and it did just fine. Like someone said before it is all about shot placement and knowing your limits. I recentley bought a .300 wsm to go on a hunt in Alaska for moose. I shot my last muley with it using 150 gr. vital shocks by federal. It didn't mangle the deer at all. I also took an elk with it the same year. It did the job great and has a good long range with managable recoil for a medium size guy like me. If you plan on hunting mule deer and elk frequently in the future I would really suggest that .300 wsm.
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The 270 win. with premium bullets does it for me. It doesn't kick me so bad that I can't practice enough to be good with it.
Mark
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a3dhunter
I've been using 30.06 my whole life, but I've also never had to buy a rifle.

I would look at a 300 mag or 7mm. The 300 will give more recoil, somewhere between 23-25 ft. lbs with the 7mm being between 19-21 ft. lbs with most loads. (unless you go with an ultra mag)

The good things about the 30.06 or .270 is you can buy ammo anywhere, even the good old small town store usually stocks this ammo. It isn't as expensive either, which is something to consider if you plan on spending time at the range regularly.
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79Ford
"AGCHAWK" wrote:Mikeydon, WELCOME to Muleymadness!

For me, I use either my 30.06 or .270 and either one is sufficient for both mule deer and elk.
 Wow, someone else uses a .270 for elk!!! It's all I use and it works great for deer and elk. As was stated above, it's all about shot placement.
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heiner39
I use an '06 for both mulies and whitetail up here in Saskatchewan. Plenty of gun for these big bodied brutes. I'm thinking of using a 150gr Hornady Interbond this year...my gun LOVES them!!!
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ktowncamo
"79Ford" wrote:
AGCHAWK wrote:Mikeydon, WELCOME to Muleymadness!

For me, I use either my 30.06 or .270 and either one is sufficient for both mule deer and elk.
 Wow, someone else uses a .270 for elk!!! It's all I use and it works great for deer and elk. As was stated above, it's all about shot placement.
 +1
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"ktowncamo" wrote:
79Ford wrote:
AGCHAWK wrote:Mikeydon, WELCOME to Muleymadness!

For me, I use either my 30.06 or .270 and either one is sufficient for both mule deer and elk.
 Wow, someone else uses a .270 for elk!!! It's all I use and it works great for deer and elk. As was stated above, it's all about shot placement.
 +1
 +2
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ABert
I grew up in a family of hunters and the ONLY caliber used was .270. Same thing we all hunt with to this day. I still have a couple boxes of Win. FailSafes in 140gr, which is no longer made. Once those are gone I'll have to find something else. Oh, we have taken a number of elk and deer over the years. And if you are worried about the .270 being to small for elk, check my sig!
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I use a 7mm mag for deer and it would be a good choice for elk also.It may depend on what you can stand as far as recoil is concerned. If you find that you flinch with the recoil then you might be better off using something like the 270.You did not mention if you are shooting long range or short range.I have found that the most important thing in a gun is how it feels when you shoulder it and fire it.You will do a lot better with a gun that you are comfortable with and the recoil does not bother you..Bullet placement is the key and if you can do that,,, any legal calibre will do the job. You can place the bullet where you want easier is you are comfortable using the gun.
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Sorry, do not want to hijack this thread, but I am new to this site and have not been able to figure out how to start a "new thread".
If the targeted species were muleys and pronhorns, what would be the preferred calibers?
I have a 3006 and larger, but woundered if my tac driving 243 would work.
Please advise
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I've use 270's, 7mm Rem mag, 308,30-06, 300 Weatherby, and 338 win mag. I now use the 7mm Rem mag for everything. I have found it to be very accurate and has plenty of gas to reach out there. I killed a 6 point whitetail last week at 325 yds crossing a pasture and the week before that a 8 point in the timber at 90 yds with a neck shot (which was all I could see). I just have confidence in that cartridge. The recoil is conciderably less that the 300 and 338. All of the modern cartridges with the right bullet would work.
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"Bear2" wrote:Sorry, do not want to hijack this thread, but I am new to this site and have not been able to figure out how to start a "new thread".
If the targeted species were muleys and pronhorns, what would be the preferred calibers?
I have a 3006 and larger, but woundered if my tac driving 243 would work.
Please advise
IMO yes. However, I would prefer a 260-270 class for a big muley, but the 243 with a good bullet in the lungs will reduce the biggest one ever into a meat pile. I would also like to give the 257 roberts/ 25-06 rem a little love here also.
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Dropped my 4x4 elk at 200yards with my 270 no prob....shot placement
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If you already have a gun in any of these cal. and you shoot it well you should stay with what you have and put your money into optic.
I have killed 9 or more elk with a 270 but I've killed a number of the with 358 norma and 375 H&H and a few cal's in between.
You scope and Binoc. with the binoc's being use more than anything is were to put you money.

As for deer and antelope I killed them with all the same cal's as elk.
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I also use a .270, and I have never had to track deer or elk run after I have shot. If you have proper shot placement, a .270 will kill most big animals under 300 yards.
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This is a subject which everyone has a different opinion about, so there's really no "right answer." Here's my opinion:

If you want to hunt only deer and antelope, I would recommend the .270WSM. Its very popular in this category for good reason, low recoil and shoots amazingly flat.

If you wanted to do both deer and elk with the same rifle, in my opinion the .300 win mag is the way to go. It is the perfect "in between" rifle for dual species use. You can load this with 130 grains that will shoot flatter than anything for open country antelope, or go up to 200 grains to take down an elk or smaller black bear. The .300 win mag is the most versatile caliber in my opinion. I don't like the newer cousin the .300WSM, simply because it doesn't add any velocity.

The best rifle in the $500 category is the Savage model 114, in my opinion. But as always, to each his own. Good luck.
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sawsman
For both deer and elk I use a 30-06. It wont kick like a mule as some of the bigger calibers will. There are plently of different ammos avaliable for it with varying weights and bullet selections and it is a time proven all around respected caliber.

As others have suggested though, bullet placement is paramount. Fondle a couple of different rifle makes and choose the one which fit and feel is best to you.

Then practice, practice, practice for shot placement.

Happy Hunting.

sawsman
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I use a 7mm. Rem. Mag. and have used it for over 15 years. I have been very sucessful with it killing both elk and mule deer out to ranges of 735 yards on a cow elk. Proper bullet selection and placement are important. I use 168 gr. berger VLD's and have recovered every animal shot with them. Good luck
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AzRednekRabbit
I use a .270 Win like alot of the others. Enough for elk and not too big to where it will destroy a lot of meat on smaller game such as deer and javelina. Just a great all around gun in my opinion.
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