I don't recall anyone saying the 7-30 wouldn't kill an elk but like I said I shot that 80lb doe at 125 yds with the 120gr ballistic tip and weight retention was non existant and the heaviest part of the bullet was the jacket, the entire core was shattered and when the bullet hit the opposite ribcage it followed the the ribs down with out exiting. The internal damage was massive because the bigges part of the core was the size of #4 shot.

I plan to let my daughter elk hunt with a 7x57 Ruger #1 I gave her for her birthday but she will be limited to 100yds with 150 being max and I'm running 140gr Partitions for a combination of penetration and expansion. Ballisitically the 7x57 is between the 7-08 and 7-30 and is pretty much the twin of a 7-08 out of an Encore pistol. Although the gun she has is a special gun I plan to move her out of it for game larger than deer as soon as she can handle the increased recoil. I'll probably go to the 270, 280 or 30-06 next.

Rshughart,
I hunt with a friend that has a Weatherby, and he really likes it. It is a shooting machine! the bolt and silkiness of the action is something to behold, just like on the Mark V rifles

I have killed 3 elk...2 with a handgun. I use a 338-06 JDJ. Every time I walk up to a dead elk I am amazed at their size and equally amazed that a 250gr 338 bullet won't go the whole way through...I would use more gun than a 7x30.

Out of a pistol, I would start with a .308 and go up from there...that's just my opinion from the field.

Lots of valid opinions and remarks. I've never taken an Elk but hope to before long and after reading the above I'm glad I went with the 35 Whelen in my SSK Encore barrel!!

Which could clearly be a result of bullet choice and not the caliber being used. I saw a .30-30 fail to exit a bear at point-blank range yesterday, and it was clearly a function of too frangible a bullet (we found the pieces).

I'd try a different bullet if I wanted an exit. I know bullets that will not exit deer in my 338 Lapua and I also know bullets that will exit an Elk from most angles from the Lapua or win mag

It is about the bullet more so than the cartridge

Doc, sent you a PM

I bought a 7-30 Waters for my son to use for mule deer here in Nevada. I always considered it a 200 yard max proposition.

243 win 105gr amax. about a month ago

250 is yds crappy ipod pic



Taken by a friend this year, the 243 is less than a 7-30 Waters IMHO

Havn't we beaten this horse enough? I've seen deer killed with a .17 Ackley Hornet but didn't mention it...until now. Let it go.....

ALREADY!!!

When I shot that elk with the 7/30 I was actually hunting deer but had an elk tag in my pocket, just didn't expect to find elk where I was that day. I'm in Arizona for the winter & don't have my notes but I'm pretty sure I was using a Barnes X bullet When using X bullets I always drop down at least one bullet weight, they are always going to stay together & you need the added velocity to make them work, a slow X bullet can be a failure!
There are many calibers that are better for elk, they are extremely tough, I've always said they are harder to kill than moose, but I can't explain why.
A 308/309 JDJ is a much better choice because on elk the margin or error is very small.
Back in the early 70's I shot a spike bull elk with a 6mm & an 85 gr Sierra, popped him in the throat as he faced me at 90 yds & he dropped like a slaughter house steer. Young & dumb (still dumb) but it worked, doesn't make it an elk caliber.
The biggest change I've seen in the last 50 years is bullet quality, there are some outstanding bullets available to all of us & that has changed the rules somewhat. Like I've always said, put a good bullet in a good place & good things happen because you need placement & you need "penetration".
By the way, that 85 gr Sierra is a terrific bullet on deer, I'm talking about the flatbase, not the boattail.

Dick