Elk are tough to bring down, and it takes a well-placed shot from the right gun to kill them cleanly. This one fell to a single round from an 8mm Rem. Mag.

The subject of guns and loads for elk has long been controversial. One group maintains that elk are big and strong, and require heavier calibers and bigger bullets than deer. The other group maintains that shot placement is everything, and that your favorite deer rifle will do just fine. Both groups are secure in their convictions and often outspoken. Frankly, I really don't want the controversy to end; rifle and caliber disagreements give us something to talk about around the campfire.

Most folks who know anything about elk are in agreement that elk are not just big deer, but also incredibly strong and hardy deer. This applies to all elk in varying degrees. A cow is not as big or as strong as a spike. A spike is not as big or as strong as a young raghorn. A young bull is not as big or as strong as a fully mature bull. The majority of my elk have been mature bulls, the largest and strongest of the tribe. Because of that, and the fact that I've never lost an elk or had to follow one for even 100 yards, I think my choices of elk guns have merit.

GETTING SOME ACTION
Elk are famous for their ability to cover lots of distance when wounded. If the first hit doesn't take immediate effect--and it probably won't--I am extremely unwilling to gamble on the shot placement and bullet performance of that first shot if a follow-up is available.

Often, that follow-up must be very fast or not at all. Hunting with the White Mountain Apaches last fall, I shot an old, huge-bodied bull as he stood from his bed. At the shot, he ran, and I swung with him and fired another round from my 8mm Rem. Mag. just as he vanished over a little lip. We found him piled up just below that lip, with the two entrance wounds hardly an inch apart. This means the second shot was probably needless, but only a fool would bank on that.

I have made just a couple one-shot elk kills in my career. Two years ago a handsome New Mexico bull jumped from his bed and stood quartering toward me. I shot him on the point of the shoulder with a 180-grain Nosler out of a Lazzeroni 7.82 Warbird. The bull took off as if nothing had happened, vanishing into the black timber. He was piled up about 75 yards away, so that was a pure one-shot kill--but I guarantee you I would have shot him a second time if I could have. Another New Mexico bull I shot on a thick oakbrush slope with a .375 H&H, firing 240-grain Trophy Bonded Bearclaw bullets. The bull vanished into the brush, and we found him a little distance downslope. Again, I'd have kept shooting if I'd had the bull in sight.

This .340 Wby. Mag. sports a synthetic stock and black rustproof finish. Elk hunting is hard on guns; stocks and metal treatments that can take rough handling and inclement weather are a real plus.

So, based on my experience, I do not think a single-shot rifle is a sensible elk rifle. Follow-up shots usually must be taken quite quickly, so a repeating rifle is far and away the best choice. I have taken all of my elk with bolt guns, although that doesn't mean they are the only potential choice. Lever actions, pumps and semi-autos will all work with adequate chamberings.

Guys who like bolt actions often cite their accuracy, but this is not really a valid argument on an animal the size of an elk. However, bolt-action rifles can be loaded and unloaded quietly. Elk hunting requires a lot of walking, usually in tough country. When following tracks or still-hunting elk, you simply must be ready--but you will often need to sling the rifle to negotiate obstacles. It's a simple and silent matter to take the cartridge from the chamber and push it down into the magazine. The other action types are not as forgiving, nor as silent. On the other hand, the other repeating action types are generally considered faster for the second shot in the hands of a rifleman who's well practiced, but I have always found the bolt action to be plenty fast enough.

If you choose a bolt action, you can select models from virtually every manufacturer. Slide actions are limited to Remington's M7600 and Browning's BPR. Current lever guns that I find suitable are the Marlins in the larger chamberings, Winchester's Big Bore 94 and the Savage 99 (with .308 the most powerful current chambering); there is also a wide variety of vintage rifles that are fine for elk. Current semi-autos are also limited, with the Browning BAR and Remington M7400 just about the only games left in town.

STOCKS AND FINISHES
Nobody appreciates good walnut more than I do, but elk hunting is exceedingly hard on rifles. The country is often steep, sometimes rocky, and snow is fairly common. Backpack hunting is murder on guns, and horseback hunting is even worse. There are few elk hunts that don't require one or the other. I have carried beautifully stocked rifles on many an elk hunt, and I probably will do so again. But if I were choosing a rifle especially for elk hunting, it would sport a stable and indestructible synthetic stock. Most major manufacturers offer synthetic options, at least on bolt actions, and for tough hunting they make a lot of sense. Laminates are just as stable as synthetics and more durable than walnut, but they are generally the heaviest of stocks.

Bolt guns allow quick, accurate follow-up shots, and they're available from more manufacturers in more calibers than other actions--making them the most logical choice for most elk hunting.

Stainless steel and/or special rustproof metal finishes also make sense. My preference still runs toward blued steel, but most elk hunting is as hard on metal as it is on wood. If you're considering buying a new elk rifle, I'd look at stainless steel with a nonglare, matte finish; or, if you want a model not offered in stainless, I'd have the metalwork rustproofed with a nonreflective finish.

LIFTING WEIGHTS
I'm not crazy about superlight rifles for elk hunting. It's true that a heavy rifle makes hard hunting even harder. The dilemma is that I like powerful rifles for elk, and if they're too light the recoil is more than I care to deal with. The other drawback to bantamweight rifles is that they are extremely difficult to shoot well when you're out of breath--the hunter's normal state when it's time to shoot an elk. I recall few shots at elk when I've had enough time to really settle down and catch my breath, so I prefer elk rifles to have substance--something on the order of 81/2 to nine pounds is just fine with me.

I will admit that a six-pound rifle is a lot easier to carry, and you may well prefer leaving the weight behind. If that's the case, and especially if you like the same kind of cartridges that I do, then I strongly recommend you think about a muzzle brake to get the recoil down to an acceptable level.