8mm Mauser for Elk

[Zack Young]

Hey all,
My buddy just invited me up to his place in Idaho (I'm in California) to do some Elk hunting. The issue is he says my 8mm Mauser 98k is overpowered for the job. I also have a S.A. M1A Scout Squad in .308 but he claims I need a scope and it's a bitch and expensive to mount a scope to it (my mauser has a scope). Any useful info or recommendations would be great.

 

[southernidahohunter]

Your 8mm Mauser should do just fine as long as you do your part.

 

[Royal27]

Elk are not wimpy, nor small, animals. Enjoy your 8mm and shoot straight.

 

[Zack Young]

Was he right about .308

 

[ZG47]

Zack

He hasn't been delving into that medicinal green stuff, has he?

I would consider an 8x57 or a .30-06 to be a practical minimum chambering, when hunting unfamiliar ground and going after the full size wapiti you have in your country.

 

[JimP]

Tell your buddy to stuff it on his suggestions of both of your rifles.

That 8mm will work quite fine for elk and so will your .308 with open sights. The open sights will limit you to your range and accuracy but it will do the job as well. I wonder why he would say that the 8mm is over powered. Thousands of elk are killed each year with cartridges with a lot more power than what it has and if he thinks that it is over powered then just what does he consider the ideal cartridge for elk?

Elk have been killed cleanly with just about any round out there. Here in Colorado and a few other states they have a minimum caliber of .24 and you can use anything from that caliber on up. My favorite elk rifle is a .340 Weatherby which according to your buddy would be way over powered.

 

[vinnymbogo]

Overpowered? No such thing! I've shot members of the tiny 10 with a .416 Rigby (solids of course).

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Zack
Maybe he meant the 8 x57 JS (.323" bore) Mauser kills everything " real dead" It is a classic caliber that can kill anything from a duiker to an eland in our country. I would recommend the use of a light to medium weight bullet , 150 -168 gn bullet, when using a heavy bullet weight like a Barnes TSX 180 grain it tends to brake bones and splintering the bone that gets into your meat..I have one and it is one of the finest shooting rifles I ever had in my hands. As mentioned by our fellow members there is not such a thing as over kill on game animals. You need to kill it as quick as possible.

Regards

Gert

 

[Red Leg]

Your buddy is clueless. Your decision whether or not to let him know. Elk are, in my experience, a lot harder to anchor than a kudu, and an 8x57 would be sort of a standard minimum for a big bull. I would certainly pick it over a .308 in the right rifle. Is yours a .318 or .323?

 

[Jon Glajchen]

Gert you are spot on about the 8x57 JS.

I have a Commercial Obendorf Mauser actioned custom rifle in the calibre. I shoot Woodleigh 196 gr RNSP points at 2550 fps. I've found it to be a fantastic calibre for all our bushveld game and have taken Eland with the rifle.

Zak enjoy hunting with it.

Regards

Jon

 

[Big5]

. . . he says my 8mm Mauser 98k is overpowered for the job.

Zack,

Everyone has an opinion and I feel your buddy's opinion is dead wrong (pun intended). Does he feel a well placed shot from your 8mm will make it 'deader' than it should be?

Take your 8mm on that elk hunt and enjoy.

Good hunting to you!

 

[AZDAVE]

Your 8mm will work fine, I usually start off with a 338 mag and work my way up, 375HH is my favorite elk round. Bullet placement is the most important. Just relax have fun and shoot straight.

 

[Big5]

Hey Zach,

Hopefully the collective wisdom resulting from a mountain of hunting experience you've received from the responders to your question will have already assisted you in making a decision about taking your 8mm on the hunt. It seems dead bang to me.

Good hunting to you!

 

[Gert Odendaal]

As mentioned by all the members, take the 8x57 Mauser and enjoy your hunt,correct bullet placement is the key to your hunting success ,the Mauser will do its work as long as you does yours by correct bullet placement.

 

[Velo Dog]

Hi Zack,

In USA factory ammunition, the 8x57 is usually just slightly less powerful than USA factory .308 ammunition.

However, if you hand load, the 8x57 can safely be loaded to just slightly more powerful than what the .308 is capable of.
In other words, either way they are so close as to be very, very similar, in terms of ballistics.

So, if your friend thinks any animal, including an elk, would be able to tell the difference between being shot with an 8x57 and being shot with a .308, he is living in some kind of delusional LSD dream world.

Power is usually fine but accuracy is usually final.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

 

[enysse]

Use your 8mm, it's the best choice.

 

[Longwalker]

I agree with pretty much all of the previous posters advice. And I will just add that so far I have killed about 20 elk, a few of them with the .308 and some with everything from 7x64 to .375H&H. All worked Ok when i did my part. I killed my first elk with a 8x57JS a few days ago. 196 gr bullet at 2500 fps. ( RWS factory load) Seemed like he died just the same as if I had shot him with a .308!

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

In the time I lived in Idaho I knew many a lady and kid who killed elk with with .243's, .25-06's and .270's. I personally would not go below .270 as they are a tough critter. Your 8x57 is certainly big enough bore wise. But a .308 will be a bit better for the longer than 200 yard shots.

Go with whatever works best for you, you'll be fine either way.

 

[Buff-Buster]

As everyone else has already said....go with the 8mm and have a blast. Better yet, don't waste an opportunity to expand your collection. "But honey, I HAD to buy this new .338 Win Mag. to go elk hunting with my buddy. He said the ones I already have just wouldn't work!"

 

[matt85]

8mm Mauser too powerful for elk?!?

most guys in this state use the 7mm RM, 300 WM, or 338 WM as standard elk guns.

-matt