I WON a ELK Hunting License :)

[JesterGrin_1]

Sorry I am a bit excited that I won the Lottery for a Bull Elk Hunting License for Wyoming. Still waiting on the paper work of which is a bit agonizing lol. But to say I am happy about this would be a drastic understatement. :mrgreen:

Thus far I have 3 Rifles in mind for this. One is the Marlin 1895GS in 45-70 if I can get an area with close shots. And my New Savage in .358 Winchester and my Marlin Action in 35 Whelen AI. :)

[P.K.]

Lucky Dog!

[Blacksmith]

Excuse to buy a new gun.

[Love Life]

A 338 Lapua Magnum would be great! You wouldn't even have to leave your house to shoot them.

Seriously though. Congratulations!!

[crawfobj]

The 35 Whalen AI would be a great choice, unless of course you need a new rifle...

[JesterGrin_1]

Thank You for the Congratulations as I could not believe it myself. :)

Oh no I do not need a New Rifle lol. And the 35 Whelen AI and the 358 Winchester are pretty new rifles or to say New Builds.

So When I get my 35 Whelen AI back as it is being cut from the standard 35 Whelen to the AI version and a Brownells Muzzle break installed. And Covered with HK Black. I will work up some loads with the Speer 250 Gr HOT-Core or the Speer 250 Gr Grand Slam but from what I have read they are pretty much the same bullet?

I would think the 35 Whelen AI and a 250 Gr bullet should be enough for Elk but I do not know.

And Sorry Gang for a probably a once in a lifetime hunt for me I am not going to use Cast. I Envy those that are able to Hunt Elk all of the time and can experiment with Cast Boolits.

[Phoenix]

Where I live Close shots are nearly impossible. Unless you use a blind. They can see you for a long way and get skittish when you are closer than a few hundred yards. Allot of the people that get them are doing it at 300-500 yards. Obviously not everyone, But allot. 35 Whelen would do the job. UNless you are looking for a reason for a 338-378 Weatherby, 338 RUM, or 338 Lapua. Definitely sounds like the perfect excuse for a powerful long range gun :)

[runfiverun]

doug got his at 500 with his 300 wsm this year.
i know he could have gotten closer.
but he had been practicing at those distances all year long.

what part of the state is your tag good for?
you might have some company available.

the grand slam is built tougher for better penetration and would probably be my choice.

[Kull]

Lucky devil.

[alrighty]

Congratulations! I was faced with the same when I got chosen in the Ky Elk Drawing.Only 300 Bull tags are drawn per year.I only had two rifles in suitable calibers a .270 pre-64 featherweight and a 45-70 Contender carbine.After researching I ended up buying a .308 Norma mag made on a Herters Mauser 98 action.I did carry both the Norma and the 45/70.I got drawn for the last week , and the Elk had almost quit bugling.With three days left and rain coming in , I wanted to get it done.We spotted three Bulls late that afternoon but the closest we could get was 250 yards due to losing daylight and an open field between us.
I did get my 6x6 but I had to use the .308 Norma pushing a 180 gr Nosler partition at 2975 fps instead of my Contender boolit loaded 45/70.I wish I had bought my 1895 Marlin 45/70 sooner and worked a load up for it.You will do fine with the any of those three rifles as I have seen several of your range reports.Congratulations again and take lots of pictures!

[missionary5155]

Good morning and Congradulations !
Was out in Arizona this past November and standing no more than 35 yards from a nice two lane out of Show Low was a huge monster of a bull standing there watching the few vehicles go by as he munched green stuff. My brotther in law stopped and mentioned it was possibly the largest one he had ever seen.
Me I was already cocking the hammer on my 414 Supermag DW (1800 miles away in ILLLinois) as I in my mind layed across Doug's hood.
I trust you get a great hunt in the company of noble men and not have to half kill yourself dragging and carrying a record breaker out of a deep valley.
Mike in Peru

[km101]

Good luck, and we will expect pictures when you get back! And remember to eat lots of chiles before you leave. There aint much in the way of TEX-MEX up there. :)

[JesterGrin_1]

Well Gang I would like to ask a Bullet question. And that would be that so far I think the 250Gr Speer Grand Slam for the 35 Whelen AI will be fine. But for the 358 Winchester I was thinking about the Barns 200 Gr TTSX or to say it is a tipped bullet with a boat tail?

[alrighty]

I wanted to use the Barnes TTSX in my .308 Norma magnum.I have read of their great performance but I could not get them to group as well as the load I had already for the Nosler Partitions.I have been told the TTSX likes a bit of a jump to the rifling , usually around .020-.040.I am sure I could do better with more work , but I was running out of time and the Nosler Partition 180 gr. was working great.I could not get the Nosler AccuBond 180gr. to group as well either and they have always worked great in every rifle I have tried them in.
Barnes also has load data on their website.
http://www.barnesbullets.com/images/358WinchesterWeb.pdf
Again Congratulations and Good Luck!

[JesterGrin_1]

Well I got my License today. But it has no information really. It says I have to wait till June to get all of the information needed for the hunt.

Oh and Get this. I PAID $591.00 for the Dern License and now they inform me that I will have to PAY another $12.50 For a Wyoming Conservation Stamp. WOW just WOW.

Makes me wonder what other charges the Next mailing from Wyoming will have for me. Sad

But I jumped in with Both Feet and am Excited to be able to do this.

[waksupi]

Well I got my License today. But it has no information really. It says I have to wait till June to get all of the information needed for the hunt.

Oh and Get this. I PAID $591.00 for the Dern License and now they inform me that I will have to PAY another $12.50 For a Wyoming Conservation Stamp. WOW just WOW.



Makes me wonder what other charges the Next mailing from Wyoming will have for me. Sad

But I jumped in with Both Feet and am Excited to be able to do this.

Soooo...., if it's any thing like Montana, expect a trophy fee, too.

[JesterGrin_1]

Soooo...., if it's any thing like Montana, expect a trophy fee, too.

lol Well I have not been notified of that one yet lol. But since we are going to be smack dab between Dobious and Jackson hole Wyoming who else is going to be in the middle of Nowhere lol.

[2thepoint]

Congrats!! You've won the ultimate lottery...a vote here for the 35 Whelan
Take 2 cameras with ya.

[Doc65]

I see no problem with any of those options, last Elk I shot was, please, no flames for under powered as it dropped DRT with one shot from a hair over 200 yds, a Husqy .270 Win, 140gr Sierra GK.

[alrighty]

I see no problem with any of those options, last Elk I shot was, please, no flames for under powered as it dropped DRT with one shot from a hair over 200 yds, a Husqy .270 Win, 140gr Sierra GK.
If I had of known then what I know now , I would have carried my old 1954 made model 70 in .270.As it has been said many times shot placement is KING! The best rifle to take is the one you have the most confidence in.I do encourage a person going on a big game hunt to buy and read Craig Boddington's book titled The perfect shot North America.However that book was the reason I thought that I needed one of the .300 Magnum's.Elk are tough but they aren't bullet proof.

[waksupi]

That's some nice country. I covered a lot of miles on horseback up in those mountains. Lots of elk late in the season, so don't let snow spook you off!

[JesterGrin_1]

That's some nice country. I covered a lot of miles on horseback up in those mountains. Lots of elk late in the season, so don't let snow spook you off!

I think I will be there Early Season. As it stands right now at least until we hear the real dates set by Wyoming we plan to be there Oct 1st and hunt for a couple of weeks.

But I am still thinking about an Elk Jacket. :)