Wanting to Elk hunt for the ifrst time

[300blkoutguy]

So i am not a new hunter by any means i have been hunting most of my life. I grew up in northern Minnesota hunting white tail and thats about as big as they get for me. I am now living in Arizona and i am going to try to pull Elk tags for the late season of 2019. Does anyone have any tips or tricks as this is a much larger animal and if there are any special laws required for Arizona. I always see the shows talking about has to have at least this much spread and yada yada. I seem to be having a hard time with finding these small details that i feel could cost me greatly if im not careful. I am going out with a 30-06 what load would guys recommend for this also. Ive heard heavier is better to a certain degree something around the 180 grain area. The biggest thing is i want to be able to spend this off season dialing in and getting everything a ready as possible so if i do get lucky and get tags i will be as ready as possible to go out and enjoy the hunt and not be worried about a stupid mistake. The nice thing with minnesota hinting was that it was easy as a resident you went and got your tags and if you had a buck or doe you literally shot either one took to a dnr rep at a check in station for registration then home to process it. It was a very simple process. You didnt have to worry about sex or spread or anything else special. i feel like have been scouring the internet for hours and have come up short and i have probably read right over it but would really love any help i can get from you much more experienced individuals. Thank you very much in advance for you time and help.

[Wes Sage]

All the regs will be in the book for AZ next year when they come out. I would get this years book, and most stuff will be the same year to year except a few small changes normally.

On the bullet selection, I personally would go close to the 180gr range. If it were me, I would load the 178gr Hornady ELD-X.
The ELD line has proved to be very accurate, and the ELD-X is a Match Grade, Hunting Bullet, that has been doing great for a lot of people since they came out.

[300blkoutguy]

All the regs will be in the book for AZ next year when they come out. I would get this years book, and most stuff will be the same year to year except a few small changes normally.

On the bullet selection, I personally would go close to the 180gr range. If it were me, I would load the 178gr Hornady ELD-X.
The ELD line has proved to be very accurate, and the ELD-X is a Match Grade, Hunting Bullet, that has been doing great for a lot of people since they came out.

OK i was looking at the Hornady ELD-X bullets but wasnt 100% certain about them. But i figured if anyone would know or have answers it would come from here and figured it would be you lol. I greatly appreciate the knowledge. I am going to continue reading and picking my buddies brain that goes every year.

[clark307]

My dad send i used 30-06 with 165 gr. Nozler positions on elk for years in WY and never had any issues.

[Guy]

You may find that some will tell you the 30-06 isn't "enough gun" for elk.

Hogwash!

Yes, a good 165 - 180 grain bullet from the 30-06 will do just fine. Hit 'em in the boiler room. Then, once that rascal is down, the work starts... I too hunted mostly deer, mule deer in my case, and when I walked up on my first elk, a big ol' 6x6 bull... I was thinking "Oh my goodness, what now?"

It's just a really big deer. Treat it the same. Consider quartering it up to get it out of wherever you drop it. Very difficult to drag an elk carcass. Much easier to pack out quarters!

Best o' luck!

Guy

[Muddydawg75]

I can’t imagine somebody saying 30-06 isn’t enough gun.... I use 7mm mag with 185gr


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[Guy]

I can’t imagine somebody saying 30-06 isn’t enough gun.... I use 7mm mag with 185gr


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Ya, I've had the smallest rifle on a couple of elk hunts, once a 7mm Rem mag, the last one in 2016, my 30-06 rifle. Both times were first hit kills! That worked.

Am absolutely convinced it's more about where ya hit 'em, and then which bullet, and last the cartridge choice. Critters drop to so many different cartridges and bullets. What they don't usually drop from are poor hits.

Guy