By Joe Ferronato
Earlier this year, the unthinkable happened. The gods of the draw looked upon me with favor, and I drew a trophy unit rifle tag for bull elk. When I say it’s unthinkable, I’m not exaggerating. I don’t draw tags. It’s just not something that happens; I’m not complaining about it, I’m more so still in shock that I have this tag in my pocket.
Due to my undeniably unlucky streak, I have stuck to OTC tags for elk and usually hunt during the archery season, as chasing bugling bulls is one of my favorite things. That said, the late season with a rifle in my hand glassing for big bulls still holed up in the high country ain’t half bad either. And that’s where I’ll be this November.
To make the most of this hunt and hopefully tag a bull to remember, I’ve been honing my setup to ensure it will work in whatever situation that presents while in the field. When I think about building a hunting setup there’s a few things I consider up front: weight, maximum shot distance, and shootability. Different rifles will lend themselves better for different hunts, but for this one—damn, I’m going to use some buzzwords—I need a lightweight, long-range, backcountry, DIY rifle…OK, I think I got them all.
The Elk Rifle Build
All jokes aside, I need an accurate, lightweight-ish (more on this to come) hunting rifle that has superb accuracy out to 500 yards and carries enough energy to kill a big-bodied bull at that distance. That’s why I am taking the Browning X-Bolt 2 Pro McMillan Carbon Fiber.
The rifle is chambered in .300 PRC, which has plenty of umph and is very accurate at long distances. While it’s lighter than old wood-stocked sporters, coming in at 6 pounds, 8 ounces, it’s not the lightest on the market. That’s fine with me; the ultra-lightweight movement has never been my thing, and I will trade some weight for accuracy and shootability any day.
As I tell my hunting friends, “If you’re worried about a little extra weight on your rifle or in your pack, you should probably head to the gym rather than go hunting.” A lot of people say that ounces become pounds quickly in the backcountry. They’re not wrong, but a few extra ounces on my rifle aren’t going to make a difference when I have hundreds of pounds of elk meat to pack out. But those ounces may make the difference in having a dead bull and just an empty shell case.
As far as accuracy goes, this rifle is no slacker. It prints sub-MOA easily and consistently with a variety of ammo. For this hunt, I’m going to use Barnes’ VOR-TX LR. It’s a 208-grain solid copper slug that does damage. I like copper on elk because I like penetration, and this one will penetrate through the dense muscle and bone at any shot angle.
The McMillan stock of this rifle plays a big part for shootability, and that is key when hunting in rough country. I likely won’t have an opportunity for perfect positioning. But the ergonomics of the rifle make it easy to get set regardless of how awkward a shooting position is presented. That’s another reason why I don’t like ultra-lightweight rifles; they are more easily manipulated than something with a little meat on it.
THE OPTIC
The glass you put atop a rifle is just as important as the rifle itself. Leupold’s VX-6 HD 3-18×44 has been a favorite of mine for years. The glass is good, and the CDS turrets are intuitive and accurate. This rifle is getting the VX-6 HD Gen 2. For the upgrade, the company kept everything about the original that I know and love while getting rid of my greatest dislike: the turret caps. You needed tools to set your zero with the old caps; the new SpeedSet Dial System does away with that.
The new scope also has some optical upgrades and some differences in the turrets themselves that make this scope a great choice for any hunt. I like the 3-18X power range for most of my hunts, because it’s versatile enough to accommodate for close-quarters shots while still having the capability to stretch the range if the situation calls for that.
ACCESSORIZING
You can go crazy on accessories, but I like to keep it as simple as possible. The forend of the rifle is equipped with a pic rail that I pulled off and replaced with a Spartan Precision adapter to run a Javelin Bipod. Plus, with the same magnetic adapter I can use any of the Spartan shooting aids that I may need. For this hunt, I foresee the use of my Ascent Tripod coming in handy.
Lastly, the muzzle device. Browning’s Recoil Hawg does a damn good job of soaking up the stout recoil of the .300 PRC. But it’s loud as shit, and I consider myself to be a civilized hunter who appreciates my hearing. In fact, my ears are still ringing from the last time I shot this rifle lacking ear pro. It’s for that reason why the gun is now tipped with a Rugged Radiant762.
The can attaches to the rifle with the M2 Brake for easy on/off, and as far as hunting goes, the modularity of this can fits the bill. It’s lightweight due to the fact it’s made with cobalt and titanium, which also makes it rugged…for lack of a better term. With the module on, it’s 7.5 inches weighing in at 12.5 ounces, and it’s quiet. Forgoing some noise dampening, you can take the module off and run it 5.1 inches with a weight of 9.4 ounces. I haven’t yet decided which configuration I’ll be running the can in this season, but I’ll be sure to report back.
A good rifle, good glass, and whatever you choose to accessorize is all you need to get out elk hunting. This is my go-to choice because I’m confident in all the different components, and you should be, too. The downside to buying quality is the price. It hurts the pocket book a bit, but buy once, cry once and don’t go home with nothing but tag soup.
