have no experiance with, but have heard n read. that marlin xl-7 is a good affordable rifle.
I think I said this before. My guide in Montana(elk) would not allow anything smaller than a 06. No short mags. either. .
The gentleman wasn't very knowledgeable in ballistics obviously
A buddy of mine has killed 10 elk. The first 5 were with his .270. He only had to shoot one of them a second time. The total tracking distance of the 5 elk was less than 50 yards. Most fell in their tracks
You'd be happier with a .308 either way....
when u hunt with a guide u r paying for his expertise in his location-vocation and education. As I said, my 06 was good enough with a 1 shot kill. Some guides may have had bad experiences with clients. Shot placement is parmamount. And yes Nacho-he is the boss. A person can always go elsewhere to hunt. My NM hunt was a minimum 270. They just don't want to lose a wounded animal. shot placement. like a trap gun-spend as much as u want or as little but if u can shoot it well=shoot it!!
not looking to insult or start trouble but when YOU pay someone to a job, I would say that makes YOU the boss and I know when you sign up for a hunt you agree to follow their rules. generaly it would be foolish not to at least listen to your guides and heed their advice if they made sense. while living and hunting out west I came across a lot of hunters and guides, whoose family's had hunted elk for generations, that generaly agreed the most common mistake greenhorns made was too much gun and a bad case of flinches and would rather see them use a 25-06 (within it's range limits and good bullet selection) that they could shoot well than a bigger gun they shot poorly. I'm not sure exactly what or how your guide said what he did, whether it was a 270 or an 06 minimum,(and would probably set a 270/06 minimum myself) but any wsm 270/ 7mm or 300 will out perform a standard 270 or 30-06. seeing as he got you an elk he must have had something on the ball. I've had some bad experiences with "guides" out there that would ride in groups on horseback into public hunting land before light and fire guns off to spook the game onto adjoining private lands where they would later guide their clients. so I would take their expertise with a grain of salt and use your common sense and best judgement.
