You mostly see elk in open country, because that’s where they’re the easiest to see. For that reason, elk hunters typically opt for powerful rifles with a lot of reach. But elk live in the forest and in edge habitats, too, and if you want to put a bullet into a big, reclusive bull, don’t be surprised if you have to go dig him out of the timber. That’s where a specialized elk rifle designed to help you maneuver through the confines of the forest and to make quick shots can tip the odds in your favor. Typically, that means a compact, fast-handling rifle chambered for a hard-hitting, short- to medium-range round—though there are a couple exceptions. So, with all that in mind, here are 8 elk rifles perfect for slipping up on bulls in the dark timber.
Best Overall: Steyr Scout II
Best Lever Gun: Marlin 1895 Trapper
Best Bolt Gun: Tika T3x Ranch
Best Suppressed: Q Fix
Best Lightweight Rifle: Wilson Combat NULA Model 20
Best Overall: Steyr Scout II
Length: 38.5 to 39.4 inches
Weight: 6.78 pounds
Barrel: 19 inches, threaded at 1/2x28
Action: Steyr SBS bolt action
Trigger: Adjustable
Capacity: 5+1
Finish: Black Mannox
Stock: Black or tan polymer with integral bipod, UIT rail, adjustable LOP, and magazine carrier
Chambering: 223 Remington, 243 Winchester, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08 Remington, 308 Winchester
Price: $1,774.99
The Steyr Scout II is the latest version of the Steyr Scout Rifle, which the company designed with input from former Marine and Gunsite Academy founder Jeff Cooper. Intended as a general purpose rifle, the Scout—and now Scout II—is load with features that allow it to excel in the timber for elk hunting. It comes with flip-up sights, and the long top rail allows for installation of a traditional scope or for a scout scope or red dot, for fast-action application. Steyr threads the muzzle to allow for suppressed shooting, and the rifle has an integral bipod in case you need support to stretch the distance out past the timberline. You can also store a spare magazine in the rifle’s stock, which is adjustable for length of pull.
Upgrades on the Scout II include a bedding block that’s milled from a single piece of aluminum, a Picatinny instead of Weaver-style top rail, an M-Lok rail on the bottom of the forend, and a corrosion-resistant Mannox coating on all metal surfaces. All the other cool features, like the unique three-position rotary tang safety that locks the bolt handle closed when on safe, the extremely crisp adjustable trigger, and the magazine detent that allows you to single feed cartridges over a fully loaded magazine, are just like the original. This is great-handling, compact rifle with fantastic shooter interface, making it just about perfect for hunting elk in the timber—and more than adequate if you have to shoot in the open, too. If you can’t shoot sub-inch groups with this rifle, you need to go back to shooting school.
Best Lever Action: Marlin 1895 Trapper
Length: 34.25 inches
Weight: 7.1 pounds
Barrel: 16.17 inches, threaded at 11/16x24
Action: Lever action
Trigger: 4.0 pounds
Capacity: 5+1
Finish: Satin Stainless
Stock: Black laminate hard wood
Chambering: 45-70 Government
Price: $1,499
Marlin builds the 1895 Trapper on the same stainless-steel action and with the same big loop lever as the Marlin 1895 SBL, but the finish on the Trapper is a muted satin. This version also chambered for the 45-70, which is an elk-whacker deluxe. The primary difference between the two rifles is that the SBL has a 19-inch barrel and the Trapper’s threaded barrel is 3 inches shorter. The Trapper has Skinner Sights’ adjustable rear-aperture sight paired with a white-striped, Skinner, Bear Buster front sight. If your eyes aren’t up to open sights, you can order an combo aperture sight/scope base from Skinner that will replace the factory rear sight. I tested the rifle both ways using a 2.5X Leupold.
From the bench, the Trapper can be intimidating when you use full power 45-70 loads, but off-hand it’s much more tolerable. At 50 yards, my groups averaged about 1.5 inches, and at 100 yards they were about twice that size. Of course, this is not a bench-rest rifle. This is a rifle you carry while creeping through the elk timber tangle. It’s made for fast-action, up-close situations; the rifle’s compactness and easy handling makes it ideal for fast shooting inside 100 yards. You won’t reach across a canyon with the Trapper, but it's just the thing battling it out with a big bull in the thick stuff.
Best Traditional Bolt Action: Tikka T3x Drover
Length: 40.2 inches
Weight: 6.4 pounds
Barrel: 20 inches, threaded at 5/8x24
Action: Tikka T3 75° bolt action
Trigger: Single stage, adjustable 2.0 to 4.0 pounds
Capacity: 10+1
Finish: Blued
Stock: Green polymer with RoughTech finish
Chambering: 308 Winchester
Price: $1,399
Some hunters like the simplicity of open sights in the timber. But in the deep darkness of a conifer tangle, open sights can be difficult to see. That’s not the case with the open sights on the Tikka TX3 Drover. The front sight is a hooded, red, fiber-optic bead, and the rear sight has a long gentle ramp with red and green fiber optic inserts that guide your eye to the shallow V. It’s lightning fast for snap-shooting, but if you prefer an optical sight, the Drover is drilled and tapped for scope mounts, or you can use the dovetailed Tikka mount system.
The open sights on the Drover are singular in design and set it apart from the competition, but you should not overlook the rifle’s other features. The TX3 Drover feeds from a detachable 10-round magazine with an ambidextrous release and it has the excellent, Tikka, three-lug, 75° throw bolt action with an oversized bolt handle. The ergonomics and smoothness of this action will allow you to run the bolt faster than you thought a bolt-action rifle capable of. If you need to dig a bull elk from the golden leafed aspens or in a pine tree jungle, and you want a non-Scout-style bolt-action for the job, take a close look at this one.
Best Suppressed Rifle: Q Fix
Length: 30 to 32 inches
Weight: 5.40 pounds
Barrel: 12 inches, threaded at 11/16x24 (8-, 16-, and 17-inch barrel options)
Action: 45° bolt action, striker fired
Trigger: Two-stage
Capacity: 10+1
Finish: Satin Stainless
Stock: Folding, skeletonized aluminum, with adjustable LOP and comb height
Chambering: 8.6 Blackout (tested), 6.5 Creedmoor, 308 Winchester
Price: $3299 + $200
This rifle looks unlike anything you’ve likely ever seen. Q designed it from the ground up to be lightweight and ideally suited to powerful, suppressed and subsonic hunting at practical ranges. The Fix’s 45° bolt is lighting fast to cycle, and the striker-firing mechanism—unusual for a bolt-action rifle—has a fast lock time and pairs nicely with the rifle's crisp, two-stage trigger. You can fold the stock 180°, which is especially convenient when the rifle is slung and carried across the chest. The stock is adjustable for length-of-pull and comb height, and the AR-style hand grip and safety lever are comfortable and ambidextrous. The Q-Set aluminum handguard allows for the attachment of rail sections, sling mounts, and the excellent Q Kickstand bipod. This is also a switch-barrel rifle, and you can make the change in the field. Being a short-barreled rifle (SBR), it is an NFA item and requires a $200 tax stamp just like a suppressor. But it’s worth it, that short 12-inch barrel is incredibly handy when using a suppressor.
The Fix is available in 6.5 Creedmoor and 308 Winchester, but for hunting elk in the timber with a suppressor, the 8.6 Blackout cartridge, with its 1 in 3 twist rate, is the way to go, as this cartridge has proved itself on African buffalo. Suppressed and scoped the Fix will weigh in at just over 7 pounds, and will still be less than 40 inches long. It’s compact, quiet, deadly, and elk should fear it.
Best Lightweight Rifle: Wilson Combat NULA Model 20
Length: 36 to 41.75 inches
Weight: 4.94 to 5.25 pounds
Barrel: 16.25 or 20 inches
Action: NULA Model 20
Trigger: Timney Elite Hunter
Capacity: 4+1
Finish: Black Armor-Tuff
Stock: AG Composites Carbon Fiber
Chambering: 358 Winchester (tested) 243 Winchester, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08 Winchester, 308 Winchester.
Price: $2995.00
Only Wilson Combat is offering a new rifle in 358 Winchester, which is an ideal elk cartridge for the timber. In 2022 Wilson Combat acquired New Ultra Light Arms (NULA) from Melvin Forbes, and now builds the NULA Model 20 on a proprietary, two-lug, bolt action that weighs only 20 ounces, hence the Model 20 name. They house the action in a lightweight AG Composites’ carbon-fiber stock, and the threaded, butto- rifled, honed, and double-stress-relieved, 416 stainless barrels are custom tapered based on caliber. The rifle comes with a Timney Elite Hunter trigger, a safety that locks the bolt handle, and a sub-MOA guarantee.
You’ll struggle to find a lighter bolt-action rifle, and in 358 Winchester the 16-inch-barreled Model 20 weighs less than 5 pounds. This rifle just seems to float to your shoulder and is very comfortable to shoot because of the straight stock with a high comb that has just a bit of negative drop. The NULA Model 20 is even lighter than the Q Fix but has a very traditional look and feel, and you can choose between two camo colors or charcoal grey for the stock. You might get tired while climbing the mountains or negotiating dead falls in the deep, dark timber, but you won’t be tired because you’re carrying a NULA Model 20.
Browning BLR Lightweight ‘81
Length: 40 to 43 inches
Weight: 6.5 to 7.25 pounds
Barrel: 20 or 22 inches, depending on chambering
Action: Lever action
Trigger: Gold plated alloy steel
Capacity: 4+1
Finish: Polished gloss blue
Stock: Grade 1 walnut with gloss finish
Chambering: 22-250 Remington, 243 Winchester, 6.5 Creedmoor, 270 Winchester, 7mm-08 Remington, 308 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield
Price: $1,129.99 to $1,99.99
Not all that long ago, Browning offered their BLR Lightweight ’81 chambered in 358 Winchester, and while that ideal option is no longer on the table, the gun still comes chambered for six modern elk-capable hunting cartridges. That’s the advantage the BLR has over traditional lever guns; it offers lever-gun speed and handling with better ballistics. The 308 Winchester is probably the best option in the timber, but you can opt for the 270 or 30-06 for a bit more power. Keep in mind, though, that in those chamberings, the rifle has the longer 22-inch barrel, weighs three-quarters of a pound extra, and costs $70 more.
The other thing that sets the BLR apart from traditional lever guns is that it feeds from a four-round detachable magazine, and the rack-and-pinon lever is faster to operate because of its shorter throw. The BLR also has a unique hammer with four positions to maximize safety. With its nicely figured walnut stock and deep-dark bluing, this is a very elegant looking rifle that comes with adjustable open sights, and Browning also drilled and tapped the receiver for scope mounting. The BLR’s modernized look might not give you that true cowboy sensation, but it’ll shoot flatter than any lever gun any elk hunting cowboy has ever used.
Ruger Hawkeye Guide Gun
Length: 41.0 to 42.5 inches
Weight: 8.1 pounds
Barrel: 20 inches, threaded at 5/8x28, with Muzzle brake
Action: Bolt action (right or left hand)
Trigger: Ruger LC6 trigger
Capacity: 3+1
Finish: Matte Stainless steel
Stock: Green Mountain hardwood laminate
Chambering: 375 Ruger (Right hand only options in 338 Winchester Magnum, 416 Ruger, and 30-06 Springfield)
Price: $1,659
It doesn't take a cannon to kill an elk, but some hunters like to hit them hard. If that's you, and you don't mind the extra weight and recoil, then take a close look at the Ruger’s Guide Gun in 375 Ruger, which is available in left or right hand. Ruger builds this rifle on their Hawkeye (Mauser-type controlled round feed) action, but the rifle is especially well-configured for hunting elk in the timber and in broken country. It comes with a good set of open sights that includes a beaded front sight, and the action utilizes Ruger’s integral scope-mounting system. It has a 20-inch threaded barrel and comes with a radial-port muzzle break.
The rifle has two front sling-swivel attachment points. One is a stud in the traditional position. and the other is on a barrel band. I’d suggest removing the first and using the latter, so that the 375’s stiff recoil won’t drive the stud into your support hand. This is not a light rifle, and you’ll appreciate the extra weight of the laminated hardwood stock when launching 270-grain bullets at 2840 feet per second. They generate more than 4,500 foot-pounds of muzzle energy and nearly 50 pounds of recoil force. To help with shooter comfort and interface, the rifle comes with an adjustable length-of-pull. This rifle will not only be at home in the elk timber, but it’ll also work on the African savannah for buffalo and elephant.
Lipsey’s Ruger M77 Hawkeye 35 Whelen
Length: 45.88 inches
Weight: 7.4 pounds
Barrel: 24 inches
Action: Ruger Hawkeye bolt action
Trigger: Ruger LC6 trigger
Capacity: 4+1
Finish: Polished blued steel
Stock: American Walnut w/ ebony forend cap
Chambering: 35 Whelen
Price: $1,579
There’s just something about the 35 Whelen cartridge that screams "elk-killer." This hard-hitting, non-magnum round will push a 200-grain bullet to more than 2900 fps and will deliver more than 3700 foot-pounds at the muzzle. Unfortunately, there’s only one new rifle chambered for this cartridge. Through Lipsey’s, Ruger offers a version of their African rifle in 35 Whelen. It’s built on their Mauser-like Hawkeye action, has a 24-inch barrel, and an island-mounted rear folding leaf sight that pairs with a gold bead front sight.
Like all Ruger Hawkeye rifles, the receiver has Ruger’s famous integral scope mounts, and Ruger fitted the action with their LC6 trigger, a three-position safety, and a hinged floor plate that allows for easy unloading. The 24-inch barrel might be a bit long for best use in the timber, but this rifle, with it’s gorgeous walnut stock and ebony forend tip, harkens back to the time of the traditionalist. And it’s availability in one of America’s most classic elk-whacking wildcat cartridges turned mainstream, which means we could not leave it off this list.
How to Choose an Elk Rifle for the Timber
For quick, close shots in the timber, rifle fit is important, so if you’re extra big or small, an adjustable length-of-pull is a great feature on an elk rifle. The right sight system matters too. Some like open sights at close range, others like red dots or scout scopes, and a traditionally styled low-power variable scope is hard to beat. Then there’s rifle size and weight. You don’t sit around glassing when hunting the timber; you’re on your feet moving and negotiating blow downs. Also, at close range, magnum power is not necessary, and more and more hunters prefer hunting suppressed these days. All of these things factored into my picking the Steyr Scout II as the Best Overall elk rifle for the timber. But that doesn't mean it's best for you.
What you must decide is if all these things matter equally, or if there’s one particular attribute that matters most and is worth compromising some of the others. If your primary goal is to smack an elk hard, the Ruger Hawkeye in 375 Ruger or 35 Whelen is the way to go. If you want a compact rifle that’ll deliver fast follow up shots, there’s the Marlin Trapper or Browning BLR. If you want to go as light as possible, nothing beats the NULA Model 20. For open-sight hunting the Tikka Drover is unmatched, and for a hard hitting suppressed rifle, the Q Fix outshines them all. It’s all about choices. Make the one that best suites what is important to you and how you hunt.
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