The western mountains are generally a poor place for good walnut, but either laminates or synthetic stocks are good options. Both are tough and stable, but the laminates tend to be heavier.

My second-best buck was bedded on a little knoll, surrounded by oakbrush and crunchy snow, no way to get closer. We found a flat boulder on the ridge across the valley and set up our packs almost like a benchrest. This was in pre-rangefinder days, but it was dead calm and we had lots of time. We figured about 500 yards, and we settled in to wait. Finally he stood, offering a good broadside shot. We must have been slightly off in our range estimation; instead of the center-chest hit I held for, my bullet hit slightly low, cutting the bottom of the heart.

Another time, on the last day of a Nevada hunt plagued by unseasonable heat and full moon, the late Jerry Hughes jumped a buck in the bottom of a thick canyon. I was on one side, and the buck went up the other side. I lay down on the rimrock and fired when the buck topped out and slowed to a walk, holding high and leading a bit. This was also in pre-rangefinder days, but it wouldn't have mattered because there was no time to use one! I saw no reaction and heard no bullet hit, but the shot felt good and it was; we found the buck just inside the brush on the next ridge, centered through the lungs.

The cartridges that these two deer succumbed to were, respectively, the .300 Weatherby Magnum and the .30-06, but I'm not suggesting these are the most ideal,cartridges for mulies. Within broad limits, it didn't matter too much what cartridge I used on either of those two long shots.

Most important factors were accuracy--always the first essential for long-range shooting--and the simple fact that I knew the cartridge's trajectory, how the rifle was sighted in, and how to put these things together to make a good hit. This is far more important than raw velocity or power.

That said, there is certainly a range of cartridges that is ideal for mule deer. If you like the faster .25s--the .257 Roberts with good loads, the .25-06, or the .257 Weatherby--that's fine. My personal preference, however, starts with a fast 6.5mm like the nearly defunct .264 Winchester Magnum, goes up through .270 and 7mm, and tops out at .30-caliber with the .300 magnums at the upper end.

To my thinking the "best" mule deer cartridge, if there is one, is probably a fast 7mm--a 7mm Remington or Weatherby Magnum, or one of the newer cartridges like the 7mm STW or Remington Ultra Mag. These cartridges have plenty of power and reach, but are light enough in recoil that you can lie down and shoot from one rimrock to another without being kicked into next week. While long shots aren't the norm on mule deer, you need the capability to take a really good buck when and where you see him.

A good scope is essential, and since the target is a good deal smaller, a bit more power is useful. The ubiquitous 3-9X variable is always a good choice.

In any situation where you will be hunting two or more types of game with the same rifle you must be carry a rifle that is adequate for the largest animal you're looking for, in this case elk. You already know my preference for elk runs to big guns like the fast .33s. You can surely use any of these for mule deer, but I'm not as much in favor of this as I used to be. The .338 Winchester Magnum, although one of the very best elk cartridges, is a bit on the slow side with the heavier bullets best-suited for elk, maybe 2,650 fps with 250-grain bullets.

Left to right: .270 Winchester, .270 Weatherby Magnum, .280 Remington, 7mm Remington Magnum, 7mm Weatherby Magnum, 7mm STW, 7mm Remington Ultra Mag. These are all great mule deer cartridges, and all can certainly do a good job on elk as well. For perfection, however, the author prefers more bullet weight and frontal area for elk.

Fans of the .338 will quickly point out that their favorite shoots a whole lot faster and flatter with bullets of 200 grains and less. True enough, and also true that the lighter bullets are excellent for deer. But the light .33-caliber bullets aren't the best choices for elk, and I don't believe in carrying one bullet for one type of game and a second load for other game.

Faster .33s, like the .338 Rem. Ultra Mag, .340 Weatherby, and super-fast numbers like Lazzeroni's Titan and the .338-.378 Weatherby solve the ranging problem--they shoot plenty flat enough for any hunting, anywhere. But they create a new problem, and that's recoil. Relatively few hunters can withstand their punishment enough to shoot them well, and this is especially true of the precision, long-range shooting that may be required to take a big mulie buck.

The fast .33s, are wonderful all-around cartridges, and may be the best choices for "all-around use in North America," especially if you include the big bears. But I don't think they're the best for elk and mule deer in combination. Nor are the ideal mule deer cartridges the best. You could use your .270 or 7mm magnum, probably with perfect satisfaction, especially if this is the rifle you know best and shoot best. But I think more frontal area and greater bullet weight is needed for animals as tough as bull elk.

To my thinking it's best to meet in the middle, where it seems to me that there is a relatively narrow group of cartridges that offer enough gun for elk under all conditions--combined with enough ranging capabilities for mule deer under all conditions. For me this group is comprised of the fast .30s. You can start with the classic .300 H&H, the tried-and-true .300 Winchester Magnum, and the new .300 WSM. All of these, depending on whether you use factory loads or handloads, propel 180-grain bullets between about 2,900 and 3,000 fps.

You can step up a couple hundred fps to Lazzeroni's short Patriot, the .300 Weatherby Magnum, and the Remington Ultra Mag. You can even step up a bit farther to Lazzeroni's Warbird and Weatherby's .30-.378. And don't leave out proprietaries like the .300 Dakota and .300 Jarrett, or wildcats like the .30-.338. Obviously the faster cartridges in the group shoot a bit flatter and carry more energy farther downrange--but at a cost in greater recoil, and usually increased gun weight. I won't even try to tell you which is the best; to a great extent it depends on the rifle. All of them can be very accurate, all of them shoot flat enough for any sensible shooting, and all of them--when mated with a good 180-grain bullet--will do a good job on elk.

Lord knows I haven't used all of them, and almost certainly never will. However, I have used one of the least powerful among them, the .300 Winchester Magnum, to anchor a big-bodied bull in an open basin at about 350 yards, a long shot on an animal as big as an elk. And I have used the fastest among them, a 7.82 Warbird to take a big bull at 70 yards in heavy timber. On the former occasion I was using a 180-grain Barnes X; on the latter occasion I was using a 180-grain Nosler Partition.

With today's good bullets, a fast .30 will handle elk under any circumstances, and at any distances near or far. As for mule deer, well, there simply shouldn't be any argument. Under most circumstances you don't need a magnum .30 to hunt mule deer, but if you have one in your hands you can handle any sensible shot at any sensible range.

So the fast .30s are my idea of the best setup for the West's ultimate combo, elk and mule deer. As velocity increases recoil goes up, but cartridges from the .300 H&H on up to the .300 Ultra Mag remain fairly manageable in a rifle weighing perhaps eight pounds. But don't think that having the right rifle will automatically put you in the picture with two great trophies! Neither big elk nor big mule deer come easy under the best of circumstances, and taking the two together on a single hunt is far more difficult than either one separately. The right rifle is important, but the quest also takes careful planning, hard hunting, and more than a bit of luck.

I have been fortunate to take a few darned good mule deer and about an equal number of pretty snazzy elk. I have often been in the woods with both tags in my hand, but I think I should end this discussion with an admission: Although I have been prepared, and I have tried hard, I have never, ever taken both elk and mule deer on the same hunt!