240 SMK, H50BMG powder, 300RUM...anyone?

[buffalorancher]

I shot quite a few antlerless whitetails last year with the 240 SMK in my 300 AX. The bullet shoots well and I can get 3150 FPS but I am not overly confident with it's performance. I never recovered a bullet from 50 yds. out to 1100 if I remember correctly but every deer ran some distance and in one case 100 yards in thick cover. Every deer was recovered but I think I'm going to try a Berger 210 or Accubond on my upcoming elk hunt.

[jmden]

buff rancher,

By not recovering a bullet do you mean that they were pass throughs or that they blew up inside? Just curious. I've only shot two elk with them--a cow at 450 and a spike bull at about 60yds. On the cow first shot was through the engine room and it exited taking out a section of rib with it on the way out. She was still moving upright and walking, though stumbling, a couple of seconds later so I put another into her hitting at the neck/chest juction. She moved maybe 5-7 yards from first hit. It exited as well and she went down immediately at that point. The little bull took one pretty much straight on in the chest--he made it about 10 yds and that was it. Bullet did not exit and his chest cavity organs were pretty much jellied. Did not recover bullet, but wasn't looking for it as darkness was coming on and was by myself and wanted to the get the 'job' done quickly.

[buffalorancher]

I never recovered any of them as they all passed through. I've shot a lot of deer with a 107 SMK in my 6-284 and they will explode out to 7-800 yards but the 240 is a completely different beast. We have a small food plot/green field that has produced a lot of deer and it has a decent shooting spot at 300 yards. Sometimes I carry an old Rem M700 in 300 Wby that shoots the factory Remington ammo I bought from a going out of business sale very well. All 5 or 6 deer I shot on the green field at 300 yards with the Rem. were bang flop and every deer with the 240 SMK ran including a small yearling. Not long range or very scientific but it is what it is. My elk license is a once-in-a-lifetime Nebraska bull tag so I don't want to take any chances so I am going to shoot some Berger 210's and 200 Accubond's today. The 240 is a big bullet and it may work well but I'm not completely convinced.

[AKGuide]

I use 92 grains of h50bmg to push the 240 at 2907. I went to 94 grains with no pressure signs and an average of 2950. I could have went higher but I get an ES of 1 and it flat out shoots out of my 28" pacnor at 92 so I let it be.