Bullet choice

[tayhot]

My 338 rum shoots the 300 gr Bergers very well. This rifle will be used mostly for elk and has a huskemaw scope waiting to get ballistics for the turret. I am slightly concerned about Bergers performance on game. Should I wait for the 300gr accubond to come out or just hunt with the bergers?

guess to simplify my question, do you think the 300 gr Bergers will perform on elk reliably?

 

[Derek M.]

My 338 rum shoots the 300 gr Bergers very well. This rifle will be used mostly for elk and has a huskemaw scope waiting to get ballistics for the turret. I am slightly concerned about Bergers performance on game. Should I wait for the 300gr accubond to come out or just hunt with the bergers?

guess to simplify my question, do you think the 300 gr Bergers will perform on elk reliably?

The berger will kill an elk, no question. just keep in mind the type of performance you'll get with the berger v. the accubond are night and day different.

The berger "explodes" for a lack of a better description, as where the AB will hold together and blow through, but does not have the BC the Berger has.

 

[Derek M.]

I realize this is only one representation but if a 140 Berger VLD can kill a bull elk at 925, my best guess is that a 300 gr Berger is adequate:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4o6n6rRlQs]Jeremy 925 yard elk! - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Broz]

We took Elk with them this year as well as a good Muley and some speed goats. Every single one was a complete pass through. Even at 500 yards. My wifle took hers at 816 yds with my 338 LM. We like them. All one shot and down no tracking required at all. There are several other members here that took elk with the 300 Bergers too.

Jeff

 

[D.ID]

It is still a 300 grain bullet. It ought to kill about anything.

 

[tayhot]

Thanks for your thoughts. My big concern was with some of the bad wrap I have heard and the fact these bullets aren't the hunting grade, they are the match grade. Is there not much difference between the two?

 

[grit]

The match bullets have thicker jackets to handle extreme velocity. They are still very effective terminally.

 

[sp6x6]

Tayhot, What have you shot elk w/ before? Probably not a 300 gr. sledge hammer.That rifle will have 3400 + E @ 500, might be a average shot for you, has almost 1500 E @ 1500, IT IS A monster.This is the type of damage it does.

 

[grit]

Okay, I've been biting my tongue since I first read this. All the 338 hype.... Now we have folks wondering if the 338 Berger is enough for elk. HOLY*&^$!!

The bullet is a small missile. If you want to hunt elephant, wait for the Accubond.

No offense intended !!

 

[tayhot]

I didn't mean my question to sound like a 300gr bullet was enough. I have heard stories, some on this forum, about how elk shot with Bergers were wounded and so on and so on. If that is the case, should I wait for the ab? My understanding was that the match bullets either weren't expanding or they were too brittle.

The bad talk of Bergers just got the best of me

 

[sp6x6]

Okay, I've been biting my tongue since I first read this. All the 338 hype.... Now we have folks wondering if the 338 Berger is enough for elk. HOLY*&^$!!

The bullet is a small missile. If you want to hunt elephant, wait for the Accubond.

No offense intended !!

YAH!! Gota laugh, both my son and I STARTED are elk hunting with the 243 win, and we both shot 5pt. for first elk. I have a 7mmRM FOR BOY TO move up to and he went straight to 340 @15, then he took my Norma and got first game w/ it. Kinda like his style

 

[grit]

I didn't mean my question to sound like a 300gr bullet was enough. I have heard stories, some on this forum, about how elk shot with Bergers were wounded and so on and so on. If that is the case, should I wait for the ab? My understanding was that the match bullets either weren't expanding or they were too brittle.

The bad talk of Bergers just got the best of me

Tayhot, I really didn't intend to poke fun in any way. If you don't know, you gotta ask. It is simply amusing to me. Every time someone mentions elk there is a heated small vs large caliber debate.

I favor mild mannered efficient cartridges. The big 338 300 grainers are awesome. I put my bullets in the chest cavity, and the 338's make that no easier until you pass the 1500 yard mark.

The Berger vs controlled expansion bullets is another endless debate. The 300's are so big it hardly matters how they behave. To answer your question, the big Bergers are superbly accurate and deadly effective.

Please pardon my humor, it really wasn't meant to be at your expense.

 

[tayhot]

No offense taken

 

[Outlaw6.0]

That's a heck of a hole in that goat! makes me >
SP, What was the range on that feller?

OP, there is always going to be a debate & lots of conjecture regarding Bergers (or Barnes, or Nosler, or Sierra) performance on game.... Sometimes bullets fail... a lot of times shooters fail, a poorly placed 300 grain Berger isn't going to be much more effective that an poorly placed 300SMK or 285 LRX or 300 Accu-bomb... Place any of the above bullets in the right place & there WILL be venison on the table. The BC of the Berger should make it a little easier when the range gets LONG...gun)

Give'em a whirl, you just might be surprised!