300 Win Mag.........................Perfect for Elk?

[Greg Duerr]

I have yet to settle on my next rifle build and I know that nothing is perfect. I first settled on a Cooper Mdl 52 Excaliber in .280AI 168gr Berger close to 3,000fps

Then after realizing that with practice and good equipment shots at 600 yards are possible...........I have been considering the 300 Win Mag.
I used a borrowed 300 some years ago to hunt ELk with. It had a MB on it and the recoil did not bother me at all. I finished that hunt with a lot of respect for Elk, like I mentioned before my bull took a 180gr right behind the shoulder, broke the far shoulder and still he went 100 yards before looking back and then going down. The Remington 700 was not much heavyer than my .243

For those who know..............without having to look up all the info right now, does the 300 Win Mag have a lot more going for it than a .280 AI ..........I realize that there is the aspect of shooting a heavier bullet. It appears the the .280 with the 168 Berger has a lot going for it also. According to Darrel Holland he mentioned on his Web sight that the .280 is very close to the 300 in performance. 32gr more of bullet weight................with a 200gr can make a big difference.?
I need a little pushing in the right direction. Mentally I would feel better with a 300 on an Elk hunt, and would have a huge edge in reach on Deer when I get to the place where I would feel confident shooting out to 600 yards. Do the the bigger bullets in the 300 offer a lot more in SD and BC over the 168 .284?

I should mention it more ...............I do appreciate all the feed back you guy give, your field experiance means a lot more than balliistic tables.

Greg

 

[FEENIX]

Between the .280 AI and .300 Win Mag, I'd go with the .300 Win Mag loaded with the heaviest bullet/highest BC that your rifle shoots accurately.

The .280 AI can equal or close to the 7MM Mag performance, some might even exceed it. My hunting buddy has a Wby MKV in 7MM Mag and wants to get a .300 Win Mag for elk. He doesn't reload or have any desire to. He max range is 500 yards. I told him his rifle has plenty of energy for his intended purpose and I use the chart below (with the exception of the .270 AI, all factory load data).

My unwritten rule is 1500 FT-LBS of energy and 1800 FPS minimum at target impact for elk ... but shot placement is still the key.

Look at Jeff's (BROZ) posts about his .300 Win Mag successes with the Berger 210, 215, and 230. Hopefully he'll chime in.

 

[Broz]

Lets just look at what my 300 win did last season with 215 Berger Hybrids. 19 big game kills, 200 yards to 1285 yards, 3 I can think of over 900 yards, all one shot kills, no tracking. I just told a friend the other day, for hunting out to 1000 for elk, 1300 for deer and antelope, there is really nothing else I will ever need. Shooters from 12 yrs old, to 80, ladies as small as 110 lbs have filled their tags. Never a comlaint about recoil and all love shooting the rifle.

The 215 Hybrid at 3000 fps is the cats meow for this chambering.

Jeff

Details are in this long thread. But a true testiment of what a 11 1/2 lb 300 win can do.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/comparing-berger-210-vld-215-hybrid-88657/

My 2012 Bull

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f86/my-2012-bull-100376/

My wife using the 300 win.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f86/powderpuff-elk-hunt-diane-scores-again-101951/

My Longest kill with the 300 win.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f116/made-my-longest-poke-antelope-today-100248/

 

[newmexkid]

I hunted quite a few years for elk while living in Wyoming. The only bullet I ever used was a 165 gr. Trophy Bonded in my 300 Win mag. The elk hated it!!

 

[mtnwrunner]

Ask elk guides what they would like to see their hunters use and it won't be a 7mm.

Randy

 

[25 Otter]

I've heard that. I've also heard they don't recommend bringing a 300 mag unless you are actually capable of shooting it accurately. I don't put much stock in what elk guides say regarding rifles. They have to base their recommendations on the average John Q. Public they don't know from the Pope. Anyone can talk a good game on the phone making hunt arrangements. The guide has to assume there is a certain amount of gilding the lily on the part of the hunter. Now,when elk guides talk about Elk,I'm all ears. A good friend of mine guided elk and deer for 13 years in Colorado. When he talks I listen. On the other hand I've forgotten more about rifles than he'll ever know. He hasn't spent 40 years being a gun nut. Him telling me what to bring to camp for rifles is like me telling him how to call elk. Doesn't make any sense.

 

[mtnwrunner]

Well, of course they are going to want their client to shoot a rifle accurately. All I am saying is that (they) "generally" recommend to shoot a heavier caliber. Don't want to start a debate about calibers but the 300 win mag is a FINE elk caliber and I would choose to shoot it over a 7mm. But, hey, that's just me................

Randy

I've heard that. I've also heard they don't recommend bringing a 300 mag unless you are actually capable of shooting it accurately. I don't put much stock in what elk guides say regarding rifles. They have to base their recommendations on the average John Q. Public they don't know from the Pope. Anyone can talk a good game on the phone making hunt arrangements. The guide has to assume there is a certain amount of gilding the lily on the part of the hunter. Now,when elk guides talk about Elk,I'm all ears. A good friend of mine guided elk and deer for 13 years in Colorado. When he talks I listen. On the other hand I've forgotten more about rifles than he'll ever know. He hasn't spent 40 years being a gun nut. Him telling me what to bring to camp for rifles is like me telling him how to call elk. Doesn't make any sense.

 

[25 Otter]

I'll be toting one (300 win mag) in an LSS M700 this fall. Got her shooting in the .6s with 180gr TTSX. I'm with you on the merits of the Win mag for elk.

 

[mtnwrunner]

Yup, me too. Brand new build and 215 berger. Man, I can hardly wait. I see you are in PA---where you headed??

Randy

 

[25 Otter]

We hunt unit 67 SW of Gunnison. If we camp in the same spot this year we'll be halfway between Old Agency and Porcupine Gulch. Just beyond McDonough Reservoir. We took one bull out of there in 2011,and hope to do a little better this fall.

 

[Greyfox]

I'm an avid 6.5x284 shooter and have shot the 7's quite a bit as well. They will get the job done on elk with good shot placement out to 500 yards, but I think there is a noticeable difference in killing power with a heavy, high BC bullet out of the 300WM, with the ability to double the range. With a brake my 300WM has about the same recoil and shootability as my 6.5x284 but my 300WM long range rifle runs about 4-5 pounds heavier than my 10# 6.5's. Probably doesn't have to be, but for really long range I like the stable platform. This is the reason why I much prefer the 6.5 or 7's for medium game out to 1000 yards, elk to 500, particularly if I'm carrying the rifle a lot.

 

[Michael Courtney]

I think so, with a heavy, high BC bullet (G1 BC > 0.600 or G7 BC > 0.300).

With 165 to 180 grain bullets, the .300 WM does not significantly outperform other calibers.

Me and my crew really need a brake to shoot the .300 well.

Be sure to site the rifle in at a higher elevation. Long range ballistics at 10000 ft is a lot different than shooting ranges at 0 to 5000 ft, and (depending on the details), ballistic calculators don't give the whole story.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

I think so, with a heavy, high BC bullet (G1 BC > 0.600 or G7 BC > 0.300).

With 165 to 180 grain bullets, the .300 WM does not significantly outperform other calibers.

Me and my crew really need a brake to shoot the .300 well.

Be sure to site the rifle in at a higher elevation. Long range ballistics at 10000 ft is a lot different than shooting ranges at 0 to 5000 ft, and (depending on the details), ballistic calculators don't give the whole story.

Mike, very few LRH shooters are using anything under 190grains in the 300wm. The only viable 180 I can think of is the Cutting Edge with a G1 of just under .600 IIRC.... If you bump up in weight to the 208, 210, 215, 225, & 230 you start to see a significant difference in down range performance. Some of these gents are getting incredible velocity from the heavies.

The big bullets do thump more on both ends, a good brake is near paramount. For a +15lb rifle, there will be no snap shots here (at least for me). Worring about hearing protection as some do, it a moot point in my eyes. YMMV

As stated back in the ole days of drag racing "There is no replacement for displacement".


t

 

[Tikkamike]

With elk Diameter and weight are your friends. bigger the better