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He has a valid point. Why not tell the op it's overkill, a 6br will get there with great accuracy
I can't wait to get my 375 Cheytac build rolling for long distance elk communication! I'm sure there's plenty on here that gawk at the thought of using artillery for elkLove it when someone asks about taking a long range shot in a hunting situation on a long range hunting site and folks almost seem like they are trying to talk him down.
Now to the OP: the reason they are trying to talk you out of it is because of your rookie question, here's what it sounds like from the receiving end of that question: "Should I use a ballistically inferior cartridge to shoot at large heavily constructed animals at extreme long ranges?"
Now to really get things going, I wouldn't want either of those. I try to plan worst case scenario, and if I were to intentionally set up for a 1200 yard shot on an elk I would want something more substantial...like my .375 Snipetac and an appropriate bullet. The .338's pushing the 300's at a decent speed (as mentioned by a few) would be my minimum. Will a 7mm of sort kill an elk at that range, sure it will but you are pushing it (my opinion of course). One of your biggest assets at those ranges and on live targets is gonna be a spotter, and a darn good one. You ever try to see trace at those distances (and with a little 7mm bullet), or spot impacts on fur or in vegetation (and with a little 7mm bullet)? Your quest is doable, and it sounds like you have a solid year to execute. Good luck!
Let's recap:
I reminded everyone its a LR hunting site, in a nice way told the OP it wasn't a very good question, probably stirred up a few 7mm fans, and said a minimum of .338 was need on elk for longer ranges. Did I miss anyone?
First one to say anything about the 6.5CM gets ignored.
Now that I've poked just about everyone I think I'll go wake the wife up prematurely so that this day really gets started in jerk fashion.
I've never had the pleasure to hunt with an XC or cheytac but I'm sure it hits an animal with authority. I would feel far more confident in taking a long shot with something that had the energy to do the job.
I have three 7mm rem mags & one Stw. My overall length on the stw is about 3.8 inches and took alot of doing to get it in a factory 700 magazine. I absolutely love the stw and will probably never own a 28 nosler cause I've got the stw figured out, buy I would recommend the 28 nosler to someone who didn't want to deal with a lot of mods to get an stw to fit in the magazine. The stw & 28 nosler should max out in pressure pretty close to each other. And should be able to hit the same nodes. I really like the 7mm rem mag as well but I figure it would be safer to limit it to 700-800 yards on elk. You will find folks who have killed elk beyond that with the rem mag. 700-800 yds would be my personal limit. I'm not going to criticize anyone who has successfully took it farther than that, my hats off to them.
With the right bullets it can be dramatic. I've shot animals with a .408 Cheytac that I was less than happy with the results, and these were marketed as hunting bullets. Extremely accurate and really high BC, just not the terminal I would want.
Congrats, and agree with the premise that for the Extreme LR distances (900 plus) the 7mm is not optimal on larger game like elk! Also, as you know from your experience and practice with your rifle systems, all 1200 yard shots are not equal...depending on geographical and environmental conditions presented with at the time of the shot opportunity. We practice shooting across a canyon up to a mile a lot, with our 7mm barrels and first round impacts are hard to achieve. 900-950 on a 12 inch plate is much higher % of first round hits. One day I may build a .338 to extend the effective reach some!! Congrats again on your success this season!
