Elk Rifle 270 wsm 300wm 300wsm

[sheep dog]

I have an opportunity to hunt 8 days in Colorado for elk and mulies come October and this will be a first for me on both animals. I have been getting my fitness in order and evaluating my rifle. To the end of the latter I am down to 3 choices and am having trouble deciding.

I have hunted deer and hogs , yotes etc all my life so I am not new to hunting but when trying to decide on a weapon for animals I have no experience with is really bugging me. My thought is with all the effort, time, money and sacrifice I am putting into the prep and hunt I would certainly hate to be stymied with a bull or mulie hanging out at 500 -600 and not have the energy to put him down quick. This has led me to the 270wsm 300wm and 300wsm.

The issue is that when I look up the ballistic chart for remington on all 3 calibers and read the energy and velocity on paper all three are pretty darn close. The 300 and 300wsm shooting a 180 siracoco is reported to have 1762 and 1790 fpe with the 270wsm having 1748 shooting a 150 gr premier accutip. All of these are for 500yards.

1762, 1790 and 1748 all seem pretty close and if that means that they are then the 270wsm would be the ticket with a lighter overall rifle and less recoil. So am I understanding this right? does the mass of the round play more of an role once its inside the animal with a higher Ke to do the job or are they really all this close that it matters not?

 

[sheep dog]

Let me also add that I do reload and would continue doing so for the caliber chosen.

velocity for the three rounds @ 500yards is 270wsm 2291fps - 300wsm 2116fps - 300wmag 2100fps. Agian it appears the 270wsm has the edge over the others If I understand this correctly.

 

[cowboyarcher]

I'd get a 300 Win Mag shooting a 200gr Accubond loaded hot. . . More mass, more energy, great bullet performance. Probably more recoil and will not shoot as flat though. . .

Any of the 3 I'd try and find a gun with a muzzle brake.

 

[varmintH8R]

I have a 300WSM and like it. That said,if I did it over I would go 300WM. I think you get more flexibility in heavier bullet weights, and generally more leeway in OAL vs magazine length (relative to WSMs).

If I intend to shoot past about 350, I quit using flat-shooting as a criteria (within reason). farther than that I'm going to have to dial dope, so as long as I do my job the bullet will do its job.

 

[Jumpalot]

300wm shooting 215 gr. Bergers. I can't wait to try it this year. I also have a 270wsm that shoots really well but it will stay at home when I hunt elk this fall.

 

[FEENIX]

Another vote for the .300 Win Mag loaded with the heaviest bullet your rifle will shoot accurately such as the 200 NAB or the 210/215 Berger VLDs.

If you must go with the .270 WSM, you might want to consider the 165 or 175 VLDs from Matrix, Hopefully, BNG will chime in.

Good luck!

 

[TOM H]

I have an opportunity to hunt 8 days in Colorado for elk and mulies come October and this will be a first for me on both animals. I have been getting my fitness in order and evaluating my rifle. To the end of the latter I am down to 3 choices and am having trouble deciding.

I have hunted deer and hogs , yotes etc all my life so I am not new to hunting but when trying to decide on a weapon for animals I have no experience with is really bugging me. My thought is with all the effort, time, money and sacrifice I am putting into the prep and hunt I would certainly hate to be stymied with a bull or mulie hanging out at 500 -600 and not have the energy to put him down quick. This has led me to the 270wsm 300wm and 300wsm.

The issue is that when I look up the ballistic chart for remington on all 3 calibers and read the energy and velocity on paper all three are pretty darn close. The 300 and 300wsm shooting a 180 siracoco is reported to have 1762 and 1790 fpe with the 270wsm having 1748 shooting a 150 gr premier accutip. All of these are for 500yards.

1762, 1790 and 1748 all seem pretty close and if that means that they are then the 270wsm would be the ticket with a lighter overall rifle and less recoil. So am I understanding this right? does the mass of the round play more of an role once its inside the animal with a higher Ke to do the job or are they really all this close that it matters not?

Till you shoot those three rifles your pretty much speculating on your ballistic chart.

When I decide to hunt same season here (Co) on a buck tag and bull tag my choice is for elk rifle and what ever rifle I decide to use is more than enough for my buck tag. It's been little over 10 yrs now that law was changed up till then if you wanted to hunt deer and elk you had to do it same season.

When nephew decide to hunt same season deer/elk I gave him a 300mag and that's rifle he uses when he comes out here. I hunted few years with Broughton barrel 300WSM kind of missed my 30-338mag so I'm back to that.

You got about 5mos to before season starts you should be getting rifle and start reloading now.

 

[bigngreen]

The odds of an elk knowing the difference between the three are slim to none at 500 yards. From a factory gun with factory ammo I'd buy the 300 Win, the odds are much better you'll find a good heavy bullet for that than the others. The 270 WSM and 300 Win with there best bullets have a very similar effective range, I'd smack a bull at 1000 yards with either one in a heart beat but the 300 win give you a little more energy if loaded to it's best.

 

[kellyz]

My 300 WM still has over 2400 ft-lbs at 500 yards with 180 grain Accubonds and a muzzle velocity of 3200 ft/sec.

 

[skyfish25]

Of your three, I'd be carring the 270 WSM with a 150gr bullet. SST or accubond, put it where it belongs, practice, practice. Be confident in your shot.

I carry a 7mm, and before season I set targets up from 80 yards to 400+. One maybe two shots a day. (After load development and testing).

It really won't matter what of the three you choose if you put the bullet where it belongs. Good luck. Have fun!

 

[sheep dog]

Thanks guys, My season is in 2014 so still a year and 5 months off. After reading several other post and talking to a few friends that elk hunt I am siding with the 270wsm as I will get more use from it in the long run and I want the lighter weapon. I do reload and will be looking at the 165 matrix and the new Berger in 170 the BnG mention in another post.

I plan to use this time to focus on being able to deliver the payload and work out a load for it. I do value the opinions and now believe if I were going to be going after elk regularly the 300wsm would be my choice but I wont be and I like to use my rifle for as much game as possible rather than have several collecting dust.

shane

 

[MontanaRifleman]

The issue is that when I look up the ballistic chart for remington on all 3 calibers and read the energy and velocity on paper all three are pretty darn close. The 300 and 300wsm shooting a 180 siracoco is reported to have 1762 and 1790 fpe with the 270wsm having 1748 shooting a 150 gr premier accutip. All of these are for 500yards.

1762, 1790 and 1748 all seem pretty close and if that means that they are then the 270wsm would be the ticket with a lighter overall rifle and less recoil. So am I understanding this right? does the mass of the round play more of an role once its inside the animal with a higher Ke to do the job or are they really all this close that it matters not?

KE can be a deceptive terminal performance indicator and I shy away from it other than a ball park reference. In determining KE, the velocity is squared and then multiplied by mass over 2, placing a lot greater emphasis on velocity than mass.

It does not take into account the amount of destruction caused by the actual size of the bullet and the permanent wound channel it leaves behind and doesn't give an accurate picture of the bullet's ability to smash bone and penetrate deeply. Momentum is a much better indicator of penetration potential.

For example, would you rather shoot a cape buff with a 50 gr 22 cal bullet with a velocity of 6000 fps (exaggeration) and a KE of 4000 or with a 350 gr 375 cal bullet with a velocity of 2200 fps and a KE of 3700? The 50 gr 22 cal bullet is the obvious choice right?

Not trying to talk you out of the 270. It should do fine to the distances you are talking about, but the 300's will cause more tissue destruction on the elk and smash and penetrate heavy bone better (if needed) when using heavy for cal bullets.

That said, if this was going to be my once- in-a-while elk rifle and mostly used for deer and hogs, I might pick the 270 also... but on the other hand, that's why I have more than one rifle

 

[lloydsmale]

ive got a 300wsm a 300H&H mag a 300 win mag a 300 wby mag and a 300 ultra. If I was to to after elk again which is unlikely as the buget doesnt allow it anymore id take my 300 H&H. Any of them would do the job just as the 270wsm would. The reason id take the holland is just nostalgia. Id feel confindent at out to 400 yards with any of those rifles

 

[sheep dog]

Mountain man you are right on as it does not take into account the size of the wound channel or expansion rates of different heads in relation to the bullets velocity.

I cant see myself shooting past 600 is the most I have worked out too with paper on the range but after reading several post by Bigngreen as well as what others have said to back him up and his 800+ yard kill on video pushed me towards the 270wsm. Further researching the 165 gr matrix and 175gr matrix. Between now and then I will know better my skill with the round.