Which 30 Cal. for elk? (New Member)

[Rogue]

I have a Remington 700 BDL in .300 WM. It will shoot 1.25 MOA with 180 gr Nosler Partion. Even with Balistic Tips I cannot break 1.25. I am planning a complete rebuild and would like advice on long range calibers that will kill Elk out to 1000 yds. Also any build advice would be great.
Thanks

 

[royinidaho]

Welcome aboard.

You're headed for some frustrating & fun times /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Some suggestions on your first question:

First you have enough rifle now as far as caliber goes.

Next you may wish to consider a bit heavier bullet. One with a better BC. These usually won't be the partition bullet.

It'll thump me too much you say? Nah, not with a good muzzle brake, which is another consideration.

If possible move your target for load development out to at least 200 yds. 300 would be better. Added feature is the exercise gained.......

Having said the abouve: I'd start with the rifle you have.

First a good cleaning. Remove all copper and all carbon from chamber to muzzle.

Then I'd get 'er pillar and skim bedded and fully free float the barrel.

Then I'd start load development again.

If the barrel was properly broken in and still doesn't shoot well after all of the above I'd consider the Tubbs Final Finish processas a final step. Don't think one can go wrong with it any time in barrel life of a factory barrel.

Geez, I hope you haven't already thought of all of these things. I feel like a dope, again. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[sewwhat89]

Well, shooting a 300 Tomahawk (300RUMimp) with 240 SMKs at about 3k will net you about 2000 ftlbs at 1k. A 300 WM or WeM shooting a 220 SMK at about 3000fps will get you about 1600 ftlbs at 1k. That is based on 5000 ft ASL. Bullet placement is more important than energy, but if you put the bullet in the right spot with no energy, where are you at then?

These values are quite conservative. DC was/is shooting 190 gr Berger VLDs in his long-barreled 300 Tomahawk at 3600 fps.

Bottom line is, any of the 30 cal mags from 300 WM up will do the trick if you are up to it. Some are just more forgiving with the drifts.

 

[Rogue]

Good advice Roy. I do pratice all of those techniques.

I have been hunting for well over 20 years. My longest shot on an Elk was just under 600 yards. I am a big fan of the 30 cal family but have not kept up with all the new calibers such as the 300 RUM, 7mm RUM or any of the wild cats.

I want a cartridge that shoots sub 1/2 MOA, shoots flat, bucks the wind well and will hit hard out to 1000 yds. I am not limiting my choice to 30 cal.

This will be a hunting rifle that I carry up and down the Colorado mountains.

Thanks again!

 

[sewwhat89]

[ QUOTE ]
Good advice Roy. I do pratice all of those techniques.

I have been hunting for well over 20 years. My longest shot on an Elk was just under 600 yards. I am a big fan of the 30 cal family but have not kept up with all the new calibers such as the 300 RUM, 7mm RUM or any of the wild cats.

I want a cartridge that shoots sub 1/2 MOA, shoots flat, bucks the wind well and will hit hard out to 1000 yds. I am not limiting my choice to 30 cal.

This will be a hunting rifle that I carry up and down the Colorado mountains.

Thanks again!

[/ QUOTE ]

I think a 338 EDGE is your answer then. Search for Shawn Carlock (sp?) and your search is over!

 

[davewilson]

you just need to do 2 things. first,send the gun with a blank check to kirby or Chris or any of the great smiths on here and the gun will be fine.

second, read about 2 hours a day on here for a year and next season you'll be ready to go!

 

[screech]

I kinda had that same agenda. Im having a 338-378 improved being built for this. I hope it shoots good. Its being built by a Highly recomended smith. All the thousand yard guy's I personally know use him. Plus I had a friend buy a 338-378 and all I have is a 300rum, that just wasn't gonna fly. He's threatening to buy a 50. Hope he dosent, if he does one of kirby's 510 am may have to show up on my door step. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Hope this helps

 

[Rogue]

[ QUOTE ]
I kinda had that same agenda. Im having a 338-378 improved being built for this. I hope it shoots good. Its being built by a Highly recomended smith. All the thousand yard guy's I personally know use him. Plus I had a friend buy a 338-378 and all I have is a 300rum, that just wasn't gonna fly. He's threatening to buy a 50. Hope he dosent, if he does one of kirby's 510 am may have to show up on my door step. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Hope this helps

[/ QUOTE ]

Very interesting!! Is it a standard Weatherby 378 necked down to the 338? Did a search on this but not much info. Where can I find more info?? And, would you give more details related to your Rifle.

Thanks

 

[ATH]

It'll depend partially on your personal preferences. Any .30cal I'm familiar with will shoot sub-MOA....gun and shooter typically define group size. You've got some good tips already on what to do with the gun.

While I don't have the inclination to take 1000yd shots at elk, I picked the 300WM for 600yds because I felt it was the largest enjoyable cartidge to shoot WITHOUT a muzzle break (MY personal preference). Frankly I'd be comfortable with it at 1000....extra energy is not bad but you can take horsepower to extremes too.

 

[Rogue]

I have spent the past two evenings read the info within this board. Wow!! I have a lot to consider and alot to learn before I build such a rifle.

If you could answer just a few more questions:

Where can I find balistic comparisons on the 30-378 cartridges and the 338-378 cartridges?

Is Krieger a good barrel maker? No, then who?

Who makes the best range finder (1000 yds+)?

Thanks

 

[Supermag]

From everything I've heard and read, the best rangefinder at 1000+ is the Swarovski, then Leica, then Bushnell.

 

[Buffalobob]

Some good barrels

Kreiger
Rock
Broughton
Lilja
Spencer
Schnieder

I have a Lilja and a Spencer.

Critical issue is what the smith does with a good barrel. You will need a gunsmith who understands long range hunting and knows what barrel with what twist will go with what bullet and can put a good chamber that barrel. A good smith will deliver a gun that shoots less than 0.5 MOA.


Unless you are just in the mood for a custom gun, I would recommend you take Roy's advice and see what you can coax out of your factory gun.

 

[screech]

its the 338-378 blown out with a 37.5 degree shoulder and some of the taper taken out.