.260 on elk

[shooterpunk2]

Hey guys, I've heard from people on here that with the 140 grain Amax or berger, that the .260 Remington is a 1,000 yard deer rifle. What about elk? At what distance would the .260 be effective on elk out to?

 

[P KUNDA]

If not hoping for a lucky "bone free shot" a half of that.

500 yards.

Peter

 

[jwp475]

500 yards, are you sure of that?

 

[kcebcj]

The 260 Rem. is just to light for mature bulls in my opinion and at 500 yards the shot would have to be absolutely perfect.

 

[P KUNDA]

I agree the .260 is light

But if a 140/2750/.56BC was used it would have still over 2050fps and 1300fp of energy at 500 yards. Personally I wouldn't use the .260 full stop, but the figures are about the minimum limit what many hunters do use. Is it enough? I don't know for sure as I've never tried it. I know many who would argue, that's plenty.

Peter

 

[shooterpunk2]

Thanks for the responses guys. Im just trying to figure out what caliber of rifle i want to build. Im trying to decide between the .260 or 300wm. I just liked the idea of the lighter recoil with the .260, but obviously the 300wm would be superior in terms of energy. Thanks again.

 

[CapDog]

A mature bull elk can be a tough animal to put down. That being said shot placement is the key. I load the 130gr Accubond in the wife's 6.5X55, but then again she doesn't shoot past 300yards. I'm just in the process of having my .260AI built up and I wouldn't feel undergunned shooting the same bullet out to 500yards, but only if I selected my shot carefully. For example I probably wouldn't have tried the hard 1/4'ng away shot I did last season using my 325WSM which is my prefered rifle when hunting the bigger animals.

 

[jwp475]

FPE is not a reliable way to predict the therminal performance of a cartridge. Frontal are, mass, and momentum or for better in this reguard.
Example the pictures below are exits in the rib cage of a 6X7 Bull Elk (both exits are in the rib cage of the same Elk)
The first picture is the exit of a 180 grain bullet with an impact velocity of 2600 FPS for 2700 FPE

The next picture is the exit from a 440 grain flat point hard cast bullet with a muzzle velocity of 950 FPS and 882 FPE

It is clear from the picutre that FPE did not rank the destructiveness of the 2 different rounds in the proper order.

I have killed Deer with the 45 ACP cartidge, with very satisfing results and many will say that it doesn't have enough FPE, yet the results speak for themselves..

 

[kcebcj]

The Win 300 mag would be an excellent carry rifle for elk and mule deer compared to the .260. Recoil is quite manageable and for most not a problem.

 

[P KUNDA]

.300WM over .260 anytime

The recoil of 300WM is nothing, even my 75 years old father shoots 375HH 300SPBT/2630fps without any problem.
Never think of a recoil and you'll never feel it. With 300WM anyway.

Peter

 

[Tracer]

I know the .260 caliber is a great light caliber for big game but I personally would not choose such a weapon to hunt mature bull elk on a hunt. Most of these animals weigh in at 750 to 900 pounds and that is not your average whitetail or mulie buck wight. They also have a great want to live after being hit and are tough to bring down period. I like more bullet weight and more kinetic energy as well, something with a larger wound channel also. My favorite elk caliber is a .338 Win mag using 225 grain premium bullet!

The .260 will certainly kill an elk but I feel the max yardage should be kept to around 250 yards using a 140 grain bullet and 300 yards using a 160 grain bullet. Once again bullet choice would be wise for the hunter to choose a good bonded or premium bullet. Elk are big animals and I have never seen one go flop to the ground after the first shot.

 

[hvyw8t]

This is just my opinion but the 260 is not a long range elk rifle. Mature bulls are just as tough as they are big. You put a 140 grain bullet in the wrong place at 400+ yards and he is going to run a LONG LONG way. Just not enough sectionial density or knock down power. One of finest elk calibers around that is still a ***** cat to shoot is a plain jane 338 winchester mag. Heavy timber, use a 250 premium bullet of your liking, open country use a 225 accubond. I am not saying magnums make up for **** poor shooting but they sure put elk down when they hit there mark.

 

[jwp475]

Real Long Range Elk medicine is a big 338 Laupa. Rum, Edge, AM, etc) with the 300 grain SMK..

 

[linksmechanic]

I wouldn't go anything under 7mm for elk.