spd522

I am headed to CO for a cow elk hunt next month. My 300 Win Mag loves 150 gr bullets and will shoot slightly over 1/2" groups all day. It does fair with 180s and 200s are embarassing.

My current load is a 150 Nosler Partition in front of 70 gr of IMR4350. It has chronographed out at 3170 fps. I can load it faster but it is so accurate at this speed I don' t mess with it.

I realize bigger is better and you really can' t be too heavy. However, I am very confident in the rifle with this load. Proper bullet placement has not been a problem with this setup.

Is the 150 Partition enough for elk given the other factors?

BeaverJack

For a cow, its ok. Any less of a bullet at that weight an' speed I' d be worried. You still might git a blowup. A 165 might be the happy medium. I rely on 180 NPs myself. They ain' t failed me yet. I usually git complete penetration. I don' t like finding pieces of my bullet all over. Makes me worry about next time. I say try the 165s. You also don' t need 1/2" accuracy. Chances are, you won' t have field conditions to mimic that level. 1-1/2" accuracy is all you need for the odd 250 yard shot off a pack or down tree. I like my bullets like my wimmin, heavy an' only fast enough to git the job done right.

handloader1

I like to use heavy bullets, but if you don' t have time to work another load go with what you have. Good luck.

noway

If you have time work up a load with the 180 partitions at 3100 fps(24" barrel).
Give you much more margin for error and more power if you need to take a longer shot. I prefer the 200gr partition for elk.
With the 200gr sighted 1" low at 300 yards, I am 12" low at 400, 30" low at 500. This gives me a 100 yard sight in of 4" high. I have never shot at a bull more than 150 yards away but it is good to be prepared for that once in a lifetime opportunity at a monster bull on public land unguided if it should happen to be at long range.
A good sized bull is appx. 30" top of back to bottom of chest, that is a big target. 1/2" accuracy is not required, lots of power with a good bullet is.

Given a good broadside opportunity the 150 will work fine, with a marginal angle you will wish you had more bullet.

Howler

Should be good to go. Put the bullet where it belongs and bring home the bacon, I mean venison!

BeaverJack

What in sam hill you howlin' ' bout? A 150 from a 270 is marginal, an' its got much better sexual density than a .308. Yall need to watch a few more big bulls drop, or chase a few more blood trails by flashlight afor you start peckin' on yer keyboard.

spd522

Thanks for the responses. I also did some research and checked numerous other posts and answers related to elk guns and ammo.

I have read all the positive responses from those shooting a 270, 7mm08, 7 mag, and 30.06 that have such excellent luck. My choice has a better trajectory, SD, and energy than these other cartridges that do so well. I will be just fine with my selection.

BeaverJack

Do so well? You seen enuff elk drop from each of those rounds to say that? I' ll tell you stories that will make yer skin craw ' bout some of those rounds loaded wrong fer wapiti. An' why make trajectory the prime factor in choosin' a bullet to take down a mighty animal like wapiti? You goin' poppin' off at 500 yards? If so, you ain' t huntin' , not by my book anyhoo. At reasonable huntin' ranges a 180 won' t make a hill of beans differnce in trajectory. I seen plenty of fellers who ain' t shot ' cept at shootin' ranges an' ain' t got any learnin' cept what magazines tell ' em. They' re the ones allasy lookin' for a rest when a bull shows up at 30 yards or cain' t see a herd of elk crossin' a hill at daybreak no matter how I point it out to ' em. Wapiti is a tuff-ass animal who don' t jus' lay down an die when he sees blaze orange. You gotta poke him straight thru both shoulders to anchor him, an' while yer bullet is well-designed, there' s much better choices in that caliber an' " trajectory" jus' ain' t a prime consideration.

noway

spd,
Sounds like you have made up your mind but I just wanted to throw in again.
You are looking at the wrong numbers.
And I assure you a 150gr 30 cal bullet does not have a higher SD than a 150gr 270 cal,
a 150gr 7m-08 or a 180gr 30-06 (the educated hunters bullet weight choices for elk in those calibers).
Trajectory and energy figures (within reason) don' t mean much on an elk. It is all about bullet construction and penetration and where you shoot the animal.
You are lucky enough to have what some consider the perfect caliber for elk, hunting why handicap yourself by not using the proper weight bullet? Be all you can be!

When people say elk are tough it is not an exageration.
I killed a 6 point wounded bull a couple years ago that a guy had shot a mile away from where I was. This bull had run a mile and was still going with a shot through the antler one in the stomach and the entire right rear hip joint and quarter destroyed from two shots from the rear. There was also a glancing shot through the front left shoulder which I imagine was the first shot but it was a little far forward and obviously from an bad angle.
Then the guy who had shot it 4 times didn' t even come looking for it. Hard to say for sure but from looking at the bullets I found I think he was using a .270.
Good luck on your hunt either way.

Howler

Well, I guess I have only DROPPED 10 elk using my little pee shooter of a .270. I even made sure I pumped it all 10 times. Shess, you guys act like it takes a elephant gun to kill elk. Put the bullet where it belongs, and the 150 grain nosler bullet does quite well. Big guns with big bullets don' t make up for the lack of ability to shoot well.