RE: Long Range Elk Gun
 

I'd go with a bigger bore... .338 mag please!

RE: Long Range Elk Gun
 

I will start with my Rem 300 saum then pick the 300 wsm. You can load my 300 saum with a 180 gr bullet at speeds up to just over 3000 fps so that should do the trick at 400-500 yds.

RE: Long Range Elk Gun
 

You cant be serious...
andwhy use a light weight 180gr bullet in a 338, you loose all the advantage that a 338 gives...

RE: Long Range Elk Gun
 

300gr in a .338? thought the max was 275gr ?

RE: Long Range Elk Gun
 

as far as the .270 wsm at 500 yds etc.....vs a .338 win mag.....sure I can believe that, but compared to a .338 RUM or .340 wby how does it compare? let me check....

270 WSM at 500 Yards 150Grain- Speed = 2213 Energy = 1631 Drop = -34.7 (copied from above)

.340 wby 225gr --- speed = 2100fps ------ energy = 2200 ft lbs ----- drop, cant really be compared since....wby centers at 300yds, least not easily....

Though numbers dont always tell the facts, I think in africa this has been proven and proven, sometimes 500grs with less energy is better than 300grs with more.....

also i would think a 225 or 250gr bullet would penetrate better at 500yds than a 150gr bullet. though now were talking section densities, ballistic coefficients..etc.....

also 150grs isnt' exactly a big elk bullet.......i tend to think a 300 mag with 180 is kidna ideal, but 225 or 250gr is awesome! so ya comparing 150gr to 225/250grs

coruse pick whatever you like, I just think overwhelmingly many beleive a .338 as the ultimate long range elk rifle. not necessarily the flatters, fastest, most eneergy, but thy do well in all.

personally love the bigger .338s, .338 win mag is a great all around, but the .338 RUM and .340wby are just awesome, long range, very fast, very powerful! maybe more of a BIG all around/ dangerous game .338 than the .338win mag is a all around.

RE: Long Range Elk Gun
 

Nope Sierra makes a 300 grain match king. It has a sectional density of .375 and a BC of .768.

It can be hand laoded and fired from any of the 338'sI listed at 2800+fps.


We are talking about long range. 500 yards isn't long range. To some, myself included,it is much farther than we would shoot but it isn't truely long range. 500 yards is at the very beginning of true long range. And since we are talking about real long range you can throw the .338 win mag right out the window. See my first post.




A 150 grain,Hornady SST.270 bullet fired at 3100 fps will have 1100 foot pounds of KE left at 800 yards and 810 at 1000 yards.

A 250 grain, HornadyBTHP .338 bullet fired at3000 fps will have 2200 foot pounds of KE left at 800 yards and 1750 at 1000 yards.
The same bullet fired at 3100 fps will have 2375 foot pounds of Ke at 800 yards and 1900 at 1000 yards.



Watch the videos, this is long range hunting and if you are targeting elk you had better have a heavy bullet fired at high velocity so that ithas enough retainedenergy when it gets there.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cCyTRzL5AAQ

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ssh8Vsbvn2A&feature=related

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_6rKgL75POo&feature=related

http://youtube.com/watch?v=np3NthiI-VE&feature=related

RE: Long Range Elk Gun
 

What you mean by "long range"?? IF I were to select a cartridge for truly LONG RANGE elk shooting, (over 600 yards!! it would be: (top three)

1. 50 BMG
2. .338/378 Weatherby
3. .338 Lapua Magnum

The 270 WSM's factory figures may show more enrgy than the .338 Win. mag. at 500 yards. But such figues can be misleading! A good 250-grain .338 bullet is going to do more damage than one weighing half that much, and having half the frontal area of the .338. For example, big-bore black powder riflesshow relatively low kinetic energy levels, but they kill much better than smallbores that show much higher KE figures. This is because the 'foot-pounds KE formula uses the square of the velocity-a .220 Swift, for exmaple, shows a pretty impressive KE level, but if the bullet blows up on impact, it wil not kill big animals..........

RE: Long Range Elk Gun
 

I feel FT lbs Momentum are a more accurate measure of overall terminal performance than KE. I feel this especially true on larger game like elk. Whencomparing the 270 WSM to the 338 WM based on the FT/LBS Momentum a very different picture develops. I will also compare relatively close BC bullets which was not done in the 270 WSM/338 WM comparison

500Yards Momentum KE Drop Wind Drift
338 WM 225 Grain Accubond65.22055 42.616.6
270WSM 150 Grain Nosler Partition45.961532 36 17.4

Thats a 41% edge in ft/lbs Momentum for the 338.The WSMhas an edge in drop but not terminal performance.

Keep in mind that the vast majority of elk are killed above 7000 ft elevation. That means it is much harder for the WSM to close the initial KE gap of 700 LBS KE that the 338 has over the 270 in most real hunting situations.

RE: Long Range Elk Gun
 

I figured I would catch flack for voting for the 270 WSM..But I like that caliber and personally I would never shoot more than about 400 yards with any caliber.. Just Don't feel comfortable with anything farther than that.. So for my preference the 270 WSM would be fine. In fact I was suprised to see the numbers were better than the 338 at 180 Grains (which I picked simply becuause the 150 in the WSM and 180 in 338 where as close to comparable numbers as I could get). Do I think the 270 WSM could kill an elk at 800 Yds? Yes.. Is it the best choice, Probably not.. But for my shooting limits (400 yds) is would be just fine..

RE: Long Range Elk Gun
 

I see a few people typing about shooting at 600-800 yards and wonder why. Most hunters prefer to stalk as close as possible and few shoot much past 200-300 yards.