Best Caliber...

[osprey]

So that morning I shot the cow in the head at 35ryds I had a 2.850" long cased 220 gr bullet from an 8mm Rem Magnum; I fully expected that bullet to go thru the head it did not.
At 600 yrds a 6.5 Creedmore 143 eldx will take .79 seconds to get to an elk(308 will take .85s)
A lot can happen in .79s
The 35yrd cow in .79s could have whirled and been gone, but I was at 35yrds.
An elk at 600yrds can do a lot in that time(horsefly,squirrel spooks,gets up if it was laying down,another elk moves into the hit Zone) my point with reaction time on the trigger seeing this or not;; might be even 1 second and the shot hits less than perfect , elk runs off while you try to cover 600yrds in a sprint.
Elk dies slowly or?
At 600yrds I would need a very good front and back rest, a lot can happen.
Oh the 6.5 creed has 1154 ftlbs energy and if there was just a 10 mph wind that bullet is moved 22.45" off at 90 degrees from target line , it might be less.

Farthest I have shot elk in open timber hunting area I hunt was about 125yrds.
I have seen elk at near 600yrds in an open snow field but the downward angle was 25 degrees about; not measured nor was the yardage. ?

At 35yds a 220gr bullet didn't exit? Let me guess, sierra game king? I know it wasn't a barnes or any type of bonded bullet.

 

[turq]

It was Remington core-lok about all there was for off the shelf 8mm Rem Mag.
Bullet deflected down near side of spine; again just from memory 12" maybe 16"
Edit: 2,965 FPS and 4,300 ft-lbs
Bullets do strange things out there; like trying to go thru snow covered branches.
I read that somewhere.

 

[bbbass]

It was Remington core-lok about all there was for off the shelf 8mm Rem Mag.
Bullet deflected down near side of spine; again just from memory 12" maybe 16"

8mm Rem mag was listed. I used one at 35 yrds 225 Rem core lock shot her just below the ear opening, 90 degrees/ broadside as she poked her head out from behind a 4' at the butt hemlock.
Bullet turned her 90 degrees and down.Three foot circle of blood at her head, she bled out completely.
****Found the smashed bullet 16" from her ear down the near side of her spine.
???

Bullets can and often will do strange things. I've used a LOT of CoreLokt and never had a problem.

 

[bbbass]

The original poster of this thread wanted to know the best caliber to shoot an elk at 600 yards. Although there isn't really a definitive answer I fail to see how a 35 yard shot is a good example. It's kinda like saying I killed one with a rock so if you throw one hard enough you can use a rock. Even though the statement is true it's really a piss pore example.

Chill.

No_Regerts and I were discussing 8mm Rem Mag and I took this member's comment as one being more in line with a WTF on the 8mm than a story about short range shooting. So it's a bit off topic.... chill.

 

[tac]

 

[GKPrice]

So that morning I shot the cow in the head at 35ryds I had a 2.850" long cased 220 gr bullet from an 8mm Rem Magnum; I fully expected that bullet to go thru the head it did not.
At 600 yrds a 6.5 Creedmore 143 eldx will take .79 seconds to get to an elk(308 will take .85s)
A lot can happen in .79s
The 35yrd cow in .79s could have whirled and been gone, but I was at 35yrds.
An elk at 600yrds can do a lot in that time(horsefly,squirrel spooks,gets up if it was laying down,another elk moves into the hit Zone) my point with reaction time on the trigger seeing this or not;; might be even 1 second and the shot hits less than perfect , elk runs off while you try to cover 600yrds in a sprint.
Elk dies slowly or?
At 600yrds I would need a very good front and back rest, a lot can happen.
Oh the 6.5 creed has 1154 ftlbs energy and if there was just a 10 mph wind that bullet is moved 22.45" off at 90 degrees from target line , it might be less.

Farthest I have shot elk in open timber hunting area I hunt was about 125yrds.
I have seen elk at near 600yrds in an open snow field but the downward angle was 25 degrees about; not measured nor was the yardage. ?

OH, well HECK !! those "numbers" change EVERYTHING !! take that boomer to AFRICA !!

 

[GKPrice]

It was Remington core-lok about all there was for off the shelf 8mm Rem Mag.
Bullet deflected down near side of spine; again just from memory 12" maybe 16"
Edit: 2,965 FPS and 4,300 ft-lbs
Bullets do strange things out there; like trying to go thru snow covered branches.
I read that somewhere.

used 220 SGK's from my former Kimber 325 WSM (with universally good results) on bull elk and B.C. moose (not a large number of kills for data) chose that bullet because there was not another boat tail bullet in that weight class and THAT Kimber would not shoot 200's as well as it shot the 220's - If it WOULD HAVE shot the 200's as well I would have been using Accubonds and there would be no reason to even talk about it - I'll STILL now choose 300 WSM with a "can" and 180 Accubonds would work JUST fine - easy / inexpensive / universally accurate bullet / EXCELLANT terminal performance / anyone (even a guy with a man bun) can shoot this cartridge

 

[bbbass]

@turq 8mm = long bullet... I wonder if that's why the bullet turned. Still going damn fast at that range, maybe not designed to hit bone going that fast? Have to ask CoreLokt maybe.

Personally, I don't/didn't take bone or spine shots. With a few exceptions bullets are made to penetrate and expand in the organs, not smash bones. They'll do it, and many people count on those shots for one shot drops, but I've seen many more misses than hits going for those types of shots.

Probably the thing that got me the most was a big Idaho muley shot in the jaw with a 25-32. Grandma always took a neck shot with that cartridge. She missed and it was pitiful!!!!

 

[FishnhuntOR]

I will never use a core lock for hunting. I have a similar story. Shot a Feral pig that came out of some brush less than 10 yards away.
180 grain out of 06 in the head. No exit.

 

[bbbass]

And I wouldn't hesitate to use CoreLokt again. I take lung/heart shots tho. That's what those bullets were made for I'm pretty sure. Hard to get a bullet to do ALL things equally well. A hard bullet for smashing bones is not going to expand well in the lungs. But if it's a 45/70 it won't matter!!

 

[bbbass]

Remington says the CoreLokt is a "controlled expansion" bullet made to create large wound cavities... says nothing about breaking bones. As I said, bullet selection is dependent on understanding the design and what it was intended to do: CORE-LOKT®

 

[DeanMk]

OH, well HECK !! those "numbers" change EVERYTHING !! take that boomer to AFRICA !!

You can't.
Not enough caliber.

 

[FishnhuntOR]

Thank bud, but I won't be using CORE-LOKT.
While it may not say anything about braking bones. Bad shots happen and if you hit the should on let's say an elk. I want that bullet stay together.
Maybe I was expecting too much or it was just too much. Can't handle that velocity and hard impact.
barnes ttsx for the win

 

[bbbass]

Thank bud, but I won't be using CORE-LOKT.
While it may not say anything about braking bones. Bad shots happen and if you hit the should on let's say an elk. I want that bullet stay together.
Maybe I was expecting too much or it was just too much. Can't handle that velocity and hard impact.
barnes ttsx for the win

You're welcome. But please don't address me as "bud".

IMO, an accidental miss that hits the shoulder is still a miss. Better stick with the Barnes.

 

[Xaevian]

View attachment 666443

I see the rifling, but does it have a good enough twist rate to stabilize heavy for caliber projectiles? And does it have a wood and blued steel option?

 

[Pandaz3]

I do not hunt Game animals, I do own a Model 70 in 7MM Rem Mag with a good but older Leopold Scope. I would not consider more than 300 yards. I do not want to wound, I want to kill, and I don't think you have good enough shot placement at further ranges.
Then you might have to traipse yourself to where the animal was standing and try to track it down to end it. Too iffy for me.
Even a predator deserves better than that..

 

[FishnhuntOR]

You're welcome. But please don't address me as "bud".

IMO, an accidental miss that hits the shoulder is still a miss. Better stick with the Barnes.

Sorry Bro! I mean Bbbass

 

[Pandaz3]

Sorry Bro! I mean Bbbass

Yes don't call him 'bud' he likes it in all caps .... 'BUD' ....

Maybe BUD Light

 

[bbbass]

Yes don't call him 'bud' he likes it in all caps .... 'BUD' ....

Maybe BUD Light

That'd be MR. BUD Light to you!!!

 

[Devenk89]

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