Elk calibers

[Gunner3456]

I was refering to the 30-06 in perticular. The 7mm mag shoots flatter and has more energy then the .270 even with similar weight bullets.

Here Federals ballistic catalog. After you download it you can compare all sorts of loads and it will show you a graph.

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That didn't tell me at all. It lists only Federal cartridges, and for the .270 Win lists only 130gr. The Federal 130gr is sloooow. Not a good choice.

Here's some interesting real world data; worth reading all of it:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/ultra-long-range.htm

"By going to a big magnum cartridge, and suffering the added recoil, muzzle blast, and expense that entails we have only gained an average of about 20 yards (6.6%) in MPBR over the standard .270 Winchester."

 

[the4thshake]

The distances refered to earlier are far from point blank.

Any of the cartridges discussed are plenty for elk at point blank range.

The program in the link above will produce graphs of various loads. You check the box next to the loads you want to compare and click the compare box.

Any ballistics chart will give you basicly the same info.

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If someone were so inclined to hunt elk at really long ranges, a 338 RUM would be a wiser choice.

Hitting anything at over 500 yards takes skill as well as the proper equipment.

 

[Gunner3456]

The distances refered to earlier are far from point blank.

Any of the cartridges discussed are plenty for elk at point blank range.

The program in the link above will produce graphs of various loads. You check the box next to the loads you want to compare and click the compare box.

Any ballistics chart will give you basicly the same info.

<broken link removed>

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If someone were so inclined to hunt elk at really long ranges, a 338 RUM would be a wiser choice.

Hitting anything at over 500 yards takes skill as well as the proper equipment.

Make that 300 yards...

 

[TMan1911]

I agree with gun luvver. I own many but last elk season a buddy of mine made a 250 yrds shot compensated 6.5" drop and hit vitals 4 pointer elk droped @50 yrds later. 8 hours labor with winch to haul the big game out to truck. 30-06 is more than sufficient for North American game. 300 lbs deer to 1200 lbs elk you name it, it will get it done (28-36 lbs felt recoil) but practice will make for good shooting

 

[BooKilla]

I'm looking to pick up an elk rifle, but I haven't decided on a caliber yet. I'm looking for opinions on what caliber you prefer. Last season was my first year hunting elk, and I hunted west of the cascades....where the brush is obviously a little denser. I would like to venture east to more open country, but at this point I need a rifle best suited for elk in the Cascades.
Thanks
Shooter

300 WSM
Remington 700 SPS

 

[TMan1911]

300 wsm is a great choice do understand the kick is more than that of 30-06 fitting for 200 lbs and over person. Not to say you can not shoot it just comfort wise and manageability should be considered. You got power no doubt just practice and read up on the Rem sps 700. I believe the gun is @ 6.8-7.2 lbs light on the shoulder for hunting a plus but kick of course

 

[Gunner3456]

I believe that a gun which has a hard kick leads to misses with a lot of people. I believe they flinch in anticipation. I think that big calibers are for really seasoned shooters, and only when that big caliber is needed.

I have never seen a .270 or an .06 fail to kill anything including Rocky Mountain elk and black bears if the shot placement was decent.

Again, the guys I started hunting with many years ago were fans of the .270 Win so I bought one too. I still have it and it's been all over E. and W. Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. I can shoot it a lot better than another friend of mine can shoot his 300 Win mag. He ruins meat and misses shots.

$.02

 

[the4thshake]

Good point about the flinching. I have seen it far too many times. People beat themselves to death with the most macho round they can buy when a lesser recoiling round will do just fine.

 

[therifleman]

lets not forget the importance of the the ballistic coefficient of the bullet in question, high bc bullets carry their energy much farther down range. A 270 can in fact have the same energy as a 30-06 if the right bullets are compared.

 

[chiefchip]

One rifle for everything reasonable? .30-06. Can't beat the price of ammo, either!

 

[markw76]

Good point about the flinching. I have seen it far too many times. People beat themselves to death with the most macho round they can buy when a lesser recoiling round will do just fine.

It's largely psychological. Just keep repeating to yourself, "Embrace the pain...welcome the pain..."

Once a flinch develops, though, it's work to rid yourself of it.

 

[Gunner3456]

lets not forget the importance of the the ballistic coefficient of the bullet in question, high bc bullets carry their energy much farther down range. A 270 can in fact have the same energy as a 30-06 if the right bullets are compared.

A .270 will have more energy and will shoot flatter than an .06 at anything beyond 300 yards if each uses its best bullet.

Not knocking the .06 though. Still a great, great cartridge. So is the .308. If I had to switch calibers, I'd go .308 for a couple of reasons. I doubt I'll ever quit on the .270 Win though. Getting too old for that.

 

[the4thshake]

Id like to know which .270 bullet has a higher BC then an available .30 caliber bullet. The heaviest of the 7mm bullets do but I can't find any .270 bullets that can back the downrange energy claim.

 

[Gunner3456]

Id like to know which .270 bullet has a higher BC then an available .30 caliber bullet. The heaviest of the 7mm bullets do but I can't find any .270 bullets that can back the downrange energy claim.

If you're referring to me, I said an .06. I agree about the .308 and mentioned that if I were buying a new gun, it would be a .308.

Oops, I was refrerring to what was in the email for this post. You must have edited? You originally said:

"Id like to know which .270 bullet has a higher BC then an available .308 diameter bullet. The heaviest of the 7mm bullets do but I can't find any .270 bullets that can back your claim."

I didn't say a 30 caliber bullet either. A lot of 30 caliber rounds suck, starting with the 30-30.

 

[therifleman]

Just compare a .308 150 gr nosler partition bc to the bc of a .270 140 nosler accubond!! The 270 shines there and carries its energy much farther out if the bullet speeds are the same.

 

[ronstone09]

I've killed many elk with a .300 weatherby in 180 and 200 grain bullets , if you don't like the recoil go to the 7mm's such as 7mm remington magnum in 168 grain VLD bullet by berger if you reload or you can use the Federal 160 if you don't reload. The recoil is less and the retained energy is excellent out to 500+ yards.

 

[badclam]

This argument is getting ridiculous. To compare the ballistics of two different cartridges you have to first decide what it is you want to compare. Everything is a trade off.
Kinetic energy = (mass x velocity squared divided by 2).Kinetic energy is generally excepted as the most common comparison between calibers as to their killing power. This has nothing to do with trajectory! BC has a lot to do with trajectory and speed, which helps to retain energy downrange,which means nothing if you didn't have enough energy to start with, and if you can't hit what your aiming at. What distance are we comparing them at? A 45-70 is a far better caliber than any I've seen mentioned here for elk at open sight distances,but at 500 yards a 7mm is a far better pick.
Of course you can kill an elk with a 270.You can kill an elk with a 22 magnum with proper shot placement.Does that make either of them the best choice for elk? NO!

 

[badclam]

This elk was taken last week by me with a muzzle loader. One shot with a bullet that had terrible BC and trajectory,but a big ole bullet placed through the heart does it every time. B&C green measurement of 308. This is one of seven elk that have all been killed with one shot by this weapon. It also has taken some dandy Black tails.

 

[SDR]

This argument is getting ridiculous. To compare the ballistics of two different cartridges you have to first decide what it is you want to compare. Everything is a trade off.
Kinetic energy = (mass x velocity squared divided by 2).Kinetic energy is generally excepted as the most common comparison between calibers as to their killing power. This has nothing to do with trajectory! BC has a lot to do with trajectory and speed, which helps to retain energy downrange,which means nothing if you didn't have enough energy to start with, and if you can't hit what your aiming at. What distance are we comparing them at? A 45-70 is a far better caliber than any I've seen mentioned here for elk at open sight distances,but at 500 yards a 7mm is a far better pick.
Of course you can kill an elk with a 270.You can kill an elk with a 22 magnum with proper shot placement.Does that make either of them the best choice for elk? NO!

Amen , + 1 ...
I would not shoot my 45/70 five hundred Yrds without more field testing and range time , But it is capable after learning trajectory , My choice would be a 300 Win mag over a 7MM...All in all ...Right On ...

Nice Bull....A Rosie - ?

 

[the4thshake]

Just compare a .308 150 gr nosler partition bc to the bc of a .270 140 nosler accubond!! The 270 shines there and carries its energy much farther out if the bullet speeds are the same.

Why did you pick two different styles of bullets to compare?

The 140 grain .270 Accubond you mention has a BC of .496.

A comparable bullet for the 30-06 would be the 180 grain Accubond. It has a BC of .507.

The 30-06 makes more energy and keeps it longer.

This discussion has strayed way too far from the original topic.

I'll go out on a limb and say there aren't too many people that will take full advantage of a cartridges long range potential to kill an elk.

How about some of the other cartridges out there....Anyone use a 35 whelan or 338-06 for elk? What about some of these bigger, slower, hard hitting rounds.