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Or high country or plains deer.

It was my understanding that the smaller dimension calibers, while perhaps not as good at breaking bones, penetrate most tissue just as well because they are narrower profile going faster. Think of a fast jab with a hypo vs a slower push with a pencil. IDK, I actually agree with the side that says size doesn't matter! :)

There are a lot of variables. Everybody thinks about velocity and energy, but there is also momentum.

it isn't the diameter of the projectile that affects penetration as much as the mass of the projectile.

A smaller diameter projectile, all else being equal (ogive, mass and velocity) will penetrate farther because it has less resistance from smaller frontal area and greater sectional density.

But the .300 win mag shoots 180 grain and larger projectiles. More mass penetrates farther because it has more momentum - this is especially true with denser tissue or bone. An elk has larger bones than a deer - it can easily weigh twice to more than three times as much so it needs and has larger bones to support that weight - larger muscles too.
 
For those who enjoy recoil, have at it. For me, and for me only, I'll stick to the Mighty -08 for my deer and elk killing needs.

I'm a recoil sissy. There, I said it.




P

You're no sissy, just smart. I took my buddy and his son elk hunting last year. His son is a smaller kid, so we got him a Ruger American youth/compact in 7mm-08. He hit his cow at 150 yards with a single 140gr Winchester power point. She didn't make it ten yards.

Funny how we label stuff like the 243, 260, 7mm-08 and even the 270 as fine cartridges for inexperienced children and women. In theory, wouldn't greater experience mean the ability to kill just as well with less power?

But I just can't dislike anything with a belt! :s0115:
 
You're no sissy, just smart. I took my buddy and his son elk hunting last year. His son is a smaller kid, so we got him a Ruger American youth/compact in 7mm-08. He hit his cow at 150 yards with a single 140gr Winchester power point. She didn't make it ten yards.

Funny how we label stuff like the 243, 260, 7mm-08 and even the 270 as fine cartridges for inexperienced children and women. In theory, wouldn't greater experience mean the ability to kill just as well with less power?

But I just can't dislike anything with a belt! :s0115:

I love those cartridges! Owned a few meself. But alas, I don't belt em down any more. The last spike I shot was with the lowly .308Win and a 180gr Remington Core-Lokt. :)
 
I agree with NoRegerts, 7mm-08.
It would be my personal choice for a "PNW Hunting Rig".
1.5-6X or 2-7X scope, light accurate bolt rifle and a nice wide comfy sling.
Way back when, the rifle would've been a Model 7, hands down, but I hear QC ain't the best with those anymore, so now, probably a Savage, maybe a CZ.
With the array of bullet weights and shapes available for 7mm, combined with the inherit power of the cartridge, there isn't anything indigenous to the PNW that isn't within reach of such a setup.

Dean
P.S. ...however, I wouldn't surprise myself if I did all my hunting with a 336 in .30-30 sporting a 4X scope, either. ;)
 
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300 Win Mag for deer, holy crap!

Come to think of it, 300 Win Mag for elk is overkill, too!



P
.300 Winnie Mag started taking over from '06 as a generally preferred hunting round about the time I got into high school in the late 70's.
Young hunters didn't mind the extra weight, but enjoyed the fact that they could hunt the shorter distances of the wooded areas over here in Western Washington, but also down that big Muley with a single well aimed shot while shooting across mountain peaks when hunting down in The Blues.
It was seen as more power without being too much power....and you could get it in either a model 70 or a 700, both of which were still considered reasonably priced yet well built rifles at that time.


Dean
 
I don't care for belted magnums anymore - too finicky to reload, especially if you want light loads - it seemed like they only works all or nothing, and therefore not as versatile as standard cases.

I had a 7mm Rem Mag when I was young and after using it a while I got a .308 instead.
 
Dean,
Lots of stuff has changed since the late '70's.

Better powders, better bullets, better platforms. If some young kid wants to experience the 300 Win Mag, I understand. There was a time I thought I needed a 300 Weatherby Mag. No joke. Realistically speaking, however, there's very little the 300 Win Mag can do that the Mighty -08 can't do.

I've killed bucks past 540 yards, and I've seen a 6x5 bull die at 409 yards. My farthest elk kill was 346 yards, bang flop, 140 grain Partition. He hit the ground so fast I thought I had missed. I came down from recoil and no elk. WTF? It's because he was down that fast.




P
 
Dean,
Lots of stuff has changed since the late '70's.

Better powders, better bullets, better platforms. If some young kid wants to experience the 300 Win Mag, I understand. There was a time I thought I needed a 300 Weatherby Mag. No joke. Realistically speaking, however, there's very little the 300 Win Mag can do that the Mighty -08 can't do.

I've killed bucks past 540 yards, and I've seen a 6x5 bull die at 409 yards. My farthest elk kill was 346 yards, bang flop, 140 grain Partition. He hit the ground so fast I thought I had missed. I came down from recoil and no elk. WTF? It's because he was down that fast.




P
Why do I feel like I'm being scolded?
I already stated MY choice would be 7m-08 or .30-30.
I was just trying to give you some background on why the popularity of such a strong round.
READ, then speak.

Dean
 
I hunt Eastern Oregon in the Blues and NE North of Joseph. I personally like shooting the 338 because I do not want to take any chance that the game will suffer nor that I might have to trail them over the next hill. I shot one with 30 06 with Remington Core Loke (sp) from about 175 yards with 180 grain bullets and granted not a good shot having hit a rib, then, shot the elk through the chest with the 'o6 at 100 yards and it dropped. I did not like that the first hit did not stop the elk in the spot. Maybe 75 yards of travel. The next rifle I purchased was the 338 WinMag, thinking the 300 WM was fairly close to the '06. The next bull I shot was at 90 yards hit through the shoulder with Sierra Game King BT 250 grain bullets. The elk did not move but took 3 more rounds for it to fall over.

My weakness is that I want one shot immediate kills and in both instances I failed. My preference today for the terrain I hunt is the 338 1st followed by the 300 WM. The '06 is back up with either a bolt or semi gun.
 
Another solution to the 30 06 issue is that I read of a hunter that used 200 grain Nosler Partition rounds finding excellent results. I think most hunters use 180 grain but this hunter swore by the 200 grain rounds. I know of another hunter that for years used 220 grain Winchester Silvertips on the close encounter Coast Range with great results. I had a preference many years ago for 180 grain Sierra GameKing Boat Tail bullets because of the excellent trajectory. Most of my hunting was in the Blue Mountains where some long distance shooting was a frequent event. +
 
Google earth.
They have years you can select to view. I Think it goes back to 1997 and all the way to this year or last year.
Anyways
I hunt eastern Oregon and I can be on flat where it can be 1000+ yards or walk to the edge and drops off where it's so thick I can't see more than 10- 20 yards.
I use 30/06 with 168 ttsx and 3.5-10 vx3 with cds dial for elk and deer I use 270 shooting 130 ttsx with cds as well. Both zeroed at 200, this way I can point and shoot majority of situations.
The ttsx will do excellent up close and shoot as far as I am comfortable with.
Now if you're thinking brush gun... as in bullet not get deflected by a branch.
There is no such thing
 
I've killed bucks past 540 yards, and I've seen a 6x5 bull die at 409 yards. My farthest elk kill was 346 yards, bang flop, 140 grain Partition. He hit the ground so fast I thought I had missed. I came down from recoil and no elk. WTF? It's because he was down that fast.

Magic bullet.


My weakness is that I want one shot immediate kills

I've never had one of those. But one of my buddies likes his .338 for head or spine shots... drops them every time. I'm not a good enough shot to try that. :(
 
Why do I feel like I'm being scolded?
I already stated MY choice would be 7m-08 or .30-30.
I was just trying to give you some background on why the popularity of such a strong round.
READ, then speak.

Dean

Don't take it that way. From what I've seen of Pharmseller, he is a BTDT hunter who came full circle and has found what works. I think he comes from a place where he's found he doesn't have to put up with extra recoil and gun weight to make clean kills.
 
338 winny is just an awesome versatile round.
You can load it to 30-06 performance levels with a 180 grain bullet and use on deer no problem or soup it up for grizzlies with a 250 grain partition. I prefer 225 accubond for elk.

Loading up brass that had a belt is no different than any other non belted cases cause you still headspace off the shoulder. If your headspacing off of belt your doing it wrong.
Since most of the elk I have got over the years never gave me the perfect broadside shot, I like the fact that the 338 just goes through the meat and bone that I need it to go through to put them down.

Yes you can kill elk with a 7-08 or a 6.5 creedmore just fine with good bullet selection. Especially when they give you that nice broadside shot where you can shoot behind the shoulder and not have any worry on penetration.
But when I see that bull quartering away from me and I have a second or two to make the shot, that 338 is gonna put the hurt on that elk and I'm not gonna be tracking it for miles.

I'm a big fan of the 300wsm for elk as well.
Have taken two elk with that caliber using 180 great accubonds. One the elk was facing me head on and shot through the neck. Dropped like a sack of potatoes. The other was a bull coming at an angle where I had about a 5 second window to make the shot. Hit him in the upper shoulder and bullet ended up resting against the hide on other side. Elk dropped on the spot. I really like the 338 cause 99% of the time that bullet through and through.

Good shooting fundamentals will make recoil much easier to manage.

Practice a lot and be confident in your abilities no matter what caliber you are shooting. You owe it to the animal to make as clean of a kill as possible.

Just my .02
 
My personal preference is the .270. I have killed all my best harvests with it. We load 140 gr. AccuBonds over 54 gr RL-19. Zero at 200. Furthest kill was at 280 yds. All have been clean one-shot kills. Husband and son cling to their .30-06's. 180 gr bullets with either 4350 or Ramshot Hunter.
 

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