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257 Weatherby on Elk

4 sure Dean, the 257 Wby is very capable! Any shot I'd take with my .340 or 338/06 I'd take with the 257 Wby.

Side note, guys coming from out of state not always but many times are going outfitted and during the course of the week they get in more time and better quality time than the locals do. Point being, I never buy into the old I'm from out of state and may only get one shot.. Not all elk hunts are equal:)
 
Ken gun said:
How would the HSM ammo with a 115 Berger VLD bullet work on Elk?
It has great 500 yard energy.
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I would not shoot these Berger HVLD on elk unless you are 100% certain you can make a clean lung or heart hit. That bullet probably doesn't have the arse to brake the shoulder at that range. I shot my first cow elk with that bullet and caliber and it went just fine. It was 260-280 yards and both hits were clean lung hits. I was carrying that rifle not because I didn't have access to rifles of heavier caliber, but because I knew that if I needed to take a longer shot, that was the rifle I could do it with and make a clean hit. 280 yards doesn't sound like alot but with a 3x9 scope and 20+mph crosswind with no way to calculate hold it was a shot I wouldn't have taken with any of the other rifles I had available at that time.

Barnes and Nosler Partitions will hold up better for hits on bones. Bergers in that caliber wont IMO.
 
Tis been my experience that it's just as easy to hit the one big bone to consider on an elk as it is to miss it. Shoulder blades don't pose a problem for most any bullet. The shoulder knuckle is a bugger but awfully tough to hit even on purpose.

Point being if I'm a bone shooter I can go with the stouter slugs, and if I'm a behind the shoulder shooter I can go with almost any bullet running.
 
I've killed a few elk with a 25/06 and 100g Partitions and 117g SGKs, from 300-600 yards. Shot placement is key, as always, along with the angle. It's not my first choice for elk, but it works. Good luck!
 
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I have killed and seen several several more killed with 25-06 and 257 bee. The 115 grain partition does its job if you put it in the right place.
 
Rick Richard said:
No way for me. Everything would have to be perfect to make an ethical kill with that size caliber. In reality, most opportunities are less than a perfect position, distance and shot placement. I would stick with the larger and heavier calibers to make up those margins of error.

Just my $.02
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I Shoot a 6.5 x 284 Norma and I would worry about that caliber on elk my other rifle is a 338 Lapua if I was on a once-in-a-lifetime elk hunt I believe I would take the 338
 
I've killed a half dozen bulls with my 25-06 but always used the 120 grain partition and the 115 tsx. I mostly shoot deer and antelope with the 115 Berger vld but wouldn't want to risk it on a big heavy bull elk. 110 Accubond or 120 grand slam would be other good options. No shots were over 400 yds and all were on relaxed feeding animals with favorable shot angles. They took a few steps then fell over. 2 dropped on impact. I shot them in the neck just in front of the shoulder. I haven't moved up much in caliber these days. I use a 270 wsm with 170 Berger EOL'S and 160 grain Partition's. 257 Wby will work fine.
 
I'm shooting 257 dgr with 100gr barnes tipped ttsx, 260rem necked down to 257 and shoots 3350fps. I have shot 5 elk and my shot his 1st elk at 11yoa..longest shot 384, closest 165. Recovered one bullet still weighted 87gr..broke two ribs in and found in shoulder elk yet 50yds..shoot am where you are supported to and they will go down.
 

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adk hunter said:
No way for me but I think it has more to with the situation than if it will kill. Do you see 70 elk killed a year? Then you may have it in you to wait for the perfect shot. Have you been west three times and the forth (and maybe last) and you have a marginal shot with the .257 Weatherby...well I hope your answer is try again next year. I just can't risk that. Dad left me a wonderful #10 .257 roberts I would simply LOVE to take to the elk woods but I won't temp myself or his legacy with the scales tipped so far in the elk's favor. Now I might squeeze in a antelope, Hmmmm!
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I live in Elk country, I have killed Elk, they are not hard to kill, can be but the idea is put the bullet into the lungs and heart with a good quality bullet and it is a done deal.
Would you care to guess how many Elk, Mose, and Bear are killed cleanly each year with the .243 Winchester, .30-30 Winchester, and .257 Roberts? A bunch of them get corn bread dead with these calibers. Here is the real secret to killing Elk with a smaller caliber, shot placement is king as with any caliber out there! Pick a quality bullet and keep your ranges to a reasonable distance and you are golden.
 
Like I said earlier in this thread, if u don't have an ethical shot on an elk with a 257 Bee and a ttsx then there is no gun of any size that will make it into an ethical shot. All the nonsense about angles, penetration, terminal energy etc is strictly written by people who spend far more time on forums than they ever have hunting. Shoot elk in the right spot it dies, hit it wrong it doesn't matter how big your gun is you are going to be tracking that elk.
 
swe123 said:
That would be about the worst combination I could think of. That would be like shooting them with a paintball gun.
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I happen to know of a half dozen elkies or so who've been reduced to the deep freeze bia flight 115 Berger out of a 25/06 that would more than likely disagree with this statement...

Killing really isn't the rocket science that some try to make it out to be, take out the lungs and viola
 
I find it very interesting just how many hundreds of threads have been posted since this one, along the lines of: "Is this cartridge big enough for Elk". The answer never changes, put the hole in the right place!~!!! but the question gets asked endlessly.
 

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