The 178 may be very violent , splashy at wm speeds. My buddy shot a bear in the side of the head at 300 yards from a 300wm with the 200eldx and it never penetrated skull. So just be aware the eldm or x are great at LR velocities but require a little more thought about staying off bone etc, inside say 5-600 yards...
It begs the question "why" ?Certainly not doubting the facts, but there had to be other factors in play for this result. I don't see a bear skull stopping a 200gr bullet of any construction from a 300WM, especially @ 300yds. Maybe a glancing blow?
It was a follow up shot after a boiler room hit at closer range as it ran for the brush. A "miss' if you will. He wasn't trying for the head. The vital hit was fatal anyway but the bear didnt know it yet. There may have been other factors like angle or who know? It was a dead bear so it wasn't a failure but just a rather notable result.It begs the question "why" ?
What twist is the problematic Sako .300 Win. barrel now? I don't think you mentioned it. If its 1:11 or 1:12 then I can buy a potential stability issue that might be fixed by a faster twist...although 1:8 or 1:7.5 seems a bit unnecessary for the 200ish grainers.IF I want to shoot the heavier slugs I am going to have to rebarrel it to a 1:8" or 1:7.5" twist. OR I have to rebarrel my other 300 win mag to a heavier twist.
Drake, You would think so. That however has never been my experience all the way back to 1986. starting with a Ruger M-77 in 30-06 1:10" twist barrel would not shoot any slug over a 180 grain Speer HPBT. This Ruger would shoot 150 through 180 grain slugs and then the groups would just start opening up and by 200 grain slugs it would hardly stabilize the slug. I honestly have not checked the twist of my 300 win mag. I presumed it was a 1:10" twist. but I found out a month ago it is a 1:11" from a friend that owns the same vintage rifle. I have had this problem ever since I was a 1,000 competitor shooting 190 grain slugs (that rifle was a 1:10" twist barrel and refused to stabilize 200 grain match kings) . I can not speak for anyone else that I competed with but my 1:10" twist barrel never did like the 200 and heavier grain/longer slugs. it never did stabilize them properly. now, no one else has seemed to have this bad luck or problem with shooting 200 grain Match Kings like I did. I have had this problem since the early 1990's. call it a personal cross to bear. I can not seem to make any 300 win mag, stike that.. ANY 30 caliber rifle I have ever owned with a 1:10 or 1:11 twist barrel shoot any slug over 190 grains. however, I built a 1:8" twist 300 win mag, only to have it stolen 2 months later, that slung anything over 175 grain slugs (180 through 240) down range at one mile without a problem. like I said my gun loves the 165 to 190 grain slugs.. no other slug will shoot well in the gun. I have tried for 11/12 years to do so without any luck. I just traded for another 300 win mag (1:10" barrel) that will get a 1:8" or 1:7.5" twist barrel on it or I will get my Sako rebarreled. I do not care which. I am just tired of people calling me a liar, expounding on what I am doing wrong, or saying that my life's experiences are wrong. I am at the end of my rope with this problem. until the day I die I will never use a slug heavier or longer than a 190 grain AB through my 300 win mag unless it has a 1:8" barrel on it.What twist is the problematic Sako .300 Win. barrel now? I don't think you mentioned it. If its 1:11 or 1:12 then I can buy a potential stability issue that might be fixed by a faster twist...although 1:8 or 1:7.5 seems a bit unnecessary for the 200ish grainers.
I'm fairly certain that 1:10 should have stabilized the 200-215gr bullets you mentioned. From '06 to RUM, my 1:10s will handle all of those quite nicely. If it is in fact currently a 1:10, then bullet stability isn't really the source of your heavy projectile accuracy woes is it? Not to my way of thinking at least. Did I miss or misinterpret something?
Fair enough. Interesting no doubt.Drake, You would think so. That however has never been my experience all the way back to 1986. starting with a Ruger M-77 in 30-06 1:10" twist barrel would not shoot any slug over a 180 grain Speer HPBT. This Ruger would shoot 150 through 180 grain slugs and then the groups would just start opening up and by 200 grain slugs it would hardly stabilize the slug. I honestly have not checked the twist of my 300 win mag. I presumed it was a 1:10" twist. but I found out a month ago it is a 1:11" from a friend that owns the same vintage rifle. I have had this problem ever since I was a 1,000 competitor shooting 190 grain slugs (that rifle was a 1:10" twist barrel and refused to stabilize 200 grain match kings) . I can not speak for anyone else that I competed with but my 1:10" twist barrel never did like the 200 and heavier grain/longer slugs. it never did stabilize them properly. now, no one else has seemed to have this bad luck or problem with shooting 200 grain Match Kings like I did. I have had this problem since the early 1990's. call it a personal cross to bear. I can not seem to make any 300 win mag, stike that.. ANY 30 caliber rifle I have ever owned with a 1:10 or 1:11 twist barrel shoot any slug over 190 grains. however, I built a 1:8" twist 300 win mag, only to have it stolen 2 months later, that slung anything over 175 grain slugs (180 through 240) down range at one mile without a problem. like I said my gun loves the 165 to 190 grain slugs.. no other slug will shoot well in the gun. I have tried for 11/12 years to do so without any luck. I just traded for another 300 win mag (1:10" barrel) that will get a 1:8" or 1:7.5" twist barrel on it or I will get my Sako rebarreled. I do not care which. I am just tired of people calling me a liar, expounding on what I am doing wrong, or saying that my life's experiences are wrong. I am at the end of my rope. until the day I die I will never use a slug heavier or longer than a 190 grain AB through my 300 win mag unless it has a 1:8" barrel on it.