300 wsm or 6.5 prc

[arch408]

Build the .300 WM. You already have the barrel. I'd favor the .300 for elk. Although a well placed shot with the 6.5 will definately put an elk down. Then again heavy well made 6.5 bullets are legendary for penetration. Hey, you what!!?? Convince yourself that you need the 6.5 and send me the .308. Just kidding. Build the .300 WM or better yet build a .300 RUM (I love mine) You will need to do a little work on the feed rails (probably for the PRC too). And then when you can swing build a PRC? After all, a man can't have too many guns.

 

[L.Sherm]

I have a trued up Remington 700 short action

 

[Deleted member 25294]

Elk are very tough animals with a heavy hide. My buddy and his son were in Idaho a few years ago elk hunting. His shot his elk at 580yd with 300wsm and 150gr TTSX perfect shot into the lungs and he stood there after the shot. Hit him again then dropped where he stood. IMO a 6.5 round is not a very *Rule 1 Violation*al round for a elk at further shots past 300yd. Stick with the wsm over the prc.

I live in Idaho and live for elk hunting.
I've killed my last 3 bulls with a 6lb 6.5 saum from 200 yards to over a 1/2 mile.
For elk within 600 yards the 6.5 PRC is a great choice.
I don't subscribe to the bull $--t about "Real elk guns start with a .30"
Bigger never hurts but precision is king!

 

[.300 Dakota]

Apples vs Oranges I know, not very similar cartridges but hear me out.

I want to build a decent all around rifle(mostly mule deer and elk every other year) for backpacking and am wanting to keep the weight around 9ish pounds. To me that is a decent weight for shoot-ability and pack-ability.

I have a trued up Remington 700 short action with a magnum bolt face. I picked up a fluted Bartlein #3 chambered in 308 win(only 200 rounds through it) awhile back from a close friend for dirt cheap(shot fine but he decided to go a different caliber).

I was thinking about just having the 308 barrel punched out to 300wsm gunsmith said it should be pretty easy to do but the 6.5 prc has caught my attention as of late.

So what do you guys think I should do, go with the wsm or buy a new barrel and go prc??

I posted this on Rokslide as well but was curious to see what you all had to say.

Another vote for the WSM.

 

[Quintus]

OK - interesting tread, however, I am confused about all of the references to recoil?? How many shots in a row are you going to take during the hunt? And, how many shots do you need to sight it in? Oh, and if you reload for hunting, how many rounds do you need to find good hunting accuracy even at a "long" distance? Sorry for the rant. Perhaps someone could enlighten me. No offence meant - I am truly confused.

I think the recoil thing is just for people that practice a lot. I have spent a lot of time behind several "Mountain type" 300 shorts working up loads for friends and they wear me out.

 

[436]

baskhunter,
Just a thought, if you're a reloader you might think about the .30-284 Win it's really been a first-class Deer and Elks cartridge for the S/A actions, plus there's no bolt face work just rechamber, and a lot of LR target shooters have found it a sweetheart at 1k Heck perhaps just a plain Jane .308 Win Ackley Improved might work for you. I think either would do what you're asking. Just a thought as I said.

 

[tmmcampbell]

Kill anything on the planet? I'll take my .375 H&H to Africa. You bring your 6.5 PRC and a good pair of running shoes.

Capstick killed an elephant with a .22 rimfire. Karamojo Bell killed tons of elephants with a 6.5 with less velocity than a PRC. I stand by my post a PRC will kill any animal on the planet. If you read my post you would have seen I advocated the .300 for elk. If I was asked my opinion on a African dangerous game animal I would suggest something that started with a .416. Not some sissy .375. What's the matter can't you handle a little recoil?

 

[Len Backus]

I live in Idaho and live for elk hunting.
I've killed my last 3 bulls with a 6lb 6.5 saum from 200 yards to over a 1/2 mile.
For elk within 600 yards the 6.5 PRC is a great choice.
I don't subscribe to the bull $--t about "Real elk guns start with a .30"
Bigger never hurts but precision is king!

Blackaj

Language warning

 

[Win.308Stealth]

You gave only two options. But have you looked into the 7 saum. About 5 years ago, I never thought I would be shooting a 7mm, it was all 6.5's and .30's, but then I tried a 7 saum. It fits right in between the 2 your considering.

 

[Deleted member 107796]

OK - interesting tread, however, I am confused about all of the references to recoil?? How many shots in a row are you going to take during the hunt? And, how many shots do you need to sight it in? Oh, and if you reload for hunting, how many rounds do you need to find good hunting accuracy even at a "long" distance? Sorry for the rant. Perhaps someone could enlighten me. No offence meant - I am truly confused.

Simple reason, they mention recoil because they have a recoil pad that is too hard. Any 6.5 can kiss your brow just as easily as 338WM. Yes, one jumps more than the other but a good pad will reduce the kick to a push. I recently looked at two different Ruger M77 7rem mags. They both had terrible pads. Until you do a side by side comparison with a Limbsaver or comparable, you do not know how much of an improvement they are. That's why I view them as game changers and believe me, I do not use that phrase much at all.
I don't think anybody is advocating gun machismo, it's just that the 300 can handle a wider bullet weight range.

 

[Tree Farmer]

Recoil can be an issue when a lot of range time is involved. However, there are ways to mitigate recoil at the range. But recoil has never been a factor, at least for me, when shooting at live game. In fact, the 300 had zero recoil on the last deer I shot.

 

[436]

Capstick killed an elephant with a .22 rimfire. Karamojo Bell killed tons of elephants with a 6.5 with less velocity than a PRC. I stand by my post a PRC will kill any animal on the planet. If you read my post you would have seen I advocated the .300 for elk. If I was asked my opinion on a African dangerous game animal I would suggest something that started with a .416. Not some sissy .375. What's the matter can't you handle a little recoil?

With all due respect, I think Peter Hathaway Capstick wrote about another PH that he said "he" the PH kill an elephant in the bush and later "he" took Capstick out and did it again. However, there was no other proof of this ever happening from what I can understand. As for the .416 you are correct in "bring enough bullet", with that said the .375 H&H is known as the .30-06 of Africa and does a fine job both here and abroad.
My gut feeling tells me that the Capstick story may have been embellished somewhere along the line both by the ghostwriter of the book and perhaps Capstick using a little of the "writers poetic license" hook to give the book a little more pop and along with history repeated story of the act as fact. I, and perhaps 99.9% of the hunters here that have shot all manner of things with a .22 S.L.LR over our lifetime and I'm sure would say; it's probably pretty hard to buy that Capstick or anyone else for that matter ever actually killed an elephant with a .22 Rimfire under any condition, great story'..., very bad idea to even attempt it I would think. Just my thoughts on a very odd story. Cheers.

 

[Stgraves260]

Apples vs Oranges I know, not very similar cartridges but hear me out.

I want to build a decent all around rifle(mostly mule deer and elk every other year) for backpacking and am wanting to keep the weight around 9ish pounds. To me that is a decent weight for shoot-ability and pack-ability.

I have a trued up Remington 700 short action with a magnum bolt face. I picked up a fluted Bartlein #3 chambered in 308 win(only 200 rounds through it) awhile back from a close friend for dirt cheap(shot fine but he decided to go a different caliber).

I was thinking about just having the 308 barrel punched out to 300wsm gunsmith said it should be pretty easy to do but the 6.5 prc has caught my attention as of late.

So what do you guys think I should do, go with the wsm or buy a new barrel and go prc??

I posted this on Rokslide as well but was curious to see what you all had to say.

I'm a 6.5 fan but if you already have the barrel for the 300 just do that then. I shoot a 260 Rem 140 grain Berger's and have never looked back. Shot this 290# hog at 997 yards. So I thank I'm good to go on anything in America.

 

[highdrum]

I was under this same decision lately, building a light weight Tikka for mountain hunting. I went with a long action donor, a Mesa altitude stock, hells canyon 23" summit carbon barrel. I pondered caliber for a month. Will us this rifle to hunt steep/dense country from a backpack 90% the time. I wanted knockdown power. I was torn between 7 Saum or 300wsm. After much debate I went 300. Build is still in progress, but it'll be throated with 230fb to shoot 215 Bergers and the heavy eldm line. Should manage 2850+ fps with rl26. That's a lot of juice for a handy 6# rifle. It'll kick like hell in sure, but looking forward to getting it on the range.