Elk/Deer Rifle performance
- Thread starter bretterath
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bretterath
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He needs a shirt that says a tad barky in the back of shirt when he hits the public rangeThat might be the best description I've ever read!
Mike D, Its a Saturn5s ABS carbon,tit brake26'',Falcon coat,Defaince rebel, alum bolt knob, fluted bolt,Lonewolf summit kevlar glass pillared stock.KK Jense,build.Bare 7-2 oz.I have another same builder but later date is a PROOF 26'',heavier contour, tact II,stock,Defiance,jewel mag fed, 9-2 oz bare.chambers are virtually identical, shoot same load in both.Finished scoped,8 3/4,11-4 0z.March and mark 5 In pict. somewhere under barrel is a 5x6 at 500 yard Didn't make the cut,I followed a 350 bull over day before
The 300wm or 7saum/7prc will do the job nicely. Looks like a real nice project. Good luck! Stay safe and have fun.
When I built "The Gun", the magic answer for me was .300 Win, 21" barrel, suppressed. It kills elk as dead as anything else. It's a heavy sucker though. Lately I've been using a .260 Ackley. It's pretty impressive.
There's no chance I'd build a light rifle in .300. I doubt I'd shoot it well and I'd probably find reasons to avoid range work. YMMV. To me, shot placement is 10X more important than any other variable. The last two elk I've seen killed were one-shot kills with a .243. Long range energy retention from the 6.5s is pretty impressive and if I'm inherently 20% more accurate (a WAG), that's way more significant.
There's no doubt .338 and up kills them dead, but I've been involved with more screwups from guys shooting big guns poorly than I care to remember.
There's no chance I'd build a light rifle in .300. I doubt I'd shoot it well and I'd probably find reasons to avoid range work. YMMV. To me, shot placement is 10X more important than any other variable. The last two elk I've seen killed were one-shot kills with a .243. Long range energy retention from the 6.5s is pretty impressive and if I'm inherently 20% more accurate (a WAG), that's way more significant.
There's no doubt .338 and up kills them dead, but I've been involved with more screwups from guys shooting big guns poorly than I care to remember.
bomberodevil
Well-Known Member
When I go to the public range in Phoenix with my braked 280 AI, I just apologize to the shooters on the sides of me before I uncase the rifle!He needs a shirt that says a tad barky in the back of shirt when he hits the public range
That might be my new description in the apology, "she's a bit barky"!
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littlebighorn
Well-Known Member
I built a 28 Nosler specifically for elk. Braked Proof barrel. It is slightly over 8lbs but perfect for what I wanted and I used it to take a beautiful 350 bull on a fabulous rut hunt. I shoot 177g Hammer Hunters in it at 3150 and my bull was DRT. It's deadly accurate and I have great confidence with anything out to 600/700 yds.
I've never been one who feels like I need a big bore for hunting. Maybe I would feel differently with dangerous game.
Use good bullets and know your limits!
I've never been one who feels like I need a big bore for hunting. Maybe I would feel differently with dangerous game.
Use good bullets and know your limits!
john k
Well-Known Member
I bet she bites sharply also! My .280AI barks and bites!
Lenny Foffa
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If a hunter was looking to get a True Elk Rifle, or even a another one, this is one of the best posts I have every read. So far it is 4 pages of advice and opinions from true seasoned Elk Hunters. What is clear to me is that the 6.5mm guys can discuss the many elk they have killed , and so can the 7mm Guys, as well as the 30 Cal guys, and of course the 338 Guys. With out fail the one thing all agree on is the absolute importance of shot placement. A heart / or double Lung shot is generally a fatal shot which usually results with a dead animal a short distance later. Weather the Heart is blown up by a 6.5mm bullet or a 338 dia bullet the result is generally the same. That being etched in stone, it the seems to me to become a question of how much energy do you want or need at what range do you expect to kill the animal. As I am making an Elk load for the Mark V in 300 Weatherby Mag I have owned for decades. That is the biggest rifle I own, so that will be my elk rifle. My loading will begin with a 190 Grn Nosler ABLR started from the 26 inch barrel, at 3000 fps. That 190 Grn. Bullet with a G1 BC of .597 will allow me to deliver 1970 Ft Pounds to an animal 600 yards away. Perfect for elk?? Most likely NO ; Will it kill an elk If the golden rule of perfect placement is followed?? Most likely ,Yes . It's a starting point for a year or more of experimentation, ( 180 grn Nosler partition testing will follow.) and incredible discussions like this one you guys have all contributed too. We who have only hunted Elk once or twice, learn much from you guys who have hunted them many times. Your advice is greatly appreciated.
Lenny are you just starting the load development? I am just curious to hear how it goes. I have loads for the 180 BT, 200 AB and PT, but I heard those ABLR were finicky, so waiting to hear how the work out
Lenny Foffa
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YES BUDDY!!! I thank you for that!! Yes I will let you know !! The last time I fired the rifle was in the 90's and I was using both 165 and 180 SGK Boast tail bullets. I let a friend borrow that rifle ,in 1992 because he had no suitable hunting rifle, and he shot a Whitetail in Texas at approx.125 to 150 yards , and he said the deer fell down and flipped legs up. It was a light load also using 77.0 Grns of 4831, Fed. 215 's and the 165 Grn SGK's. At a Modest 2800fps, it was a really great 100-yard target load back then, in that rifle, and it was ok for whitetail as well. Just not real far away. I have H 4831SC and H 1000 ready to begin the new development. I doubt any load I make today will shoot groups like that old 1992 load did!!! One flyer but 6 good shots. I may remake that load and try the Horn 165grn. (SST, my 06 deer bullet ) just for fun.
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memtb
Well-Known Member
That's a pretty darn good group….even if a bit of a light load! Nut'n wrong with 30-06 ballistics……unless trying to stretch the shots waaaay out yonder! memtb
Is that a 24" Japanese Mark V?
Lenny Foffa
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Yes It is. I purchased mark V the rifle used but never fired and never scoped and was chambered in 30-06. I purchased a 300 Weatherby Mag barrel, from a customer who was Re barreling his Mark V to .340 Weatherby mag, to be used for elk. He had decided 300 Weatherby did not drop his last elk in its tracks, so he needed more gun. I bought the barrel. I had the 300 Weatherby Mag barrel installed on my Mark V . Bolt face was already correct Dia. mag na ported . Fun to shoot!!!
