Just got back late last night from a cow elk hunt. I've been shooting the Berger 215 Hybrid in my 300 WMs for the last 10 or 11 years with great success. I live in the west and hunt deer, elk and antelope. I've seen several posts lately about killing elk at 1000 yards with a 300WM. I've posted a few replies that in my opinion one could do no better for that application than the 215 Berger. While I have never killed an animal at that range I have killed many elk and antelope at ranges well beyond 500 yards with said 300 WM and 215 Berger. I've never not had a complete pass through on an elk, but all my kills with this system have been broadside shots. I am a crease shooter and don't intentionally shoot the shoulders.
2 days ago I shot a very large cow elk at 859 yards, my longest kill yet. The elk came over a very sharp ridge line across a wide canyon from me as I was hiking up the ridge. They had been pushed over and there were several other hunters on down below me in the same canyon I was in. They held up at the top and were making their mind up where to go. Anyone whose been in this situation knows seconds count as they are going to figure out which direction they want to go quickly. I ran up to the top of the ridge, threw off my pack, flopped down in the snow and started getting the rifle setup. My buddy came up beside me and was kind enough to start getting a range for me. There was no wind other than some slight thermal under 5 mph. The elk had made up there mind by now and were traversing the ridge to head back over into a really nasty canyon. There was a very big cow in the back of the herd that I focused on as I always look to find one on the edge to be sure I don't hit 2. First shot was a few inches back, yet still in front of the diaphragm but towards the back of the lungs. She soaked it up and started walking as the rest of the herd picked up the pace. After about 30 yards she stopped and I rolled another one in, this time in the crease and right through the center of the far shoulder. This dumped her and she slid down the steep snow covered hillside until finally getting hung up with her neck jammed under a log.
Unfortunately I did not take any pictures. It took us almost 4 hours to get around the canyon and over to the elk which was on a very nasty, super steep hillside with about 8 inches of powder that made it really hard to hike. It was about dark and we were exhausted facing a big job and a 2 mile hike out after that so I opted not to pull out the camera. Both exits were golf ball size, even the one that went through the center of the off shoulder. Impact velocity was right at 2100 with 2127 fp of energy. The first shot was a killer as it looked like a tractor with a broken hydraulic line had traversed that 30 yards through the snow when she was walking. I've been taught since I was a boy some 40 years ago that when it comes to elk you keep shooting until they're down.
I reiterate my opinion that when it comes to killing elk out to 1000 yards with a 300WM you can't do much better than a 215 Berger. It's one of the best bullets you can shoot in that cartridge bc wise and still have sufficient velocity. The high bc gives you more margin in the one area you need it, the wind to help you place that bullet where you want it. You also have a tremendous amount of retained energy when it gets there.
Everyone has an opinion and it doesn't necessarily make any right or wrong. My experiences over the last decade killing big game with a 300 WM and a Berger 215 give me the utmost confidence in that combo. I'd like to thank Broz as he's the one that convinced me to shoot them and he was right.
2 days ago I shot a very large cow elk at 859 yards, my longest kill yet. The elk came over a very sharp ridge line across a wide canyon from me as I was hiking up the ridge. They had been pushed over and there were several other hunters on down below me in the same canyon I was in. They held up at the top and were making their mind up where to go. Anyone whose been in this situation knows seconds count as they are going to figure out which direction they want to go quickly. I ran up to the top of the ridge, threw off my pack, flopped down in the snow and started getting the rifle setup. My buddy came up beside me and was kind enough to start getting a range for me. There was no wind other than some slight thermal under 5 mph. The elk had made up there mind by now and were traversing the ridge to head back over into a really nasty canyon. There was a very big cow in the back of the herd that I focused on as I always look to find one on the edge to be sure I don't hit 2. First shot was a few inches back, yet still in front of the diaphragm but towards the back of the lungs. She soaked it up and started walking as the rest of the herd picked up the pace. After about 30 yards she stopped and I rolled another one in, this time in the crease and right through the center of the far shoulder. This dumped her and she slid down the steep snow covered hillside until finally getting hung up with her neck jammed under a log.
Unfortunately I did not take any pictures. It took us almost 4 hours to get around the canyon and over to the elk which was on a very nasty, super steep hillside with about 8 inches of powder that made it really hard to hike. It was about dark and we were exhausted facing a big job and a 2 mile hike out after that so I opted not to pull out the camera. Both exits were golf ball size, even the one that went through the center of the off shoulder. Impact velocity was right at 2100 with 2127 fp of energy. The first shot was a killer as it looked like a tractor with a broken hydraulic line had traversed that 30 yards through the snow when she was walking. I've been taught since I was a boy some 40 years ago that when it comes to elk you keep shooting until they're down.
I reiterate my opinion that when it comes to killing elk out to 1000 yards with a 300WM you can't do much better than a 215 Berger. It's one of the best bullets you can shoot in that cartridge bc wise and still have sufficient velocity. The high bc gives you more margin in the one area you need it, the wind to help you place that bullet where you want it. You also have a tremendous amount of retained energy when it gets there.
Everyone has an opinion and it doesn't necessarily make any right or wrong. My experiences over the last decade killing big game with a 300 WM and a Berger 215 give me the utmost confidence in that combo. I'd like to thank Broz as he's the one that convinced me to shoot them and he was right.
