Ultimate Budget Caliber

[bigngreen]

I've always wondered if a WSM was what I was after. I've had a couple 300 Win Mags and they never really got me excited. To be honest though, I need to spend more time behind all of my rifles.

The 300 Win has never blown my skirt up though I've built a LOT of them. The 270 WSM running a 170 Berger us my personal favorite, a 300 WSM running a 215 Berger is an absolute ideal all round elk rig as well, hammers them hard and easy shooting. The 270 WSM I can run unbraked very effectively the 300's I run braked.

 

[Dean2]

This seems a very odd question. Hunting Elk is an epxensive proposition for the majority of people. Even up here where I can hunt them every year and very close to home for not much cost, the cost of the rifle and ammo is completely IRRELEVANT. Take three or four tanks of gas at $125 a pop, and even a couple of days off work and the price of ammo doesn't even register. Most guys are spending FAR more than that on their Elk hunts.

My last ten elk, furthest was just under 500 yards, were all shot with a 308, not to save money but I love the lightweight of the LH NULA and it shoots great. I have also shot thew with 300 WM, 7 Rem, 7 RUM, 338 Win, 375 H$H and 45-70, because that was what I happened to be hunting with that year. Pick a gun that suits your fancy and go kill elk.

 

[ButterBean]

This seems a very odd question. Hunting Elk is an epxensive proposition for the majority of people. Even up here where I can hunt them every year and very close to home for not much cost, the cost of the rifle and ammo is completely IRRELEVANT. Take three or four tanks of gas at $125 a pop, and even a couple of days off work and the price of ammo doesn't even register. Most guys are spending FAR more than that on their Elk hunts.

And here we go, we've got two wheels in the ditch and the thread is about to be upended

 

[Dean2]

And here we go, we've got two wheels in the ditch and the thread is about to be upended

There is an old saying that there is no such thing as a stupid question. Personally, I disagree with that. Just because you can frame a question and ask it, doesn't mean it is a good or valuable question.

 

[bigngreen]

This seems a very odd question. Hunting Elk is an epxensive proposition for the majority of people. Even up here where I can hunt them every year and very close to home for not much cost, the cost of the rifle and ammo is completely IRRELEVANT. Take three or four tanks of gas at $125 a pop, and even a couple of days off work and the price of ammo doesn't even register. Most guys are spending FAR more than that on their Elk hunts.

My last ten elk, furthest was just under 500 yards, were all shot with a 308, not to save money but I love the lightweight of the LH NULA and it shoots great. I have also shot thew with 300 WM, 7 Rem, 7 RUM, 338 Win, 375 H$H and 45-70, because that was what I happened to be hunting with that year. Pick a gun that suits your fancy and go kill elk.

It's not the hunt that you count ammo cost it's the shooting the rest of the year to be up to a level where a 800 yard shot is one that is comfortable and you got the tools developed to do it, rounds down range is expensive, I spend much more on shooting in prep to kill an elk than I do killing an elk!!

 

[ButterBean]

There is an old saying that there is no such thing as a stupid question. Personally, I disagree with that. Just because you can frame a question and ask it, doesn't mean it is a good or valuable question.

That's some fancy Craw Fishing but once again is totally irrelevant, Explain to me what you said had anything to do with the OP's question?, Did you read the OP's question? He didn't ask about gas prices, Where you hunt, How much vacation time you have, What kind of truck you drive, How much your boots cost, How many miles you got out of your last set of tires, How much a gallon of milk cost's or if you prefer gas over charcoal,He asked a very simple question yet here we are ....... No offense intended

 

[Goldengun]

I've always wondered if a WSM was what I was after. I've had a couple 300 Win Mags and they never really got me excited. To be honest though, I need to spend more time behind all of my rifles.

I've been shooting a win70 in 300wsm for around 20 years. I have never shot or plan to shoot a critter at 1,000 yards, but I aint saying I won't. Used according to it's capability, I think it's hard to beat overall for a 30 cal. There are others that do certain things better, but top to bottom, I'm happy I stumbled on the 300wsm. Now, with all the new bullets, I'm thinking what I really want and all I need is a 270wsm.

 

[Dean2]

It's not the hunt that you count ammo cost it's the shooting the rest of the year to be up to a level where a 800 yard shot is one that is comfortable and you got the tools developed to do it, rounds down range is expensive, I spend much more on shooting in prep to kill an elk than I do killing an elk!!

So framed in those terms, there is realistically little difference from one round to the next if you handload. I can load 460 Bee for about the same as 338 Win. Barrels are replaceable at 800 a pop and the ammo to wear one out, even at only 1500 rounds per barrel to replacement, is over $3,000 for hand loads and nearly double that for high end factory ammo.. If you have to buy factory ammo, then ammo price and availability of suitable loads will be the determining factor in what the right budget cartridge is. To 6-700 yards there are many options from for factory ammo from conventional .284s like 280 AI to the 30s like 308, 30-06 to 338 Whelen, but if you really want to be able to do 1000 consistently then you are much more limited and should probably be looking at the magnums in 7, 30 and 338..

 

[ButterBean]

So framed in those terms, there is realistically little difference from one round to the next if you handload. I can load 460 Bee for about the same as 338 Win. Barrels are replaceable at 800 a pop and the ammo to wear one out, even at only 1500 rounds per barrel to replacement, is over $3,000 for hand loads and nearly double that for high end factory ammo.. If you have to buy factory ammo, then ammo price and availability of suitable loads will be the determining factor in what the right budget cartridge is. To 6-700 yards there are many options from for factory ammo from conventional .284s like 280 AI to the 30s like 308, 30-06 to 338 Whelen, but if you really want to be able to do 1000 consistently then you are much more limited and should probably be looking at the magnums in 7, 30 and 338..

The OP's not hand loading and he asked specifically about " 300 WM, 280 AI, 270/7WSM? "

 

[Dean2]

The OP's not hand loading and he asked specifically about " 300 WM, 280 AI, 270/7WSM? "

I spoke to the 280 AI and the 300 WM as well as 7 mag, offered no opinion of the 270 WSM. I also spoke to factory ammo. Apparently there is nothing I can say that will satisfy you so I am going to choose the ignore any of your future comments. Have a nice day.

 

[Goldengun]

And here we go, we've got two wheels in the ditch and the thread is about to be upended

Ya gotta let it go brother, just let it go.

 

[rustyshackleford]

The OP's not hand loading and he asked specifically about " 300 WM, 280 AI, 270/7WSM? "

If he isn't handloading you can scratch 3 of the 4 off this list.

 

[Dean2]

ButterBean said:


The OP's not hand loading and he asked specifically about " 300 WM, 280 AI, 270/7WSM? "

[QUOTE]rustyshackleford

If he isn't handloading you can scratch 3 of the 4 off this list.[/QUOTE]

What would you guys think it is the ultimate budget LRH round for elk class animals? Say, out to 700-100 yards? There are all the latest and greatest out there, but they are expensive to shoot and load for, and the rifles are not cheap either. Think in terms of price per round, brass and rifle availability and ballistics. Maybe the ease of obtaining high BC bullets factors in here too, as some of the more exotic bullets are hard to find!

What say you? Are we talking a 300 WM, 280 AI, 270/7WSM?

If you read the actual post the OP made Butterball is actually wrong about not handloading and the question wasn't intended to be limited to the four examples, they were just representative of the genre, but I was trying to be polite and not pick on his shortcomeings. It is not a courtesy he offers others but no point in perpetuating the nonsense.

 

[Goldengun]

To be honest when I originally read the post, I didn't take it to mean it could only be one of the 4 calibers listed, but maybe it was meant to be that way.