Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
Seems like a 140gr starting at 2700 fps might have 750 to 800 fpe at that range, I don't shoot one but there are a numbers that do that are available here, "what say them"? would everyone agrees or disagree that the percent of shots on Elk at that range with that type of energy without a vitals hit "would or would not" tip a big Bull over? Or would it have to be a spine of medulla oblongata shotjust asking, I'm not trying to poke the Bear guys'..., Cheers.
PM
Additionally I never said he dropped instantly but apparently you weren't there to see so I wonder why you seem to think that it did. Apparently you aim for the head, yeh' right!
Nice shot. At that range, he probably didn't even notice the sound of the shot. And yes, all of the things you mentioned (altitude, barrel length and several other things have an effect on MV. I shoot a 35 Whelen, which I use to make shots to 700 yards, and I don't doubt there are those who would say its a bad round for distance, too. However, it hits like a hammer at distance, and makes an entrance hole that's about .37 caliber. Exit holes are much, much larger. And most animals won't react to the noise of a shot if they are at a distance. They don't attach it to danger. I've shot deer at 400 yards and more and had the herd just mill around or even run towards me and stop. If they don't see you or smell you, sometimes they'll just stand there and die without reacting to the sound or the hit. The sound comes significantly later than the hit and they don't make the connection. Again, good shot. But back to the question posed in this post, about best under 500 yards. I'd still go with the 30-06. Why? Because I just like the -06 for its combination of range, bullet weight, selection, availability, effectiveness, versitility and penetration with the heavier bullets. Oh, and I just like the -06 because.
Isn't it just. It hits like a freight train with either the Sierra Gameking 225 grain or the Speer 250 grain Hotcor. MV is 2725-2750 for the Sierra, and 2675-2685 for the Hotcor. ME is 3600 to 4000ftlbs and it scores a 35 or so on the Taylor Knock out scale. Entrance wounds are large, exit wounds are enormous, and it hits with the energy of a 44 magnum at the muzzle at 1,000 yards. Any chest cavity hit with the Whelen creates a large exit wound (silver dollar or bigger) at any distance under 700 yards, and results in collapsed lungs within about 30 yards at most or DRT when hit. Its a serious round, and right on the edge of being an African Dangerous Game round. The down side is that it generates quite a bit of recoil. It kicks about as much as a .300 Weatherby, or maybe a little more. But I seldom have to blood trail any animal when it is hit in the chest. And then, only for a short distance. Its also a really good bear and moose round. But for the purpose of this thread, I wouldn't suggest the Whelen. It recoils too much for most people, and ammo is almost a strict hand loading proposition. I'd still suggest either the 280/280AI or the 30-06.
I think energy needed to kill deer and elk is way overstated. If you shoved a 9mm up against an elk or deer and put it in the vitals would it die? A 9mm has about 350ft lbs at the muzzle. We've killed elk with a lot less energy than 1000ft lbs.
