Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Light and Fast or Heavy and Slow for an All-Arounder?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5dve7vAY9I "BRUSH GUN ARGUEMENT"

Yep,mid range and sedate, 30-06 and 180 gr anything that shoots accurately.

I have a M7 in 300saum as one of my elk rifles. I can't disagree on the other choices but I just load 180 Partitions in it and call it good.

Dogger I shoot this load awesome. Considering the cost of an elk or bison hunt I feel changing to a different bullet would not be a big deal.

175 Barnes LRX at 2,900 would be my choice.

Guy, you gotta start hunting closer! Last 5 animals I shot COMBINED added up to the one closest critter you whacked!





OK, j/k. I am envious of your success. Very dry season for me, and all 5 of those deer were last year. Big goose egg so far in late 16 early 17.

If trying to avoid recoil, I'd run the Barnes TTSX 130.

If truly all-around, I'd run the Nosler ETip 150. This bullet has a high BC and can be pushed fast and will penetrate anything.

I land here for an all arounder for the game the OP listed. In fact I could be happy with Brad's 308 idea. I like a 180 bullet for elk though and think the 06 pushes it to a useful velocity with tolerable recoil in a light rifle.

In truth, I like the 300 SAUM. I had one for a while and managed to kill a couple elk with it. To me is it a short action 30-06. I struggled to get mine past 2900 with a 180 using a 24" barrel. It really liked 2850 - 2875. You can get 2850 in the 'venerable' 06 (sorry couldn't resist) with a 180. If it were me, I'd load it with a 165 or 180 Partition, Aframe, North fork, some kind of premium cup/core and go forth.

Apparently like several others here, I'm looking for simple, efficient, and tolerable recoil. I've settled on the ol' 06 for my elk size critter getter. Ive also grown attached to my 270 for a flat shooter.

I'm actually not much of a fan of long-range hunting, but do tend to hunt some open country. Does it help that a few years ago I shot a black bear in the brush at about 10 or 15 feet? That got my attention! Also, did call a bear in this year to about 20 yards. I decided he wasn't big enough, and he decided I didn't look like the easy meal he'd anticipated. We agreed to a truce.

Guy

thanks for the informative replies... i have a bunch of 180 BTs on hand... will start there... my only concern is how they will hold up on a big animal in timber up close...

I have a Colt Light Rifle sent off to Melvin Forbes for his various "upgrades." The rifle has been very accurate with 180gr Partitions. My load is modest, not to different from the max 06 loadings. This bullet holds up under any circumstance.
My intention is for this to become a "go to" rifle for all occasions. The major reason for sending to Mr. Forbes is improve carrying characteristics.

Brad,

Have you had the opportunity to compare a 140 accubond in the 260 to a 165 accubond out of a 308 for on game performance including elk?

I am very curious what the real world end result would be considering the 6.5 140 accubond has .287 SD and .509 BC as compared to a .308 165 accubond of .248 SD and .475 BC.

As a rule of thumb I have always found higher S.D. at equal velocities to penetrate better when comparing bullets of equal construction than just relying on weight of the projectile alone. For instance.....20 some years ago I hunted with a 300 win mag useing 165 partitions. When I changed from the 300 win mag to the 270 and a 130 partition I found penetration when shooting elk to be comparable enouph I couldn't see any measurable difference.

The 270 like the 6.5 has good B.C. and S.D. numbers when compared to 30 caliber bullets however the 6.5 seems to be a step above even the 270.

I've not tried the 6.5 cool-aid on anything other than deer as of yet but I fully intend to see for myself if it might just be one of the best rounds ever invented concerning lite recoil with an ability to kill even elk sized critters.

I hear in Sweden moose sized critters have a dreaded fear of 6.5 bullets

Though I've not tried it yet....personal experience gives me some confidence that a 140 6.5 accubond at 2800 fps would probably be a better penetrator than a .308 165 accubond at 2900 fps when considering an S.D. .248 vs .287

Please do not consider any of this post as trying to make an argument of any sort and it is none other than making a limited educated guess by myself who no doubt has far less experience than a good many who post here at the campfire.

I however have read your thread in the reloading section pertaining to the 6.5 creedmoor and 140 grain bullets and as one of the posters mentioned was also wondering if you might have been considering useing something like that for elk. Myself, I have considered it and next year fully intend to find out. I think results concerning an entire country, "sweden" is a good indicator of what I might expect to see.






Trystan

Stop with the hotcor stuff. I need more and would like to not have them out of stock everywhere.

I'm in the 180-200gr Accubond camp

First, the right cartridge for serious hunter is not the cartridge for a serial rifle builder. Which are you?

A serious hunter wants a rifle chambered for a cartridge that is easily available in out-of-the-way places. Your choice doesn't fit that requirement.

In addition, most of the guys here run a 30-06 at brass busting pressure. I don't understand that. I would rather get a 300 Winchester run it at modest pressures. Factory 300 will out run any 30-06 loads.

Recoil: I had a 338 that was beating me up. So, I switched to moderate load of medium burn rate powder. That eliminated the bite it previously had and only cost about 75 fps.

A 300 loaded with 165's and H4350 to 3050 is a kitty cat yet out performs any 30-06 or 300 SAUM load. This is easy in a 23" bbl.

Consider German built, rear engined cars. Which works best at 80 mph?
I will take a 911 over any VW Bug.

Oh, if you want a lw low recoil killer then get a 270 Win and go hunting.

Yup! Well said!

I agree with Bob and RinB.

Trystan, I've never used a 6.5 on elk, so have no way to know. I've killed a good number of elk with the 308, including at least four with the 165 Accubond, and not found it wanting.

My guess is the 6.5/140 would have a penetration edge, but I doubt it would make too much real-world difference. I think a guy would have to kill about 100 elk in a variety of conditions with each to draw any firm conclusion.

I will say, the more apples/apples comparison with the 6.5/140/2,650 fps is the 308/180/2,650 fps. I suspect those two are VERY close.

I think you have found the good all purpose round. A heavy 30 cal bullet at good speed kills good and doesn't seem to blow up and bruise up the meat you want to eat like the small bullets do. You shoot once and go get the animal where the bullet hit him.