Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting The 300 Wby Mag for elk- is there anything better?

For those who may have missed it, here's an article on the .300 Wby. by Mule Deer-

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/newsletters/October_2008.html

Love the 300wby. I've had a half dozen (USA and Japan) and all were sub-moa shooters. Took my last elk with a Fibermark. If I have another it'll be on a 700 wearing Krieger & McMillan.

Its just pure poison!

I have used the .30-06, .300 WSM, .300 Win Mag, .300 Wby, .338-06, .338 Win Mag, 9.3x74R and .375 H&H on elk. I could never tell that any one of those killed quicker or "better" than the other. However, I don't shoot elk at extreme ranges, so the differences in trajectories (which are pretty much negligible at ranges less than 300-350 yds) don't bother me.

Bighorn:

I steer away from Weatherby calibers because you have to buy Weatherby ammo at $65/box. I have killed 33 elk using a 30-06 and 180 grain Nosler Partitions leaving the tube at 2,880 fps. I think the middle calibers, anything from as small as .270 to as big as .338 magnum, are best suited for elk hunting. I recommend a minimum of 150 grain controlled expansion bullets. A 30-30 will kill an elk but its� range is limited to about 200 yards. It�s my opinion that anything bigger than a .338mag is more gun than necessary and I don�t enjoy the recoil of those big calibers. A well placed shot from just about any legal caliber will kill an elk but nothing will work right with bad bullet placement, so one needs to use a caliber with which they are comfortable and competent and take the time to get it right the first time.

KC

few of us could pick a good wife, or hope to pick the best possible wife for a friend and few of us can select a friends ELK rifle, personally I think the 340 wby or 375 H&H is a better choice, most likely because I seldom see elk past 300-350 yards and I like having a bit more bullet mass, my late hunting partner thought I was magnum crazy, and used a BLR in 358 win , pushing 250 grain speer bullets at only 2300fps, for 30 plus years and never had the least problem killing elk.
the 300 wby is certainly a fine choice , but like wives a bit of each rifles charm is in the eye of the beholder

Be using one since the mid eighties. Kills elk DRT.

Reading ballistic tables, the .300 Weatherby with 200 grain bullets may be the best elk CARTRIDGE though I think a .340 Weatherby with a 225 is as good or better.

However, I don't care for the weight of the rifles I need them in for me to handle the recoil. Therefore I don't hunt them.

I am just as happy with a 165-180 in my '06 or a 210-225 in my .338. My .308 Norma with a 180-200 may be the best of all, I just don't hunt it much either.

I've killed elk with all kinds of calibers and rifles. I've seen all kinds used for elk hunting as well. The Weatherby gives you 100 yards more range and energy than a .30-06. The Weatherby has a LOT more recoil, expense and bark. To me, it isn't anything to get excited about at all. I dial in a couple more clicks on the scope in the .06 and dead is dead.

The name "Weatherby" and "Magnum" offer more to those with egos than they do any real practical hunting difference If you need more than an .06, you need a LOT more and any of the various .300's aren't much of a step up. That should fan the flames a bit. Flinch

Remember a 300 Weatherby is a souped up 30-06. It will handle every bullet the 30-06 will only faster and flatter. It is like needing a bobcat to hunt with but you took a lynx instead.

I shoot a 200 grain 30 caliber accubond over 3300fps from the muzzle out of a 9lb fully loaded rifle with a 27.5" lilja barrel. It shoots itty-bitty groups and is any animals worst [bleep] nightmare. I watched a girl shoot an elk in expert fashion with this rifle recently and have it all on video. It ain't a 300 weatherby, or a weatherby. Yuck.

I know that girl......yes, she can shoot!

I like my 300 WBY alot, just recently switched to a 7mm WBY Accumark because my 300 has a brake. I can tell you this, of all the elk that I have shot with the 300 (8) and the 7mm (2) there was a big difference in how hard they went down, the 300 puts them down quick and hard! I agree that the Accumark is heavy, I just bought a Remington 700 Thumbhole stocked 300 WSM which shoots everything great that I'm going to start using a lot!

I just started learning that lesson. I am becoming a fan of the .45-70.

add me to this list....unless the .35 Whelen is an option!

The big 30s kick a little hard for my tender shoulder but they sure can kill elk with good shot placement.

I would go 300 RUM with out a doubt.

My 300 Wby ammo costs me $1.13 per shot with 200 gr Barnes TSX bullets, about same as any other caliber in factory loads with non-premium bullets, short of cheap .223. If you use cheaper bullets the cost goes down dramatically. People who buy factory ammo, don't reload and complain about the price don't bring up much sympathy with me. Reloading is so affordable that bringing up "$65 per box" as an argument against a round seems to make no sense.

A 10 pound 300 kicks to hard?????

300 weatherby is a great elk round, but I prefer the 338's, 338 rum,338 edge,338-378,340 weatherby

For me but then I am a wimp.

When I was younger big mean people made me shoot all manner of silly things like .585 Nyetis and .600 Nitros and .500 Maximums and all that big recoil left me mentally scared.