Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles what cartridge for longer shots on deer and maybe elk?

My thought exactly. Good optics and a160 with a good BC will take care of any deer to five hundred or elk within reasonable range. You can stay at 7.5 lbs or under without too much recoil.

A 270 WSM with 140 Accubonds might work.

So what is wrong wit a belted mag? Other than it really isn't needed it still doesn't hurt anything..

That's overkill, I've seen a 120mm do just fine.

This

Or even a lowly 270 Win with 140 Accubonds....

Not sure what the OP wants out of his long range rifle? I know this will cause a lot of flak to fly but I have had great results using Ballistic Tips and Sierra Gamekings at the longer ranges, notably in the 150 and 160 gr. weights. The tougher bullets like the Accubond and the Partition are what I use for the shorter ranges generally but I have used the Partitions near and far with no complaints. I have a 7x57, a 280 AI and a 7MM RM. I like them all. I went thru a couple of boxes of 175gr. Hornady spire points shot from the 7MM RM shooting things far and near with good results every time. All you need is an adequately powerful rifle that you shoot well and some hands on trajectory testing to go forth and kill game.

Me too on the WSM, using either 165 or 180 bullets. I don't own this caliber, but it really looks good on paper. I have used the .308 Norma mag, and 300
WM, however, which perform nearly identically with the .300WSM. Pure dynamite! A .300 SM may be the perfect all round NA big-game caliber.

Currently I'm using a Rem 725SA rebarreled to .260 on caribou out to 400 yards, and a 27 inch heavy barrelled '06 with 150 grain bullets out to 500.

bonefish,

I have made a couple very long, and I mean loooooong shots on mule deer, one with a .270 Win & one with a 7MM Rem Mag. Even a .308 Win will shoot a lot father than more hunters can shoot.

Here's what I've learned many years ago. When I see something a long way off that I want to shoot, I assess. My first thought is to close distance. If I can't, I'll stay put and hope he comes to me.

Shooting big game a long way away requires that all conditions are perfect. More often than not...far more often than not, the wise thing to do is not shoot.

Were you to ask me, the standard .280 Rem is the single best cartridge for all North American big game hunting. It's all about the physical properties of .284 caliber bullets. I don't own a .280 Rem. Had I not been as smart as I was when I was young and knew a lot more then than I do now, I'd of bought a Sako .280 Rem and would have owned only one rifle.

My 7mm RM was my only bolt-action elk rifle for 20+ years. Your .280AI will do fine.

Nothing particularly wrong with the belted mags other than the belt isn�t necessary for most of them. (The original H&H cartridges being a notable exception due to their long, gently sloped shoulder.) For most the belt is an anachronism but it needn�t be a problem and shouldn�t be a deterrent to selecting one of the many fine cartridges that use belted cases.

I thought I had bought my last rifle chambered for a belted mag but practicality got in the way and my .338 is a belted Win Mag instead of being a wildcat based on the .375 Ruger case as intended. NOW I am done buying rifles chambered for belted mags. Until the next time�

Sounds to me like you �need� a .300 Win Mag or Weatherby. I don�t find the recoil of my .338WM objectionable but velocities are lower than normal due n part to a short (22�) barrel. Longest kill of my life was with that rifle, a cow elk at 487 yards. If I wanted to reach further I�d grab my .300WM or 7mm RM.