Have not killed as many elk as Shrapnel and some others, but have been on lots of elk hunts for an easterner(we aren't talking a double handful;way more than that),and been around the taking of a good many in addition to those I killed.Virtually all were mature full sized 5 and 6 point bulls.
I have also had lots of opportunities to dig through many elk carcasses post mortem and see what the bullets did.
Seen them killed with a good variety of cartridges from 25's to 340's and most everything in between. I have never been anywhere that the 300 Weatherby was not an excellent elk cartridge. Of course I have never seen one killed with anything beyond 550 yards or so. The ones I killed with the 300 Weatherby and Winchester magnums showed excellent performance.
Some of the fastest kills ( and I mean dumped where they stood out to 500 yards or so) have been with the 7 rem mag and Nosler Partitions. Anyone who thinks that isn't a top notch elk out fit is IMHO, smoking crack...
But then I have seen the same things with the 7 rem Mag, the 30/06,300 Win Mag, 8 Rem Mag, the 338, the 340 Weatherby etc etc.
IME the 300 magnums seem to make bigger holes in elk than smaller calibers; the heavy bullets break (smash, not just penetrate) heavy shoulder and leg bones with good bullets, and Nosler Partitions(180 or 200) penetrate a long ways in elk bodies, but not much further than 160-175 in 7mm near as I can tell.
But do they kill elk any faster? I don't know and bet you'd need 300-400 kills with each and a stop watch to tell the difference...but what do I know?
The 300's are no insurance for bad hits around the fringes of vital areas.I have gotten a bit sloppy a couple of times and hit slightly off center with a 300 magnum; they needed follow up and I did not lose them but it can happen. A friend lost a good BC bull with a high hit from a 300 RUM,and I have seen the same thing happen with a 7 Rem Mag on a bull shot by another hunter.
IME You have to be just as precise with a 300 Weatherby as anything else. I don't think added horsepower saves you with bad hits,but think very strongly that more penetration than you think you need is your friend...with anything.
