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

Well, I guess that I need to offer up another post.

Yes I have harvested Elk with center-fire rifles. Back in the day my go to was a Ruger M77r in the grand old caliber of .30-06 Springfield.

Took the first one as a teen. I can't remember Bu I think that I was 16 years old. My father was not a hunter and I had to figure this out of my own. I think that my first Elk was in 1979. The shot was approximately 50-75 yards across a small canyon near Tony's Grove Lake in northern Utah. If I recall, because I was young, and did this on my own, I think that I used Hornady Frontier ammo 150 grn soft points. Probably not the best choice. But, I new my limits, and the limits of the rifle and the ammo. I made what I thought that a clean ethical shot and the animal dropped in his tracks.

Moving on. Not to bash anyone. Yes, I have lost animals. Although no large game, I have lost a few ducks, and a pheasant or two. And I'm sure a few coyotes that have ran off and died somewhere also. And just as I have felt remorse for not being able to harvest the animal, I'm sure that Coyote Hunter has felt remorse for being unable to harvest his Elk. I don't want to take any criticism, and I'm not condoning the lost animal, but I'm sure that there are others here who have lost a deer, elk or some other critter and are not willing to own up to it on an open forum.

Now, I've harvested more Elk (9) with a .54 cal muzzle loader. More than any other rifle I own. Longest shot was 147 yards. Closet shot was 30 yards. And it dropped everyone of them in their tracks like Thor's hammer. 120 grains of 777 powder and a Thompson Center Maxi Hunter 430 grn bullet.

If I remember, that charge and bullet are about the close range equivalent of a 375 H&H. Yes, I know that the .375 carries much more long range power... but at 50-75 yards the .54 has enormous energy. And the shot at 147 yards dropped that elk flat. All for legs fell out from under the animal when hit.

And yes, I do have a .300 Wthby. It's a Safe Queen. Never been fired. Still have the original box and factory accuracy target. I guess I need to figure out a use for it. Maybe my new squirrel gun? Any recommendations?

As for the .300 on elk, I'll go back to my original thought in this thread. A .338 Win Mag or a .375 H&H are better choices. But as Mudhen has stated, age is creeping up and I find that a sharp heavy recoil is not fun anymore. As a many have taught me in the past, a well placed shot from a smaller round more than makes up for a poor placed shot from a heavy magnum. Practice, Practice, Practice.