Savage99 said, "However the 308's have that slow 1-12" twist."
Sad to say, that is not entirely correct. The Colt, J.C. Higgins 51-L, Mannlicher Schoenaur, Marlin, Musketeer, Remington 722,740,742,780,700,40XB,788,600,660, Schultz & Larsen and Ruger M77 all have a 1 in 10 inch twist.
Te browning, FN, H&R, 300,308, Husqvarna, Mossberg 800, Savage 99, 110, 2400, SAKO, Stevens 110, Winchester 70,88,100, 670,770 all have a 1 in 12 inch twist.
Data from page 421 of the Speer reloading manual #10.
As long as we're discussing the .308, where's the problem with a 1 in 12" twist? Why is it too slow? I can push 220 gr. bullets (Sierra Pro-Hunter round nose) at 2300 FPS from a Winchester M70 and get sub-MOA groups at 100 yards. Seems to me it does quite well with a 1 in 12" twist. It should do just as well in a 1 in 10" twist as far as that goes. So much for the .308 not being capable of using heavy bullets in the 200 and 220 gr. class.
The reason you won't see factory ammo with 200 and 220 gr. bullets is because they do not move out fast enough to satisfy the general shooting public. After all, if it don't move out at 3000 FPS, it's bounce off the hide of a chipmunk, right?
Try working up from two grains below a max load of 44.0 gr. of W-760 and see what the results are rather than believing what you see in the gun rags.
FWIW, shortly after the 30-06 and 30-03 came out with 220 gr. bullet loads, people at that time felt the 30-40 Krag at 2000 FPS was a better elk rifle than the 30-06. The bullets of the time period didn't hold up well at 30-06 velocities. I see no reason why a careful stalker could not get close enough to an elk and use a 220 gr. bullet at 2200 to 2300 FPS and achieve success.
By the same token, there's no reason to not use a 175 gr. RN in the 7x57 at 2300 FPS on that same elk. I haven't seen any elk wearing kevlar lately. Just get close enough and put the bullet in the right place.
Paul B.
