Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Can this Elk rifle be beat?

It's a good thing that old rifle shoots so well. It even makes guys like you look good.

Now that's just hurtful lawrence 😭... lol

Ha ha..

79S, I'd bet that 338 WSM is a cool rifle as well. I always thought about putting one together but lucked into the P64 and decided I probably can't do much better... It has gone through a few iterations though since I have owned it..

I'd also throw my Mashburn into the mix as well. Pretty much a copy of my 338 and I have used my older Mashburn on a few elk so far, just not the new one, but I am pretty sure it'll be okay! It carries Bob's mark on it, I figure it doesn't hurt to have the good graces of the old boy on it while I am wandering around the woods.

I've got the P64 300 Weatherby ready as well, which is another match for the other two, just haven't really worked it out yet.. I think it'll be a decent one as well. BBC's for all of em!

Bring that 300wby down this year. I'll give it a workout.

Near perfection! Perfection.....24” barrel, provided the weight......scoped, loaded, and with with sling is under 9.0 pounds 😉 memtb

Memtb, what kind of rifle does your wife use?

Sure ain’t gonna punk on a man’s favorite rifle. To me rifle use is like wine drinking

Drink the wine you like. Use the rifle you like.

With confidence and accuracy!

Good hunting!!!

If we are going to ignore recoil, the answer is "Yes, this rifle can be beat."

If we are going to consider recoil, the answer is the same.

Probably can't be beat, but it sure could beat the hell out of you.

Outstanding!

Like a few others have posted, over the years I've killed a pile of elk with a variety of rifles (all .30 caliber or smaller), and even one with a sharp stick. My "perfect" elk rifle now is my .300 Weatherby. We all have our favorites.

Yeah it beats on both ends..

I'd have to drink a lot of wine before I took that "best" rifle out in the woods.

We think alike MH, but mine has not yet had the honor of "barking" while hunting.

^^^^This^^^^^^

The .340 was one of Bob Hagel ‘s favorites.. I have used my .340 on three elk, a whitetail, antelope, and coyotes... It is a killer for sure...

Thanks for all of the comments, even the snarky ones.

I have lighter rifles. I usually take my Wby Mk V Ultra Lightweight 7mm Wby when I go on backpacking hunts. It weighs 6-3/4 lbs / less than 8 lbs with scope/mounts. When I am hunting from a camp with a daypack, I generally take whatever I want. I use a safari sling that puts the rifle weight in front of me, which offsets the pack, and seems to make it feel lighter.

I carried the .340 many miles over rough Alaskan terrain with no problem. Same for this 375 Wby on an earlier hunt, which is even heavier.





I can’t recall being encumbered by its weight. Body weight + gun + gear/ pack is about 250 lbs. The extra weight of the 340 is less than 1% of that. Better to lose a few pounds on the waistline than worry about 1.5 lbs of rifle. Though, when I go heavy (backpacking), I bring the lighter 7mm.

As to recoil, yeah, you really can ignore it if you don’t convince yourself otherwise. I just took the 340 to the range today and chronoed it again. I got an average of 3,163, bout the same as above. If I am going to flinch, it’s at the range, shooting from the bench. Still, I shot eight 3-shot groups from the .340 and all of them were under an inch at 100 yds. I was using a Labradar, and what’s interesting about it is that it records downrange velocities. So, you can check the claimed ballistic coefficients. The TTSX’s claimed BCs were right on. I wear a Cabaela’s version of the Past-style shoulder pad when sighting in at the bench. It makes a BIG difference. If I’m flinching at the range and getting sub-MOA groups, I’m never going to think of that when I am upright and viewing an animal through the crosshairs.

The .338 RUM and Wby 338/378 may beat it by margins if you reload, but for available production loads, no. For example, Cor-Bon, which loads to the max, manufactures the load mentioned above, and they load the .338 RUM load for the same bullet at 100 fps less than for the .340 Wby. And the .338/375 loads (there are few) from Wby lists the .225gr TTSX as going 3,180—only 17 fps faster than the 340 I am getting. I’m sure you could reload the 338/378 faster than the .340 by a bit, but factory ammo options do not reflect this.

There are plenty of great elk rifles from the .270 on up. But I think this one is pretty capable. And I can carry it.

Never had a problem with a 26” barrel even in thick cover. Maybe it’s how I carry it.

If anyone on here reloads the 340, and need brass, I have a TON of once-fired brass. Let me know, and I will send it to you.

Model 70 SS, .338 WM , 8 1/2 pounds (scoped, loaded, with sling), .225 TTSX’s at 2950 fps! memtb