Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Larger 30 Cals for Big Game...Still GTG?

Bullets, lots and lots of bullet choices for calibers under a .30 cal.

For a .30 cal, unless you’re going to go 300 Norma or 300 PRC, is there really that much improvement over a 300 Roy or RUM? And is it really needed? If so, when and how come?

An aside and a fairly big aside at that for some - Norma and PRC 30’s gives a user better BC and flight capabilities over a standard 30 cal chambered for lower BC bullets...But, is it really needed for a guy who has a distance that he knows will likely be the killing yardage for his hunting grounds? Say 300-750 yards.

Without fanboying high BC bullets being the ultimate in LR shooting...The question “Is a hunter losing much slinging a 180g NAB or 220g Partition, BT or AB”? All which have a good record of putting critters in the dirt at the above yardage? 😎

I've used the 300WM and the older Barnes 180xbt on Plains Game, my furthest shot was a couple right at 375yds. My SIL has used a 300 RUM I had made for him and a load I worked up for it: Nosler 200 AB. He killed a cow elk with it a tad over 440yds. I once had an older guy who shot a lot of LR and when the 300 RUM came out I called and asked him about it, for elk. He said it this way, " A 300WM is a good 500yds elk rifle, a 300 RUM is a good 700yds elk rifle. He has used both and done that with both. So, I tend to agree, once you get past a 300 WM, it only has advantage at the longest ranges. A 300 Weatherby will run right with a 300 RUM too.

Interesting topic.

I guess it won’t be long until sprout spouts off.

Larry won’t have much to say...It’s the “Elk Hunting Forum.” 😬

Personally, if a guy was in the market for his first bigger .30 Cal for medium/large fur hunting. I could see investigating the newer sleek bullet options available in a PRC rifle...

But since a lot of hunters won’t risk a 800-1000 yard shot for fear of wounding. Stepping over a 300 Roy, 300 UltraMag and even a 300 Win mag for a Norma or PRC, at this moment, given limits on box ammo being nil in some locales. It seems like a small step forward but a bigger step backwards based on the criteria outlined...Unless one is going to strictly load for the newer clambering. Then lack of store ammo is moot.
😎

My favorite is the 300 WSM... inherently accurate, and a 180 at 3,000 fps is a serious elk killer... I've done it many times.

I missed the 300 WSM...A good round indeed. Thanks for adding it. 😎

I think it goes without saying today, a lot of guys aren’t hunting the bigger .30’s. With better bullets, less recoil, weight and smaller overall rigs being more ideal for packing up, down and around mountains. The .30 is not the go 2 rifle chambering as much...

Maybe I’m just getting old...But, I’ve done some impressive work with mine over many years. So, I still grab one for bull hunting. 😎

A 300 Mag of some sort is a serious hunting cartridge... I'm just not that "serious" anymore

My safe has more choices in it capable of elk than is really needed. Thing is I started using a .338WM about 30 years ago, and it's still as accurate as it was then, still pokes holes like it did. Although it seems heavier than it used to, it's still the first one I grab for elk. Is there better choices? Maybe. I may even have a few. But, it's a reliable old friend.

I have a .300WM with a great scope on it that rarely goes. It's very capable, and I shoot it well enough. There's plenty of others lighter, smaller caliber, or whatever, but some things just seem to fit. It's like a good saddle.

No. The vast majority of hunters won't see any real benefit with super-high B.C. values because they don't shoot far enough to take advantage of them. A faster, lower weight bullet and often lighter recoil load will shoot as flat at their ranges, often with less recoil, and will arrive on target with more than enough of the stuff required to get the job done.

Any of the .30 magnums is good to go with the right bullet selection. My personal preference is a .300 Weatherby with 168 gr TTSX loaded to 3,300 fps. Is it more than what is generally needed? Yup

I have never lacked anything using a 200 grain Partition from my 300 magnum. In fact, not from any of them 2 of which were 308 Norma's.

The idea that because a few companies bring out bullets with higher BCs that somehow the old tried and true "gold-standards" that worked so wall for 60-70 years or more, suddenly stop working is just idiotic.

But never fear, there are a LOT of idiots to carry that flag forward.



You will do just fire Beaver10. Just like about a million other hunters who used the flat base Noslers and other older bullets........ that never gave any problems.

After reading through the thread, all the comments are on point in terms of use and effectiveness of the venerable .30cal rifle.

Having shot competitively , and thus rolling my own loads, High BC is predominantly for flatter trajectory, bucking and slicing through wind in long distance shots. Yet as stated, most hunters do not need this component in hunting due to the relatively short distances in shots taken. Long distance hunting is clearly personal preference and more about shooting skill than "hunting" skill in getting in close proximity to the animal.

My bow hunting tendency and preference is to get as close to the animal as possible no matter the method. Then, end it's life in as efficient a manner as possible. Which is any responsible hunter/conservationists goal. In either case, long range shots are not right or wrong, rather personal preference.
That stated, a Muzzle Velocity is directly related to projectile weight, barrel twist and length of barrel. Accuracy is directly related to the skill of the shooter, quality of load, and quality/condition and length of barrel- for the most part.

There is little difference between a 300wm and .300Norma for hunting purposes. Both will get the job done. As an example I shoot .300wm 190- 220 grain bullet w/ MV at @ 3000 fps. The range approximates from 2950fps- 3050fps. My friend's 300 Norma runs a 220gr consistently at 3150 fps. Length of barrell on each is 25"-26". Both rounds will absolutely smoke any game animal in NA including a Grizzly.

My .300RUM runs a 190-220 grain round approximately 3100-3200+ reliably. Whereas my 7mm RUM runs 165gr bullet at @ 3050fps and in a much lighter projectile. All of these rounds are either CorBon/AccuBon loads or SMK's.

Needless to say anything from deer to sheep and elk, the 7mm RUM will get it done. IF I were hunting moose or bear .300wm is my go to.

Then again hunters have been killing elk with a 270 for probably close to a century. It's all about preference and goals.

Beaver10,you forgot about the .30/378 Wby.

If I were in the market for a big .30 the .30/378 Wby would be a contender.

What was that big Lazzeroni 30 cal magnum and how did it compare to the 30/378. I "almost" bought a Weatherby Accumark 338/378 many years back. I finally realized I would never hunt with it out here. It always "sounded nice" to me to sit on a ridge/glass and pop a mule deer or elk on the other ridge. Then I realized, I just never hunt that way. But I do like the idea of a heavier, longer 338 bullet.

The big Lazzeroni .30 cal is the .7.82 Warbird.

Just a quick search of the ballistics,the Warbird is just over 100 fps faster the the Wby. The Warbird sends a 180 grain bullet at 3550 fps and the Wby is 3420 fps.

Shot plenty of targets and game up to and including elk. I used 200 grain AB's, Partitions and TBBC's , all resulting in nice dead bulls with one shot. Closest was 48 yards, longest was 250 yards. Not a single case of bad or marginal performance ever.

For deer I used 180 grain AB's and thile they performed well, their terminal performance suggestedtgat I might be better suited with a faster opening BT. We have large bodies whitetails here but still, I didnt need anything more than a BT in my 300's.

My most recent experiment involved trying a 190 grain VLD in my Colt Sauer 300 Win Mag. It really liked that bullet on paper and I wanted to see what it would do on whitetails. Most of my shots with this rifle were in the 300 yard range on our large agricultural fields. Last year I had a "contract killing" for a large doe at the end of the season. A lady in our church loves deer meat and her husband was recently deceased. I was glad to help out. 390 yards away is a big ol nanny goat doe, about 180#. A head on shot put the bullet right where you tie your bow tie. She runs maybe 50 yards and falls over. Make my way to her and she appears gut shot....guts blown completely out. What? I found that the shot was placed very good, with the bullet riding just under the backbone and lodging in her right ham. It was the hydrostatic shock that "gutted" her. The shock of the VLD impact, and traveling through her, had unzipped her belly along the way. Crazy what bullets will do sometime.

Elk, I owned one for several years...Made my farthest one shot on a nice bull with it. 842 yards with a Barnes 180g TSX. I actually sold it after putting almost 460 rounds through it - thinking barrel life might be getting close to expiration. 😎

All except one of my elk have fallen to my 300 H&H /180 TTSX, I'm happy to shoot them with one of my other rifles, but for the most part my 300 H&H has been good Karma and when hunting elk only, it gets the nod.

all 30 caliber cartridge mags are great but the 300 Win. mag is the most popular and is the easiest to find ammo for anyplace in America. otherwise really the old 30-06 can still get the job done in America !