Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 308 verses the 300 win mag

I think this might be a trick question......

Naw, as we "mature" we get confused and 'forget' where we are.


Whitetail in an Elk thread ?

Creedmoor in a 308 VS 300 W M thread ?

Dementia?.... Alzheimer's ?

Call the Nursing Home.

Jerry

I prefer to think of myself as a dick, but whatever.

Just please don't tell dad again Wally, man is he gonna be sore at me!!

Pat, I'm not certain, but I'd happily use any of these I've got on hand for the rest of my elk hunting life

Dang, you’ve got all the good ones there Brad. That 140 Accubond is a devil in my 264 and 6.5 Swede. The Creed gets the 139 Scenar and man, not a loser in the bunch.

Definitely a trick question! LOL!

I'd say you're all set....and then some!

Pat,

I'm guessing that since you didn't use a .300 magnum on the big bull in your photo, that you didn't "step up" to a .338? ;-)

Hahahaha! Actually the largest bull I've ever taken with a rifle was one I shot with a .257 Weatherby at 385 yards, and I'm damn glad I had that rifle along.

He was leaving the country, along with 7-8 cows,( bumped by other hunters) and luckily he stopped and looked back, before disappearing into a cedar jungle. There was no time to range, just point and shoot. I put a 120gr partition through both lungs from prone.

It was sighted for a 300 yard zero.

Good deal! The .257 Weatherby does indeed work on long, quick shots.

Or even short, quick shots. In 2012, on a hunt west of Wilsall, my hunting partner killed a good 6x6 at somewhere between 100-150 yards with the same bullet. There wasn't much time for the shot, but he put it in the right place--and the 120 exited. The bull made it about 75 yards before dropping--but probably wouldn't have made it that far except for the fact that ran down a very steep slope--and then ran head-on into a very big Doug fir, obviously dead on its hooves.

Thank You sir:

That's been my point IN this thread.

Jerry

REDUX !

If memory serves, I've watched 8 elk die via .308 with various standard construction bullets and about 20 with the .300 Win Mag (plus two red stags) with the same general types of bullets, at short to mid ranges. Nothing real big mind you (save one red stag)....mainly rags and cows. I can honestly say I noticed zero difference in the killing effectiveness between the two rounds.

I got over my magnumitus when I was about 30-32. I just have no desire to shoot those big boomers anymore. The two red stags I shot with the .300 Win Mag were with borrowed rifles...else I'd of used something significantly smaller.

I have taken quite few deer and elk with with a .308 Win and my .300 Weatherby. The Bee is one of the most accurate rifles that I own and I can shoot it well. It is a grinder from the bench, however. But I’ve never had to fire it multiple times at elk either. At the moment of truth in that fleeting moment I never have to wonder if I brought enough gun. Same would go for a .300 Winchester Junior Magnum...
Happy Trails

I took out my .308 Norma.Yesterday afternoon. It's a 1903 rebore. The knob on the bolt used to smack my hand on recoil. So I bubbaded up put in a vice and bent the knob outta the way. Any ways we got about two feet of snow yet and it's straight ice on the roads.

I put the rifle in a primos two pronged fun rest on a old Bausch and Lomb tripod. Shot kneeling cradling the contraption. I had 200 grain reloads.

BOOM! It bowled me right the smuck over! The neighbors were unloading hay. If they were watching I am probabally gonna hear about it at the post office!

I hit the target, and promptly switched to shooting it of a gate post!

Jerry,
While you make a decent point, I wouldn’t be using Petzal to give it much credence. Petzal while he seems to be a funny guy and knowledgeable re rifles, is a gun writer and not a hunting writer. There are a few who have posted on this thread who I’m sure have shot many more Elk. And as mentioned, have done it repeatedly with something along the lines of a .308 and at distance. And reading their past posts, I’m pretty sure at some time or another, they may have turned a turret and took their practiced time to do so.

They have also went into the back country on their own to kill Elk. From what I’ve read and heard, I doubt Petzal has ever been on an Elk hunt that wasn’t guided. That isn’t a bad thing, however that and the above does cast some doubt on the originality and basis of his 10 Commandants of Elk hunting.

battue

Thanks for the update.

I want to say this for ANYONE reading this thread:

*** It doesn't matter to me what rifle/cartridge ANYONE shoots/hunts with.*** <

This thread is 'supposedly' about the 308 Win OR 300 WM. I have only given MY preference. It's what I like and
CHOOSE to hunt anything with. ( a preposition is not a good thing to end a sentence *with* lol)

The 308 is NOT the only round that I 'choose' NOT to hunt *with* < again> lol

I don't want to offend or insult ANYONE, WE all have the 'freedom' to choose what we want.


As I said earlier in another post - Today I'd CHOOSE my Lite 7 RM= that's a different cartridge.


Jerry

Didn't mean the post to be confrontational with regard what you choose to use. However, you definitely used the 10 commandment post to vindicate your choice or choices. Just pointing out that Pretzal, in my opinion is a questionable witness....

We post, others respond. Sometimes in agreement, sometimes not....



Hell, I still plan on using Leupold scopes in the immediate future....

10 years ago I killed a really big black bear across a canyon right before dark with a .308 at 492 yards, after spinning my turret to the correct setting. There was no way to cut the distance,

as he was working his way towards heavy cover when I took the shot....That would have been a very difficult holdover shot with any rifle. I was glad I had that rifle, and it's capacity, along that evening.

scenar

Understand. Also I told 'smokey' that 'twisters & turners' certainly are/can be effective 'WHEN' you have time to use them.

a 308 @ 492 yds would be harder to point & shoot than....

a 270 Win, 7mm RM, 300 WM, etc.

Glad it worked for you.


Jerry