Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 308 Win w/185 Berger on Elk and Moose?

Sounds like you used quite a few on Large Animals?

I aim for the shoulders every time. But I hunt with a 338 and 225 grain North Forks so my mileage varies from others.

And I’ll make another point: whether or not they are “hard to kill” is a matter of opinion for each hunter. But I do know this: they have as strong a will to live as any animal I’ve ever seen when wounded. I’m fortunate that I’ve never wounded one, per se. But I have witnessed more than one wounded by others and it’s generally off to the races when that happens.

A friend of mine and his family have killed 200 elk with a 300 win using 180g Sierra btsp.

Properly placed, they will do the job.....but, I’d never use them. Nor would I help a friend or family member trail and hopefully recover a wounded/crippled animal due to using one of these bullets “IF” they had been warned in advance! However, that is also my position on never practicing, only shooting a few shots just prior to hunting season. There are far better bullets for large, thick skinned, big boned game animals.

Again.....they will work fine, provided there is minimal resistance and distance between the impact point and the vitals! JMO. memtb

I've shot a few elk and moose with a few different .308 rifles and bullets. The .308 is one of my all time favourite cartridges. Of all the available .308" elk and moose bullets on the market, in my opinion, Bergers would rank close to the bottom of the whole lot. Elk and moose are not whitetail deer or similar fragile creatures. They have heavy bones, that i've seen stop better bullets than Bergers long before they get to the vitals. Both elk and moose are large animals, with big vitals that do not require the ultimate in accurate shot placement. I will pick performance IN game over performance ON paper every time when hunting elk or moose. I'd rather hunt with lowly 180 gr. Federal Fusion, or Remington Core lokt, or Winchester Power point than a 185 gr. Berger. But I prefer a better bonded core bullet, or copper hollow point, or dual core bullet. In a stronger bullet design lighter weight is OK, a 165gr. is a good middle ground. It's hunting not target shooting.

I have shot two cow elk with the 185 grain VLD hunting bullet. This was out of a 300 Win Mag. Both elk dropped within 20 yards. My outfitter swears by the 185 Bergers for elk.

That round sure loses energy after 350 yards but otherwise I’ve seen it do quick work on several elk.

I can't comment on moose but bears and elk drop with the 308, Varget, and 168 NBT. Retained on the one I caught 105 grs.