Found this review on Midway for the Barnes 120gr in 300BO
So you scoured the net looking for an elk testimonial and that’s the best you could come up with, huh?
Hell, if it’ll take down a whitetail it must be good on elk too.
You’re good to go, then!!!
I wish CPW would follow that logic. You can kill deer all day long with all kinds of bullets in a .223. IIRC, someone on here used a 204 Ruger to kill a muley a few years back. Those must be good on elk too!!!
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to find out whenever I cash my Colorado points in. Maybe I’ll show them some Midway reviews from anonymous internet strangers and lobby CPW to change the law so I can hunt elk with a .204 Ruger. Do you think they’ll find it compelling??
If not, I’ll try an 85 gr ballistic tip out of a .257 WBY at 3800 fps. Nosler lists it as a “varmint” bullet, but CPW says it’s good to go, so I shouldn’t have anything to worry about!
It doesn’t hit 1800 fps until 700+ yards. DAYUM!!! I’m not a good enough shot to hit them twice through the heart at long range like you can, but I’ll sure try!
Laffin!
Originally Posted by shrapnel
I probably hit more elk with a pickup than you have with a rifle.
Originally Posted by JohnBurns
I have yet to see anyone claim Leupold has never had to fix an optic. I know I have sent a few back. 2 MK 6s, a VX-6, and 3 VX-111s.
Thanks for the feedback, fellas. Sounds like more opinions than experience in this case. The only reason I'm going down this road is because 300 blk with modern solid copper 120gr bullets retain 100% of their weight and penetrate the same as 30-30 Win with 170gr CoreLokt (which has killed a pile of elk in the timber).
I'm hunting with a suppressor that is 8.4" long, so barrel length is the main concern here. My 300 blk has a 16" barrel and my 308 has an 18" barrel. Plus 308 seems overkill at 25 yards, considering I've killed elk at 500 yards with similar cartridge.
How is 300 blk any different than elk guides who carry a 243 Win and 100gr Partitions that only have 60% weight retention? The 120gr TAC-TX gets 20-25" penetration in gel at ranges that I will be shooting at.
Not to mention this 300 blk load meets the CPW regs just like the 243 Win ("you must use a rifle that fires expanding bullets with a minimum caliber of .24 cal. or 6mm, a minimum weight of 85 grains that delivers at least 1,000 ft. lbs. of energy at 100 yards")
You asked and didn't like the answer. Why bother?
Last edited by sidepass; 10/12/22.
Never take life to seriously, after all ,no one gets out of it alive.
I'm hunting with a suppressor that is 8.4" long, so barrel length is the main concern here. My 300 blk has a 16" barrel and my 308 has an 18" barrel. Plus 308 seems overkill at 25 yards, considering I've killed elk at 500 yards with similar cartridge.
Not to mention this 300 blk load meets the CPW regs just like the 243 Win ("you must use a rifle that fires expanding bullets with a minimum caliber of .24 cal. or 6mm, a minimum weight of 85 grains that delivers at least 1,000 ft. lbs. of energy at 100 yards")
Free country and you can do what you want, but if I owned a .308 I'd use the .308 Win. The .308 just opens up more opportunities, when things don't go as planned. I've rarely had a hunt go as I planned it in my head.
Legality doesn't directly correlate to whats ethical. If by chance CPW questions your legality, and uses Banes ammunition as a refrence you wont be legal in Colorado. Hunting big game with the .300 BLK as rated by manufacturer the Barnes Vor-TX ammunition with 120 grain Tac‐X bullet only has 949 ft-lbs of energy at 100 yards. So no, you're not as legal as a .243 Win.
Originally Posted by CO Big Game Legal Methods of Take
1. CENTERFIRE RIFLES
d. Must use expanding bullets that weigh a minimum of 70 grains for deer, pronghorn and bear, 85 grains for elk and moose, and have an impact energy (at 100 yards) of 1,000 ft.-pounds as rated by manufacturer.
If you're going to quote the reg, you need to quote the whole reg. Plus if you find yourself in legal trouble with the CPW over this cartridge do you want to afford the legal fees just to prove the internet wrong? It's so much easier to use the .308 Win and not have any worries.
I'm hunting with a suppressor that is 8.4" long, so barrel length is the main concern here. My 300 blk has a 16" barrel and my 308 has an 18" barrel. Plus 308 seems overkill at 25 yards, considering I've killed elk at 500 yards with similar cartridge.
Not to mention this 300 blk load meets the CPW regs just like the 243 Win ("you must use a rifle that fires expanding bullets with a minimum caliber of .24 cal. or 6mm, a minimum weight of 85 grains that delivers at least 1,000 ft. lbs. of energy at 100 yards")
Free country and you can do what you want, but if I owned a .308 I'd use the .308 Win. The .308 just opens up more opportunities, when things don't go as planned. I've rarely had a hunt go as I planned it in my head.
Legality doesn't directly correlate to whats ethical. If by chance CPW questions your legality, and uses Banes ammunition as a refrence you wont be legal in Colorado. Hunting big game with the .300 BLK as rated by manufacturer the Barnes Vor-TX ammunition with 120 grain Tac‐X bullet only has 949 ft-lbs of energy at 100 yards. So no, you're not as legal as a .243 Win.
Originally Posted by CO Big Game Legal Methods of Take
1. CENTERFIRE RIFLES
d. Must use expanding bullets that weigh a minimum of 70 grains for deer, pronghorn and bear, 85 grains for elk and moose, and have an impact energy (at 100 yards) of 1,000 ft.-pounds as rated by manufacturer.
If you're going to quote the reg, you need to quote the whole reg. Plus if you find yourself in legal trouble with the CPW over this cartridge do you want to afford the legal fees just to prove the internet wrong? It's so much easier to use the .308 Win and not have any worries.
Thanks for catching that! Guess I'll have to buy some 120gr bullets for handloads and soup them up a fuzz.
I'm hunting with a suppressor that is 8.4" long, so barrel length is the main concern here. My 300 blk has a 16" barrel and my 308 has an 18" barrel. Plus 308 seems overkill at 25 yards, considering I've killed elk at 500 yards with similar cartridge.
Not to mention this 300 blk load meets the CPW regs just like the 243 Win ("you must use a rifle that fires expanding bullets with a minimum caliber of .24 cal. or 6mm, a minimum weight of 85 grains that delivers at least 1,000 ft. lbs. of energy at 100 yards")
Free country and you can do what you want, but if I owned a .308 I'd use the .308 Win. The .308 just opens up more opportunities, when things don't go as planned. I've rarely had a hunt go as I planned it in my head.
Legality doesn't directly correlate to whats ethical. If by chance CPW questions your legality, and uses Banes ammunition as a refrence you wont be legal in Colorado. Hunting big game with the .300 BLK as rated by manufacturer the Barnes Vor-TX ammunition with 120 grain Tac‐X bullet only has 949 ft-lbs of energy at 100 yards. So no, you're not as legal as a .243 Win.
Originally Posted by CO Big Game Legal Methods of Take
1. CENTERFIRE RIFLES
d. Must use expanding bullets that weigh a minimum of 70 grains for deer, pronghorn and bear, 85 grains for elk and moose, and have an impact energy (at 100 yards) of 1,000 ft.-pounds as rated by manufacturer.
If you're going to quote the reg, you need to quote the whole reg. Plus if you find yourself in legal trouble with the CPW over this cartridge do you want to afford the legal fees just to prove the internet wrong? It's so much easier to use the .308 Win and not have any worries.
Thanks for catching that! Guess I'll have to buy some 120gr bullets for handloads and soup them up a fuzz.
Bullets are on order now. Thanks again for your help, @taylorce1!
Bullets are on order now. Thanks again for your help, @taylorce1!
If you want to thank me use the .308 Win.
You really missed my whole point. .308 is easily legal, the .300 BLK is questionable at best. Even if you make it legal in your mind, it won't make it ethical IMO.
I don’t usually speak in forums but I actually signed up on this one because of this topic I live in north idaho and hunt public lands all over the panhandle My ethics varies if it’s safe ok if it’s legal it depends on why it’s illegal but if there is a good chance that I can’t put the animal down quickly and humanely that’s not ok with me The only requirement in idaho for big game is that it is center fire cartridge so you would be legal Due to the covid cash and the biden bucks I had the money to get bunch of ar stuff 300blk being one of them soon as I saw it nah that aint going to happen so it is looking for a new owner didn’t waste the time putting it together I opted for 6.5 grendel after looking at ballistics and some of these gel videos it actually looks usable well I killed a old bear with it but it took four rounds 129gr eld hornady I think the two middle ones could have been me First one broadside lungs 130yrds Last yr I took shot at bear again 130 yards dont know why but that’s where I see most animals He just trotted off In the fall elk season same story on two different elk Ten years ago I built another bolt rifle 500asquare seventy five paces 577gr barnes bullet 2500fps broadside back edge of the shoulder five by five bull Took forty five minutes in the dark to find him upside down in bunch of blow down trees and brush because I heard his last breath moan They are tough and they don’t deserve to be wasted or tortured Also I don’t give up easily on finding animals anywhere from four hours to ten trying to find any sign and there are christmases without snow so it doesn’t make a hole all the way through not much chance of blood trail Even 308 win hog hammer cartridge small muley 75 yrd broadside took three rnd the one I found on far side Except for rifling marks you could have reloaded it So I am back where I started with not using anything smaller than 250gr and 375+ caliber 77 is too old to walk very far just to see if the animal is there I want to know I need to dress one Bigholes
fwiw - watched the video. At 3:15 and a while afterwards, the pig is still not dead, even with that being a small pig likely under 100#. Pretty unimpressed with that result. btw - that is a basic wild pig like we have a bunch of here.
I shoot a lot of pigs every year (and have them for breakfast most mornings) and see a lot shot. The .300 BO can work and also seen it not work. The .308 provides more consistent terminal results. An elk is a big step up.
Your .308 with a 150+ TTSX sure seems like a better choice.
Here are a couple of pig videos. Compare these to that .300 BO video with a much smaller pig.
First a .308 with a Barnes TTSX 130 grain, a 200#+ pig, then a .308 with a 175 SMK, about a 150# pig. Notice they both are dead and go straight down.