Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Is the .308 a 300yd. elk cartridge?

Just trying to get a couple of threads back on point. For a variety of reasons, eg. bad shoulders, lt. wt. rifles or new hunters, is the .308 a viable elk rifle? Looking back at my elk hunting, my log says I and 5 others have taken elk from 85yds to 335yds.. I have never used one but am considering my 308 Montana for this years cow elk hunt. I can easily expect shots to 300yds so am wondering do I concentrate on the 150gr. Partition/Accubond or the 165gr. Partition/Accubond?
What are your thoughts.

It'll be absolutely model perfect and those that say not have lil or no elk killing experience.

Seriously it is one superb lil rig and if I wasn't such a 270 nut case I would no doubt own a Little Sky 308 as my flyweight rifle.

Now as for bullets any of the choices you mentioned would work very well. Other choices of mine would be the 150 TSX, the 165 Hornady and the 165 Sierra HPBT.

Dober

I carried a 308 loaded with 180 grain Hornady Interloks a couple of years ago. I would certainly use that rifle on elk as long as I could make a good hit with it.

Rick how many elk did you take with the 180 Horns and how did they perform for you on elk?

Thx

Dober

Thanks Mark. I too am a 270 nut and have some 140gr.and 150 gr Partitions ready to go in the morning if the wind stays down.
We'll see what the LA Montana will do. But that little Montana sure delivers the mail!

BLR 308 45.2 grs 748 hornady 165 gr bt interloc, range 245 yds. This one is about the 6th one of the things she's laid low with that lil rifle. If the shooters up to it the 308 surely is.
[img][IMG]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f358/Ranch137/tuffbull.jpg[/img][/img]

Congrats to the hunter! A picture is worth a lot of typing.

The load was 47.0 grains of AA4350 under the 180 gr. Interlok. I only used the rifle to bring down the elk my hunting buddy wounded. My shot was in the ribs about 5 inches behind the shoulder and the bullet ended up breaking the shoulder on the far side for a drop. My hunting partner was shooting a 270 loaded with 130 gr. Federal loads, nothing special but the hit he made really made the back half of that elk nasty. Center gut shot behind the liver. I'll bet if I hadn't seen it go into the draw it would have gotten away. I shot from a bit past 200 yards and didn't actually know it was wounded.

Okay now I have a question. My 308 ( which I hate) shoots 165 Balistic tips really well. Minute at 100 yards. Would they hold up to the task for an elk???????? This would be used by my wife.

That's liable to star a war Whelenman Some folks like the ballistic tips some don't. I'll say this tho the 165 gr weight is about perfect for the 308.

yes they'll work!

Dober

The BT will work, but a poor choice for elk. Even the GameKIng would be a better choice. Thier 180 gr RN at 100 yds would be a better choice yet

The expert has spoken...

You might try loading the 165 gr. Accubond or Partition and see how they shoot. The BT might not hold up real well on elk especially with a large bone hit.

You guys talking about all boattails or just the ballistic tips? Cuz I haven't noticed the Hornady interloc bt's having any such problems.

Bewteen my old man and grampa, I'll bet 70-75 elk have sucumbed to a 308, at ranges from point blank to 4-500 yards. Neither of them reload either. Course that was back before elk were bullet proof, and nearly impossible to kill with anything less than a solid copper bullet at 3200fps.

Ballistic Tips kill elk. Period!

The only two elk I ever shot at with the .270W, both died with BT's through their lungs.

Now, Ballistic Tips can indeed be more explosive than other [hard] bullets like a Partition, which is why I prefer a Partition for elk (I have yet to try an Accubond on Mr. Wapiti), but if the 165 BT's are all you have, USE 'EM!

However, if you have the time available, try building some 165-Accubond loads for that .308. See how they shoot.

That Kimber Montana .308 - if it shoots minute-of-elk, it sounds like a superb walking-elk rifle.

Please share what you do and your successes. Good luck!

For factory loads, check out the Federal Premium High Energy ammo. with 180 grain partitions. On paper anyway, they carry a lot of energy out to 300. They shoot well too, at least in my rifle, a Kimber Montana that shoots MOA and weighs 6 lbs, scoped and empty.

smokepole,

What length barrel you using?

have you chrono'd Federal HE .308 Win loads?

The Hornady 165 grain LM load performs better than I expected (2,00 plus FPS) out of my Featherweight with a 22" barrel.

I started out my elk hunting career with a 25-35, then a 250 Savage, then a 30-30, they all worked if I used them properly and I did..I used the 06 and 180 Noslers for a number of years.

The .308 is fine in open type country to 300 yards, thats its max IMO...

In the thick stuff I don't like it because most shots are going away and that can happen anywhere you hunt, the .308 is not a caliber to shoot elk up the keyster. You may have to pass on some bulls because they are departing, so why hinder yourself. I have seen elk wounded on more than a few ocassions with .308 and 30-06 type rounds with going away shots.

Today I just use a .338 or 375 H&H with 300gr bullets and take shots as they come, and it works, they go down and don't go to the bottom of the divide and in Ihaho thats a steep trip...

In todays Pacific N.W. you may only have one window of opertunity to get your bull, so you had better have the right tool for the job...A bull elk is a magnificient animal and deserves a quick and humane death...

The bigger bore rifles will bloodshot less meat than say a .270 btw..they also leave a much better blood trail. By big bores I mean the .338, 375 and 416s for instance, not the enimic 45-70.