Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .260rem and .308 for elk

I am not an expert of any means either, but have shot a couple of bull Elk with a 260 and 130 Gr. tsx's. I KNOW muzzle velocity was 2800+ outta my 22" kimber Montana. All were shot in the Open at 100 yds. or less and did not take more than 1 round (or more than 1 step after the shot). I am sure the would do the same on a Cow Elk. I did recover one bullet......

Given my druthers I will opt for the .308 with a 180 gr. Nosler. but I would hunt elk with about any caliber from a 25-35 up and I have..
I like enough gun to shoot through and animal lengthwise if need be..That has kinda been my criteria over the years..The 25-35, 30-30, 243, 260, 257, 250 Savage are good elk rifles for broadside shots at proper ranges..It's does not take an awful lot of penetraton to shoot through an elk broadside, especially if you are satisfied with the bullet expending all its energy within the body cavity..I personally like two holes in everything I put one shot in.

Also I prefer to be overgunned than undergunned.

Sorry. But I just have to ask...

When I hear of killing Elk, is that a 300 lb cow or young spike bull, or are we discussing the 800 lb mature full racked bull?

Do we need to use different class cartridges depending on size?

Not if you're using one good enough for big bulls... .

Dennis

I've killed elk with both cartridges, they work.

muledeer

Very true... But lets limit the discussion to the 260 and the 308, with commonly sold factory ammo. That would be a 140 grains for the 260 and probably 180 grains for the 308.

Are either, in your experience, "good enough for big bulls"? Or for "big bulls" is something in the order of a 300 magnum a better choice? What is a "minimum cartridge" for a "big bull"?

There is obviously a "performance envelope" in cartridges used on certain game. As in a 375 H&H is required legal miniumum for Elephants.

Let me pose my original question. When we discuss the use of a 308 or 260 cartridge, is that for a 300 lb Elk only? Or should we include big bulls?

Well, I guess there's a difference, but I don't make the distinction--an elk is an elk.......

Most mature adult elk we are ever going to run into will weigh 450-750 lbs.........either way--just shoot 'em...


Casey

Either has got to kill any bull walking with good shooting and a good bullet. How could it be otherwise?

If you are asking if they are the BEST choice for a big bull, in my opinion they are not- unless the shooter can't shoot a more powerful rifle well.

But I'm not the roundest ball in the bearing, so add salt to my opinion as you see fit.

I never shoot factory ammunition, so the whole question becomes pretty irrelevant to me. And I'm pretty much the only one I make a decision for, mostly. So what I have to say is just that -- my opinion.

Good bullet design comes first; weight is second; diameter is third; velocity is fourth. Within reason, of course. A good hunter shooting a 750 lb elk at 300 yards with a .260 will do better, time in and time out, than the average not-so-hot shooting a 300 lb elk at 100 yards with a .338 magnum.

So...I wouldn't put a hell of a lot of agony into making such a decision for real-life hunting. Any good rifle and cartridge that you believe in and have trained with will do just fine. Rifles and cartridges are, in reality, among the tiniest factors in hunting to make decisions about.

Dennis

And amount for 95% of the ballistic masturbation on various Internet Forums

that was funny!

muledeer

I agree with you that a well placed 260 bullet at any reasonable range beats a poorly placed shot with any magnum, or non-magnum, at any distance.

That being said...bigger bullets are just about always better, no matter what, if they're shot equally as well as smaller bullets.

In my opinion... .

Dennis

muledeer

"If they're shot equally as well as smaller bullets". You left out velocity. The recoil difference between the 308 Winchester and the 300 Weatherby, for example...

In my hands a 243 is a better choice than a 300mag.

Tis why the question is a 260 and 308 debate..

25 years ago, I used to go to Sweden monthly on business and regularly ran into "elk" (moose to us) hunters who used either the 6.5X55mm (155 to 160 gr. bullets), the 30-06, or the 8X57MM Mauser. The Swedish "elk" are about the same size as a large Rocky Mountain elk and all cartridges seemed to be effective.

Each cartridge had its advocates and (just like here) the arguments as to cartridge effectiveness were pervasive. I guess that in both countries (Sweden and the US), proper bullet placement is the real key!

Better yet, for higher sectional denisty are the 156 gr. NORMA bullets - heavy, premium bullets in 3 varieties (see: http://www.norma.cc/content.asp?Typ=28&Lang=2&Submeny=4&Rubrik=Components )

I loaded a few dummy 260 cases with the 156gr Norma Oryx. One sexy looking bitch, thinking I need a 260.

Have shot and seen shot more than a couple elk with a 260, 308, 264 win mag, 300 win mag... 260 kills them as fast as anything...

260/140 accubombs seem to be the ticket... and I was a die hard Barnes guy.

Hell, even a girl with a little purple 260 can kill elk. The blood trail was GREAT for all 5 yards.




Here's one from the offside shoulder of another cow, impact velocity 2350 or so... blood trail sucked, but she dropped in her tracks before the "slap" made it back across the canyon. That high shoulder shot is a wicked SOB.

Great stuff Matt. That is the exact thing my daughter will be using some day for her elk. Deer and antelope have not stopped the low velocity accubomb yet.