Dryfiring will help trigger control more than any live round. Buy yourself a couple snap caps for the heavy hitter and get used to s-q-u-e-e-e-e-e-z-ing the trigger. It will also help you lose the jerk you may have developed. Your body starts to remember that each time you drop the hammer, it DIDN'T hurt. Trigger control and flinch fighting is a huge head game.
NEVER shoot any gun until it starts to hurt. NEVER pick a calibre that will hurt to shoot. Like kcm270 said - shot placement. Enough bullet and enough gun are made significantly smaller by shot placement. Just a penny's worth, doesn't even qualify as 2 cents.
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." (Prov 4:23)
kpmtns, your approach isn't a bad one. I'ld throw in that while shooting the light rifle take the big one along as well, shoot a magazine full or 2 with full house loads, and shoot some reduced loads just for staying familiar with the rifle. I'm not ani magnum, just get a littel weary seeing all the bashing of non magnum cartridges , by folks who have little to no experience with them.
the most expensive bullet there is isn't worth a plug nickel if it don't go where its supposed to. www.historicshooting.com
NEVER shoot any gun until it starts to hurt. NEVER pick a calibre that will hurt to shoot.
I would have to somewhat disagree with you on this. At some point you need to build up your shoulder. IMHO it's a good idea to shoot some of the heavier recoil rifles before the season starts. I like to mix in some 22 LR or lighter recoiling rifles in the mix to combat flinch and/or trigger panic but you can learn to control heavy recoiling rifles. If you learn to shoot a heavy recoiling rifle well the smaller ones are a piece of cake. You just have to take them in reasonable doses.......DJ
Remember this is all supposed to be for fun.......................
Don't let ANYTHING that has been said here be construed as meaning you don't need a new gun. Yes, you NEED a new gun, and then another...and another.. and... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
kpmtns, I agree with that logic. Of course that does necessitate a new rifle <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />. I bought a Kimber Montata last summer in .243 just for this reason, and because it filled another need, which was for an ultralight marmot rifle so I wouldn't over work myself hunting above timberline. I really like this rifle, so much in fact, that when I saw the limited edition 8400's I bought one of them too. A .300WSM. I think of it as a lovely example of the classic american sporting rifle, that serves absolutely no useful purpose in my small collection except to get it down and pet it now and then, and to shoot it when I need a break from my other .300. As previously mentioned, never miss an opportunity to have another rifle. Need need have nothing to do with it. (did I also mentioned I'm not married <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />)
I just got in from testing seating depths with the 8400. I have been shooting three shot groups at 100 yds. Several groups have been in the 1/4 inch range, with the worst in the area of 2". I have found a couple of loads that seem to consistently shoot in the .8's. I will be happy if I can find a hunting load that will consistently shoot MOA, and it appears this will be no problem. With my 84 Montana, in .243, my smallest 3 shot group is a .178, and that rifle too seems to shoot consistently around 3/4"with best loads so far.
I like the 338, and it is fairly popular up here in Montana as an Elk rifle. It is accurate, manageable and it has enough retained energy to do the job out past 300 yards easily. I dont particularly care for long shots but they are a fact of life in some of the good elk areas here. Thats where the 338 shines. I have shot one bull with my 45-70 Winchester carbine while chasing cows once.
O-4 (Thankfully retired) BW FJ (Afghanistan) TF KBAR
The .338 is popular here too, though I have always favored a .300. My reasoning is that 30 cal 200 gr bullets have a higher BC and sectional density than similar .338's, and shoot flatter out to 500 yds while retaining more energy, assuming similar velocites. Splitting hairs perhaps. To me the .338 gains the advantage over the .300's when shooting the 250 gr bullets.
CoBrad, to me the 338's advantage is barrel length... 21-22" barrels work to perfection while the 300's really require a 24" (+) barrel. Call me odd, but 20-22" barrel's just "feel" better to me!
Had the barrel of my Ruger 77 SS chopped to 19" six or seven years ago. Can't tell the difference in shooting it but handling and carying plus in vehicle is a great plus. -- no
A hint to the wise is sufficient! Experience is the best teacher!
Again having to defend the choice of huntin with a magnum.
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300wby, this is the second thread I've noticed you bragging up the magnums. So now I've got a couple of questions for ya. 1. How many elk have you shot and with what cartridges, and what lead you to think you had to shoot a magnum. 2. If a magnum is necessary why did you settle on the 300 and not move on up to something like the 340,378, or 416?
#1 I�ve killed 18 elk, 5 being bulls. I�ve never hunted Elk with anything other than 7mmrem (0 Elk), .300win (3elk) or 300wby (15 Elk). My longest shot on a cow was right around 340yds, shortest about 30yds and most being 150+. What �led me to think I had to shoot a magnum�, a combination of things really including the type of land we hunt in; high, open country. Also my choice has come from my father who always advocated shooting a bigger gun on bigger animals. Started me on .22lr then carried a .243, then shot my first buck with a .270win. When I graduated to the 7mm he took me hunting for elk. My father has shot .270win for deer and .300wby for elk ever since I can remember. BTW I don�t �have� to hunt elk with a magnum; it�s a choice not a mandate.
#2 Settle on a .300? A number of reasons: manageable recoil, shoots flat, hits hard. Another reason is depending on my tags I am hunting elk and deer at the same time. I think the 340, 378, 416 are too much for deer.
Anything else you wanna know? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />
I was always told to hunt with as much gun as you feel comfortable with. You feel comfortable in the .300 Wby and your ability to perform with it. I feel this is the most important thing. You said that you felt comfortable with the .300 because it was the highest degree of recoil you could manage and because you felt larger cals may be too much for smaller game. Both of these are arbitrary--they vary with individuals. I use a 7mm Rem Mag for much the same reasons. I agreed with you until you started quoting energy figures. I am not too sure elk study energy figures and very little of what I see in reality would leave me to believe that energy matters much to anyone but the guy behind the rifle. I've seen a garage full of elk killed with a 7mm Rem Mag. I've seen elk hanging in my childhood neighbor's yard year after year shot with a .243 Win and Remington Corelokts. My family has never seen an elk get away when they did their part and put the right bullet in the right place--and they use 06s almost exclussively. You asked why someone would ever take a .270 elk hunting when they could shoot something larger just as well--maybe because you've never seen a need to. Not entirely a concept I agree with myself, but whatever works. I am not advocating using a .243 for elk. I wouldn't. But it sure as heck worked for Bob Altmiller. I've never shot an elk myself. I'd love to, but haven't managed to put myself in that situation. But the more I see from other people, the more I remain convinced that shot placement and bullet selection matter far more than cartridge selection. Not implying you said otherwise here, but I just don't see what all the hoopla is about one way or another.
Rifles are as unique as the individuals that shoot them. I think that is what appeals to most of us. I find other people's tastes intriguing. I think I have a pretty good set up with 160 gr Noslers in my Remington and a Leupold on top. Others may agree or disagree and may have personal experience to back this that points in both directions. We can have discussions, but I don't like seeing hostility among friends, and I try to not judge other people's rifles any more than I would judge them because, like I said, it is 95% personal taste and arbitrary numbers that are largely B.S, and 5% actual fact, if such a thing can be defined in this field.
For crying out loud people, it's hunting, not rocket science. Shoot the largest gun you're comfortable with, pick a good bullet, take good shots, and enjoy your vension.
Boreas, congrats!! You really started something here. Keeps you amused during the time our toy shop "wholesale" is closed. My take: I have shot elk and moose with the .270, 30-06, .308 Win., 35 Whelan, ..300 Weatherby., .338 Win. I used 150 and 160 Nosler Partitions with the .270, 200 NP in the 06, 180 NP in the .308, 180 NP in the .300 Weatherby., 270 Bitter root bonded bullets in the 35 Whelan, 225 and 250 NP in the .338. When bones in the front half get hit, the .338 and .358 cals. always gets into the boiler room. With rib-shots, there was no iota of difference between any of the large and small bores. The problem child was the .300 Weatherby. On big bone hits at short range the 180 Nosler blew up on a 4 year old moose leg bone, the rear halve sailed away at 90 degrees angle. Necessitating another shot. Spoiling the meat for consumption in that front quarter, and that of other moose, also hit in the ribs with that load. My fault for picking a fast stepping 180 grain Nosler partition instead of a 200 or heavier weight at lower speed. The 180 NP would be great at open country shooting over 200 yards. The 35 Whelen with 270 Bitter roots @ 2240 fps. shoots length wise through moose, and was a reliable killer in the trees. The .338 does well for me at long and short range, like the 35 it leaves double blood trails. The smaller bores with the Nosler partitions kill moose and elk with boring reliability with heavy for caliber Nosler partitions but take a little more care to avoid sharp angle shots and big bones. I go for moose and elk any day with full confidence if all I had was my .270/ .308 Win./30-06.with my favourite loads. However I do have a nice handling accurate .338 I love, and pick it now when I go for elk and moose specificly.
