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Now that deer season is over I'm preparing for my first elk hunt next fall in Colorado.
I will be carrying my 300 SAUM. This year I've shot whitetails and pigs with that rifle with the 130gr TTSX at about 3400fps and have been happy with the results.
I can't imagine shooting an elk past 500 yards and my host has said 350 is the max i should expect but I would like the confidence to know that i can shoot one at any angle and get to the vitals.
Would I be better off moving up to a 150 or 168 TTSX (or even a 180 accubond or partition)?
I like the appeal of the 130TTSX for everything in that rifle but don't want to handicap myself. With all of the talk about using 243, 257 bob and 260 for elk i would think this would be plenty but I've been wrong before.
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If I were you I would practice up, and then go kill an elk with your setup 
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I would see which shoots best, considering your lean towards the TTSX. If I get pretty much similar accuracy, I would definitely go with the heaviest bullet. The extra weight would help you if you get into a situation of a "less than perfect" shot, something that the 243/257/260 for elk crowd never encounters obviously.
Best of luck this fall!
You only live once, but...if you do it right, once is enough.
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My mind tells me no on the 130gr TTSX. But my body's telling me yes  . I read an article where the prototype was taken to Africa and the 130gr bullets from a 300 WM were devastating on animals as big as Kudu. A 130gr TTSX is likely to retain as much weight as my favorite 180gr Nosler Partition after impact. I guess I'd be more comfortable with the 150gr, but I'm sure the 130gr would do it.
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It would not be my first choice, but if you can place it behind the shoulder in the heart/lung area, it will do the job. Hit them anywhere else (except squarely in the head), not so sure...
Ben
Some days it takes most of the day for me to do practically nothing...
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It might be that old habits die hard, but I would opt for the 168 ttsx.
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Or a 200 gr Accubond. mtmuley
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If you can walk away from an imperfect shot on a trophy bull, go ahead. IMO use a 180g+ that retains weight (etip, part, bear claw, etc...). You won't believe how far a wounded elk can go, trust me.
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FNG has the post of the day here. Congrats to FNG. He truly understands the game we play each fall.
You only live once, but...if you do it right, once is enough.
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If you run the 130g at 3500fps and the 168g at 3100fps, the 130g will shoot 3" flatter at 400 yards (past your stated max range)but carries 300fpe less.
You're going a long way to hunt elk so I wouldn't take shortcuts on my load. A 130g will probably work fine but I'd run the 168g instead. Or a 180g.
Never had to trail an elk I shot, but I've seen others spend 3 days trying to locate and put down an elk they had wounded. (They finally gave up.) I've also seen wounded elk easily outdistancing the hunters that shot them. Neither is the outcome you are looking for.
Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!
No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.
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If you are wanting to shoot the 130 gr tsx, then buy a 270 wsm. In a 300 saum, why not shoot a 168gr or 180gr tsx? You will retain a lot more energy down range. Elk are big animals and you may not get the perfect broadside shot. Save your light bullets for whitetails. Maybe use them after you kill about a dozen elk.
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I have been shooting 140 gr barnes out of my 264 WM for years and since they don't make the 140gr "blue meanie" anymore I'm loading 130gr TSX and not feeling a bit undergunned. As somebody said above, the 130 TTSX will have as much retained weight as 165-180 partiion and I can verify that a 165 partition out of a 30-06 will drop an elk at 540 yards as cleanly as a 50BMG if you do your part.
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it'll make a dead elk w/ two holes.....just sayin
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First of all let me start by saying I have never hunted elk. The largest animal I have ever harvested is a hog. I have read many articles and have known many who have taken elk. I am old school but like to always keep myself current.
The hunting stories always seem to point to one basic but solid concept. Put that bullet in the boiler room (vitals) and the animal will die quickly. NOTE: If you can't, DON'T TAKE THE SHOT.
Now lets assume we are using a quality bullet, then the next factor is based on the minumum energy of the bullet at a given velocity and distance for a specific animal. What comes to mind is whitetail. A minumum of 1000 ft lbs is recommended. I have taken deer below this threshold with well place vital shots. We have many fields her that can offer 500+ yard shots.
I can remember the craze, years ago, to get a rifle in 7mm mag. Heck, all you had to do is hit the animal anywhere, according to some, and you got it. Sure you did, but not that day. Sometimes not at all.
I guess to sum it up. If you factor in the energy needed at the maximun distance for that particular animal, your bullet does its part, and you thread that needle into the vitals (BOILER ROOM), you will take him everytime. If you don't have the shot DO NOT TAKE IT, ITS REALLY THAT SIMPLE.
Hope this helps, and thanks for the soap box.
SP357
IT'S WHAT YOUR LEARN AFTER YOU KNOW IT ALL THAT COUNTS.
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First of all let me start by saying I have never hunted elk. The largest animal I have ever harvested is a hog. I have read many articles and have known many who have taken elk. I am old school but like to always keep myself current.
The hunting stories always seem to point to one basic but solid concept. Put that bullet in the boiler room (vitals) and the animal will die quickly. NOTE: If you can't, DON'T TAKE THE SHOT.
Now lets assume we are using a quality bullet, then the next factor is based on the minumum energy of the bullet at a given velocity and distance for a specific animal. What comes to mind is whitetail. A minumum of 1000 ft lbs is recommended. I have taken deer below this threshold with well place vital shots. We have many fields her that can offer 500+ yard shots.
I can remember the craze, years ago, to get a rifle in 7mm mag. Heck, all you had to do is hit the animal anywhere, according to some, and you got it. Sure you did, but not that day. Sometimes not at all.
I guess to sum it up. If you factor in the energy needed at the maximun distance for that particular animal, your bullet does its part, and you thread that needle into the vitals (BOILER ROOM), you will take him everytime. If you don't have the shot DO NOT TAKE IT, ITS REALLY THAT SIMPLE.
Hope this helps, and thanks for the soap box.
SP357 I don't believe in energy requirements any more. The Barnes X and other premiums changed the rules by generating more penetration than the traditional CnC bullets meaning that, if you create a fissure in an organ path, or destroy bone and muscle also creating secondary internal projectiles, then the cartridge and bullet weight can reduce considerably over the choices made when any of us started shooting. Look at the .223 users here who routinely hunt deer without failure. I remember about 35 years ago, I used a .243 Sako Heavy Barrel Forester and killed like a demon using every bullet available. I went down to I think, a 60gn Sierra and also a 70gn Speer? perhaps to see what they would do. In those days I would shoot rabbits, foxes, and hares and perhaps something else with those loads but not much larger. It tore them up which was fine. Today, I would put a 70gn X bullet in a .243 and hunt any deer short of elk because I know that that tiny bullet will penetrate more than any CnC ever produced in the same weight. Bullet construction negates bullet theory from what I have seen. The experience level here on the fire is too extensive to keep holding onto ideas. The proof is extensive and growing. John
When truth is ignored, it does not change an untruth from remaining a lie.
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You have everything you need for elk except the bullet. Start at 180 grains and go up. Don't buy the line about only out to 350 yards either. That comes up quick out west. You need to be prepared to shoot 500 so that you will be money 400 and in. When it is all over, you don't want to wish you had practiced more at longer range or had a bigger bullet. Folks who live out west can afford to use a small caliber because they can go elk hunting again next weekend or next year. For you and me, this elk trip might be one of the few you ever get to go on.
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I think a12 has a great point. I have elk living out my back door. So,if things aren't quite right, I will back out and hunt another day. You guys traveling a long way and spending lot of money may only get one chance and you need to close the deal. You are not going to pass as many chances at elk, as I may. So, use equipment that will give you the best chance of making a clean kill. I absolutely hate crippling and loosing game. If you happen to gut shoot an Elk, they can go for miles and a bigger caliber and a bigger bullet will make them sicker and hurt more - fact! Also, heavier bullets carry better and hit harder at long distances and buck the wind better. Daryl.
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Campfire Greenhorn
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John
You can have one hunter thread that needle and put an undersized bullet in the sweet spot and you will have your animal. Heck there is many articles out there about individuals taking elk with a 22 caliber. Then you can have a larger caliber hitting the animal in the rump and you may not get him.
Now whether you beleive in eneregy as a reference to harvest an animal or not it does give an indivdual a base line reference to go by. But then again it is you who needs to make that shot. As I stated previously you put that bullet reccomended by the manufacture for elk size animals in the sweet spot he is yours today, right now.
Here is a reference from Hackleys HANDBOOK FOR SHOOTERS AND RELOADERS. For elk size game the reommendation is:
MINUMIM: 1500 FT LBS
ADEQUATE: 2000 FT LBS
PREFERED: 2500 FT LBS
Considering all factors, IMO the most important of all is you the shooter. Having a rifle that you feel very comfortable with and delivering that shot where it needs to go is the most important factor, wether you beleive in foot pounds of energy or not.
SP357
IT'S WHAT YOUR LEARN AFTER YOU KNOW IT ALL THAT COUNTS.
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I believe in bullets reaching and making a huge hole through the vital organs. The 130gr TTSX will do that on almost any shot you can take at an elk.
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Thanks for the thoughts. Going to try some heavier bullets. Barrel is 1:12 so that rules out the 180 Barnes.
Going to try 180 accubond, 180 partition and maybe 168 TTSX.
I've had some success shooting the accubonds before but i feel like they are on the edge of stablizing or not. a 180 accubond is actually a tad longer than a 200 partition.
Don't worry about practice - will be shooting out to 650 yards this summer pretty regularly
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