Elk hammer

[STOMP442]

If you're going to shoot a magnum make it worth while and shoot the heaviest highest ballistic coefficient bullet possible and maximize the potential. Lance has already said it but the heavy Bergers are where it's at with the .300s. Since you made the comment about not having to touch the lands to make them shoot well I am going to assume you are not a Berger fan. The 215 Hybrids are much easier to tune and are absolutely devastating on game.

[Chimichanga]

I agree with Stomp, those 215 Berger hybrids wallop anything in its path. In the 2 years shooting them through my 300 win mag all 11 animals have fell and were easy recoveries.

[DesertBull]

Is there really any difference between the 215 Berger and the 208 Amax. Other than the obvious 7 grains?

[STOMP442]

 

If you're going to shoot a magnum make it worth while and shoot the heaviest highest ballistic coefficient bullet possible and maximize the potential. Lance has already said it but the heavy Bergers are where it's at with the .300s. Since you made the comment about not having to touch the lands to make them shoot well I am going to assume you are not a Berger fan. The 215 Hybrids are much easier to tune and are absolutely devastating on game.

Depending on cartridge, I have Berger HVLDs and Hybrids (and SMKs too) shoot very well from .010" to .150" off the lands. No need to jam them. Unless that is what your gun likes.

 

Totally agree. I only have one rifle that prefers the Bergers jammed in the lands and thats the Wife's bench gun 6mmBR. Everyhtnig else seems to like .025" off the lands.

[GreyGhost85]

Is there really any difference between the 215 Berger and the 208 Amax. Other than the obvious 7 grains?

I shoot 285 amax's out of my .338 and can attest to their performance on elk. I'm sure you would get similar results with the 208's. This is a mushroom recovered out of a big 350"+ bull at nearly 700 yards angling slightly towards. Bullet entered behind the shoulder and was found in front of the opposite hip under the just under the skin

[STOMP442]

Is there really any difference between the 215 Berger and the 208 Amax. Other than the obvious 7 grains?

 

The Berger has a BC .058 higher than the Litz Measured .633 for the 208 Amax. Both great bullets.

[Mike S]

I was really impressed with the way a Barnes 6.5 127LRX hammered this bull. I'd expect the bigger calibers would work just as well within the appropriate impact velocity range....

[208muley]

I once watched a 428" bull get shot by a .270 with 140 gr bullet. It died good enough that we cut him up put him in a truck and brought him to camp. Dead is dead and it doesn't take a Mack truck to do it...

[.270]

I've killed lots of, I mean truck loads, of elk with about anything there is. Lightest was a .30/30. Heaviest was a .375 h&h. And everthing in between. Never had even one of em ax what bc the bullet was. Being a hunter and marksman means more than anything else. That being said, if I decided I had to have a new elk gun, it'd be a savage in .338 lapua. Got to witness some really incredible results with one last year. Wouldn't even look at anything else. Lark

[trphyhntr]

is there much elk left when you hit them with that

[.270]

Yeah. The whole was layin' right there dead. Twice. Lark

[STOMP442]

I've killed lots of, I mean truck loads, of elk with about anything there is. Lightest was a .30/30. Heaviest was a .375 h&h. And everthing in between. Never had even one of em ax what bc the bullet was. Being a hunter and marksman means more than anything else. That being said, if I decided I had to have a new elk gun, it'd be a savage in .338 lapua. Got to witness some really incredible results with one last year. Wouldn't even look at anything else. Lark

 

Let me guess, not one of them killed at over 400 yards where a good BC even comes into play. I will be the first to say Elk can be killed with just about anything, I am not a proponent of magnum calibers at all but if there is chance that I might have an opportunity at a quality bull at extended ranges I would make sure I had the equipment and practice under my belt to make the shot and make it count. A better BC minimizes mistakes made by the shooter in wind estimation and helps ensure a hit. Take for example a hunter had an actual 13mph wind cross wind but only estimated a 10mph wind. A heavy for caliber high BC bullet may be off a couple inches from the point of aim and still result in a vital hit where as a light weight lower BC bullet may produce a less than ideal hit or complete miss in the same 3mph wind miscalculation.

[trphyhntr]

Bc this bc that, hit them in the vitals @ 600 and they'll die

[STOMP442]

Much easier to do with a good BC. Try it sometime. It's like throwing a frisbee in the wind or a football in the wind, one of them flies way better in the wind than the other.

[.270]

Whatever. Don't lecture me on elk hunting. If the bull I shot this year is my last, you'll never catch me. Seriously. And for every one that I've shot, I've "assisted" others with at least 10. I've shot multiple Bulls over 500 yards. The one this year was about 60 yards. But I'm real sneaky when I wanna be and had my elephant gun. My longest shot personally on a bull was 910 yds. .300 win mag that I put $thousands into. 165 gr btsp hornady interlock. Across a canyon, heavy crosswind, snowing. One shot. Been on a couple dozen others 500+ All the way to over 1000. Any condition you can think of. Any kinda bullet there is. I've seen Bulls run off after being shot at less than 100 yds with a .338/.378. Barely missed the heart. Ran over 1/2 mile. Using a real high bc barnes. A .243 Woulda put him down right there. Bc is important if you want it to be. Most of the Bulls I've had to track were shot with high bc bullets. And some hit real good. High bc doesn't mean a good hunting bullet. I understand bc and all that fancy stuff. It's useless if you can't hunt or shoot and if you're using a drill bit for a bullet. But again, if I decided I needed a new elk rifle to go with the dozen or so real serious elk rifles in my safe, it'd be a savage in .338 lapua. Really an incredible round and very accurate rifle. Lark