What do you guys think about these for elk hunting? My rifle is a mk 5 fibermark that will put three of these under a inc all day long? Should move up to a 210 grain?

It well kill any elk you shoot in the proper place.

Put it in the right spot and it will knock the snot out of him.

I have shot a .340 Wby extensively for several years and have taken several Bull Elk, Mule Deer and a huge Alaskan Yukon Moose with it. I think the 185 grain bullet will do OK but I also beleave the 225 grain TSX or Northfork, or 240 grain Northfork, or 250 grain Nosler Partition or Accubond would do better. The .340 was designed to shoot the larger 338 bullets fast, thus it offers a flat shooting, deeply penetrating performance. Mine shoots the 225 grain Northfork or the old 225 grain Barnes XLC 3150 fps and does amazing work once it gets there. Yep the 185 grain bullet would be faster, but in my opinion the added weight of the heavier bulles will pay dividends in the long run. Good shooting.

Have been using a wildcat .338WSM for the past few years using the 210gr Nosler Partition bullet for elk and bear. Even took this rifle to Africa for a plains game hunt(so did my hunting partner, his a righty, mine a lefty). Neither of us felt undergunned on zebra, wildebeeste, kudu, and gemsbuck.

I have limited experience with the 340, but I found the 225 to be the perfect compromise. It shoots plenty flat and hits very hard!

I use the 210 grain in a 338 win. If you are looking for light bullet performance in the 340 wby, I would not go any lower than the 210. Without being critical, you are wasting the large powder capacity of the 340. It makes it's gains over the smaller cartriges with heavy bullets. Shoot the 210 or the 225 TSX or TTSX. They will go down like they were struck by lightening.

460

I've used the various 338's quite a bit and the 340 is one of my favorites. I think the 185 TTSX would work fine for elk. Having said that the main reason to use the light bullet in my mind is the increased velocity and therefore a flatter trajectory for long range shooting. I think once you get out beyond 300 yards something like the 225 ACB as others have said with its high BC will gain on the low BC 185 TSX quickly and also give more reliable long range expansion than 185 TTSX as velocity drops at that longer range.

Mark

460, If your rifle shoot the 185's well, it will probably also shoot the 210's well.

I would try them. If they shot well, great. If not, I'd go hunting with the 185's and not be too worried.

If your season starts tomorrow, just take the 185's and give us a field report with plenty of pictures of your dead elk.

I have killed exactly one elk, shown below, using the 185 gr TSX launched at 2950 fps from my 338-06 at a lasered 270 yards. The bullet lost all petals, a wadcutter, and weighed 122 grs recovered under the hide after a quartering in and center punching shoulder out shot. The bull flatazz dropped at the shot, no movement. If I were shooting your iron I would go 210 gr minimum.

I'm with the concensus here. 185s will work fine, but heavier is better.

The 340 and 250 grain Partitions seem to have been made for each other. That said, the extra recoil may not be to many people's liking. I use 225 grain Barnes TTSX for mine. I use 265 grain Barnes LRX (TTSX by a different name but they are longer above the ogive with a longer BT) for my 338-378. The choice is certainly yours but I wouldn't go less then 225 grain bullets in either of mine.

Ken....

After using the 185's one year and nosler 250's the next. Gotta say, the 185's will work but the 250's work MUCH better.

MHO, I wouldn't use anything less than a 250gr in a 340 wby. If I were to shoot 185's, I'd get a 300mag.

quote:

Originally posted by Rub Line:
MHO, I wouldn't use anything less than a 250gr in a 340 wby. If I were to shoot 185's, I'd get a 300mag.

Exactly right.

If the light for caliber bullets shoot well and since you are using a Barnes, the bullet will hold together but the hydrostatic damage to the meat will be tremendous. I've gone this path with the 235 in the .375 H&H and it is definitely a killing machine but a shot to the lungs at 172 yards ruined a whole front quarter on my cow last year. Dropped her in her tracks but wasted a lot of meat.

As mentioned, the 185gr TTSX will do fine, I would too prefer to use the 210 or 225 grain size in the 340. I would give up the velocity for a heavier bullet.

I dont have a 340 but I use 225gr in my 338-06AI. If I wanted to use a lighter bullet, I would use my 300WM with 180gr bullets.

What phurley5 said is spot on, I shoot the 340 mostly for elk they shine with the 225-250 grain bullets. I also shoot the 338 Win mag with the above grain bullets too.

Phurley and Rub Line got it right.
Why run 180 gr anything through a 340? I would consider the 225's a light weight bullet in this caliber, and go straight to the 250's.

If your MK 5 likes them, I think the 210-225 in the Mono bullets are the sweet spot for elk.

The 225 TTSX at 2900fps will work great with its .514 BC.


.

That is a great BC for a mono metal hunting bullet. I've shot a bunch of bullets with a .488 BC out as far as 750 yards. They do quite well, but do start getting blown around a bit at that range if the wind is strong or unsteady. Keep in mind I was shooting little bitty Marmots, not big ol' elk.

I feel that they'll do just fine. I've not been able to get the 185 TSX to shoot in my 338/06, my 338 WSM or in my .340. Guess I'd see how they shot b4 I got too far into it.

Have you shot them yet and if so how'd they perk?

I'm a big fan of two holes in game in particular with elk and I don't feel that the 185's give the best chance for two holes.

I'd start with the 200 NBT and go up from there but that's just my way.

Let us know how it goes.

Can I ask, where and in what type of terrain will you be hunting your elk?

I shoot a 340 Wby for elk as well. The 225gr TTSX seems just about perfect IMO. It gives an extremely flat trajectory while delivering a tremendous wallop. I can't justify going to a smaller bullet than the 225gr. A lighter bullet is really better suited for a 300 Mag.

Of course, if you have one rifle and are looking for versatility in that rifle, that's one thing. But most calibers seem to have a sweet spot concerning what bullets give maximum performance, taking into account energy delivery, sectional density, and ballistic coefficient, among other things. For me, that sweet spot in .338 is 225grs and in .308, 180grs.

Bottom line, I recommend the 225 TTSX in the 340 Wby Mag. YMMV!

If you should get a close shot the 185 will not perform as you would like. I suggest heavier would be better, as have others.

I've been using the 340 for 22 years now, but I've never used anything below 200 grains, and nothing below 210 for hunting. IMHO bullets below 225 grains are wasting the HP of, and the real advantage in, using the 340.

Bullets below 225 gr are much better suited for 30 caliber. High BC, good SD, plenty of speed.

I also shoot a 340 Weatherby. At the range, I shoot mostly 225 Hornady bullets. While I have not had a chance to hunt with this rifle yet, I have worked up a load using a 225 TSX. With the monometals, I almost always drop down a bit in bullet weight, a 225 as opposed to a 250. At 340 Weatherby velocities, I think a premium bullet is warranted.

I bought my 340 Weatherby just for fun. It's an Accumark and for hunting, I prefer a lighter gun so now, when a .338 bullet is required, I grab my little .338 RCM. I have been shooting 225 grain bullets in it as well but will probably switch to a 210 TSX. Sixty one grains of Ramshot Big Game pushes that bullet out of my 20 inch barrel at just over 2600 fps with only a five feet per second spread. Very consistent. I had intended to try the 185 Hornady GMX but I understand that they will not expand reliably below 2000 fps.