Has anyone used the 300 WSM on elk? If so, what were your opinions on its effectiveness. What rifle, scope and load did you use? I just bought a Wincheater 70 Featherweight in this caliber as my one rifle western hunting rig. Do you think I made a wise choice? Most hunting with this rifle will be for deer and antelope with the occasional elk hunt thrown in. Any input is appreciated.

Craig

I don't think there are very many who wouldn't consider the .300 WinMag suitable for elk (maybe Elmer may he rest in peace) and there isn't a heck of a lot of difference between the .300WSM and the .300 WinMag.

Bill beat me to it but thats my reply as well. Its a .300 Win Mag which with 180's is POTENT elk medicing. All you have to do is hit one in the proper spot and you have more than enough gun to do the job.

FN

I like your style. I bought a Browning in 300 WSM for African antelope and Canadian sheep. I think you have a winner. I wish someone made a factory load in 165 gr.

CraigP,

When you look at how many zillions of elk have been done in by the .30-06 and 180 grain bullets of various designs, well then the .300 WSM has to be okay.

Rich

What Rich says is true!

I've hunted elk for going on thirty years, and I've seen 'em taken with a variety of rifles between the size of .270 Winchester and .375 H&H, and I've never honestly seen an ugly situation develop in the field that could be traced to a somehow "insufficient" cartridge.

Insufficient shooting, yes, poorly constructed bullets, yes, but not an insufficient cartridge. Believe it or not, elk aren't anywhere near as hard to kill as a lot of folks seem to think. Lots of cartridges work and work well for elk, and your .300 WSM should be excellent in all respects, as long as you employ good bullets.

Heck, I've used the 1963 version .300 Win. Mag. on a goodly number of bulls over the years, and most of the time these elk went down right away, and without fuss. In fact, I recall only one bull that went anywhere after taking a 180 gr. Nosler through the lungs, and he ran less than fifty yards.

So don't give this matter a second thought: You've got plenty of gun for any sort of elk hunting.

AD

I think the 300 WSM has a bright future as an all around western big game cartridge. Same basic power level as the .300 Win mag which is an excellent deer, bear, elk rifle. Your wish for a 165 load will come in time as the rifle gains popularity. I use a 7mm mag these days, traded off the .300 years ago. Still load for a couple of my friends though - you gotta watch those 165's at magnum velocity, they can get a bit "explosive" at short ranges. My hunting buddy refers to the 165 ballistic tips I load to 3200 fps for him as "Guy's exploding bullets" and he swears by 'em for mule deer. Regards, Guy