Cow gun

[Troggy92]

Would it make a difference on which calibur(300wm or 338wm) I go with for cow elk? It will also be used on hogs.

 

[Speckmisser]

Now I see where you're going with the .338 question from the hog forum.

You might want to review this thread while you're thinking about it. The .338 is a LOT of gun, and it can be pretty punishing. The handful of folks I've known who went there didn't stay long. .300WM is tough enough on the shoulder, but at least a bit more manageable for the masochistic hunter.

.300WM is plenty for elk, and more than enough for hogs. About the only time you might miss the extra oomph of the .338 is if you find yourself shooting 500 yards at monster bulls. And since most people can't stand the recoil to practice with that caliber in the first place, you're just wasting high-dollar ammo anyway.

Of course, take all this with a grain of salt. I've been strongly drawn toward the .325WSM, which is supposed to offer the oomph of the .338 with the kick of a .300. And yes, I'd use it mostly on hogs, and occasionally on elk.

 

[Troggy92]

Yeah I didnt put it all out there on the hog forum. I hunt hogs in Parkfield and I may get a cow tag from time to time but will mostly hunt hogs and I didnt want to get 2 rifles as I have too many handguns,shotguns etc. on my list of "to gets" but if Im gonna fork out 2k for a hunt I wanna be successful. I may just stick with it for hogs too. I also have a maybe and a "big maybe" on an Alakan hunt for black bear/wolf on Kodiak Island and thought it would be good to have a .338 but that would be a one time only trip if it works out. The more I think about it the more I think I may just go with a 7mag or 300wm. I use a .35rem now and dont want to use that on a 2k cow hunt. On hogs it works fine. I also have a never shot .358jdj Contender (well 20rnds, but not by me) but realy have no place or a big desire to handload. It is a real nice custom job from SSK and would work great on both I belive but like I said Im not quite sure I want to load my own. The guy I got it from never got into reloading either so he never used it. Ive had it a year now, almost anyway, and dont even have a press yet so this is where the whole idea of "new gun" came about. I was thinking of selling it and getting a nice bolt gun in a cal. that would take big game at a far distance and up to elk.

 

[paulc]

300 win mag is a better choice. shoots flatter, and, still throws out 180 grains of lead pretty far.

I have both guns and the 300 win mag is the one i most likely will carry for my bull hunt this fall though i will take both so i have a back up.

 

[Taos]

the .338 with 250's will penetrate on elk better than the .300 and anyone that can stand a .300 can shoot a well stocked .338 just as well as a .300. That said, get something comfortable for you to shoot and go elk hunting. Placement is what kills elk with any caliber!

 

[Redneck75]

Either caliber would be more than adequate for elk hunting. There's been more elk killed with a 30.06 than the two you mentioned put together. That said...I prefer the .338 over the .300 any day of the week. The recoil, while heavier with the .338 feels to be a big slow push as compared to the sharp kick of the .300. I don't mind the .338 near as bad. It goes without saying that the .300 shoots flatter and is more accurate at longer ranges. Either gun is more than capable out to 350 yards or so, which is plenty far. Most of us don't have any business shooting any farther than that anyway. The major drawback for the .300 in my eyes is it's tendency to bloodshoot meat. It has to do with the smaller bullet (180gr) moving so fast when it hits. I've had elk that were shot by both my grandfather and I from 200 yards and it was real easy to tell which holes were from the .300 and which were from the .338. I have used both rifles to take several animals including Goats, Caribou, Mule Deer, Elk and Moose and either one kills just fine with good shot placement. For my money, if I'm not going to be in a situation where I figure a 300+ yard shot is likely, I don't feel the .300 is worth the extra wasted meat.

 

[wildwilderness]

I have easily killed two cow elk with my .270 Win. so anything bigger will work, as long as you can shoot accurately. I luckily killed my Tule Elk Bull this year with my bow though!