Elk???

[zeeb_m4]

I am heading out friday for an elk/deer hunt. I am going with a buddy of mine who is taking his .308 which is causing me to rethink what to take.

I was thinking about taking my 300 wsm or my 7 mm, but since my buddy is taking a large caliber already, I was thinking about taking the 6.8 and trying it out.

My plan is to let him take first shot at an elk, while i get first shot at the deer. I know that the 6.8 has plenty of power to take out a mule deer, but I am wondering if you think its a good idea or not to try and take an elk with it.

My dilemma is that I do not want to have my animal suffer. I want a quick and painless kill. Personally I believe that the 6.8 is a fine caliber for elk as long as you are within about 150 yrds, but any further and you are really taking a chance of making the animal suffer. The other issue obviously is how accurate the placement of the shot it. I am not worried about this only because i have practiced and practiced with my rifle and have consistently shot sub moa at 100 yrds with my 6.8.

Any suggestions.

Will be shooting 110 hornady vmax or 115 sierra match king. Both are handloads that I have shot with before.

Thanks

[Red Monkey]

Neither of those rounds are "Elk" rounds. If I were going to use the 6.8 on Elk I'd want the strongest bullet I could get such as the 110 gr. Nosler Accubond or even better the 110 gr Barns TSX or TTSX. These bullets will hold together when smashing through tough elk bones. You want a bullet that will peneratrate THROUGH the animal and let out LOTS of blood and in LOTS of air!! I'd also limit my shot to a broadside shot at < 150 yds. Elk are BIG and hard to bring down if not hit in the right place.

[zeeb_m4]

I agree with you on the barns tsx, and am upset that I have been too busy to load and test some of them...I have 200 sitting there waiting to be reloaded, but I dont want to use a round that I have not tested. That is definitely on my list of things to do...

[dredge]

you better take that 300wsm and play it safe. the 115 mk's would be a better bet over the v-max, but i would recomend you atleast use the 110 pro hunters.

jst curious, have you taken deer before w/ either one of those loads you mentiond? i was kinda thinking about trying out the v-max for does and culls this year.

[angsniper]

I'm pretty sure there's been a couple of elk taken with the 6.8 already. I'm sure there's a thread here somewhere.

Found one:
http://68forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2737

[marinesg1012]

I agree with the other guys I wouldnt use either of those bullets for elk or mule deer......

[deacn dan]

Agree....110 accubond or ttsx. If it was me, I'd take more than a 308 for backup too.

[Jamesb74]

Here is one old thread of our own Constructor dropping a Elk at 350+ yds with the 6.8 with 110gr Accubond.
http://68forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2737

there are also others of dropping 300+ hogs and Bears (arteacher did that one) Here is a thread where arteacher shows it. I cant find the thread where he posted:
http://68forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7070

There have been lots of big hogs and other animals taken at good distances But the majority have been with Accubonds or the Barnes 85gr-110gr tsx's
I dont think I would risk it with SMK's or similar. There is an really old thread that has a Mulie dropped in Wyoming with factory SSA 110gr tsx. Here it is:
http://68forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2527

As you can see even going back pretty far the 6.8 can be effectiveon medium size game with the right bullet.

[jrswanson1]

I agree with you on the barns tsx, and am upset that I have been too busy to load and test some of them...I have 200 sitting there waiting to be reloaded, but I dont want to use a round that I have not tested. That is definitely on my list of things to do...

If you are looking for a good load on the Accubonds, I tested this out with a 20" Bison upper and a 16" DPMS upper. 29.0gr H322, SSA brass, Wolf SRM primers. I shot 29.5gr of H322 in both, no pressure signs. I loaded them out to 2.275" OAL, which fits in my C Prod mags.

Jim

[dogfish]

The doe my 10 year old shot last weekend fully contained a 110g v-max within about 6". The bullet acted like a 55g balistic tip out of my 5.56 and exploded when it hit bone. I found a few fragments, and that was all.

130g corelokt, or the barnes TSX would be my first choices for elk, or some of the 130g Accubonds. You want to make sure there is enough bullet left to punch as far through the animal as possible, should you hit bone on the near side.