.300 BLK for elk?

[CP]

I plan on taking my Ruger Mini-14 in 300 Blackout for blacktail deer hunt this year. I am using 125gn hand loads @ 2300 FPS.

What bullet & powder are you using for that?

[hunter399]

I plan on taking my Ruger Mini-14 in 300 Blackout for blacktail deer hunt this year. I am using 125gn hand loads @ 2300 FPS.I would never think about using it on Elk. I know it's been done but, I would not risk the chance of wounding one. 

I might take mine also, when I take my son this year he has 243, which will work for longer range,and take my 300 blk for close up stuff , which he is pretty good shooting both ,i think it would be a great starter caliber if it was single shot or something.

[hunter399]

I'm useing 150grain nosler bt loaded just over 2000 fps which means 100yrds or less , but hopeing it hits hard though.

[Stein]

I'll throw another one out there.  You can buy a Ruger American or Savage Axis for under $500 with a scope.  You can't touch an AR in .300 with an optic for anywhere near that.  If the AR was my only rifle, I would sell it and buy a serious hunting rifle and have cash to spare for ammo and range time.

Buying an expensive rifle that shoots expensive ammo and then saying it is all you have just doesn't hold much water.

[Yondering]

I'm useing 150grain nosler bt loaded just over 2000 fps which means 100yrds or less , but hopeing it hits hard though.

If you're going to hunt with that, don't you think you should at least use a bullet designed for the velocity you're getting? There are good bullets designed for 300 Blk velocity that work fine on deer; why choose something designed around 308 & 30-06 speeds?

[hendog]

I plan on taking my Ruger Mini-14 in 300 Blackout for blacktail deer hunt this year. I am using 125gn hand loads @ 2300 FPS.

What bullet & powder are you using for that?
[/quote]

I made up a hand load to match (Remington 125gn with Win 296 powder)  the S&B 124gn  factory rounds.     

[h20hunter]

"Hoping it hits hard"

 

Maybe its just a figure of speech but hoping isnt good enough. If you dont know it, dont shoot it.

[Stein]

A Nosler BT is a poor choice of an elk bullet to begin with.  If you are going Nosler, at least use the correct bullet, the Partition.  The BT is designed as a small animal bullet for normal sized deer and antelope.

[Yondering]

A Nosler BT is a poor choice of an elk bullet to begin with.  If you are going Nosler, at least use the correct bullet, the Partition.  The BT is designed as a small animal bullet for normal sized deer and antelope.

Generally speaking yes, but don't use a Partition in the 300 Blk, there isn't one designed for that velocity range; they are all designed for higher velocity than the 300 can provide.

I would not use this cartridge for elk at all, but for deer the Nosler 125gr BT and the Barnes 110gr black tip are the top choices IMO.

[jasnt]

A Nosler BT is a poor choice of an elk bullet to begin with.  If you are going Nosler, at least use the correct bullet, the Partition.  The BT is designed as a small animal bullet for normal sized deer and antelope.

maybe if your a shoulder buster kinda guy but if your a vitals guy at 300blk speeds I think the bt would be my choice if I had no other choice of cartrage

[mountainman]

The BT would be an excellent choice for that velocity..

[headshot5]

I run both 125 nosler ballistic tips and 130 speer flat points, both expand perfectly fine at 300 blackout velocities. I'd shoot an elk with a 130 speer fp no problem.  Within 100 yards or so.    

[Stein]

Nosler lists them as a bullet for hogs, deer and antelope with a minimum velocity of 1,800 fps, but what do they know?

[copasj]

Well, I looked at some reloading data for the 300blk.  Two sources had AAC-1680 getting 2059 and 2086 with 150gr bullets.  According to the ballistics program on my phone that leaves the bullets just shy of 1900 fps and 1200 ft/lbs at 100 yards.  Not perfect, but there are some situations it would work for, and a lot that it wouldn't. 

Personally I'm not a big fan of saying yes or no to a caliber, everything in life is dependant on circumstances.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[Stein]

I shot my first elk at 60 yards with a hot loaded 168 TSX out of my 30-06.  That is one of the strongest, most proven, deepest penetrating bullets for the caliber and I hit him broadside perfectly in the lungs.  It didn't exit the other side.

Elk ribs are thick and tough and the game deserves using a bullet designed to reliably punch through bone with retained weight and energy, even if just rib as there are no vitals organs on an elk that are not surrounded by bone.  People sometimes forget a lung or heart shot isn't always just a few inches of flesh, on an elk you need to punch through a very deep chest cavity and many times bone even on a perfectly placed lung or hear shot.  This isn't even considering if your shot is off and hits the front leg or shoulder.

At 60 yards, if I hit that elk with a slow BT, would it have held up and had the power to drive through drive through a rib, have enough retained weight (they are designed for only 50-60% weight retention) and then keep going with enough energy to penetrate both lungs?  I can't say that it would do the job with a perfect shot at 60 yards.

If it were me and you handed me that rifle loaded with slow BTs, I wouldn't take the shot at 50 yards.  It simply is the wrong choice for the application.  You need faster, heavier, stronger bullets for large, tough animals like elk.