7 Mag vs .300

[packmule]

Shooting corelokt is kind of like driving a Dodge. The idea is that it will deliver and get from point A to point B, but chances are always really good that it'll fall apart before it's intended....

 

[Musket Man]

bdan I respect the opinion but your climbing uphill on this forum if you say the core-lokt isn't an effective elk killer! That bullet has killed more elk than all the bullets you mentioned combined.

I have shot alot of Core-Lokts and killed alot of animals with them. Most have been 1 shot kills and I would say all the ones where I did my part were quick 1 shot kills and I have never had 1 come apart or not get the job done.

 

[WY ME]

Knock down power is a funny concept in elk hunting, IMO. I have seen bulls killed with a number of different cartridges from .243 to .338 WM. I have yet to see one get "knocked down" so to speak. I have seen them drop suddenly, but only from CNS hits. Usually regardless of caliber, they soak up a shot to the vitals and tip over when their blood pressure drops.

Yes, at times the larger animals like elk and especially moose can seem to "soak up a shot" as you say, but on occasion the knockdown of a large caliber can be dramatic. The first animal I shot when I converted to a 340 WBY after 20 years of shooting a 30.06 was a quartering away elk at perhaps 300 yards. I shot him just in front of his hip with the bullet exiting out his neck. He did somersaults down the hill. I was blown away at his reaction and sold on magnums ever since. Another dramatic shot I witnessed was on a bull elk that was facing us straight on. Worried that the bull was about to bolt, I told my wife to shoot him dead center, so my wife shot him in the center of his brisket. He literally went down on his ass and flipped over backwards and never got up. I don't recall the bullets we used in those two instances but they were most likely 210 Nosler Partitions since they are usually what I shoot.

I have also seen a cow elk show no reaction when I shot her through the lungs at 20 yards with my 340. But on the flip side I have never my 30.06 or my daughters' 270s show a real hard knockdown type of reaction. The 340 seems to send a big shock wave through the animals which puts them on the ground faster and causes them to die quickly.

That's why I'm a fan of the magnum calibers.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Yes, at times the larger animals like elk and especially moose can seem to "soak up a shot" as you say, but on occasion the knockdown of a large caliber can be dramatic. The first animal I shot when I converted to a 340 WBY after 20 years of shooting a 30.06 was a quartering away elk at perhaps 300 yards. I shot him just in front of his hip with the bullet exiting out his neck. He did somersaults down the hill. I was blown away at his reaction and sold on magnums ever since. Another dramatic shot I witnessed was on a bull elk that was facing us straight on. Worried that the bull was about to bolt, I told my wife to shoot him dead center, so my wife shot him in the center of his brisket. He literally went down on his ass and flipped over backwards and never got up. I don't recall the bullets we used in those two instances but they were most likely 210 Nosler Partitions since they are usually what I shoot.

I have also seen a cow elk show no reaction when I shot her through the lungs at 20 yards with my 340. But on the flip side I have never my 30.06 or my daughters' 270s show a real hard knockdown type of reaction. The 340 seems to send a big shock wave through the animals which puts them on the ground faster and causes them to die quickly.

That's why I'm a fan of the magnum calibers.

I shoot a Wby ,300. That said, I really believe that it's not really the "magnum" that does the job. It is the energy the bullet has when entering the animal ( at the correct spot on the animal) that provides the "knock down" power. This is really evident at longer ranges. In 60 years of hunting I have killed a lot of game animals....don't know the exact number, but its around 150. I have reloaded almost all the time, thanks to my Dad who got me started as a teenager. My baseline is to shoot my bullet choice over 3000 fps, as far over that baseline as I can get and still be safe. If my gun likes a load that I chrono that is 3400 and also like a load at 3150, I'll choose the faster load every time. More energy developed (with the same bullet) giving me better ballistics. It just physics.

 

[swampokie]

One thing we do know is that chuck Norris drives a goat!

Shooting corelokt is kind of like driving a Dodge. The idea is that it will deliver and get from point A to point B, but chances are always really good that it'll fall apart before it's intended....

 

[packmule]

He drove a GMC to start before the budget got eaten into, then quit the show 2 seasons early bc he was tired of being driving that rough riding goat.

 

[biohak]

First big game hunt? I wouldnt recommend the 300. Unless you've shot a friends' 300, listen to swampokie and stick to the 7mm or 270

 

[RUGER M77]

I definitely would not use that same 150 grain Core Lokt bullet for elk. It's not that it's too light, but Core Lokts don't stay together, especially when pushed at the speed it will be from a 7 mag.

Get some decent elk bullets, Barnes or Nosler Accubonds. Weight doesn't matter, although in 7mm I like 160's.

All the corlokts I've ever recovered were perfectly mushroomed looked just like the picture on the box

 

[RUGER M77]

I personaly would stick with your 7mm you're really not gaining much by stepping up to a 300 win mag exspecialy a borrowed one. I love my 7mag easy to reload for

 

[HuskyMusky]

For elk in my eyes
in 7mm I would be shooting a 160gr bullet, not 175gr.

In 300 probably 180grs, but possibly 165 or maybe even 200gr if it were a .300wby etc... or handloads etc...

If you own a 7mm that would be my choice, if you were borrowing/buying a 300 I wouldn't go that route,

if you had neither and were buying either, I would probably lean 300, but if you own a 7mm, I think my next big rifle would be some sort of .338 or .375

good luck!

btw a 7mm 160gr TSX or other quality bullet will do the job on an elk!

 

[stevevan]

I've owned and used most of the popular .300's, however I've settled into the 7mm Rem Mag with the 160 Nosler Partition. Taken game from Az. Coues to Alaskan Yukon moose with that combo and I'm absolutely confident in that load and rifle which at the end of the day is what matters most.