I'm looking at buying a new toy, any one own one,and can give me any insight. I live in Idaho,and have shot a 300 Win. for the last 35 years, this would be my elk-whitetail gun. Most of my elk hunting is 300 yards plus, so this would be good flat shooting round with plenty of energy out past 800 yards. I guess at my age i'm looking for a little less recoil and weight. Thanks
26 Nosler
- Thread starter brdhuntr
- Start date
Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
I read the attachment on packmule's post. My first gut feel was it is too light for anything larger than deer. After reading it, I still think it is a little too light for elk. I shoot a 25-06 and had a .257 Wby (loaned it to my best friend and he is still shooting it...that's what friends are for!). I have shot lots of deer and antelope with both, but only one elk with the 25-06. Neck shot, so no big test of it's capability on a big animal. Lots of elk killed with 7mm mag, for me that would be the lightest I would shoot.
Just sayin.............
Just sayin.............
Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
Other manufacturers besides Nosler are going to have to tool up and make rifles for it for it to really take hold.
Iron Mike
Active Member
I own one. Awesome round. Very accurate and great for long range if you are comfortable shooting far. I shoot mine at a thousand yards at the range regularly and I am using the 140 grain bullet. To be honest I have not killed an animal with it yet but its going to Hawaii with me this year for Mouflon, There are some Rams there that have been laughing at me beyond 800 yards for quite a few years that are in for a surprise, and to South Africa for Plains game in July. I know a few folks that are hunting with it and the results have been impressive to say the least. A very good friend of mine took his to South Africa last year and used it on everything he took, Plains Game, including one shot kills on Zebra and Eland. He took a Buffalo also but not with the 26. Now it would not be my first choice for Eland as they are one tough animal but it did the job - and on top of that he was using the 129 grain bullet (not even a bullet to consider according to Chuck Hawks). I sure wouldn't advocate for every one to grab one to go elk hunting but shot placement is were its at. The kinetic energy is great. I work fairly close with Nosler, live 10 miles from the factory, and when I told Bob Nosler about the African hunt he smiled and said he didn't doubt it.
Chuck Hawks article was written in early 2014 I believe and although I have and respected some of the other stuff he has written about, this one was written with no testing on his part. I do think a 300 Win is a much more "Pure" Elk cartridge but we all know what Jack O'connor's favorite cartridge was and he did a pretty fine job.
Look at some of the real world testing that has been done since its release at the range and on live game then make your decision.
Chuck Hawks article was written in early 2014 I believe and although I have and respected some of the other stuff he has written about, this one was written with no testing on his part. I do think a 300 Win is a much more "Pure" Elk cartridge but we all know what Jack O'connor's favorite cartridge was and he did a pretty fine job.
Look at some of the real world testing that has been done since its release at the range and on live game then make your decision.
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I'm not a big flash bang high speed magnum needing guy. That said, the 26 Nosler is a very capable elk round, if, you feed it an elk bullet, then put it in the elk where it belongs. Anyone that tells you differently is either uninformed or unknowlingly commenting on their marksmanship. My son's 260 Rem, with pedestrian 140 gr. corelokts, kills them very dead. Both the 26 Nosler and the 260 Rem shoot a .264 caliber pill. But I'd suggest both need different pills. Do I chase elk with 26 caliber, nope, I use a 28 caliber on them, as my son does now that he is an adult, unless we pack a 27 or 30 caliber rifle.
If you must use the 26 Nosler for elk, consider picking a tough built bullet with a good SD, then it will work fine. That said, I do think your 300 WM is a better elk round. With a cartridge as fast as the 26 Nosler, there are two things it will be very tough on. 1. Your barrel. 2. Your bullet. A third is likely your ears. About the time you plan to launch a 1/2 mile shot, your bull will appear at 50 feet, covered in mud, better have a bullet up to that. Odds are this round is a speciality/novelty, my guess. Do you hand load? Only time will tell if the 26 will stand the test of time, I suspect it will end up as a novelty.
If you must use the 26 Nosler for elk, consider picking a tough built bullet with a good SD, then it will work fine. That said, I do think your 300 WM is a better elk round. With a cartridge as fast as the 26 Nosler, there are two things it will be very tough on. 1. Your barrel. 2. Your bullet. A third is likely your ears. About the time you plan to launch a 1/2 mile shot, your bull will appear at 50 feet, covered in mud, better have a bullet up to that. Odds are this round is a speciality/novelty, my guess. Do you hand load? Only time will tell if the 26 will stand the test of time, I suspect it will end up as a novelty.
shootbrownelk
Veteran member
The .26 Nosler is said to be packed with even more powder than a .264 Winchester magnum...and that one ate throats & barrels. No thanks. This cartridge will die a slow agonizing death IMO. Nosler also released a .30 Nosler. I think Nosler is throwing crap to see what sticks.
When it comes to the "which gun" questions you're sure to get plenty of differing opinions so here's mine. The common theme among the small caliber enthusiasts is that shot placement is the only thing that matters. Well if only we all lived in that perfect world. I can kill a Holstein bull with a .22 rimfire but honestly it's regularly an undersized caliber for 25 lb. raccoons even with perfect shot placement. If you make a bad first shot on an elk due to poor aiming, buck fever, hitting an unforeseen stick, scope out of whack, etc., now what. You'll need to make a follow up shot which is likely to be less than ideal. Now maybe the elk is running straight away or extremely quartered away. You're gonna need a bullet with enough energy and weight for deep penetration. When I first moved up from a 30.06 to a .340 I was dumbfounded at the difference with my first elk kill. I shot a small bull quartering away at perhaps 300 yards. The bullet entered his gut and exited his neck throwing him end over end down the mountainside with a 210g Partition.
I think the .338 is the perfect elk caliber and your .300 Win being another excellent choice. I really believe in the old Ruark saying "Use enough gun".
I think the .338 is the perfect elk caliber and your .300 Win being another excellent choice. I really believe in the old Ruark saying "Use enough gun".
badgerbob
Active Member
I have a .264 win mag. It got a bad rap early on. I see no reason for it to ruin barrels and mine shows no evidence of this. I think if you take any of the bigger mags. and start hot loading and target and varmint hunting, they will burn barrels. Big game hunting loads, and the average number of shots fired by a big game hunter and the .264 will last about as long as any. It's a good round, but I agree it is a little light for elk. No matter what you shoot there is something out there that someone else is going to swear is a better round. The old saying "shot placement is everything" holds true. I like a 300 win mag for elk, but if I only had my .264 I would pack it. BB
Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
One thing to remember, back in the day when the .220 Swift and the .264 Mag were introduced, there were a lot fewer choices of slow burning powders for them. Now we have a pretty big selection to choose from. I shoot a .220 AI Swift and use a new powder that was not available even a few years back. I shoot loads that are 4000+ fps and after 2000+ rounds shows no signs of giving up.
I agree with you on both accounts and the importance of shot placement can't be stressed enough. But I once shot an antelope at about 75 yards with a 22-250. The shot placement was absolutely perfect (lung shot) and he eventually went down but wouldn't die. I walked up to him and fired another shot at a distance of 6 inches, obviously another well placed shot. It took a terribly long time for that antelope to die and it was agonizing for me to watch. I swore off using underpowered guns on any big game animal after that.
You guys remember when Lazzeroni rifles came out? Another proprietary cartridge and rifle that's very expensive to shoot and is also a novelty.
I suspect your poor result with the antelope could be more about the bullet used than the cartridge power level. Wasn't there so it is only a guess. I've had young small kids, use a .223 Rem on Antelope and small deer, out to 200-225 yards with very quick kills. A 62 gr. bonded bullet designed for hunting deer sized game placed well on a broadside animal was the key. I agree a .22 caliber bullet is small and not ideal, but used with the proper bullet it is deadly within it's limits.
A .264 caliber, for elk, to most, is on the light side of things for elk. Probably why most that commented on the OP cartridge choices, suggested the 300. If one goes with a "light" cartridge choice for a given quarry, in my mind bullet choice will be key, both in weight for an adequate sectional density and construction for good terminal ballistics. When you consider .264 bullets, there are very elk capable bullets available, which at 26 Nosler velocities are likely to be deadly as far or further than most would want to shoot.
For me, when using cartridges on the lower end of being enough gun, you better consider the bullet big time, so the terminal ballistics have to be a big consideration. We can get too caught up in external ballistics, when what happens when the bullet hits is what we really need to consider. It becomes important to consider a number of things, the bullets SD, design/construction, shot placement, and expected impact velocity are among the key ones to my mind. If those variables are considered, then a properly placed shot will be humanely lethal, whether a .224 caliber bullet on antelope or a .264 bullet on elk. Get the bullet choice wrong, have poor shot placement, etc. and bad things can happen fast, usually regardless of cartridge choice.