Ammunition to take down Russian Boar/cow elk

CoachK · February 10, 2006, 04:46 PM

I am going on a trip at the end of the week for Russian Boar and cow elk. I will be shooting a Browning White Gold Medallion .300 Winchester Mag and was wondering what grain bullet I need to take down either of these animals. Is a Premier Safari Grade, 200-Grain Swift A-Frame Pointed Soft Point Bullet (2825 fps) too much? I have a box of them I've not used and I also have a half box of Fusion 180-Grain Copper-Jacketed Bullet (2960 fps) left over from Deer season (I took a 6-point 180 lb. buck with this bullet and it really didn't destroy much meat). Which bullet would be better for boar or elk?

My brother will also be hunting with me and he'll be shooting a 7mm Remington Mag. What grain bullet would be best for boar and/or elk? I appreciate the help and wisdom!

Art Eatman · February 10, 2006, 05:37 PM

While the 180-grainer will probably work just fine, from what folks say on the board over the last several years, the 200 would maybe do better on the hogs, just from a penetration standpoint. Decent shot placement and it won't really matter.

For the 7Maggie, I'd get sighted in with a 160-grain bullet...

Art

Desertfox · February 11, 2006, 07:19 AM

Hey Art, I am learning too. What kind of tip on the bullet?

ClarkEMyers · February 11, 2006, 10:24 AM

For my money the 160 grain bullet is all the 7mm Mag needs. On the other hand there are real experts out there who disagree. I'll pick Tom Hayes as my expert - he started with a 7X61 Sharpe and Hart and so a just ever so slightly smaller cartridge but emphasized the 160 grain bullet even when he moved to the 7mm Remington Magnum. Warren Page used a 175 grain in a Mashburn and Bob Hagel IIRC suggests the 160 grain is adequate the 175 grain has its place.

Quote:

Is a Premier Safari Grade, 200-Grain Swift A-Frame Pointed Soft Point Bullet (2825 fps) too much?

I sort of wonder what too much means here? Is it sort of like over-kill which confuses me too (can you tell I'm a Hagel fan?). In my limited experience the Swift will work just fine; that is like the Nosler Partition it will open and also penetrate - but then although I have zero experience with the Fusion I'd happily take them and never worry again.

For my money there is no need for anything but a 160 grain bullet in the 7mm Remington and a 200 grain bullet in the .300 Winchester and up.

On the other hand I do most of my own hunting walking around with a true Scout kicking elk out of brush on north faces and such at ranges where the .308/165 is plenty and the .376 just may be overkill

Art Eatman · February 11, 2006, 06:22 PM

My father used the Hornady 150-grain spire point (flat-based) bullet from the end of WW II until somewhere in the mid-'80s. He was regularly invited to hunt camps to make sure the poker players and whiskey drinkers had a deer to take home and show Mama. So, I guess he averaged eight or ten bucks a year in a two-buck state.

I'd have to say that the Hornady bullet works, although for elk I'd probably suggest more than a 150-grainer.

Based on comparative behavior on steel at 500 yards, I really think the Sierra 180-grain .30 bullet would work just fine on anything in the lower 48. I've 95% used the soft-point Sierras. The flat-based 150-grain is a bit "tougher" bullet than the boat-tail. The boat-tail will come all apart above 2,800 ft/sec at impact. Not a good "up close and personal" bullet, as I found out on a 30-yard mulie. (Fine at 100 yards and on out, on other deer.) But, the 180-grain SPBT holds together quite well.

For deer, I've also found that the Remington 150-grain Bronze Point is really good. I shot one buck at 350 yards, hitting a rib on the way in and again on the way out; the exit wound was a good 3" in diameter. DRT.

Art

dmented692006 · February 11, 2006, 07:38 PM

i dont know about the elk, i would say atleast 180 grains and for the boar, i just got back from a boar hunt and i thought i needed a big bullet to kill it and you dont, generally people shoot them in the head right behind the ear. i saw in a boar hunting magazine a pic of a 17 year old girl who killed a russian boar with a 17 hmr by shooting it in the head so any size bullet out of a 300 mag will be more than enough.

Fat White Boy · February 18, 2006, 11:30 PM

The last 3 hogs (up to 200 lbs)I have taken were with Cor-lokt 130 gr .270...Puts 'em down right now...So, anything in 300 Mag should be fine...
BTW, The guide carried a .270, also...

trooper3385 · March 6, 2006, 02:21 AM

I've shot hogs up to 300 lbs with everything from a 22-250 for a 7mm weatherby mag and never had a problem losing any. I've probably taken more hogs with my 243 than anything. There not as tough as there built up to be, especially if you hit them in the ear. Just stay away from aiming at the forehead. If you do, the 300 win mag won't be enough. I had always heard that, but was kind of sceptical until I shot one in the forehead with a 270 using 130 gr boattails. I turned and ran like I had shot it with a pellet gun. I dropped it with a shot behind the shoulder and when I skinned it out later, I found a perfectly mushroomed bullet that penetrated about 2 inches

Scorch · March 16, 2006, 08:04 PM

Coach, you will be a bit overgunned in either case. I have never shot cow elk, but I imagine the 8X57 I hunt bull elk with would work OK. Most people I know that shoot cow elk use a 270, 30-06 or 308. I have shot dozens of pigs with a 30-30 and 7X57. You really don't need the heavy artillery. Of course, if that's all you got, by all means take it along. It'll do it.

February 10, 2006, 04:46 PM	#1
CoachK Junior Member Join Date: January 1, 2006 Posts: 6	Ammunition to take down Russian Boar/cow elk I am going on a trip at the end of the week for Russian Boar and cow elk. I will be shooting a Browning White Gold Medallion .300 Winchester Mag and was wondering what grain bullet I need to take down either of these animals. Is a Premier Safari Grade, 200-Grain Swift A-Frame Pointed Soft Point Bullet (2825 fps) too much? I have a box of them I've not used and I also have a half box of Fusion 180-Grain Copper-Jacketed Bullet (2960 fps) left over from Deer season (I took a 6-point 180 lb. buck with this bullet and it really didn't destroy much meat). Which bullet would be better for boar or elk? My brother will also be hunting with me and he'll be shooting a 7mm Remington Mag. What grain bullet would be best for boar and/or elk? I appreciate the help and wisdom!

February 11, 2006, 07:19 AM	#3
Desertfox Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2006 Location: Arkansas-Oklahoma Line Posts: 336	Hey Art, I am learning too. What kind of tip on the bullet? __________________ Teach a kid to respect wildlife, then teach a kid to hunt and fish.

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February 10, 2006, 05:37 PM	#2
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	While the 180-grainer will probably work just fine, from what folks say on the board over the last several years, the 200 would maybe do better on the hogs, just from a penetration standpoint. Decent shot placement and it won't really matter. For the 7Maggie, I'd get sighted in with a 160-grain bullet... Art

February 11, 2006, 06:22 PM	#5
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	My father used the Hornady 150-grain spire point (flat-based) bullet from the end of WW II until somewhere in the mid-'80s. He was regularly invited to hunt camps to make sure the poker players and whiskey drinkers had a deer to take home and show Mama. So, I guess he averaged eight or ten bucks a year in a two-buck state. I'd have to say that the Hornady bullet works, although for elk I'd probably suggest more than a 150-grainer. Based on comparative behavior on steel at 500 yards, I really think the Sierra 180-grain .30 bullet would work just fine on anything in the lower 48. I've 95% used the soft-point Sierras. The flat-based 150-grain is a bit "tougher" bullet than the boat-tail. The boat-tail will come all apart above 2,800 ft/sec at impact. Not a good "up close and personal" bullet, as I found out on a 30-yard mulie. (Fine at 100 yards and on out, on other deer.) But, the 180-grain SPBT holds together quite well. For deer, I've also found that the Remington 150-grain Bronze Point is really good. I shot one buck at 350 yards, hitting a rib on the way in and again on the way out; the exit wound was a good 3" in diameter. DRT. Art

February 11, 2006, 07:38 PM	#6
dmented692006 Member Join Date: January 21, 2006 Posts: 60	i dont know about the elk, i would say atleast 180 grains and for the boar, i just got back from a boar hunt and i thought i needed a big bullet to kill it and you dont, generally people shoot them in the head right behind the ear. i saw in a boar hunting magazine a pic of a 17 year old girl who killed a russian boar with a 17 hmr by shooting it in the head so any size bullet out of a 300 mag will be more than enough.

February 18, 2006, 11:30 PM	#7
Fat White Boy Senior Member Join Date: March 18, 2005 Posts: 1,276	The last 3 hogs (up to 200 lbs)I have taken were with Cor-lokt 130 gr .270...Puts 'em down right now...So, anything in 300 Mag should be fine... BTW, The guide carried a .270, also...

March 6, 2006, 02:21 AM	#8
trooper3385 Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2005 Location: South Texas Posts: 814	I've shot hogs up to 300 lbs with everything from a 22-250 for a 7mm weatherby mag and never had a problem losing any. I've probably taken more hogs with my 243 than anything. There not as tough as there built up to be, especially if you hit them in the ear. Just stay away from aiming at the forehead. If you do, the 300 win mag won't be enough. I had always heard that, but was kind of sceptical until I shot one in the forehead with a 270 using 130 gr boattails. I turned and ran like I had shot it with a pellet gun. I dropped it with a shot behind the shoulder and when I skinned it out later, I found a perfectly mushroomed bullet that penetrated about 2 inches

March 16, 2006, 08:04 PM	#9
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	Coach, you will be a bit overgunned in either case. I have never shot cow elk, but I imagine the 8X57 I hunt bull elk with would work OK. Most people I know that shoot cow elk use a 270, 30-06 or 308. I have shot dozens of pigs with a 30-30 and 7X57. You really don't need the heavy artillery. Of course, if that's all you got, by all means take it along. It'll do it.