Best cartridge for mono bullets on elk under 600 yards?

[truehaun]

If you were going to shoot mono bullets on elk what cartridge would you pick? I’ve been looking at Barnes lrx in 6.5 prc or .270win. Another optioning I’ve been considering is getting a 6 creed for deer and down and a 7 or 300 win mag or another big caliber for the elk. I’ve killed two elk and a deer with my 300 win with Remington core lokt but lost a spike this year with a 30-06 and 180 core lokt. Longest shot was a cow elk at 460 yards with my 300 win. Would your cartridge change if it was 500 yards and under vs 600? Don’t hand load yet but am interested in doing it in the future. So factory ammo is a plus but wouldn’t be a deal breaker.

EDIT
I should have added I want to get something with less recoil so I can spot my shots. I would like to be able to see where exactly I hit the animal. Probably will get a ti Pro brake for whatever I end up with.

 

[grfox92]

Do you live in California? What's your reason for wanting to use monos?

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[Lou270]

If you have a 300 Win that is what I would use and change bullets. If want less recoil I would look hard at 6.8 Western and 162 copper extreme, 155 lrx, or one of the heavier hammers. The 162 is win factory load and can get 155 lrx loaded by choice ammunition.

Lou

 

[Mike D Texas]

What is your reasoning for wanting to go to a smaller cartridge? 300 Win Mag will kill elk under 500 yards.

6.8 Western is destined to be an enthusiast cartridge with limited support. It just isn’t catching on like they hoped it would. I wouldn’t go that route.


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[TaperPin]

Exactly what Lou said.

 

[Nbowlin]

I ended up with a bunch of hornady factory 160 what ever grain copper stuff and I used it to break in a couple 7prc's and it actually shot pretty well out of all of them......around 3k + fps on 22-24" stuff.

 

[truehaun]

I should have added I want to get something with less recoil so I can spot my shots. Would like to be able to see where exactly I hit the animal.

 

[Mike D Texas]

I should have added I want to get something with less recoil so I can spot my shots. Would like to be able to see where exactly I hit the animal.

That’s easily accomplished on a 300WM with a quality muzzle brake and don’t dial your scope magnification too high.


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[truehaun]

That’s easily accomplished on a 300WM with a quality muzzle brake and don’t dial your scope magnification too high.


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If the brake helps that much it sounds like that’d be the direction I’d go. Only concern is the factory Barnes lrx is 1999 at 600 yards. I’ve read some people recommend staying above 2200 for optimum performance or maybe 2000 at the minimum.

 

[Str8shooter]

I had this exact goal 2 years ago. I purchased the Savage Ultralight in .270 win with the hopes that the 129gr LRX would print, and it does. Its been an excellent combo and the bullet out my 22 inch barrel is still cruising at 2000 fps at 600yds, (1600 fps is the barnes recommended min velocity for the LRX). I used to be a .300 win dude but after shooting through animals and blowing up boulders behind them, I realized all that extra energy/recoil/muzzle blast was largely going overboard and is mostly wasted energy. I put a suppressor on my .270 this year and it is a delight to shoot, I cant quite spot hits, but my gun is just 6.5 lbs with scope. And still Im staying in the glass and getting back on target way more quickly than the .300. There are some guys on here that use the brakes with their .270s shooting 120-130 grain rounds and claim to be able to spot hits and Id imagine with a couple more pounds on the rifle and a good brake it would be easily doable. Thought hard about the 6.5 PRC as well but ammunition availability steered me back to the .270 win and Im tickled with it.

 

[BrBa]

Personally I'm partial to long bullets with high bc's in .264 and .284. Barnes loads a 190gr LRX for the .300WM.

 

[Lou270]

Check out the badlands precision bulldozers if want a really high bc mono bullet for extended ranges.

Lou

 

[truehaun]

I had this exact goal 2 years ago. I purchased the Savage Ultralight in .270 win with the hopes that the 129gr LRX would print, and it does. Its been an excellent combo and the bullet is still cruising at 1850 fps at 600yds, (1800 fps is the barnes recommended min velocity for the LRX). I used to be a .300 win dude but after shooting through animals and blowing up boulders behind them, I realized all that extra energy/recoil/muzzle blast was largely going overboard and is mostly wasted energy. I put a suppressor on my .270 this year and it is a delight to shoot, I cant quite spot hits, but my gun is just 6.5 lbs with scope. And still Im staying in the glass and getting back on target way more quickly than the .300. There are some guys on here that use the breaks with their .270s shooting 120-130 grain rounds and claim to be able to spot hits and Id imagine with a couple more pounds on the rifle and a good break it would be easily doable. Thought hard about the 6.5 PRC as well but ammunition availability steered me back to the .270 win and Im tickled with it.

I want to lean for the 6.5 PRC because it seems like it has been adopted and ammo is pretty available now and it’s a sexy newer cartridge, but based on these numbers from Barnes the ole .270 is faster and has more energy.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Really a tough ask, since monos need a lot of velocity to upset well, and they have poor bcs, so now you need high mv, and that high mv typically costs recoil, which makes shot spotting hard. Just shoot a high bc, heavy for caliber lead bullet and there are lots of good options that fit your desires, 223 up to 6.5 creed.

 

[Macintosh]

I got a 270 for this purpose. My goal was 500 yards, not 600, though—600 is a long way for me even with a higher bc lead bullet. Cant say my 270 is any better or worse than other cartridges ive used as I havent shot enough critters with it, but so far it works well, mine likes standard ttsx. Havent had a chance to try the LRX yet out of this gun but on paper it should be noticeably better if you are stretching effective range. My research in this topic as well as some PM’s with a few specific people on this site pointed me to a 6creed though for copper. If its a legal cartridge where you hunt could be worth looking into. I didnt go that route because I specifically wanted easy factory ammo availability on a standard bolt-face rifle, but its on my radar for the future.

 

[Anschutz]

Of what I have, the .270 Win. I haven't been able to spot hits on a gong at 4-500yds, but it's close. Rifle is a Win M70 EWSS w/ Leupy 3.5-10x40 weighing ~8#.

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[Macintosh]

A modern stock helps a lot with that ^^ on any gun. Win 70 stock is classic, and the modern ones with a straight comb are better, but a lot if old-school 270’s have old-school stocks that are not designed to reduce recoil effect. My 8lb rifle in an alterra stock is pretty easy to spot hits with. Its not a no-recoil rifle but it makes a big difference. Even my oem tikka stock was a lot easier to spot hits with after adding a ctr cheek riser that has a negative comb.

 

[Mike D Texas]

If the brake helps that much it sounds like that’d be the direction I’d go. Only concern is the factory Barnes lrx is 1999 at 600 yards. I’ve read some people recommend staying above 2200 for optimum performance or maybe 2000 at the minimum.

For the typical TSX/TTSX 2000 is the minimum recommendation. The LRX has a lower threshold. You can email Barnes and they will recommend the low velocity threshold.


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[FLS]

Don’t worry about energy, focus on speed. The 130 TTSX / 127 LRX out of a 270 is a solid choice. A good brake will help you spot those impacts.

 

[Balderdash]

I built a 6.5 PRC to fit some of the same criteria you listed. It's much more pleasant to shoot than 7mm or 300 magnums. I haven't had to use coppers in it so can't speak to terminal performance. However, guys report good results with LRX bullets out of 6.5 Creeds.

As Mike listed before, shooting at lowest practical X and a heavy rifle will help with spotting shots.