Looking for 600 yard deer/elk rifle. Recommendations?

[Tricer]

What's the reason you think that is the minimum? Have you seen animals shot it the right spot with the small diameter bullets being discussed and not die?

I have a video on my phone of a bull being shot at 550yds 8 times with a 6.5prc at 143ELDX. All great shots but the bull just keeps standing.

I shot a bull with a 127LRX out of my 260 REM 4 times less than 200yds all great shots.

Both bulls are dead but I won’t use anything less than a 7mm for elk and I use the 1500lb rule as a distance limit. I just know that when you put a 30cal bullet with 1500lbs of energy with a good solid core bullet into an elk it’s going to be a lot more effective than a 6.5 or smaller going really fast.

To each their own but when talking elk I don’t know why everyone wants to bring a knife to a gun fight.

 

[Formidilosus]

I have a video on my phone of a bull being shot at 550yds 8 times with a 6.5prc at 143ELDX. All great shots but the bull just keeps standing.

I shot a bull with a 127LRX out of my 260 REM 4 times less than 200yds all great shots.

Both bulls are dead but I won’t use anything less than a 7mm for elk and I use the 1500lb rule as a distance limit. I just know that when you put a 30cal bullet with 1500lbs of energy with a good solid core bullet into an elk it’s going to be a lot more effective than a 6.5 or smaller going really fast.

No it’s not. 9 of the last 10 elk that I shot or that I directly watched shot with 30cal mags, were shot between 2 and 6 times, all bisecting chest shots on the first or second hit. The lone single shot was because the shooter missed by feet and hit another elk in the neck.

To each their own but when talking elk I don’t know why everyone wants to bring a knife to a gun fight.

Could it be that people are making decisions on something more than a small sample size with limited data?

 

[Tricer]

No it’s not. 9 of the last 10 elk that I shot it that I directly watched shot with 30cal mags, were shot between 2 and 6 times, all bisecting chest shots on the first or second hit. The lone single shot was because the shooter missed by feet and hit another elk in the neck.




Could it be that people are making decisions on something more than a small sample size with limited data?

again too each his own. OP asked for recommendations for 600yd elk rifles. IMO he would be best served with a 30cal with 1500lbs of energy and a solid core bullet at 600yds.

Everyone is trying to fix something that isn't broken. Caliber debates are great.

 

[TimberHunter]

again too each his own. OP asked for recommendations for 600yd elk rifles. IMO he would be best served with a 30cal with 1500lbs of energy and a solid core bullet at 600yds.

Everyone is trying to fix something that isn't broken. Caliber debates are great.

Careful with those solid core bullets at distance…. Unless you’re pushing them at 3k plus at the muzzle expansion can be limited at 600


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[Tricer]

Careful with those solid core bullets at distance…. Unless you’re pushing them at 3k plus at the muzzle expansion can be limited at 600


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Yup. I find that if you stick to the 1500lb rule your bullet will have the velocity to do what it needs to do. If you look at your ballistic charts you will see the same. I shoot copper pretty much exclusively since I am from CA Hammers and Barnes.

This year I am leaving my custom rifles in the safe a shooting a factory browning xbolt 30-06 with 175LRX for all my rifle hunts. Muzzle velocity of 2680 hits the 1500lb mark around 400yds. So that will be my limit for all hunts this year.

 

[PNWGATOR]

again too each his own. OP asked for recommendations for 600yd elk rifles. IMO he would be best served with a 30cal with 1500lbs of energy and a solid core bullet at 600yds.

Everyone is trying to fix something that isn't broken. Caliber debates are great.

ft lbs of energy is an irrelevant/meaningless metric in terminal performance.

 

[eric1115]

I have a video on my phone of a bull being shot at 550yds 8 times with a 6.5prc at 143ELDX. All great shots but the bull just keeps standing.

I shot a bull with a 127LRX out of my 260 REM 4 times less than 200yds all great shots.

Both bulls are dead but I won’t use anything less than a 7mm for elk and I use the 1500lb rule as a distance limit. I just know that when you put a 30cal bullet with 1500lbs of energy with a good solid core bullet into an elk it’s going to be a lot more effective than a 6.5 or smaller going really fast.

To each their own but when talking elk I don’t know why everyone wants to bring a knife to a gun fight.

A couple years ago I put 4 180 Berger hybrids through the chest of an elk at 400 yards as it stood there wobbling before it tipped over. Probably 15-20 seconds, and 4-5 steps.

That can happen with any cartridge, I've seen video of an elk soaking up multiple controlled expansion bullets from .300WM and similar.

The damage from a fragmenting heavy for caliber 6mm (or .224) bullet is super impressive, and in a lot of cases more dramatic than hard bonded or mono bullets that are typically considered the "reliable elk killers"

 

[Tricer]

ft lbs of energy is an irrelevant/meaningless metric in terminal performance.

Shoot a 300PRC and a 6mm at a hanging steel plate at 500yds lol. I am no ballistician more of a red neck engineer. I just know what seems to work more often than not. If the energy is there then the velocity is likely there as well.

 

[TimberHunter]

You don’t seem new to hunting (and I’m familiar with your tripod) but you do seem new to this forum. I’d recommend look what people like Form, PNWGATOR, Ryan Avery, etc are posting. Many, many, many…. Many kill pictures with little to no unrecovered animals

One of the largest benefits to smaller cartridges is shootability and a higher likelihood of hitting your target in an ideal spot. Like I referenced earlier the only elk I’ve lost (I wasn’t the shooter) was a cow elk shot with a 338 win mag and that was because the shooter couldn’t handle that cartridge and shot it poorly. A 223, 6cm, 243, 6.5cm, etc would have likely ended in a recovered elk because the shooter would’ve been able to shoot it better


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[Tricer]

You don’t seem new to hunting (and I’m familiar with your tripod) but you do seem new to this forum. I’d recommend look what people like Form, PNWGATOR, Ryan Avery, etc are posting. Many, many, many…. Many kill pictures with little to no unrecovered animals

One of the largest benefits to smaller cartridges is shootability and a higher likelihood of hitting your target in an ideal spot. Like I referenced earlier the only elk I’ve lost (I wasn’t the shooter) was a cow elk shot with a 338 win mag and that was because the shooter couldn’t handle that cartridge and shot it poorly. A 223, 6cm, 243, 6.5cm, etc would have likely ended in a recovered elk because the shooter would’ve been able to shoot it better


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Man I am not arguing with you. He asked for recommendations and I gave mine. Heavy bullets lots of energy. Not sure when heavy bullets and lots of energy stopped being cool but that’s my recommendation of what works for me.

Lots of heavy bullets with lots of energy are very accurate at the ranges OP posted.

Also stoked for everyone killing everything with small bullets it’s just not my jam when it comes to elk. I have shot 260 REM for over a decade more critters than I can count. Phenomenal deer cartridge.

 

[BigNate]

Please post said video!

 

[Mountainrancher]

Yup. I find that if you stick to the 1500lb rule your bullet will have the velocity to do what it needs to do. If you look at your ballistic charts you will see the same. I shoot copper pretty much exclusively since I am from CA Hammers and Barnes.

This year I am leaving my custom rifles in the safe a shooting a factory browning xbolt 30-06 with 175LRX for all my rifle hunts. Muzzle velocity of 2680 hits the 1500lb mark around 400yds. So that will be my limit for all hunts this year.

If you agree that the bullet needs velocity to work why are you using ft/lbs as your metric for determining max range? Wouldn’t it make more sense to use the velocity?

 

[Tricer]

If you agree that the bullet needs velocity to work why are you using ft/lbs as your metric for determining max range? Wouldn’t it make more sense to use the velocity?

As a general rule if you stick to 1500lbs you will find you bullet will have more than the adequate velocity needed to perform as it was designed. I like to stay away from minimum expansion numbers etc. expansion at 1600 is much different than expansion at say 2200.

You guys are a tough crowd is there a thread with list opinions that are and are not allowed around here?

Feel like I should have just said shoot a dasher you will be good and everyone would have been stoked.

 

[Formidilosus]

You guys are a tough crowd is there a thread with list opinions that are and are not allowed around here?

It is a tough crowd. One that desires facts and reality, not myths and old wives tales. What you are writing has been shown repeatedly with legitimate terminal ballistics research and live tissue to be not only a useless metric, but completely incorrect.

 

[Tricer]

It is a tough crowd. One that desires facts and reality, not myths and old wives tales. What you are writing has been shown repeatedly with legitimate terminal ballistics research and live tissue to be not only a useless metric, but completely incorrect.

Fine you are right. Kinetic energy is a myth and useless.

But let me ask you would you prefer to be shot by a 300wm or a 6mmCM for the sake of this thread let’s say the range is 500yds. Same bullets. Only one shot.

I would prefer to be shot by the 6mmCM but that’s just me.

 

[Formidilosus]

Fine you are right. Kinetic energy is a myth and useless.

Kinetic energy as a number isn’t a myth. It’s yes to determine lethality is very much so.

But let me ask you would you prefer to be shot by a 300wm or a 6mmCM for the sake of this thread let’s say the range is 500yds. Same bullets. Only one shot.

I would prefer to be shot by the 6mmCM but that’s just me.

That’s your logical, critical thought?

 

[DiabeticKripple]

Fine you are right. Kinetic energy is a myth and useless.

But let me ask you would you prefer to be shot by a 300wm or a 6mmCM for the sake of this thread let’s say the range is 500yds. Same bullets. Only one shot.

I would prefer to be shot by the 6mmCM but that’s just me.

you are still dead either way. likely in the same amount of time too.

 

[Tricer]

Kinetic energy as a number isn’t a myth. It’s yes to determine lethality is very much so.




That’s your logical, critical thought?

ya 100% I am a redneck engineer not a ballistician I am picking the 6mmCM every time. I would guess everyone else on here would pick the 6mmCM also.

Again I just gave my opinion of what I thought was a proper elk cartridge out to 600yds.
No where did I say don’t use a small caliber or talk poorly of small calipers. I just said I would reccomend a caliber that can maintain 1500lbs of energy put to 600yds in a 308 or 7mm bonded or copper bullet. This is a tried and true reliable combo.

 

[Mountainrancher]

Fine you are right. Kinetic energy is a myth and useless.

But let me ask you would you prefer to be shot by a 300wm or a 6mmCM for the sake of this thread let’s say the range is 500yds. Same bullets. Only one shot.

I would prefer to be shot by the 6mmCM but that’s just me.

Are you saying you think choosing a 6cm would give you a better chance at survival?

 

[Tricer]

Are you saying you think choosing a 6cm would give you a better chance at survival?

Yup 100%. If I have to choose between the two I am picking 6cm because without a doubt the 300wm is doing a lot more damage on impact.

This is obviously a hypothetical question that none of us will ever have to make a real choice about. But it’s the way I think.

I want a big bullet that hits hard on impact and causes a lot of trauma deep into the animal ideally all the way through. Especially on elk.

i have no issue with people focusing on velocity over energy or follow up vs recoil. I think that’s great. I am a simple dude and I like the 1500lb rule it just works for me. Not sure why that resulted in a bunch of people trying to change my mind. But it’s still nice to see everyone’s opinions.

Some of y’all are pretty passionate about this. I should get you on my my Podcast to talk about it. I love reloading and always like hearing different opinions.