Mediums that perform

CP Donnelly built a 338/06 Ackley on a Win 54 for me several years ago. I load developed it and found that performance with 200 - 210 gr bullets was just short of the 338 Win Mag. It was about as close as one could get for an ideal elk cartridge. But anymore I've found that a 338 Win Mag does the same job and I don't have to bother with forming cases and always needing to handload.
 
I'm curious how many others have seen this difference?

In my experience, switching from a 30-06 to a 375 H&H dramatically shortened the distance big game traveled after the shot. This occurred even when the 375 was loaded with 250 grain bullets at 9.3x62 velocities.
I've seen it enough times now that I hesitate to use 30 caliber for anything bigger than deer ( even though I still believe that the 30-06 is a perfectly satisfactory big game cartridge ).

If you have noticed this difference - quicker kills, shorter runs - at what caliber did it start for you?

375 H&H
 
I missed the deadline to apply for coastal grizzlies!


Maybe 2024...


Can a nonresident hunt with a resident, or do I need to hire a guide?
For brown bears on the Alaska Peninsula, tags can be bought over the counter. The seasons are every other fall on the odd years and every other spring on the even years. For brown bears and grizzlies, nonresidents are required to be guided. Same for sheep and mountain goats. For deer, caribou and moose, a guide is not required.

For brown bears, I would recommend the spring seasons when the bears are less nocturnal and looking for food and estrus females. The fall hunts can also be good but the bears have been eating salmon all summer and the big boars are fairly nocturnal and lazy. It is possible to find one on or close to a salmon stream in the fall but they are bedded most of the day.
 
I'm curious how many others have seen this difference?

In my experience, switching from a 30-06 to a 375 H&H dramatically shortened the distance big game traveled after the shot. This occurred even when the 375 was loaded with 250 grain bullets at 9.3x62 velocities.
I've seen it enough times now that I hesitate to use 30 caliber for anything bigger than deer ( even though I still believe that the 30-06 is a perfectly satisfactory big game cartridge ).

If you have noticed this difference - quicker kills, shorter runs - at what caliber did it start for you?
For me from 35 remington on up.
 
For brown bears on the Alaska Peninsula, tags can be bought over the counter. The seasons are every other fall on the odd years and every other spring on the even years. For brown bears and grizzlies, nonresidents are required to be guided. Same for sheep and mountain goats. For deer, caribou and moose, a guide is not required.

For brown bears, I would recommend the spring seasons when the bears are less nocturnal and looking for food and estrus females. The fall hunts can also be good but the bears have been eating salmon all summer and the big boars are fairly nocturnal and lazy. It is possible to find one on or close to a salmon stream in the fall but they are bedded most of the day.

You can guide a family member, or at least you used to be able to when I was up there.
 
You can guide a family member, or at least you used to be able to when I was up there.
Family member like son, brother, I'm not sure right now about grand-son or grand-father, definitely not a cousin or in-law.
 
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Family member like son, brother, I'm not sure right now about grand-son or grand-father, definitely not a cousin or in-law.
From the regs the family member must be within a second degree of kindred. So the in-law counts, cousin doesn't. I copied the list below

Second degree of kindred" means a father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, spouse, grandparent, grandchild, brother- or sister-in-law, son- or daughter-in-law, father- or mother-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepsister, stepbrother, stepson, or stepdaughter (5 AAC 92.990).
 
From the regs the family member must be within a second degree of kindred. So the in-law counts, cousin doesn't. I copied the list below

Second degree of kindred" means a father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, spouse, grandparent, grandchild, brother- or sister-in-law, son- or daughter-in-law, father- or mother-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepsister, stepbrother, stepson, or stepdaughter (5 AAC 92.990).
That seems really odd to me, I've had a couple in-laws I'd happily feed to a bear.
 
300WM, 375H&H,470NE,30-06 are the most frequently found ammo in hunt camps in case your ammo doesn't show up (often a camp gun or 2 in those calibers)
I'm so far a 2-3 gun guy but honestly why anything more than a really good 375H&H!
 
I'm not sure what to make of this. A few years ago I used 180 gr. Accubonds in my .300 Win Mag to kill two mule deer (1 of those was at 384 yards, was a little far back, and folded at the second shot), a black bear, and bull moose. All shots were pass throughs.
This August I took the same rifle to Zimbabwe with 200 gr. Accubonds. I shot an nyala, a waterbuck, a bushbuck and an impala. All shots were pass throughs, and no animal moved more than a few yards from where he was struck. I've never been more impressed by either the caliber or the bullet performance from any rifle.
If/when I return to Africa, I will certainly be bringing my .300 with 200 grain Accubonds, and if I am able to get out for elk later this month that is what I will carry.
I have talked with several guys about this as well since my post. I think the biggest difference is bullet weight. Several guys have had the same experience you did with just stepping up to the heavier bullets. Funny enough they had also gone with same bullet you did and instead of finding bullets like I did, they had pass thru shots. I would also not hesitate to take my 300 back if I hadn’t bought the bigger guns, but I would also take a 200 AB or an aframe, or even a 220grain bullet. Everyone said the same thing, heavier bullet is everything. I have been contemplating taking the 300 back this summer for my wife and kids to use, with a suppressor I think it would be very manageable. At the same time the size of the animals they are taking doesn’t really need a 300win mag. The 180’s killed just fine, but 2 holes would have left more blood sort of thing. Thanks for sharing your experiences with the 200grn in bullet. Confirming what others have said as well
 
I have talked with several guys about this as well since my post. I think the biggest difference is bullet weight. Several guys have had the same experience you did with just stepping up to the heavier bullets. Funny enough they had also gone with same bullet you did and instead of finding bullets like I did, they had pass thru shots. I would also not hesitate to take my 300 back if I hadn’t bought the bigger guns, but I would also take a 200 AB or an aframe, or even a 220grain bullet. Everyone said the same thing, heavier bullet is everything. I have been contemplating taking the 300 back this summer for my wife and kids to use, with a suppressor I think it would be very manageable. At the same time the size of the animals they are taking doesn’t really need a 300win mag. The 180’s killed just fine, but 2 holes would have left more blood sort of thing. Thanks for sharing your experiences with the 200grn in bullet. Confirming what others have said as well
I shoot 200gr Partitions in my 300WM. I have taken 6 or 7 animals with that combo (1 feral hog, 1 coyote, and several whitetail deer) and all of them dropped in their tracks. It might be due to the relatively softer front section of the Partitions, but 200gr bullets are my go to in 300 WM
 
.284 Winchester
A medium bore is larger than .30 and smaller than .40 caliber. .284 does not meet the criteria. Maybe you only own one rifle and think it is good for everything. Sort of like the builder that only owns a hammer so everything looks like a nail.
 
A medium bore is larger than .30 and smaller than .40 caliber. .284 does not meet the criteria. Maybe you only own one rifle and think it is good for everything. Sort of like the builder that only owns a hammer so everything looks like a nail.
We tend to get a bit jaded here, but to a great swath of America anything larger than a .30-06 is a frigging cannon.
 
Small, medium, large bore classifications are relative and subject to change. Once upon a time a .458" was considered a small bore.
 
Small, medium, large bore classifications are relative and subject to change. Once upon a time a .458" was considered a small bore.
In early America it was considered a small game rifle.
 
We tend to get a bit jaded here, but to a great swath of America anything larger than a .30-06 is a frigging cannon.
I guess if you consider the .223 to be a deer cartridge and a .243 (ugh) to be suitable for black bears and elk (yikes!) a .284 could be considered a medium bore. Just don't tell Bob Nelson you're going to do it!
 

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