280 Remington 140 grain bullets for elk?

[Hublocker]

My 280 shooting Federal trophy bonded tip bullets is my most accurate rifle.

Second is my 300 Win. Mag. shooting 180 grain Winchester power points.

My 270 shooting 150 gr. Hornady Interlocks isn't too shabby either.

I'm most confident with the 280.

Is one better than the other?

I'm in BC, Canada. I'll be just north of Yaak Montana.

[Wyo67]

Welcome to the forum Hublocker.

Accuracy and confidence in the .280. I think you answered your own question. Shoot what you are most comfortable and accurate with. I don't think you could go wrong with any of the 3 though. I personally shoot the .270 with 150 grains as well and the 3 elk I've taken with it have all dropped on the spot. I do limit my range with it on elk to less than 250 yards due to energy dissipation.

[Swede]

Again welcome to the forum Hublocker. It is great to have our friends from Canada join us around the campfire. I agree with Wyo67's answer completely.

[WapitiTalk1]

Welcome to the forum Hublocker. Always good to have a neighbor from up north join our campfire. Just north of Yaak, Montana? The Yaak River is my old stomping grounds . Be mindful of the large variety of bear that inhabits those areas. I'm not a boomstick guy like some of the other guys here, but, I do know that the 300 WIN MAG takes no prisoners, lol. Best of luck this fall. RJ

[Hublocker]

Thanks guys, yes, I have good advice on an area about 30 miles north of Yaak. We spell it Yahk north of the the 49th. Or whoever wrote the maps did.

I have never been to the area and it is only open for 6-pointers so a lot of luck will be involved.

I have been fortunate enough to have been on three successful Roosevelt elk hunts on Vancouver Island, but they are under a limited entry hunting lottery system so it is nice to be able to go to a general open season area, even with the 6-point rule. I will have to drive 500 miles from home in the city of Vancouver on the coast though.

Hunting Rocky Mountain elk is different than hunting Rosies too, so there is that challenge too.

[cohunter14]

I agree that as long as you keep your maximum shot distance at a reasonable number, the 280 will be just fine. Good luck!

[Lefty]

Shot placement is always key!

My father in law has shot most of his game with a 7MM or .264 with 140 gn ( the 264 load muzzle speed was 3125)

While my 7mm is my favorite gun. However Im generally believe bigger is better.


Why not use a 160 gn

[Hublocker]

Shot placement is always key!

My father in law has shot most of his game with a 7MM or .264 with 140 gn ( the 264 load muzzle speed was 3125)

While my 7mm is my favorite gun. However Im generally believe bigger is better.


Why not use a 160 gn

I'm sighted in with 140 grains and they are accurate so after investing over $250 in ammo for this rifle trying to find a load that works, I'm tapped out.

[Trumkin the Dwarf]

More important than bullet weight is its design. Can you share what bullet is sitting on top the powder? I've seen 150 grain Hornady's (the SST if you're curious) blow up on an elk rib and only get one lung because they were designed for lighter animals like deer. I've also seen Barnes bullets pencil through deer because they didn't have enough resistance and/or velocity to ever open up. If the bullet is a Barnes, or a Nosler Partition I'd say go right ahead and use the 280. Those are bullets designed for heavier game, and they won't disintegrate if you hit a rib square on.