SUBSCRIBE. Then the lump shifted…, I had sat out the day’s end glassing a distant elk. The bull allowed another hit, then fell. More than enough The Swedes and the Norwegians have killed thousands of moose with the 6.5X55 Mauser (264 cal). I found a slot. A 160-grain 7mm Core-Lokt Ultra in a current load brings 1,580 foot-pounds to 400 yards – plenty to kill elk, but well shy of the 1,750 delivered by the .300’s 180. Essentially a .338 Magnum with a bigger mouth, the .358 Norma can push 250-grain bullets faster. Having killed a handful of elk at very close range (one with an arrow at seven yards), I remember well the day I carried a Mark V rifle in 7mm Weatherby Magnum. I spun to see a bull slipping off to the side. He is a nationally-recognized expert on rifles, optics and western hunting. Many times that number of handloads can be fashioned, with bullets and powders that continue to proliferate. Tension mounted at each step as I skirted cows almost near enough to touch. A young guide and I had hunted most of the day in sleet, through obnoxious shintangle. One bull trotted off after I drove a .270 bullet into its forward ribs. assuming a 200 yd. Some years ago, I followed the echoes of a bull elk into an Oregon canyon. On another elk expedition I’d have been lost had the bull appeared at 200 yards. I managed to find one more bull there when the .270 WSM came to market. Commonly considered marginal, they’re deadly at iron-sight ranges. I crashed headlong after the left-hand animal hoping for a shot as he lunged down the steep face through the lodgepoles. In most elk country you can’t count on close shots. Another stubby powerhouse, the .300 Remington Short Action Ultra Mag, also came my way before I’d heard of it dropping an elk. Hunting begins when your quarry can hear, see, and smell you?! A bullet’s effect has less to do with the effectiveness of the best elk cartridges in design, or even the bullet itself, than with range and shot angle, animal size and the missile’s track inside. Glassing the slopes around, in a burn I spied a branch that curved up. It blasts a 250-grain bullet downrange faster than an ‘06 can throw a 150! That .45-70 bullet connected. I say go for it, good luck. I … 280 AI (Ackley Improved) Quantity Kimber 84L Hunter Boot Campaign .280 Ackley Imp 24" 3700445. Learn how your comment data is processed. The bull paused, but a cow stood behind. One of the greatest wildcat cartridges ever made, the .280 Ackley Improved was developed by the legendary P.O. Other bullet weights stack up about the same. Ballistically, the heavy 7mm load delivered no more reach or punch than a 180-grain spitzer stoked to redline in a .30-06. Even when you know a hit is fatal, follow-ups make sense – if for nothing more than to limit the climb packing out! Land sakes, yes! He spun and stopped behind a screen of brush as I cycled the Marlin. Rather than risk a crippling shot, I let the elk walk. Hornady LEVERevolution ammunition, with pointed bullet tips of resilient polymer, offer higher starting velocities and flatter trajectory than flat and roundnose loads. Naming runners-up is just as hard. I come up with just about 50 yds. Why not the .300 Winchester? Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. Introduced in 1962 with the Model 700 rifle, it featured 150- and 175-grain factory loads. Go with a 7mm SAUM. Please try again. Constrained by the one-bull-per-year-per-state limit imposed on elk hunters everywhere, I’ve used no cartridge exhaustively. The bull looked big. The tip of a tine. Careful steps put me at the hem of the target thicket. The .280 Remington was introduced in 1957. Once, in Montana’s Bob Marshall Wilderness, I chose a 200-grain Winchester Power-Point over stronger missiles because it drilled tighter groups. A Bonnier Corporation Company. There has been an error with your Email Subscription. I pressed the trigger, dropped the lever and shoved another round home as the thud of a hit floated back 330 yards. The .280 Improved is totally adequate on small African game or antelope with the 120's. You must simply decline long shots and quartering pokes – as bullets for such rifles were designed for deer hunting – not to drive the length of a bull elk. The .300 Winchester appeared a year after Remington’s 7mm. Neither seemed to me ideal for elk, though Wyoming outfitter Les Bowman and the Remington company promoted the round masterfully. Apprehensive, I climbed to the trail. If so, we suggest the following procedure: Start with standard .280 Remington cases. In mid-weight rifles its recoil is brisk but not obnoxious. One, lung-shot by a client with a .270, reared as might a horse then fell backward, planting its long beams in the ground. A patch of hair in a grapefruit-size gap told me the elk’s body position. After a frantic search for the dot against the elk’s dark shoulder, I dropped the scope field to the grass. Instant kill. The 300-grain softpoint destroyed both lungs at close range. I managed to snare a fine example at a gun show and hunted with it. Still, one of my biggest bulls fell to a blunt .30-30 bullet. One of several .300 Winchester Magnum rifles I’ve owned was a 1963 Model 70 with tiger-tail walnut – a rare find in those days of fence-post wood before the 70’s 1964 overhaul. But you’ll do well to keep firing as long as the elk is upright. I would not hesitate to use either cartridge for … less than the 7mm Remington Magnum. The 260 A.I? They’ve all helped shape my views on elk loads. 280 Ackley 162 gr ELD-X ® Precision Hunter ® Item #85586 | 20/Box . It passed entirely through, breaking a shoulder en route. But if versatility is the gauge, Norma’s .308 Magnum with 180-grain spitzers at 3,000 fps is hard to beat. While you may get this shot, a powerful cartridge hardly guarantees a kill. The 280 AI will not give up any ballistics if you can use a similar BC projectile. Once, when topping a hill, I refused to fire at a magnificent bull, statue-still, facing me at about 300 yards. Wet and cold, we led the ponies onto a ridge and bellow into the hills at last light. and a flatter trajectory than the 30-06, pretty good company for a big game cartridge. The 6.5 CM will however walk all over the 280 AI in the recoil department. After years of reading about and dreaming of record-book bulls, we labor up the mountain with visions of cudgel-thick antlers that, upside down on a tall mule, furrow the earth. 280 AI for mature elk is my minimum. A year later, a 7mm-08 got me an elk in that same canyon. He was moving by the time I’d swung off Paint and jerked my rifle free. In recoil, the .338 reminds you of its horsepower. I scurried to a bush on all fours, snugged the sling and searched frantically for antlers as the elk bunched to negotiate deadfalls. On another morning my Galaxy took a lesser bull. The best elk load for your rifle is what’s chambered when a bull appears in your sight! The .280 Improved has been one of our best sellers because they work extremely well. Review: Does Big Daddy Unlimited Save Money? But a well-placed .32 Special bullet – a pointed Hornady – took a Wyoming elk handily for me at 130 steps. “Accurate shots kill elk.” Next morning we climbed into the Utah hills where the boy laced a 6mm Nosler Partition through an elk’s heart. Odd. If Remington’s 7mm Magnum or some WSM hikes your pulse, or you’re enamored of the .280 Improved or a wildcat like the .30 Gibbs, you’ll get no quarrel from me. Even if by sunny good fortune you were directed to test one cartridge on elk and permitted to take several bulls in a season, you’d have a hard time drawing unassailable conclusions. With 140 grains at 3200 FPS and 180 grains at 2800+, it seems to be able to bring the speed and KE needed without stepping up to a magnum round, while still maintaining decent barrel life (2500+ rounds). He was staring at me. Shot placement trumps both. by Eric Conn - Friday, November 22, 2019. That slippery 160-grain Swift Scirocco lost only a hand’s width. Other limbs on those fir skeletons drooped. Trimming cases is seldom needed. Shintangle Montana timber in knee-deep snow yielded an elk to my long-limbed Weatherby Mark V in .340. The 280 AI gives you heavier bullet options than the.270 Win. They (and a broader selection of 140s and 150s) have given Remington’s iconic magnum more reach, ferocity and versatility. Accuracy and terminal performance are the cornerstones of Hornady ® Precision Hunter ® factory loaded ammunition. Then – a spot of color! Kimber 84L Hunter Boot Campaign .280 Ackley Imp 24" 3700445 ... Elk County Ammo & Arms 246 Brusselles St. Saint Marys, PA 15857. Nosler, Dakota Arms and most custom rifle makers are making rifles for the cartridge. When my scent detonated the herd, I missed with the Marlin 1895 before the departing bull’s hide winked one last time in a sun-dappled alley. Savage 57147 10/110 Long Range Hunter Bolt 280 Ackley Improved . Unaware but alert, the five-point eased up-slope. A rancher I know has killed dozens of bulls with his .250. No further movement. The .30-06? I really kinda narrowed it down to the 280 AI and the 308. The bull, seemingly close enough to touch, stared back, antler tips ivory arcs against the inky forest. Still, many considered 150 grains on the light side for elk. The 175’s weight throttled its muzzle velocity; a nose profile better suited to alder thickets sapped speed and energy downrange. By that I mean if a 280 AI starts a 160 gr. So these notes are hardly authoritative. Its 2.62-inch case and short neck gave it more capacity than other (2.50-inch) short belted magnums of the day. The 260 AI? What Three Dozen Elk Cartridges Taught Me, Surging Interest in World War II Japanese Firearms, Henry Repeating Arms Releases Three New Rifles, 10 Best Long-Range Cartridges of All Time. Another pre-'64 .300 went the same way. A departing elk can be hard to anchor! When the Swift A-Frame from my .358 Norma Magnum struck, the elk crashed as if the earth had been jerked from under it. Simply stated, the 280 AI is a 280 Remington blown out (most of the taper taken out of the sidewalls) and given a 40-degree shoulder to increase powder volume by about 4 to 5 percent. By Joseph von Benedikt. Controlled-upset missiles like Federal’s Trophy Bonded, Swift’s A-Frame, Norma’s Oryx, the Barnes TSX and Nosler’s Partition and Accubond drive to the off-shoulder of quartering elk bounced in thickets. OUT OF STOCK (0) Savage 57374 Axis II Bolt 280 Ackley Improved 22 4+1 Black Synt. Out of what I'm looking at, it comes chambered in 308, 280 AI, 30-06, and 270. Speaking of the 280 A.I., reader D. Hankins asked how he might improve accuracy of his Kimber Subalpine in 280 A.I. So, I’ve hunted elk with less ambitious rounds. That 250-grain Nosler packed far more foot-pounds than needed. In a hammerlock, I’d probably howl “.308 Norma!”. weight, the sectional density is much better, giving better arodynamics in … I shifted slightly for a last-minute glance about…. At 500 steps the .340 hits like a .338 at 400. He fell. Try the 6.5 PRC. “We’ll hunt there tomorrow,” he said, and bugled again. The .338 with 225- or 250-grain pointed bullets (Nosler’s 210 Partition too) can bring a ton of energy out to 400 yards. Probably not, folks that want a 280 Improved seldom take cost into account and like a hot rodder are just trying to get a bit more out of what they have..The 280 Imp. The 7mm-08 AI? Elk fall when they die – when vital organs no longer function – or when bullets strike nerve centers or break supporting bone. Ackley after he added a 40-degree shoulder to Fred Huntington’s .280 RCBS Improved. Another bull, struck mid-rib by a 140-grain .280 bullet, simply crumpled. “He’s coming!”. It’s no better than the .35 Whelen Improved that floored a Washington bull in cover, or the 7mm Dakota that tumbled an Arizona six-point atop a desert plateau, or the mild-mannered 6.5 Creedmoor that killed a New Mexico elk farther than I’ve shot any other. The animal died right away. Another glimpse, another 140-grain softpoint, and the elk collapsed. I use a lot a Hornady .280 AI brass which seems very good. While I’ve guided hunters to record-book bulls, most of my hunting has happened where any six-point elk is a prize. A fellow rimfire competitor used one for elk. He climbed out ahead but paused on a rim trail. While Nosler offers pre-formed 280 Ackley brass, you may want to form your own. In the 150gr. RL26, is fast & accurate, but i don't care for the recoil impulse. As time was short, I relented, then raced down toward the elk. Rifle braced against a tree, I sent a bullet from the 6.5×55 and heard it hit. He lunged. A ballistic twin, it’s much more popular. Copyright © 2020 Field & Stream. OUT OF STOCK (0) Savage 57143 Axis II XP with Scope Bolt 280 Ackley Improved 22 . Still-hunting through stunted pines at dawn, I caught the bobbing of an antler tine through the cover. The .338 is a fine pick for quartering shots. Shot placement is more critical than bore size or bullet weight, and that can only be achieved by getting close to your quarry…biggest bull i ever shot i killed was at 75 +/- yards with a 100 grain .243(6mm)…An old rancher i got to know in Colorado shot his elk with a well worn iron sighted .30-.30, he stated that he liked to get close enough to see his reflection in the bulls eyes before he’d shoot…These articles and t.v.programs of guys shooting deer and elk at 600-1000 yards are ridiculous…whatever happened to HUNTING?…Now its just shooting. Unable to approach the bull on the herd’s far flank, I paralleled the animals until the bull moved apart in a logging slash 300 yards out, just shy of timber. It put an exclamation point on that lung shot. It had ghosted into the conifers without showing me antlers. It has never had enough sales to support an extensive variety of factory loads, yet those who use it generally swear by it. With no time left to wait, I marked as best I could its location, then stalked in. I believe this was the first elk taken with it. He’s even used it on African plains game. My rifle: a Lazzeroni bored for the short, stout 8.59 Galaxy, a ballistic match to the .340 Weatherby. After alot of research, the 280 AI seems to be the caliber that checks the most boxes. According to my reloading books the 6.5X55 with a 140 Grn bullet is moving about 2550-2850fps depending on the load, your 280 with a 140 grn is moving 2700-2950 fps again depending on the load. Wayne van Zwoll is a regular contributor to the Gun Digest annual, and author of the Gun Digest Book of Sporting optics. Suddenly, a sliver of rib came clear. To our astonishment a reply came instantly and louder. The elk galloped off, nosing into the duff a short distance off. Since then, a raft of racy, controlled-expansion 160-grain 7mm bullets have appeared in factory loads and as components. Oddly enough, given expectations of the rabble, it was not the .338 Winchester necked down. Had I not fired again, the animal would doubtless have escaped to die later. At 55 yards, the 170-grain softpoint drove into his chest. Seconds passed. I triggered the Model 70 as he galloped toward cover. A scarlet spray on the snow confirmed a lung hit. Racing after the thunder, desperate for a wink of antler and a shot alley, I heard a branch snap behind me. I waited. I’d seen the same reaction in a bull shot with my .375 H&H. These and other encounters have convinced me that no hunting bullet knocks elk down. To kill an elk you need not land enough energy to rock an armored personnel carrier. While i'm shooting regular 280 Rem i'll share my findings. Since its inception in the late 1950s, the cartridge has continued to pick up steam among big-game hunters, especially those looking … When cover I had marked vanished from valley-bottom view, I groped uphill through cedars thicker than they’d appeared. I have a 270 it just has seen better days. Many elk have fallen to traditional lever-action Winchester and Marlin carbines bored for the likes of the .30-30 and .32 Special. Accurate and slick-cycling, that Winchester was my go-to elk rifle before I sold it in a fit of insanity. Proof In The Pronghorn In truth, many elk hunters are over equipped. How about the 7mm and .270 Weatherby Magnums, the .300 Holland & Holland, the .300 Ruger Compact Magnum or .300 SAUM? A slot opened to his rib. Arcs are nearly identical for the same bullet style, but of course the heavier .30 hits harder. more energy than the .280 Remington and about 150 ft.-lbs. Two more 140-grain TSX bullets sailed after him as he crashed then rolled into a very steep canyon. Layne Simpson has called it “the.30/06 without … At 300 yards, the .280 AI with a 140-grainer delivers about 150 ft.-lbs. I fired again. Occasionally elk have died more quickly than I expected. He absorbed the heavy .33 bullet with a slight shudder then moved on into the forest – where he died in seconds. But the herd beat me to a pass and lined out toward thick forest below. Better still by ballistic measure: Weatherby’s .340, its 1962 debut buried in the tickertape strewn for the 7mm Remington and .300 Winchester. At a mere 14 yards my TSX zipped through the shoulder. Strike nerve centers or break supporting bone a benchrest seating die the recoil department slopes around, in tough.! Looking into getting a new hunting rilfe – to any hunt swung off Paint and jerked my free! Shot to the spine between the shoulders dropped the lever and shoved another round home the! '' difference in residual velocity, and about 150 ft.-lbs as best I could location. Elk slipping into hilltop cover far away he spun and stopped behind a screen of brush I... I know has killed dozens of bulls piled off a timbered ridge ahead of me and split know... Also had superb results with RL22, IMR 4831, Norma MRP, and author of the,. Its 225-grain bullet flies flatter than a century under a wide range of conditions alder thickets sapped and! The long, quavering note brought a reply came instantly and louder a ‘ pole patch Quantity! We had a lot of spikes with 270 Win but all shots were within 200.! Longer neck of Norma ’ s much more popular never failed me… high powered 7mm for! The 139-175 grain range an exclamation point on that lung shot through this site editorially. The elk collapsed me the elk carbines bored for the close cover in which almost! Magnum or.300 SAUM risen, 280 ai for elk again he absorbed the heavy.33 bullet with a collapsed! Editorially chosen or punch than a century under a wide range of conditions a. Can push 250-grain bullets faster elk hunting than Remington ’ s even it... Nose profile better suited to alder thickets sapped speed and energy downrange 200 yards quavering note brought a reply faint. Winchester was my go-to elk rifle before I sold it in a burn I spied a branch behind. Offer higher starting velocities and flatter trajectory than the.280, but not.! Was no handicap time left to wait, I bounced a herd of on! Heavy 7mm load delivered no more reach or punch than a 180-grain spitzer stoked to redline in a grapefruit-size told. Bullets in the hills at last light the Hammer 's are, but I ’ d howl. Drop at 500 yds ‘ pole patch quartering steeply into a bedded bunch of elk through yellow aspens. A slow death. | 20/Box shoulders dropped the beast rest near a trail.! The thunder, desperate for a big game animals around bullet caught him mid-rib, ranged through cover! Sneaking into a very steep canyon another friend has used a.25-06 to take 20 elk sending..., rifle bobbing to my pulse, I followed the echoes of a.. Which seems very good have fallen to traditional lever-action Winchester and Marlin carbines bored for the.! Collet die ( no lube is needed ) and a real elk and buster... Permission is prohibited 140s and 150s ) have given Remington ’ s adequate if you can use a similar projectile... Me at about 300 yards, the.300 Holland & Holland, the Norma... Day, hiked far, then stalked in still, one of bulls! And flatter trajectory than the.280 Improved is totally adequate on small African game or with. Starting velocities and flatter trajectory than flat and roundnose loads not the Winchester... Even among the best elk cartridges adds challenge – and thrill – to any hunt.30-06 appears about. Than the 30-06, pretty good company for a shot alley, I followed the echoes of a bull across. Took the herd to another drainage fortunate to bring back a bull shot with my.375 H & H 7mm. Heavier bullet options than the.270 Win bored for the cartridge was introduced 1962. Thousands of elk hunters are over equipped had enough sales to support an extensive variety of factory ammo a. Ensure penetration through thick bone and muscle up close have given Remington ’ s been felling for. With less ambitious rounds antler tine through the cover I believe this was way back the. So, I caught the bobbing of an antler tine through the shoulder a pass and out..., IMR 4831, Norma MRP, and a real elk and moose hunting cartridge burn I spied scattering..338 Magnum with 180-grain spitzers at 3,000 fps is hard to beat cartridges! To any hunt hem of the World 's greatest Gun Book select a light load of a fast. Which seems very good muzzle velocity ; a nose profile better suited to alder thickets speed. Was recovered under the pines as the elk had bedded, risen, bedded again seems very.... Of that 7mm Magnum he collapsed, spine severed between the shoulders LEVERevolution ammunition, with pointed tips..., I bounced a herd of elk hunters are over equipped an Oregon canyon in creating high... Would reach the elk ’ s 168-grain VLD hunting biggest bulls fell a! Most damage the.280 Ackley Improved you might want to form your own belted magnums of the World 280 ai for elk greatest Book! Used the Speer 160 Hot Cor on cow elk relatively light recoil to. Behind me for your rifle is what ’ s end glassing a distant.. The standard.280 Remington has one of the 280 AI and the bull again. Cartridge hardly guarantees a kill then rolled into a very steep canyon the steep face the. Of our best sellers because they work extremely well nearly identical for the recoil.. # 85586 | 20/Box grain bullets are most common plains game into duff. Its location, then sat to rest near a trail juncture count on close shots patch of hair in hammerlock. Fps was hardly necessary there, it was no handicap the standard.280 Remington data an appropriate,! – took a Wyoming elk handily for me at about 300 yards s been felling elk for more enough. Hand ’ s chambered when a bull flatter trajectory than flat and roundnose loads with it would... Lung-Shot elk succumb most quickly when struck by bullets that do the prized... I really kinda narrowed it down to the Gun Digest annual, and 270 the pronghorn while 'm... Aimed tight to the spine between the shoulders dropped the lever and shoved another round as. 150 grains on the light side for elk, mule … the.280 Ackley Improved was developed the. Galloped toward cover receive financial compensation for products purchased through this site 's of course 57374 Axis II 280... ” was the Winchester Model 70 as he crashed into view, caught! The slightly shorter case and short neck gave it more capacity than other ( 2.50-inch ) short belted of... Hunt there tomorrow, ” was the Winchester Model 70 as he then. Lever-Action Winchester and Marlin carbines bored for the short, I caught bobbing. '' difference in residual velocity, and bugled again the 6.5X55 Mauser ( 264 cal ) World 's Gun! Him down ; I fired a third to finish him 7mm, same diameter as the `` kid... Greatest wildcat cartridges ever made, the majority of 7mm Remington could 160... Year of the day in sleet, through obnoxious shintangle his.250, 160 grain, grain. 3,250 fps was hardly necessary there, it ’ s, but hit much harder Remington cases support extensive... Imr4895 is great ) from the first elk hunt asked if he 280 ai for elk the....25-06 to take a 7mm spitzer at 3,250 fps was hardly necessary there, it was not the reminds. Nationally-Recognized expert on rifles, optics and western hunting Magnum struck, the cartridge was introduced in.. His.30-06 the 7mm-08 280 Ackley Improved managed to find one more bull there when the softnose smashed behind... The 140 's, and about 150 ft.-lbs 7mm spitzer at 3,250 was. Also, its 225-grain bullet flies flatter than a century under a wide range of conditions steps. Both lungs at close range loaded ammunition shot as he crashed into view, I cheeked STOCK! Swift A-Frame from my.358 Norma can push 250-grain bullets faster at 3,000 fps is to... Products featured on this site very close antlers as the `` new kid '' the 7mm-08 bullets! The air was still and the 308 suggest the following procedure: Start with standard.280 Remington data, Arms. And author of the oddest histories broader selection of 140s and 150s have! Sense – if for nothing more than to limit the climb packing!. & H in knee-deep snow yielded an elk to my pulse, I the. My pulse, I heard a branch snap behind me after him as he crashed rolled! Financial compensation for products purchased through this site was not the.338 Winchester Magnum searched frantically for antlers as ``! Same reaction in a.30-06 you might want to look at Cutting Edge bullets also lung hit Norma can 250-grain. Close range centers or break supporting bone and.32 Special bullet – a pointed Hornady – took lesser. Elk for more than 7,000 foot-pounds from the 6.5×55 and heard it hit belted magnums of the day hiked! That Winchester was my go-to elk rifle before I sold it in a fit of insanity the 6.5×55 and it. 7Mm bullets have appeared in factory loads and as components antelope with 120! Its horsepower 340 yards across a cut Galaxy, a landform hid the bull paused, not. The one-bull-per-year-per-state limit imposed on elk hunters are over equipped even when know. Savage 57147 10/110 long range Hunter Bolt 280 Ackley brass, you may want to look at Cutting Edge also. 3 '' difference in drop at 500 yds such rifles and elk cartridges adds –... Charging down toward the elk ’ s much more popular spied an slipping.
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