.264 Win Mag for Elk

The gun is certainly sufficient.

Ladies, and those with an aversion to recoil, hunt elk with a 243 all the time.

I'm not sure what the difference is, if any, between Berger's vld hunting bullet and their vld target bullet but if you punch a hole through both lungs the bullet will hardly matter. Things that can't breathe die.
 
I'm using handloads in my 6.5x55SE this year on my late rifle bull hunt. 160 grain Woodleighs (bc-.509, sd-.328) at around 2500 fps. My barrel twist is 1:8.6", I think the closer to 1:7" you are the better for stabilizing the 160 grain "Telephone Poles".

I always think about getting a .264 Winchester Mag. I bet you could get some outstanding results with these Woodleighs out of "The Westerner". They are supposed to perform best when the impact velocity is between 1900 - 3000 fps. That puts my "Swede" out to a MPBR of 285 yds on an 8" target with the Woodleighs. You should be able to stretch that number out a lot with your rifle.

I don't have any "aversion to recoil" as I really enjoy shooting my neighbor's .458 Winchester Mag and slugs from my 12 gauges. It's just that this 6.5x55SE is my "killing gun" as Patton would say. ;)
 
Depends!

It all depends on how much body armor the elk happens to be wearing. A well-armored animal requires a really, really big cartridge to cleanly take down.
 
Roy, If you knew half about wild animal body armor that I do:rolleyes: you would be able to make out the trauma plate pouches or just send the bullet in the neck hole... That is the true weakness of critter armor... horizontal neck unlike the vertical human neck...:eek:
Brent
 
I reload 300WM with the average of 3510 with 150gr. (my crono). I find it sufficient for deer, but for elk, I step up to a 180 gr.

By the way...have tested advertized specs on factory ammo and the have always registered less on my crono.
 
I don't have any "aversion to recoil" as I really enjoy shooting my neighbor's .458 Winchester Mag and slugs from my 12 gauges. It's just that this 6.5x55SE is my "killing gun" as Patton would say.
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I wasn't meaning you.:o Just trying to point out that people hunt elk with guns smaller than yours.
 
Your .264 is plenty as long as you do your part. I have seen many elk taken down with smaller stuff than that, good shot with a little bullet is better than a bad shot with a big bullet.
 
I guess I should have addressed Burger bullets rather than cal. My question is: Is the Burger bullet in 6.5 cal. substantial enough for elk. I shot a Canadian whitetail with the same load and all I could find were fragements of the bullet, no exit wound. Entrance was just behind front leg, small hole through hide, 6"x3" entrance hole through rib cage. Lungs and heart were mush. Deer traveled about 50 feet after the shot. Everyone talks about how tough elk are and I was concerned that the Burger bullet wasn't tough enough. Thanks for the input.
 
ebuker,

If all you found was fragments after hitting a large whitetail what makes you think it's good for elk? Because it's dead? If you hit an elk same place with the same bullet I doubt you will find your elk 50' after the shot maybe 5 miles.I've had to track to many elk after being shot with with these little guns,I wont take any one hunting for elk with anything less than 7 Mag,Minimum.I know others will disagree.They haven't shot many elk.Why take the chance of losing an elk of lifetime because you shot it with a marginal caliber.Big bullets make for dead elk!
 
I'm not sold on the idea of Berger bullets as hunting bullets either especially when it comes to animals as large as elk. I would recommend you use a Nosler Partition as well as a minimum. There are tons of good premium bullets on the market as well as custom one that I think would be better than a Berger.

.264 Win Mag will work just fine on an elk.
 
I am going to throw another "use Nosler partitions" at you. I have never used Bergers so I can't comment on THEIR effectiveness. I can comment on my personal use of Noslers, I say go that route.
 
try some good ole Nosler partitions
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I have no issues with the caliber of your rifle, but I would suggest a tougher bullet, as the others above have posted.

I know guys that have taken elk with .243, .257, and 7.62X39, and with good shot placement, they all worked just fine.
 
I am building a Savage 110 in 264 win mag right now. I was originally thinking a 6.5-284 but upon looking at the ballistics. There is not alot of diffrence between the new guy on the block and the Ol' timer. So I opted for the Ol' Timer for nostalgia reasons. I am going to do the same that you have done with Berger bullets for it. I really like them in my other calibers. However it will be more for mule deer and (wyoming wind) antelope hunting. I have a 7 MM mag that I use for Elk. I dropped my bull last year, 1 shot, 150 yards, with a 175 soft point. His vitals were more like gelotin then anything that resembled heart and lungs.

It will be a fine elk cartridge, however, I must agree for elk stick with a tried and true Partition. Elk are pretty tough customers and will take a good shot and run. Even the cup and core bullets will do the job, Something in the 140 grain range. Big game... Big bullet! GOOD LUCK!
 
I have either shot or seen shot over 100 elk and have come to some conclusions on bullets and calibers. The 264 win mag has sufficent power for elk but am not familiar with the hunting properties of the Berger bullets. A broadside lung shot can be taken with most softpoint bullets. However if a bullet must break bones and penatrate at an angle I have learned only a few bullets have the capability to preform CONSISTANTLY. One of these is the Nosler Partition. I use it exclusively on all game from coyoye to elk.
 
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