Ive had one ELK rifle Ive used more than any other, its the 340 weatherby, its been the best elk rifle I own for 40 years, Ive yet to shoot an Elk with it that didn,t drop within a few yards and most stagger around and drop in seconds.
sight in 3.5" high at 100 yards and just hold dead on target to 300 yards and still hit very close to the aim point with the 250 grain hornady bullets loaded to 2875 fps, the recoil level requires a muzzle brake or a recoil pad and a sling, but you only fire at most two shots at game, on an ELK hunt , in most cases, and your generally dressed for cold weather with a bit of shoulder padding so that's no big concern
as you might guess Im a big fan of the 340wby, its the most used caliber ELK hunting tool I own
If you hand load ,(WHICH ID ADVISE) you might want to try 215 fed primers, 250 grain hornady spire points and H4831 powder (Ill let you look it up to get the starting loads )then work up, but at about 2850fps its a darn effective elk dropping tool, and you can load the 225 grain hornadys to 3050fps if you want a flat shooting load
Ive hunted ELK for 40 plus years and used a 340wby, 375H&H,45/70 and 35 whelen, and various other calibers, most shots Ive taken at under 250 yards Ive rarely need two shots, not because IM a great shot but because most shots are taken sitting with a sling or resting over a good rest like a solid tree limb at well under 250 yards and I can,t remember a single elk being alive when I reached it. and its been decades since I felt a second shot was required, its just a mater of not shooting until your positive you can accurately place a shot and getting in as close as possible
provided you use a controlled expanding bullet ,shots placed in the red + in my experience tend to drop elk or deer quickly with minimal meat loss , shots in the green + will destroy even less meat but tend to result in a 30-70 yard run before game drops, but if you hit the off side leg bone its going to get messy
now I've also used a 375 H&H SAKO carbine and a 760 Remington slide action, in thick timbered areas, so don,t get the idea I,m not familiar with other calibers, or don,t use several.
http://www.jagt.net/Weatherby/340/
http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.340 ... agnum.html
Range Velocity Impact Drop ToF Energy Drift
0 .........2875 -0.5 ......0.........0 ........4589 ..........0
50 .........2766 2.06 .....0.65 0.06 4247 0.61
100 .........2664 3.49 .....2.44 0.11 3940 1.13
150 .........2565 3.69 ......5.45 0.17 3652 2.02
200 .........2468 2.56 .......9.8 0.23 3381 3.29
250 ..........2374 0 ......15.57 0.29 3129 4.95
300 .........2282 -4.11........ 22.9 0.35 2891 7.04
350 .........2192 -9.9......... 31.9 0.42 2667 9.58
400 .........2103 -17.5.... 42.7 0.49 2455 12.59
450 .........2017 -27.07...... 55.5 0.56 2258 16.1
500 .........1933 -38.78...... 70.43 0.64 2074 20.15
heres a different calculator results
example
I was sitting about 70 yards up a slope on one side of a canyon,watching the far slope and creek that ran thru the meadow in the canyon floor, area on a recent ELK hunt when I noticed several elk sneaking thru the aspens on the far slope at about 270 yards, ( a RARE long range ELK SHOT) I got the bi-pod on the rifle extended for a sitting shot, (thats one reason I prefer the 27" harris bi-pods) I wrapped my arm into the adjustable sling and put the cross hairs of the scope mid way up the crease on the rear of the bulls front leg as he stepped slowly forward the trigger sear on my weatherby worked smoothly and the shot hit perfectly, driving thru the chest and chipping the off side leg bone after passing thru the elks chest just above the heart, I was amazed to see an aspen about 5" in diam. that was behind the elk when I fired, fall slowly after the ELK collapsed.....investigation, on reaching the elk, showed that even after the bullet passed thru the bull and partly broke its off side leg the 250 hornady still punched clear thru the 5" diam. aspen and buried into the slope beyond, now that's an ELK CALIBER, not only is it accurate, but it HAMMERS ELK and penetrates extremely well.
your ability to kill with either caliber (338 win or 340 wby,) depends both on the bullet selected and shot placement, and knowledge of the games anatomy more than, increased velocity alone, might,make you think looking at energy figures alone, that the 340 has an advantage, but the 340 wby , while it does hit noticeably harder,at times and shoot slightly flatter, in my experience than the 338 mag with similar bullets,does a good job also, but thats not the same thing as being more deadly, but it does give you a slight advantage in hitting where you want at longer ranges.
you can reasonably expect about 250-300 fps faster velocities from a 340 vs a 338 win, given the same bullets
play with this calculator and see if that really means much in you results
http://www.biggameinfo.com/BalCalc.aspx
what you'll find if your truthful with the data is that you can stand about 75-90 yards further away with the 340wby and get the same results as a 338 win
and that the 340 is very close to a 375 H&H in energy on paper, and results, on game, look MY favorite rifles are the 340 WBY fibermark and a 375 H&H Sako , but are 100% effective in my hands over the last 40 years hunting ELK
but you'll find that the 338 win has an equally good record if the guy using it can hit where he intends too, dropping game is more a matter of exact shot placement than velocity, or paper energy, even a 270wby-300 wby will kill effectively with premium bullets and decent shot placement, where the larger WBY calibers like a 340wby shine, is in getting the games full attention on bullet impact, again,that's not the same thing as being more deadly,but it tends to get results closer to the point of impact PROVIDED YOUR SHOT PLACEMENT IS GOOD, and YOU DESTROY VITAL ORGANS, LIKE THE ARTERIES OVER THE HEART AND LUNGS! angle a shot to destroy those internal targets,on its way thru, and if possible impact the far leg on its exit from the chest cavity and you'll drop game very effectively, but don,t assume all animals hit will drop on bullet impact, many Ive shot seem stunned or stagger around drunkenly for a few seconds or run like hell for about 15-20 yards, then fold like a wet paper towel
http://www.inberg.ca/hunting_essentials/elk_anatomy_&_shot_placement.htm
RON, is on of my long term hunting partners and hes used a savage 338 win for many years, its just as DEADLY (IE, one well placed shot results in a dead ELK) as my 340 WBY, but it doesn,t seem to drop game as close to the point of bullet impact as consistently, over the years, but the difference is minor.Even RONs been impressed with the 340wbys ability to kill, fast, but again, not more deadly, just occasionally more effective in a shorter time
sight in 3.5" high at 100 yards and just hold dead on target to 300 yards and still hit very close to the aim point with the 250 grain hornady bullets loaded to 2875 fps, the recoil level requires a muzzle brake or a recoil pad and a sling, but you only fire at most two shots at game, on an ELK hunt , in most cases, and your generally dressed for cold weather with a bit of shoulder padding so that's no big concern
as you might guess Im a big fan of the 340wby, its the most used caliber ELK hunting tool I own
If you hand load ,(WHICH ID ADVISE) you might want to try 215 fed primers, 250 grain hornady spire points and H4831 powder (Ill let you look it up to get the starting loads )then work up, but at about 2850fps its a darn effective elk dropping tool, and you can load the 225 grain hornadys to 3050fps if you want a flat shooting load
Ive hunted ELK for 40 plus years and used a 340wby, 375H&H,45/70 and 35 whelen, and various other calibers, most shots Ive taken at under 250 yards Ive rarely need two shots, not because IM a great shot but because most shots are taken sitting with a sling or resting over a good rest like a solid tree limb at well under 250 yards and I can,t remember a single elk being alive when I reached it. and its been decades since I felt a second shot was required, its just a mater of not shooting until your positive you can accurately place a shot and getting in as close as possible
provided you use a controlled expanding bullet ,shots placed in the red + in my experience tend to drop elk or deer quickly with minimal meat loss , shots in the green + will destroy even less meat but tend to result in a 30-70 yard run before game drops, but if you hit the off side leg bone its going to get messy
now I've also used a 375 H&H SAKO carbine and a 760 Remington slide action, in thick timbered areas, so don,t get the idea I,m not familiar with other calibers, or don,t use several.
http://www.jagt.net/Weatherby/340/
http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.340 ... agnum.html
Range Velocity Impact Drop ToF Energy Drift
0 .........2875 -0.5 ......0.........0 ........4589 ..........0
50 .........2766 2.06 .....0.65 0.06 4247 0.61
100 .........2664 3.49 .....2.44 0.11 3940 1.13
150 .........2565 3.69 ......5.45 0.17 3652 2.02
200 .........2468 2.56 .......9.8 0.23 3381 3.29
250 ..........2374 0 ......15.57 0.29 3129 4.95
300 .........2282 -4.11........ 22.9 0.35 2891 7.04
350 .........2192 -9.9......... 31.9 0.42 2667 9.58
400 .........2103 -17.5.... 42.7 0.49 2455 12.59
450 .........2017 -27.07...... 55.5 0.56 2258 16.1
500 .........1933 -38.78...... 70.43 0.64 2074 20.15
heres a different calculator results
example
I was sitting about 70 yards up a slope on one side of a canyon,watching the far slope and creek that ran thru the meadow in the canyon floor, area on a recent ELK hunt when I noticed several elk sneaking thru the aspens on the far slope at about 270 yards, ( a RARE long range ELK SHOT) I got the bi-pod on the rifle extended for a sitting shot, (thats one reason I prefer the 27" harris bi-pods) I wrapped my arm into the adjustable sling and put the cross hairs of the scope mid way up the crease on the rear of the bulls front leg as he stepped slowly forward the trigger sear on my weatherby worked smoothly and the shot hit perfectly, driving thru the chest and chipping the off side leg bone after passing thru the elks chest just above the heart, I was amazed to see an aspen about 5" in diam. that was behind the elk when I fired, fall slowly after the ELK collapsed.....investigation, on reaching the elk, showed that even after the bullet passed thru the bull and partly broke its off side leg the 250 hornady still punched clear thru the 5" diam. aspen and buried into the slope beyond, now that's an ELK CALIBER, not only is it accurate, but it HAMMERS ELK and penetrates extremely well.
your ability to kill with either caliber (338 win or 340 wby,) depends both on the bullet selected and shot placement, and knowledge of the games anatomy more than, increased velocity alone, might,make you think looking at energy figures alone, that the 340 has an advantage, but the 340 wby , while it does hit noticeably harder,at times and shoot slightly flatter, in my experience than the 338 mag with similar bullets,does a good job also, but thats not the same thing as being more deadly, but it does give you a slight advantage in hitting where you want at longer ranges.
you can reasonably expect about 250-300 fps faster velocities from a 340 vs a 338 win, given the same bullets
play with this calculator and see if that really means much in you results
http://www.biggameinfo.com/BalCalc.aspx
what you'll find if your truthful with the data is that you can stand about 75-90 yards further away with the 340wby and get the same results as a 338 win
and that the 340 is very close to a 375 H&H in energy on paper, and results, on game, look MY favorite rifles are the 340 WBY fibermark and a 375 H&H Sako , but are 100% effective in my hands over the last 40 years hunting ELK
but you'll find that the 338 win has an equally good record if the guy using it can hit where he intends too, dropping game is more a matter of exact shot placement than velocity, or paper energy, even a 270wby-300 wby will kill effectively with premium bullets and decent shot placement, where the larger WBY calibers like a 340wby shine, is in getting the games full attention on bullet impact, again,that's not the same thing as being more deadly,but it tends to get results closer to the point of impact PROVIDED YOUR SHOT PLACEMENT IS GOOD, and YOU DESTROY VITAL ORGANS, LIKE THE ARTERIES OVER THE HEART AND LUNGS! angle a shot to destroy those internal targets,on its way thru, and if possible impact the far leg on its exit from the chest cavity and you'll drop game very effectively, but don,t assume all animals hit will drop on bullet impact, many Ive shot seem stunned or stagger around drunkenly for a few seconds or run like hell for about 15-20 yards, then fold like a wet paper towel
http://www.inberg.ca/hunting_essentials/elk_anatomy_&_shot_placement.htm
RON, is on of my long term hunting partners and hes used a savage 338 win for many years, its just as DEADLY (IE, one well placed shot results in a dead ELK) as my 340 WBY, but it doesn,t seem to drop game as close to the point of bullet impact as consistently, over the years, but the difference is minor.Even RONs been impressed with the 340wbys ability to kill, fast, but again, not more deadly, just occasionally more effective in a shorter time