New caliber suggestions??
- Thread starter YukonBrett
- Start date
Up in NWT the minimum bullet that is acceptable is a 30 Caliber, and the minimum grain is a 220. You can get 30-06 in 220 grain, but if given the choice i would move up. The 325 WSM has bullets up to 220 grain. I think it's the Winchester Power Point. It would be great if they made a 220 Nosler Partition for the 325 WSM. Also you can drop down to a 180 grain in the 325 WSM. Of course there are other options and our fellow posters have covered most of those possibilities.
NWT is 200 grains. there is no factory 220 grains nosler partition 325 wsm while it s a very good choice, munitions are sparce in our neck of wood ...
Brett,
what are your experience with 300 and up magnum.
while keeping it simple a 9,3x62 can be a good competitor to your 300 s....
all the best.
Phil
Brett,
what are your experience with 300 and up magnum.
while keeping it simple a 9,3x62 can be a good competitor to your 300 s....
all the best.
Phil
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Agreed!!
Fixed that for you Phil........you should know better.............
Northman999
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Yukon
I'd reccomend 338 win mag.
It's got more "whallop" than anything 300 class; it's not quite c-fbmi's beloved 340, but factory 340 ammo is inexcusably expensive; and too many guys just get all freaky and flinchy with the .375 magnums (even though they really don't need to).
The .338 win mag also penetrates like crazy with many bullets, typically getting deeper penetration with 250's than a .375 H&H will with 300's.
If you reloaded then things would be a bit defferent, and I'd also add the 9.3x62 then as well.
It's got more "whallop" than anything 300 class; it's not quite c-fbmi's beloved 340, but factory 340 ammo is inexcusably expensive; and too many guys just get all freaky and flinchy with the .375 magnums (even though they really don't need to).
The .338 win mag also penetrates like crazy with many bullets, typically getting deeper penetration with 250's than a .375 H&H will with 300's.
If you reloaded then things would be a bit defferent, and I'd also add the 9.3x62 then as well.
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I have only shot 3 Bison, hardly enough to make me any kind of "expert" on them. I have been along on several other kills as well.
Personally, I would choose the 338 Win Mag. [I shot 2 of mine with the 338] I shot one with the 210 Partition, the other with a 225 Partition.
The third was shot with the 308 Norma Mag and the 200 Partition. All these animals died fairly quickly, and without fanfare.
The anatomy of the Bison makes shot placement important. The first instinct is to shoot center of body mass below the hump. If
you do, the shot will be too high, and may miss the lungs entirely without hitting the spine. Lower third is better, up close to front leg.
On one Bison hunt, where I was an observer, the animal was shot 6 times before he was finally down permanently. [300 Win Mag, 180 gr bullet]
But in fairness, it was not the chambering, nor the bullet at fault, it was proper bullet placement, particularly the first shot.
They can be tough, and are large animals....better to have enough gun.
Regards, Dave.
Personally, I would choose the 338 Win Mag. [I shot 2 of mine with the 338] I shot one with the 210 Partition, the other with a 225 Partition.
The third was shot with the 308 Norma Mag and the 200 Partition. All these animals died fairly quickly, and without fanfare.
The anatomy of the Bison makes shot placement important. The first instinct is to shoot center of body mass below the hump. If
you do, the shot will be too high, and may miss the lungs entirely without hitting the spine. Lower third is better, up close to front leg.
On one Bison hunt, where I was an observer, the animal was shot 6 times before he was finally down permanently. [300 Win Mag, 180 gr bullet]
But in fairness, it was not the chambering, nor the bullet at fault, it was proper bullet placement, particularly the first shot.
They can be tough, and are large animals....better to have enough gun.
Regards, Dave.
Interesting back in the day when the 38-40 and the 44-40 ruled the plains and there were millions of bison they were shot to the point of extinction with these inferior calibers . 200gr bullets at 1000-1240fps and this was still black powder loads with lead bullets they must have mutated to a super beast over the yrs
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Apparently a little history lesson in cartridge and firearm development is in order. The 38-40 and 44-40 were NOT responsible for the mass slaughter of the plains bison. This super tough animal, and more than a little dangerous as well, was precisely why Winchester tried to develop larger more powerful cartridges and the 76 model rifle, also why Mr. C. Sharps developed his line of buffalo cartridges in his rifles and why Oliver finally hired John Browning to design a lever repeating rifle strong enough for buffalo capable cartridges, the 1886 and his very strong single shot to compete with the Sharps, the 1885. If you look at a list of cartridges that these rifles came in you won't find a 38-40 or 44-40 any where among them. You will find calibers like 45-110, 45-90, 50-100, 50-110, 45-120, 45-70, 50-90 and so on. Not your 38-40 class of cartridges at all.
The plains bison has always been a "super beast" and required a lot of killing. They single handedly are responsible for a whole era of cartridge development, for greater power over greater ranges.
