Archive for the ‘Rifles, Scopes and Ammo’ Category
Lever Action Rifle Fans…..Good News!
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There is great news out for lever action rifle fans who want to hunt elk. Marlin has teamed up with the Hornady ammunition company to produce a cartridge that is the power and distance to hunt any North American game out to 400 yards.
It comes in a potent 200 grain bullet weight with ballistics to match the 30-06 out to 400 yards. The new rifle comes with your choice of stainless steel 24 inch barrel or the traditional blued barrel in 22 inches. They weigh in at 7 ½ pounds and 7 ¼ pounds respectfully. This is exciting news for hunters that grew up hunting with a 30-30 lever action rifle.
Some of my fondest memories are of hunts carrying my old Marlin lever action afield. One of my memories was not as fond, the day I missed the largest whitetail buck I have ever seen. The buck stepped out into the field at about 250 to 300 yards, I held over what I thought would be the right amount and fired. The bullet struck the ground about half way to the buck and he trotted off leaving me with only the memory of not having enough gun to make the shot.
Lever actions have always been known for their handling and reliability, but not for long range shots. These new rifles will be no different other than the much improved caliber choice and long range distance. I always liked the Marlin “Guide Guns” but they were chambered in the 45-70. It had lots of bullet weight and knockdown power but at short distances.
This new rifle and ammo more than takes care of that issue. Using the new bullet was made possible by new technology that allows a sharp pointed bullet to rest end on end in the tubular magazine without the danger of touching off the primers. This was accomplished with a sharp but soft flexible point on each round.
The new caliber is the 338 Marlin Express. Get a ballistic chart and check out the statistics on the new long range lever gun and ammunition. This is going to be a great big game rifle ammo combination.
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Posted in What is the best .270 Elk bullet?
What is the best 270 elk bullet? With many bullet weight choices in the .270 caliber rifle, knowing which one to choose can be confusing. I personally hunted whitetail deer in Alabama with my .270 and felt like it was the perfect caliber.
Whitetail deer are a much thinner skinned animal than the elk. I have seen elk tear down a barbed wire fence and not even show a scratch. Because of the toughness of their hide, and the larger size of elk, they require a heavier bullet weight.
Of course, there is a compromise or trade off in deciding the best .270 elk bullet. The heavier bullet will penetrate the elk better but you will lose distance. The heavier the bullet, the more bullet drop. That is known as the bullet’s trajectory.
Bullets are weighed in grains. A .270 starts at 100 grain and goes up to 150 grains. When I hunted for whitetails, I used 130 grain bullets and when I hunted elk, I used the maximum 150 gain bullet. This bullet gave me all of the knockdown power I needed and a moderate range of shooting distance.
I zeroed my rifle at 2 inches high at 100 yards. This meant that at 200 yards I would be in the bull’s eye, 3.6 inches low at 250 yards and approximately 9.5 inches low at three hundred yards.I really don’t recommend making a shot from that distance because the bullet looses so much of its energy and knock down power at that range.
The bottom line is to use the heavier bullet weight, know your own shooting capabilities and don’t take a careless shot that could only wound the elk. The .270 is a good rifle for elk and I have harvested many with it.So what is the best 270 elk bullet? In my opinion, it’s the 150 grain.
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