It’s rare that I go through a fall without elk hunting these days. Since moving to Wyoming, the opportunities to hunt this iconic western big game animal have been quite plentiful. The more I hunt elk, the more I realize they are a tough animal and therefore the cartridge and bullet choice is a vitally important one.
I’ve successfully harvested elk with a variety of cartridges over the years. Arguably, I have killed an elk with a 300 WBY MAG more than anything else. However, when I had the great opportunity to hunt a region with some outstanding bulls this past year, I opted for the 338 WBY RPM. Honestly, one of the questions I get the most is around cartridge choice on different game. It’s an age-old question and one that is heavily debated, but here are the reasons for choosing this larger bore cartridge this season.
First off, I happen to absolutely love the smaller 6 lug standard Mark V action. This action is around a pound lighter than its big brother 9 lug action and yet is long enough to accommodate longer cartridges like the 280 AI and Weatherby RPM cartridges. So, in choosing the 338 WBY RPM, I was able to take a lighter weight rifle while still having sufficient energy and velocity numbers at distance.
I actually opted for the Mark V Apex, which features a two-toned fluted 24” stainless barrel and a Peak 44 Bastion stock. While not the lightest option we offer (as compared to carbon fiber barrels), I wanted the stability, velocity and recoil mitigation that came from this rifle that weighed in at 6.5 lbs. I thought it would check all these boxes and be the perfect option for my 2025 Wyoming elk hunt. I put a Leupold VX6 Gen II 3.5-18×44 scope on top and headed to the range for bullet selection.
I do understand I have the unique advantage of having all available bullet options to test. However, I can’t overstress the importance of finding what projectile your barrel prefers, as we often find it varies from one rifle to the next. In my case, the 185 Barnes TTSX was a shooter. After placing 5 shots in a .85” group and averaging 3,095 fps in the underground 100 yard range, I headed out to the ranch to see how it would shoot out to about 700-800 yards. After tweaking my ballistic app a bit, I became quite confident at those distances and was excited to see what it would do in the field.
338 WBY RPM
In 2023, I was able to shoot the biggest bull elk to date at 350” in Colorado. Although that Colorado hunt (check out the film on Youtube) will always hold a special place in my heart, I knew there could possibly be an opportunity to stumble onto an even larger bull on this Wyoming hunt. So, prepared to pass some smaller bulls, I headed out with my Mark V Apex to see what 2025 would provide.
It was a morning that had been covered with dense fog that we spotted the bull I was looking for. After sitting for a few hours in the fog, once it finally lifted, we saw several cows and smaller bulls still out grazing. Then the moment came where I saw “my bull” from a mile or two away bedded towards the top of a hill. After minutes of strategizing, we had a plan for a stalk. Sometime later I found myself on the bipod at 800 yards from the bull. At this point, he got even bigger in my reticle and I knew he was a “hog davis” as my good friend, and Weatherby Product Manager, JD always says.
Adam and Brenda Weatherby Hiking in the Morning
The large bull grazed out of view, but we had a smaller bull standing looking our way for what must have been 20-30 minutes. However, it felt like forever. We knew once that bull walked out of view, we had an opportunity to close the gap to around 300 yards. Well, I love it when a plan comes together because that small bull finally walked a few steps out of view, and we hustled to close the gap.
I wondered if I would get a good view of the large bull without any of the rest of the herd seeing me. It rarely ever happens like this, but when I finally crested the hill before them and peeked through the trees, I could only see one thing…the monster bull grazing broadside. I had a small gap between the trees, and I placed my Spartan bipod on the ground and my bino pack under the rear of the buttstock. It was almost too good to be true. I remembered back to last season in Colorado with Brenda when we got skunked after hunting 7 or 8 super long days. This hunt in Wyoming was exactly the opposite. All I had to do now was finish the job.
At this point, it was up to me and my 338 Wby Mag. Once Koby was on him with the camera, I gently squeezed the Triggertech trigger and out came the Barnes 185 TTSX that only had to travel 300 yards before impact. After hitting the boiler room, the bull slowly turned the other way, and I put a second one in the other side for insurance. Both shots would have been fatal in and of themselves. Within seconds, the bull tipped over not more than 5 to 10 yards from the initial impact. After shooting a lot of elk at further distances over the years, I realized that making a successful stalk to 300 yards often pays off in the end. Although not always manageable, this day it all came together.
After getting some incredible pictures and video, we started to quarter up the animal. It was during this time that we recovered one of the iconic Barnes mushroomed bullets. With near perfect weight retention, we recovered it in the opposing shoulder. With hardly any meat damage at all and an incredibly fatal shot, the cartridge, bullet and rifle selection turned out to be the perfect choice.
Barnes 185 Grain TTSX
With a big smile and coolers full of meat, the icing on the cake is when the tape came out. Not that this is the most important thing at all, but my curiosity was killing me. Was this bull bigger than my 350” Colorado bull? He was handsome indeed and had some extremely large main beams. In the end, this well-balanced 6×6 bull came out at 360” gross, surpassing the Colorado bull in inches. Honestly, I had worked much harder for my Colorado bull I shot at 12,000ft, but this beautiful Wyoming bull will always hold a special place with me, as do most animals we each hunt. After all, the memories and photos will live on for years to come.
I know this elk will not be the last animal I hunt with this rifle and cartridge setup. Other than it being good luck, I was just really pleased with its performance. I can’t always recommend a good setup for everyone as we all have different preferences. But, in the end, I couldn’t have been more pleased with the choice for my biggest elk to date.
Written by: Adam Weatherby
Weatherby Mark V Apex
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