Which bullet for elk?

[jmden]

Jmden,

I'm a little surprised that Accubonds stayed in an elk. I have yet to have one stay in an elk with my 270 WSM and I've shot them in some heavy bone, all over 300yrds and it just crushes them!

Yeah, I don't know, and these were Fed Premium doing about 3040 MV. After seeing that I just thought that the 200 AB might be a better choice. Something particualr to the .308 AB's maybe? Again, my personally witnessed data source it pretty limited, so...

 

[msalm]

Out of the two you listed, definitely the accubond. I used 180gr ballistic tips years ago in a 30-06 that worked very well on three bulls, but I was not impressed with the bullets on one shot in particular. I thought the elk had been hit by my first shot, and it turned and ran upslope towards me. I put a round under his chin and the bullet didn't make much of a mark at all on the spine...just splashed. It anchored him right now, but I walked down to him and put a finisher at the base of the skull.

I also used a 300 WSM on two elk in the last three years and chose the 168gr Barnes TSX bullet. They shot very accurately, and I probably wouldn't have gotten a bull if I hadn't been using them. I had one shot go through the upper leg bone and penetrate through the paunch, liver, and lung to the offside shoulder. Also used it on one elk broadside at 600 yards. High shoulder shot, DRT. Bullet passed through the upper shoulder, under the spine, and exited the other shoulder. It showed decent expansion at that range, thanks in part to the shoulder blade I'm sure.

Last years elk was with a 300 RUM shooting the 200gr Accubonds. That elk took a round though the lungs at 850 yards (no bone) and the bullet showed decent expansion and the elk went down w/in 40 yards.

 

[the hunt guy]

The owner of a gun shop here where I live has convinced me to give the Barnes Triple Shock all copper bullet a try. I have a 7mm rem mag. I guess its similar to the accubond but with maybe a little better BC. I dont know, we'll see how the Savage likes them. The downside is that they're freakin expensive. $50 for 20 7mm rem's is lame.

I need to start reloading, but my wife would probably get her own reloading equipment first just so she could produce a more accurate round to up her chances of shooting me because I mentioned buying more hunting stuff. Maybe I should buy her another sewing machine first.

 

[D.A.T.]

A lot depends on where you like to hit the game (Behind the shoulder,in the shoulder or in the neck. Also how far you will be willing to shoot.

For the realy long shots I prefer the Ballistic tip Because it will expand at lower velocities For
shots under 300 yards I like the Accubond.

For shoulder shots or neck shots at any distance I prefer the Accubonds.

Just my opinion on 300 wsm sized cartriges.

J E CUSTOM

why not work a load up that handles multiple ranges unless you dont load yer rifle until ya range your target?seems kinda different to work loads for 2 specific range limits unless your limiting your ranges,i guess im dumb i use a load and bullet thats all around

 

[mcseal2]

why not work a load up that handles multiple ranges unless you dont load yer rifle until ya range your target?seems kinda different to work loads for 2 specific range limits unless your limiting your ranges,i guess im dumb i use a load and bullet thats all around

In my experience once you work up a load for a ballistic tip or accubond the same load works with the other bullet in the same weight also. With the exception of the 140gr 270 the BC is identical on ballistic tips and accubonds of the same weight, and they fly the same. You could load up with accubonds and if you had time to take a real long shot that you didn't think an accubond would expand on, you could chamber a ballistic tip.

I've not had trouble with accubonds not expanding, but haven't shot anything with them past 470yds except coyotes.

 

[kc]

I have never shot an Elk and I don't know squat! but I do know the Hornaday SST 165 will
drop a deer and turn the insids into jellow.

 

[405win]

I'll be using Bergers on elk this year but have no experience with them. I hear stories but would like to know what you guys think, good or bad.

 

[the hunt guy]

I'll be using Bergers on elk this year but have no experience with them. I hear stories but would like to know what you guys think, good or bad.

I haven't used them, but I was totally set on them earlier this year. Here is the report that I got from some of the guys here. Berger's have awesome BC's (they should since they were designed as a target competition round) and when they hit the animal just perfect, they will probably work awesome. As far as I know, they are designed to penetrate the hide and some bone and then fragment (explode) as they move on through the cavity. I've heard that you will have more consistent luck (if there is such a thing) using them on an animal with a thinner hide like a deer.

The problem will most likely come when an animal is quartering away from you. Taking the shot that would require you to maybe shoot farther back than the shoulder and that would require the bullet to travel more distance inside the animal in order to reach the vital organs for a good, quick, clean kill. There have been many reports of flesh/gut wounds that allow the animal to get away. The word on the street is that elk will run miles and miles in the wrong direction (ie uphill and or into the worst possible place for the hunter) if prompted by a bad shot. I had a friend that shot a cow with a muzzle loader and it was as if she was saying, "The HELL you're going to get my dead body!!" as she hurled herself off the nearby cliff...no joke. Oh, and his rig was NOT parked at the bottom.

I decided to go with a bullet that's designed with more weight retention in mind. But that's just me. Just remember that, sure Huskemaw and Grey Bull Precision may share tons of videos that show really impressive work on animals (i personally think the vids are awesome) with the Bergers, but how many times did they not air the shots that didn't play out the way they were hoping for.

Anyway, good luck.

 

[405win]

Thanks Hunt Guy for the info. I've taken a number of elk but none with bergers as I mentioned. I'll be shooting a light caliber which puts even greater demand on the bullet as well as myself. My trusty 405 will go with me but the range will likely be further than the (big medicine) can handle.