Accubond performance on elk

[sambo3006]

Just got back a couple of days ago from Colorado. My buddy and I both had cow elk tags. I had my 338 WM and he had a 30-06. We glassed some cows in some oak brush from the rim of a canyon. They were about 300 yards away so my buddy wanted to use my 338. He put a 225 gr Accubond behind the shoulder of a big cow at 266 yards and she just rolled over and kicked. The bullet exited the other side and turned the lungs into red jello. I put my gun in the truck since it was late in the morning and I didn't want to drag it down the side of the canyon through the heavy oak brush. I got down to where my friend was with his elk, and he said that he had spotted an elk up on the side of the canyon in the brush. He pointed it out and I grabbed his '06. It was only about a 100 yard shot at a yearling of an estimated 300 lbs (by some locals). I blew the heart wide open with a broadside shot using 150 gr Remington Corelokt factory load. This bullet exited the other shoulder (did not hit the shoulder bone on either side). I don't think it would have fully penetrated a mature elk with that placement, but it sure did the job.
I had ordered a 700 BDL 338 RUM that arrived the day after I left. It is getting ported right now, but will be fully operational for next year's bull tag. We spotted a nice 6x6 and ranged him at 700 yards standing. Definitely a makeable shot with a solid rest. I think I will stick with the 225 Accubond. Good bullet, good BC (.550). I'll try to add some pics if I have time. Good shooting!

[zingdingo]

Congratulations sambo, glad to hear you had a successful hunt. Thanks for the Accubond report. Elk hunting is definitely something I want to get around to one of these years.

I hunt with an ’06, and I used to shoot factory 150 gr core-lokt’s in it, so that part brought back some memories. I think its funny how much time some of us spend consider different loads, bullets, and other equipment, myself included. When I think back to the time I just used $10 factory loads I can’t remember any animal being lost as a result of the bullets performance. We’ve also only used them on smaller whitetails and medium sized blackbears. Sure, the confidence is a lot higher, and shots can reliably taken a lot farther, but they really did do their job with very little fuss. I can’t see myself ever going back, but I think its interesting to reflect all the same