.25cal Elk Bullets

[Nape.270]

I'm looking for some input on what .25cal bullet to use for elk this year.

personal experience would be nice but just your thoughts would help.

Speer Bullets - Product Details I have been looking at these because of the B.C. and hopeing that thay will hold together.

I will be shooting these out of my .257wby at around 3300fps.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Whaw twist is your barrel?

Steve

 

[Varminator 911]

I'd be shooting one of the copper bullets; Etip, TTSX, or GMX. I think the first two are 100 gn. The GMX is 110 gn. They will out penetrate almost any other expanding 257 bullets. Seems to me that penetration is what you need in a 257 Weatherby for elk.

They aren't the highest BC but then the 257 is pretty marginal for elk IMHO. Not knocking your choice. I once used a 25-06 but felt pretty under gunned.

 

[cfvickers]

I would take a hard look at the 110 accubond. Not much comparison really but as far as penetration goes, I shot a 205 LBS White tail last december with one, it went in at the very last rib, the deer was quartering away, went out through the front shoulder blade and still had quite a small exit wound. To me that said it was too heavily constructed for white tails. I know it opened but not too much and not too quick. I am sure it would have performed better if it had hit tougher tissue. Not sure of the BC but If I were going to hunt elk with the 25-06 I would use that bullet. But I will hold off on using it for deer. Otherwise I would look at the 115 TSX if you can get some. I believe any bonded bullet or a partition would do the trick nicely as well.

 

[Nape.270]

It's a 10 twist.

I have herd good things about the 100gr ttsx and at 3600fps I guess thay would hurt real bad. I just think that a 120gr bullet with a clamed b.c. of .48 may be better?

my average shot will be 300-500 yards

As far as being under guned with this gun I feel shot placement will be the key to knocking elk off the mountain.

 

[Oliveralan]

Just ran the ballistics for you and I would say the 110 AB is your best option, for a balance of BC and penetration. You are at around 1400ft/lbs of energy at 500, that's at sea level however, so if you keep your shots within 600yards, and put the bullet where it needs to go, that elk will die.

Just curious, why not go with a larger, more ballistically efficient cartridge?

 

[Nape.270]

Why not use some thing bigger well because this is the only hunting rifle I have.

 

[MT4XFore]

Nape, I have killed several elk with my 257 Roy. By far the best bullets for the job
are Nosler's 110 gr. Accubond and the 115 and 120 grain Partitions. Whichever one shoots the best for you will do you a fine job. With proper bullet placement you wont have any problems at all. Good luck, and God Bless

Jim

 

[Firecat]

Others on here have given you excellent advice. Shooting a 257 Weatherby at elk will certainly test the very makings of any .25 caliber bullet. The combination of high speed and thick skin would destroy most any traditional bullet design. I would certainly tell you to shy away from the speer bullets on this one. Not that they don't make a great product, but they are designed for deer. You know as well as I that hunting does not alway produce ideal situations. That being said I would agree that an Accubond would be the bare minimum for this application and I would lean more towards a solid Copper like the mentioned TTSX, GMX or E-Tip. They will give you both penetration and bullet integrity. Keep it under 5-600 yards and the 257 will bring em down.

 

[woods]

I would take a hard look at the 110 accubond. Not much comparison really but as far as penetration goes, I shot a 205 LBS White tail last december with one, it went in at the very last rib, the deer was quartering away, went out through the front shoulder blade and still had quite a small exit wound. To me that said it was too heavily constructed for white tails. I know it opened but not too much and not too quick. I am sure it would have performed better if it had hit tougher tissue. Not sure of the BC but If I were going to hunt elk with the 25-06 I would use that bullet. But I will hold off on using it for deer. Otherwise I would look at the 115 TSX if you can get some. I believe any bonded bullet or a partition would do the trick nicely as well.

Hey cf, that performance is typical of the Accubond. Here is a description of how it is engineered

Quoting from NRA's American Rifleman from their May, 2004 issue:

"While other bulletmakers tout 90 percent weight retention from their bonded bullets, Nosler took a different approach. Its goal is deeper penetration, even at the sacrifice of weight retention. The problem with bonded bullets that are designed for high weight retention is that they quickly form a large frontal area that impedes penetration. Nosler designed its bullet to have about 60 to 70 percent weight retention. That obviously means that it will lose some weight. That's because it's designed to shed some of the expanded bullet material to keep the frontal area of the Accubond bullet a little smaller than some other bonded bullets. Accubond is designed for early expansion, but rather than tear completely apart as a Ballistic Tip often will, the Accubond's petals are designed to fold back tighter against the bullet shank. This makes a slightly smaller diameter mushroom to allow deeper penetration."

so the small exit should be no surprise. In all likelihood a Partition would have done the same thing.

 

[winmag]

No hands on with .25 cal, but for close in range Id look at Swift, Accubond for mid range, and for an all round long mid or short range Id go TTSX.
My opinion is that a bullet shot at real high velocity at close range(say you jump one at 100yds or less) tends to blow up on impact with bone, or alter its course drasticly. I personally dont like that. I want a tough bonded bullet at closer range-Swift. Mid range IMO-Accubond, But at long range Id want a bullet that will reliably expand at extended ranges with lower velocitys. IMO the TTSX-being a monometal will retain the wt. durring and after expansion near or far, and *should* open at lower velocity due to the tip, while retaining its course in a more predictable line.
To sum it up;
Swift-for up close and personal-IMO
Accubond-for 1-400ish- again IMO,
And my number 1 all round pic in this case-
TTSX-near-mid-or far, for all round and long range performance with a more predictable course after impact due to retained wt. and shape,-yet again IMO.
Heck hit em in the right spot with any good bullet in this type of class, INI-MEENI-MINI-MO, pick your favorite and most accurate, and your critter is down.

 

[Nape.270]

I have had the same experience with the ab's and ttsx's in my .270win that I used to have.

 

[cfvickers]

Hey cf, that performance is typical of the Accubond. Here is a description of how it is engineered

Quoting from NRA's American Rifleman from their May, 2004 issue:

"While other bulletmakers tout 90 percent weight retention from their bonded bullets, Nosler took a different approach. Its goal is deeper penetration, even at the sacrifice of weight retention. The problem with bonded bullets that are designed for high weight retention is that they quickly form a large frontal area that impedes penetration. Nosler designed its bullet to have about 60 to 70 percent weight retention. That obviously means that it will lose some weight. That's because it's designed to shed some of the expanded bullet material to keep the frontal area of the Accubond bullet a little smaller than some other bonded bullets. Accubond is designed for early expansion, but rather than tear completely apart as a Ballistic Tip often will, the Accubond's petals are designed to fold back tighter against the bullet shank. This makes a slightly smaller diameter mushroom to allow deeper penetration."


so the small exit should be no surprise. In all likelihood a Partition would have done the same thing.

I have since learned this. I appreciate the info though. That is mostly why I recommend it for Elk. I know it went through 20 inches of a fairly large deer, 2 ribs and the shoulder blade and kept rolling. This convinced me that it would surely make it through one elk shoulder and into the heart/lung cavity with enough damage to dispatch one in an ethical amount of time. Ideally I lung shoot everything, and for deer I prefer something more explosive like a berger VLD, but this would def be my choice for elk. And my gun will put five of them at 3000 fps inside a dime at 100 yards. That is not the utmost in velocity even for my 25-06 but it is good enough to cover my square and very accurate.

 

[cfvickers]

I have little experience with swift bullets, but, Why are they so expensive? there are far less expensive bullets that have been killing the same game with equal performance for quite some time?