hmbleservant
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2010
- Messages
- 156
What are my best bullet options for this caliber for taking elk out to about 500 yds?
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25-06 elk bullet recommendations?
- Thread starter hmbleservant
- Start date
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WyoElk2Hunt
Well-Known Member
115 gr Nosler Partition would be my choice for a 25-06. Better if you could get a larger caliber for elk.
theehick
Well-Known Member
110 gr. Nosler accubond, they have seemed to hold up the best and get good penatration shooting lager animals. would not recomend shots beyond 300 or so with this light of a bullet which is on the heavy end of 25 cal bullets.
rooster740
Well-Known Member
110 gr. Nosler accubond, they have seemed to hold up the best and get good penatration shooting lager animals. would not recomend shots beyond 300 or so with this light of a bullet which is on the heavy end of 25 cal bullets.
I agree with this completely. I chest shot one b tag cow elk with the 110 accubond at 250 ish yards and was very impressed. I also have killed two other b tag cow elk with a 200- 250 yard head shots with a 100 grain smk but that is a different story, and would not recomend a chest shot with the 100gr SMK bullet 99% of the time, but in the perfect situation it will destroy a cow elk heart. I am not trying to toot my horn but in my defense I do own about 28 other larger rifles.
I had intensions of using the 115gr. tsx on elk but could never really get them to shoot that good. I have an employee who kills his cow elk every year with a 100 gr tsx from a 25-06.
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I don't believe the 25-06 is inadaquate for elk as a standard hunting round.
That being said i know that it will kill elk dead under the right conditions and with exact shot placement,but a marginal hit will yield a marginal kill at best and at worst a wounded and lost animal.
They deserve better imho.
That being said i know that it will kill elk dead under the right conditions and with exact shot placement,but a marginal hit will yield a marginal kill at best and at worst a wounded and lost animal.
They deserve better imho.
I was hoping this thread would get a bit more response as I am planning to take either my Rem 25-06 or my Marlin 336 30-30 as a backup rifle on an upcoming elk hunt. My main rifle will be an X Bolt 300 win mag which is an incredibly rifle fun to shoot. That said, my Rem 25-06 has taken several deer and I'm comfortable with the rifle and its accuracy.
Damol
Well-Known Member
My vote is for the 110gr Accubond as well but chose your shots carefully. Elk are tough.
Topgun 30-06
Well-Known Member
I would have to take great exception to the last post showing the 117grain Hornady SST as an elk bullet. Hornady designed the SST for rapid expansion and they recommend it for small game like antelope. The Interbond is designed for controlled deep penetration which is needed for an animal the size of elk or moose and in the 25-06 it is not a 500 yard cartridge for elk or moose. A person should really move up to a 30 caliber for that size game because, although a 25-06 can do the job, why handicap yourself and have to worry about making a perfect broadside shot at a shorter range when many times a bull isn't going to give that shot. I even quit using the SST for deer in my 30-06 because the expansion was way to fast and I almost lost a cow elk when I forgot to change from the SST to my Interbonds. I shot her broadside at last light at about 125 yards with a 150 grain SST by mistake and it blew up on her near rib and was not pretty. By the time we found her late the next morning I lost half the meat due to souring by the time I got it into the processor. That is the only time I have ever lost any meat from over 100 big game animals in 50 years of hunting.
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Topgun 30-06
Well-Known Member
No problem and glad we got it cleared up. I have actually gone to Hornady BTSPs in 117 grains for my 25-06 and 150 grains for my 30-06s for deer using IMR 4350 for both calibers. Then I just move to the same weight Interbond for elk and they both shoot to the same POI, so it's nice to be able to use them interchangeably without having to rezero scopes. The BTSPs have not failed me on antelope or deer and none have hardly moved from their tracks when hit through the lungs. Elk are a big critter and can take some lead even with a perfect shot and I have always felt that as long as they are on their feet and you can see them to keep putting it to them!
AllenJ
Member
Shot placement and bullet construction are very important when using a smaller caliber on larger game. Barnes, Nosler Partition or E-Tips are excellent bullets capable good weight retention and excellent expansion. Those would be my chioces.
