.308 win elk bullet opinion

[Wolf76]

Ok, I have my primary elk gun ready to kill elk. Now my backup gun is my .308 and she's a shooter. Consistently shoots 1" groups at 200m. I have her dialed in on two loads. 168 gr nos ballistic tip and 180 sst. The 168 gr has a muzzle velocity of 2700 and the 180 gr is about 2800. Neither bullet is my first pick for elk, but the lower velocity makes me think they would be fine out to 300. Thoughts?

 

[kraigwy]

The best hunting bullet I use is the Hornady InterBond.

You say your rifle likes the SST, the IB has the same BC, load it the same as your SST and you wont know the difference either with a chronograph or on target.

Either the 165 or 180 IB will work, but since you like the 165/8 bullets and have data for the SST use the 165 IB.

 

[bigngreen]

I would shoot either bullet for elk in the 308 win, you don't want or need a bullet designed for higher velocity. Personally I favor the Berger 215 in my 308, can't beat it!!

 

[Wolf76]

I appreciate the suggestions. I can't find an interbond bullet anywhere. The .308 is my deer gun, but would definitely kill an elk at reasonable distances.

 

[Broz]

I would shoot either bullet for elk in the 308 win, you don't want or need a bullet designed for higher velocity. Personally I favor the Berger 215 in my 308, can't beat it!!

Gospel truth right here ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^lightbulb

Jeff

 

[hesse]

I shoot 165s sst out of m y 300wsm great for deer and will work on elk fine if you don't try to go thru the shoulder bone. So I have loaded the 165 gmxs the only thing that was different was it shoots an inch and a half lower then the sst does so I called Hornady and asked them why. they told me that gmx being an alloy bullet does not compress when fired so it has a little more friction that is the difference in the two bullets point of impact. that and to be careful when pushing max loads when reloading. that being said they shoot great and they do penetrate deep

 

[RevJim]

My understanding is the 168 NBT has a thicker jacket than the 165NBT. It would be my choice as the SST is pretty soft. I have a hunting buddy who has used a BLR in .308 with factory 150 corlokts since the early 1970s, ha. He has even killed buffalo with it. I just loaded up some 165 Swift A-Frames for my son in laws back up 308. It's another good one. Have a ball dude!

 

[FEENIX]

I would shoot either bullet for elk in the 308 win, you don't want or need a bullet designed for higher velocity. Personally I favor the Berger 215 in my 308, can't beat it!!

Gospel truth right here ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^lightbulb

Jeff

Believe me, Rhian and Jeff knows a thing or two about harvesting elk and the 215 Berger bullets' successes. gun)

Ed

 

[SansSouci]

Wolf76,

Hunters who can't shoot seem to be the primary cause of unfilled tags, either that or people who don't know how to hunt 'em. The next biggest problem is bullet selection. An elk ain't a deer. Elk don't much like dyin', even when hit with a lot of lead. But their choice in the matter is removed when a hunter destroys its oxygenated blood pumping equipment.

For bull elk, I'd recommend Partitions. They do work as long as you put one, and you'll need only one, where it'll stop topside oxygenated blood flow. As far as velocity goes, a 180 Partition at 2500 FPS will kill the largest elk that has ever lived.

 

[unclefish]

The guy I hunt with has used the nosler partitions 165g in his 308 to take an elk and mule deer for 28 years. He has in the last 8 years stepped up to a 300wm for our Colorado trip. He is 82 years young now. Has shot more whitetail with that 308 165g partition than I can shake a stick at. Definitely has proved that bullet gets the job done.