I have a tikka It lite I use it out to 800 yards. Currently I use 110 accubonds but I'm kind day thinking about using it for elk so I was thinking a out trying a 100 ttsx what do you guys think about those 2 bullets? The accubond has not failed me but as many of you know an elk can take a real beating. They are tough animals. I will only be shooting an elk out to 4-500 yards deer and antelope out to 800.
I only have hands on experience with NAB but I think both are well designed bullets. However, we owe it to the tough and majestic elk with a heavier and well placed shot regardless of distance for the most humane harvest.
<.150 gr is just too light for my liking on elk size game. My personal choice minimum bullet weight for the elk is 180gr.
Currently, refining loads with .200gr NAB and .190 gr Berger on my .300 WMs.
I seen a guy on youtube Named Mark Thompson drop an elk at 830yrds and some anolope at over 1K with 180gr accubonds and I do mean drop!gun)lightbulb I wouldnt be affaird of using bergers either
I seen a guy on youtube Named Mark Thompson drop an elk at 830yrds and some anolope at over 1K with 180gr accubonds and I do mean drop!gun)lightbulb I wouldnt be affaird of using bergers either
I have spent a couple of days with Mark Thompson and shot his rig actually shooting rocks out to 1200 yds. His setup is designed for hunting, not necessarily to win any benchrest matches. It is great for hunting though. When we were shooting there was a rabbit running around between the 900 yd and 1000 targets and if would have sit still for a minute a think i could have hit it with one of his rifles. Anyway his load with the 180 grain NAB still delivers over 1200 lbs @ 1000 yds and yes that will do the job. I recovered a couple of bullets from the 1000 yd steel target and was impressed.
I have Bergers for my long rang load but NAB is my next favorite
When using lighter and faster bullets on elk I would go with the Accubond, I have had the Barnes turn on to many elk bones in light fast calibers to really like then. A conventional bullet will deform and keep going in a relatively similar direction not deflect in another direction. You would also be trading of BC and SD and you going to need it all for an elk!
I agree i like heavy bullets but thats the heaviest tsx my rifle will shoot. however an accubond is going to shed 30-40% of its weight and the ttsx will be in the 98-100% range which in the end will be more bullet left when it stops. The BC of the ab is .419 the ttsx is .396 so the trade off is imeasurable in my application i think for deer and antelope its going to perform great at the longer distannces up to 800 yds.
I have killed 2 elk with the 180gr accubonds in a 300 rum. One was at 150 yards and the bullet completely exploded on impact of his front shoulder. I shot him again as he took off. He went 200 yards and layed down and died. Didnt recover either bullet, I think the first shot exploded on the shoulder and the second one passed through with little expansion. The second bull I took was at 50 yards and shot him right behind the front shoulder. Bull dropped and the bullet ended up under the skin on the opposite side. It was a perfect mushroom.
I had a better experience with the barnes bullet. I have only taken one elk with them. I was chasing a heard of about 200 elk and there was two really big bulls in the heard. After awhile I finally caught up with em and had a clear shot at one of the big bulls. He was walking away from me at 150 yards, and I knew it was going to be my only clear shot at him so I took it. Shot him right square in the butt and by the time I could jack another shell in he was down. The bullet penetrated the full length of his body and exited on the right side of his chest. The chest cavity was mush.
So in my limited experience with barnes and accubonds I liked the barnes a little better. I feel like they are super reliable when you need a lot of penetration for elk or very large game they are one of the best.
Austin,
That's been my experience. I like about don't get me wrong but I thnk the tsx is a killing machine. I usually use bigger guns 7mm on Up for elk. In fact I bought a 375 rum specifically for elk cause they are so darn tough. But I'm just gonna hunt a cow so I'm gonna play with the 2506. Should be fun.
