Best Elk Bullet...

[nicholasjohn]

The bullet you can put in the right place, so what your gun shoots best is most important.

I've killed a dozen or so elk with 300 wm and 180BT. Killed a few with 200 gr accubonds, Berger's, LRAB's, matchkings. Probably killed another dozen with 185 Remington core locks back in the day out of a 8x338wm.

Point is don't over think it, they all work when you put them where you are suppose to!!!!

Bullet placement ALWAYS trumps bullet design & construction. With elk, though, the big hevy shoulder bones figure into the bullet placement equation. With soft bullets, it's a good idea not to shoot them right in the heavy bones.

 

[bobcat19]

I'm not sure how long I've been shooting 200 Gr accubonds, ten years I think. I live in western Wyoming and I usually kill two elk per year. And my wife usually gets one, with 140 gr accubonds. I don't use Berger's but my friends use to joke "track better shoot Berger " meaning if you want to learn to track shoot Berger. Accubonds are the best hunting bullet I've ever used, the wounds are completely devastating. I have watched every animal tip over that I have shot with them. I personally don't use a different caliber or rifle for every species. I shoot my 300 rum for everything. Yes for antelope it's overkill but I don't care I use the rifle I like. And FYI I Have 1000 rounds through that rifle with no signs of barrel degradation my FPS remains the same as the last ten years. I don't know anything about hammer bullets and have no reason to spend time developing them. I jumped on the eldx wagon and wasted a lot of time and money trying to make them shoot. In the end I stayed with accubonds and I'm glad I have, I killed a bull elk at 850 yards and he didn't take three steps and crumpled. And yes that my 2 cents

 

[Peregrine82]

In a .30 caliber Magnum, it's hard to beat the tried and true 180 grain bullet designed for hunting.

 

[mnoland30]

I live in NM and hunt elk every year. In order to do that, I hunt with a muzzleloader most of the time. Heavy bullets for caliber hold their energy, and penetrate better. I believe a sectional density of .280 should be minimum. I've killed them with lighter bullets, but didn't get an exit wound. My last cow was facing me at an angle at 75 yards. A one lung shot on an elk means they don't die quickly, so you want a bullet that will penetrate through bones and leave a blood trail. I've shot elk in the heart and watched them run 75 yards. I've used Berger 168 VLD in my 7mm WSM on two elk at over 300 yards, and they took 3 steps or less. I've used Barnes TTSX with good success as well. I started using them because my butcher put all the bullets she found in a pan on the counter. All of the Barnes looked just like the advertisements. An elk's lungs extend pretty far back, but are up high as they go back. I've found that high lung shots shock the nervous system and tend to drop the elk in their tracks, and kill quickly. Don't discount BC. The higher the BC, the more retained energy.

 

[o2bmark]

The most impressive elk killer I have ever owned was a 300winmag loaded with 180 Nosler Partitions.

Partition is like 2 bullets in 1. If the expanding nose blows up or strikes bone the base continues on like a solid. These bullets have a very very well documented history. Not a match bullet but my completely stock 700bdl holds easily inside 1 moa to 400yds (my longest test). Let's just say it's the Mac truck of big game bullets.

 

[Fotis]

180-200 accubonds if up close encounters are expected. I personally do not trust Bergers for close range.

 

[bigngreen]

I don't use Berger's but my friends use to joke "track better shoot Berger " meaning if you want to learn to track shoot Berger.

We have a similar saying but it's for Barnes and Accubonds, have literally not tracked an elk since starting to shoot Berger's, well, take that back when my daughter was 8 I had her tracking elk to learn since the Berger blood trails were short and so easy a blind man could follow them its good for a youngster to learn. I'm not recalling even having an elk get out of sight since switching.
Buddy got talked into the bonded bullet coolaid last year, after a dozen on shot kills on one gun the first one they switched bullets on ran for over a mile and had to be shot again with all the same placement.
Personally I've seen more elk wounded because guys think they have an advantage with a bonded or mono bullet and take shots that just don't work at a high percentage, I dang sure was one of these guys till I started shooting elk in open fields and I could have guys use my guns and test stuff, I was horrified the first season and by the end of the second I was ready to give up hunting. IN the mountains every once in a while you'll get a shot that you just don't know what happened, cant find blood, elk run for ever and you just chalk it up to elk fever or pulling it. I've come to believe a higher percentage of those are hits just wrong bullet and placement because of misplaced confidence in a chambering or bullet. If you think a 300 mag with a bonded or mono bullet lets you shoot an elk at any angle and get 100% performance your simply in denial, I've seen more elk shot in the shoulder with 300's and bullets like barnes and accubonds and they did not make it into the chest and the elk will make it for days with a blown shoulder, I've finally worked in on many of them and helped dispatch them days later and inspected the shoulder when cutting and found perfectly mushroomed accubonds blown down the the base in a shoulder or they deflect. The best bullets I've seen for getting through an elk shoulder is a heavy for cal bullet that will shed the frontal area so it stays small and keeps the resistance down, or a bullet that will blow the petals of to stay small, bullet that retain a lot of weight and frontal area simply don't have the momentum to get through the heaviest elks shoulder bones.
If you shoot every elk like your shooting it with an arrow you'll find the only hard part about killing elk is hauling them out!!

 

[SilverbulletMAG]

...what bullet are you shooting and why?

Depends on what rifle I'm bringing with me and area being hunted. If shots will most likely be inside 500 yards, I want a tough bullet.
If it will be a possible long shot, 210 ABLR or 212 ELDX from a 300 RUM.
Close to medium range, 250 AB, Partition or A-Frame from 338 Win.
Close to medium range and need to pack light through nasty stuff, 180 Trophy Bonded Tip from 30-06 that weighs less than 7lbs.

 

[MZmoose]

Never shot an elk past 160 yds. Always in the thick stuff and was glad I had tough controlled expansion bullets. Barnes, failsafe, partitions, A-frames, trophy bonded, accubonds always performed for me and my friends. I have no experience with Berger's but they sound like killers from everyone that uses them. I won't use ELDX on elk after poor performance on deer but that's me. Shot placement is key but in the thick stuff you don't get time for the perfect broadside shot all the time. I need a bullet that will perform when it hits a shoulder bone.

 

[LVJ76]

It's known a tough bullet is best for elk, its a bigger and tougher animal that requires a bullet to penetrate more.

A soft bullet can blow up on impact at close ranges when it hits bone and therefore fails to penetrate, so a partitioned, bonded or mono will work best.

On deer I shoot at the lungs but at elk I would go for the shoulder in hopes on anchoring it right there.

I've also seen winds push a high bc bullet a foot or more at 500m, so if you are off by a few inches when you hit that Elk, better to play it safe and penetrate that animal all the way through than having to track it for half a mile or lose it.

Just my $0.02

 

[JMPrecision]

bigngreen, if I read your last correct it sounds as if the issues were with the hunters shot selection and bullet placement. Are you saying a berger would have suceeded where the others failed with that same selection and placement?
Not poking, nothing but respect for your opinions and knowledge shared, just want to understand better.
I totally agree about the arrow comment, I always tell my son aim where you want the arrow to exit on the off side,rifle is no different. Shot placement is the key.
My elk / berger experience was mostly mental for me

 

[bobcat19]

We have a similar saying but it's for Barnes and Accubonds, have literally not tracked an elk since starting to shoot Berger's, well, take that back when my daughter was 8 I had her tracking elk to learn since the Berger blood trails were short and so easy a blind man could follow them its good for a youngster to learn. I'm not recalling even having an elk get out of sight since switching.
Buddy got talked into the bonded bullet coolaid last year, after a dozen on shot kills on one gun the first one they switched bullets on ran for over a mile and had to be shot again with all the same placement.
Personally I've seen more elk wounded because guys think they have an advantage with a bonded or mono bullet and take shots that just don't work at a high percentage, I dang sure was one of these guys till I started shooting elk in open fields and I could have guys use my guns and test stuff, I was horrified the first season and by the end of the second I was ready to give up hunting. IN the mountains every once in a while you'll get a shot that you just don't know what happened, cant find blood, elk run for ever and you just chalk it up to elk fever or pulling it. I've come to believe a higher percentage of those are hits just wrong bullet and placement because of misplaced confidence in a chambering or bullet. If you think a 300 mag with a bonded or mono bullet lets you shoot an elk at any angle and get 100% performance your simply in denial, I've seen more elk shot in the shoulder with 300's and bullets like barnes and accubonds and they did not make it into the chest and the elk will make it for days with a blown shoulder, I've finally worked in on many of them and helped dispatch them days later and inspected the shoulder when cutting and found perfectly mushroomed accubonds blown down the the base in a shoulder or they deflect. The best bullets I've seen for getting through an elk shoulder is a heavy for cal bullet that will shed the frontal area so it stays small and keeps the resistance down, or a bullet that will blow the petals of to stay small, bullet that retain a lot of weight and frontal area simply don't have the momentum to get through the heaviest elks shoulder bones.
If you shoot every elk like your shooting it with an arrow you'll find the only hard part about killing elk is hauling them out!!

 

[Rick Richard]

Yep, which ever ones kill they are the ones we swear by, however the ones WE make a poor shot on are the ones we discredit...human nature---imagine that.

 

[mtmuley]

I think a lot of Berger shooters figure the bullet affords them a bit of bad placement. I've killed a bunch of elk, and other critters with Accubonds. My kids too. My experience doesn't jive with bigngreen. To each his own. Currently shooting another bullet for many reasons. If you don't want to use a mono, or have questions about the Berger, shoot the Accubond. You won't be disappointed. mtmuley