Best Elk Bullet...

[Hoppsing55]

As I hit enter and let this thread go, I'm simultaneously taking cover under my desk the way they taught us in grade school in case we got nuked by the Russians!

Seriously, I've used the search function and found tons of helpful info but new technology and bullet offerings drop nearly every week and I'm wanting the most recent opinion of those here who shoot elk on the regular.

I was very fortunate to draw what for me will be a bucket list elk tag in NM this year and I'm likely over thinking this for that reason, but here goes...

Ill be using my customized 300WM M700 w/Bartlein 10t bbl. I was told to expect shots from 50 to 500yds, with 150 to 250 being the most common and elevation ranging from 6500' to 11000'. The rifle shoots the 215 Berger amazingly well with regular fist sized groups @ 1000yds. Will the Berger be a liability under 200yds? I've also started load development with the 181 Sledge Hammers getting sub-moa results on the first outing but worry about its performance if I need to get close to my self imposed max range of 500yds.
I've killed one cow elk about 10 years ago and used a 7RM with 160 Accubonds and a perfect boiler room shot sent her running up the mountain with my only follow up being a texas heart shot stopping her immediately on impact (go figure).

I guess what I'm asking is for the people who hunt/shoot elk the way I do deer, if you get the same opportunity, what bullet are you shooting and why?

Last year I harvested a cow elk at 436yds, with an Accubond 160 gr, out of a 7mm rem mag, at 3000fps MV. DRT. And would be comfortable doing the same on any Elk, bull or cow, out to 600-700 yds. After that my 1500 ft lbs energy threshold for Elk sized game, start to apply.

A 300 win mag shooting an Abond 165, has similar 7mm Rem mag ballistics. And an Abond 200gr out of a 300 WM at 2850 fps will carry enough energy out to 1000yds.
The Abonds are a well proven, reliable game getter at 50 yds or 1000yds+. If your gun will shoot them?

 

[newmexkid]

In the years I lived in Wyoming my go-to bullet was the Swift A-Frame with the 300WM. Never let me down.

 

[coyotezapper]

As I hit enter and let this thread go, I'm simultaneously taking cover under my desk the way they taught us in grade school in case we got nuked by the Russians!

Seriously, I've used the search function and found tons of helpful info but new technology and bullet offerings drop nearly every week and I'm wanting the most recent opinion of those here who shoot elk on the regular.

I was very fortunate to draw what for me will be a bucket list elk tag in NM this year and I'm likely over thinking this for that reason, but here goes...

Ill be using my customized 300WM M700 w/Bartlein 10t bbl. I was told to expect shots from 50 to 500yds, with 150 to 250 being the most common and elevation ranging from 6500' to 11000'. The rifle shoots the 215 Berger amazingly well with regular fist sized groups @ 1000yds. Will the Berger be a liability under 200yds? I've also started load development with the 181 Sledge Hammers getting sub-moa results on the first outing but worry about its performance if I need to get close to my self imposed max range of 500yds.
I've killed one cow elk about 10 years ago and used a 7RM with 160 Accubonds and a perfect boiler room shot sent her running up the mountain with my only follow up being a texas heart shot stopping her immediately on impact (go figure).

I guess what I'm asking is for the people who hunt/shoot elk the way I do deer, if you get the same opportunity, what bullet are you shooting and why?

If you go with the Berger at a minimum I would take a pin drill and clean up the openings on the hollow points. When the Bergers fail it is when they pencil through without expanding / fragmenting. The jagged point on the hollow point can pinch closed and not allow it to expand. Best case would be to trim the meplat and then use the pin drill. Pin drill sets can be purchased on ebay for less than $20.

 

[Eagle_93]

Well, OP we are kind of in the same boat.

I got an invite to Elk hunt with friends next fall in NM.

I am using my 300wm with a 190gr Accubond Long Range over 72 gr of RL-22.

I believe it will do the trick as my buddy who lives there said that would be fine.
Honestly I don't have first hand experience yet though.

Happy hunting!

 

[Kooz7]

I live/hunt in Co. and most of my friends and neighbors hunt , I have seen more elk knocked down in my life than I will ever be able to count and I would have to say that the .30 cal Accubonds are hands down the most effective elk bullets that I have personally seen used . You can feel 100% safe using a 180AB out of your 300WM, they are absolutely devastating !

 

[chuplis]

I think the most important thing is shot placement, when you're shooting at high altitude your poi will differ from shooting at low altitude....
I've learnt my lesson during my first Elk hunt in Wyoming a few years ago, as I've been practicing and been hitting a 20" target up to 600yds at about 400 feet above sea level in California. On my 2nd day of the hunt try to take a 600yds shot at 11000 feet above sea level, my poi went very high and missed it badly.
Fortunately, I bagged my first 6x6 a few days later after I made some adjustment on my bullet drops.....
Btw, I was using a 300gr Berger bullet for my 338 Lapua and it performed very well.

 

[bigngreen]

I didn't change to the 215 because of BC, years of shooting Barnes and Accubonds we're, I got the point I had to find anything better, seeing 2-300 elk killed a season got to see trends and switching to Berger's was an immediate change, no more having to punch elk twice, no more running just bang, wobble, flop. I used to have to dispatch so many elk I carried a 22lr pistol all season, haven't dispatched an elk since the switch. BC was the bonus, it's really lethality and meat loss that has kept me shooting Berger for elk, every one in our group has switched too and no one looking to change!!
I've built more rifles for elk guides to shoot the Berger than any other bullet, I've had a one want to shoot an accubond and none asked to set up for a Barnes, the Hammers are often requested as well.

 

[Zuma]

Have taken over 60 African animals including the six most dangerous of Africa with Nosler Partitions in 300Win Mag, .30-06, 338RUM, .375H&H, .416 Rem and .460 Wby. Still one of the best bullet out there for hunting. An exception was the use of solids for Cape Buffalo, Hippo and Elephant. Last year I used the Nosler Accubond in my .30-06. They worked very well on Wildebeests and other elk size animals.
Took an Elk a few years back with a .338RUM at 450 yards with Nosler Partition, it took ten steps and fell down. Have never doubted the Nosler Partition's performance.
However, after saying that, the most important thing is bullet placement regardless of what bullet you use.

 

[freddiej]

As I hit enter and let this thread go, I'm simultaneously taking cover under my desk the way they taught us in grade school in case we got nuked by the Russians!

Seriously, I've used the search function and found tons of helpful info but new technology and bullet offerings drop nearly every week and I'm wanting the most recent opinion of those here who shoot elk on the regular.

I was very fortunate to draw what for me will be a bucket list elk tag in NM this year and I'm likely over thinking this for that reason, but here goes...

Ill be using my customized 300WM M700 w/Bartlein 10t bbl. I was told to expect shots from 50 to 500yds, with 150 to 250 being the most common and elevation ranging from 6500' to 11000'. The rifle shoots the 215 Berger amazingly well with regular fist sized groups @ 1000yds. Will the Berger be a liability under 200yds? I've also started load development with the 181 Sledge Hammers getting sub-moa results on the first outing but worry about its performance if I need to get close to my self imposed max range of 500yds.
I've killed one cow elk about 10 years ago and used a 7RM with 160 Accubonds and a perfect boiler room shot sent her running up the mountain with my only follow up being a texas heart shot stopping her immediately on impact (go figure).

I guess what I'm asking is for the people who hunt/shoot elk the way I do deer, if you get the same opportunity, what bullet are you shooting and why?

I am going to make this short as possible. while living in Montana, I did my fair share of guiding and hunting Elk, deer, and other animals. the two projectiles that never failed me were Berger hunting slugs, and Barnes X-bullets (now Barnes TSX Triple Shock X). Some of the people I guided loved Nosler Accu-Bonds and Speer "Hot Core". One or two loved the Nosler Partitions. The overwhelming chambering used was the 300 win mag, closely followed by the 338 win mag, then the 7MM rem mag. with new bullet technology I think the old names have great new slugs. I have used the Nosler .277" Accu-Bonds with tremendous success on deer. that goes for Barnes and Berger slugs as well. I am partial to Barnes and Berger they always seem to be the most accurate and the most deadly from year to year.

 

[bigngreen]

The key to easy elk killing is to shoot them through the lungs, elk don't travel far with popped lungs and loosing blood. Shooting them up the butt or through the shoulders trying to reach vitals just don't work well with anything with normal cals and chamberings you see, you can kill every elk in MT well with a 6.5 with a decent bullet through the lungs that opens and hits the of side, try to blow out shoulders I have seen everything below a 338 RUM fail to penetrate an elk shoulder, the heaviest 230 Berger I have not seen fail but I have seen numbers of the 180 Accubond fail, elk are easy to kill if you just shoot for the vitals, if you can't do that pack heavy and shoot heavy!!

 

[skipglo]

As I hit enter and let this thread go, I'm simultaneously taking cover under my desk the way they taught us in grade school in case we got nuked by the Russians!

Seriously, I've used the search function and found tons of helpful info but new technology and bullet offerings drop nearly every week and I'm wanting the most recent opinion of those here who shoot elk on the regular.

I was very fortunate to draw what for me will be a bucket list elk tag in NM this year and I'm likely over thinking this for that reason, but here goes...

Ill be using my customized 300WM M700 w/Bartlein 10t bbl. I was told to expect shots from 50 to 500yds, with 150 to 250 being the most common and elevation ranging from 6500' to 11000'. The rifle shoots the 215 Berger amazingly well with regular fist sized groups @ 1000yds. Will the Berger be a liability under 200yds? I've also started load development with the 181 Sledge Hammers getting sub-moa results on the first outing but worry about its performance if I need to get close to my self imposed max range of 500yds.
I've killed one cow elk about 10 years ago and used a 7RM with 160 Accubonds and a perfect boiler room shot sent her running up the mountain with my only follow up being a texas heart shot stopping her immediately on impact (go figure).

I guess what I'm asking is for the people who hunt/shoot elk the way I do deer, if you get the same opportunity, what bullet are you shooting and why?

Hornady 212 ELD X. Good to 1000 yrds. Great energy!

 

[trhall]

As I hit enter and let this thread go, I'm simultaneously taking cover under my desk the way they taught us in grade school in case we got nuked by the Russians!

Seriously, I've used the search function and found tons of helpful info but new technology and bullet offerings drop nearly every week and I'm wanting the most recent opinion of those here who shoot elk on the regular.

I was very fortunate to draw what for me will be a bucket list elk tag in NM this year and I'm likely over thinking this for that reason, but here goes...

Ill be using my customized 300WM M700 w/Bartlein 10t bbl. I was told to expect shots from 50 to 500yds, with 150 to 250 being the most common and elevation ranging from 6500' to 11000'. The rifle shoots the 215 Berger amazingly well with regular fist sized groups @ 1000yds. Will the Berger be a liability under 200yds? I've also started load development with the 181 Sledge Hammers getting sub-moa results on the first outing but worry about its performance if I need to get close to my self imposed max range of 500yds.
I've killed one cow elk about 10 years ago and used a 7RM with 160 Accubonds and a perfect boiler room shot sent her running up the mountain with my only follow up being a texas heart shot stopping her immediately on impact (go figure).

I guess what I'm asking is for the people who hunt/shoot elk the way I do deer, if you get the same opportunity, what bullet are you shooting and why?

I've killed elk from 150 to 639 yards with the 215 hybrid. Love it! The only one I ever shot more than once was the big bull in my avatar I killed last year. Shot him twice through the ribs across a canyon at 639 yards. He was dead after the first shot, just didn't know it. He spun and ran 20 yards then stopped so I rolled another in. Both hits were 4 inches apart on opposite sides. Lungs were totally destroyed. Like I said, he didn't need another one but I never wait for elk to fall. As long as they're standing I keep shooting. First pic is entrance side of a cow I took at 489 yards. She ran 30 yards and flopped. I have never had a 215 fail to exit. Second pic is the bull with exit from first hit and entrance 4 inches left for the second hit. It exited the opposite side.

 

[crkckr]

It's been mentioned before but you just can't say it often enough: shot placement is job 1. But elk are very tough and very tenacious about trying to stay alive. Plus the longer the range the higher the chances of the animal moving at the last second. So bullet placement in the 'perfect' spot can suddenly become a complete miss or in the worst situation, a wounded animal. In which case you want a bullet to punch all the thru giving you a nice blood trail to follow. Which is why I will only hunt big game with, A. Nosler Partitions B. The biggest practical caliber (for me that's a .338 WM). Yes, there are rifles that simply refuse to shoot them, so personally speaking, I'll sell the rifle or rebarrel it. While I don't use them, I've not been successful one time using Accubond bullets, accuracy wise in 3 different calibers. They are tough bullets, as are the A-Frames. I've seen too many Cor-loct's fail to even consider using them on anything bigger than a 'yote. Yet people kill a lot of animals every year with them, so if it works, it's hard to convince folks to not use them. Until there's that long shot and the target moves a bit! No thanks, I'll stick with Partitions because they work.
Cheers,
crkckr

 

[Lee Goodwin]

As I hit enter and let this thread go, I'm simultaneously taking cover under my desk the way they taught us in grade school in case we got nuked by the Russians!

Seriously, I've used the search function and found tons of helpful info but new technology and bullet offerings drop nearly every week and I'm wanting the most recent opinion of those here who shoot elk on the regular.

I was very fortunate to draw what for me will be a bucket list elk tag in NM this year and I'm likely over thinking this for that reason, but here goes...

Ill be using my customized 300WM M700 w/Bartlein 10t bbl. I was told to expect shots from 50 to 500yds, with 150 to 250 being the most common and elevation ranging from 6500' to 11000'. The rifle shoots the 215 Berger amazingly well with regular fist sized groups @ 1000yds. Will the Berger be a liability under 200yds? I've also started load development with the 181 Sledge Hammers getting sub-moa results on the first outing but worry about its performance if I need to get close to my self imposed max range of 500yds.
I've killed one cow elk about 10 years ago and used a 7RM with 160 Accubonds and a perfect boiler room shot sent her running up the mountain with my only follow up being a texas heart shot stopping her immediately on impact (go figure).

I guess what I'm asking is for the people who hunt/shoot elk the way I do deer, if you get the same opportunity, what bullet are you shooting and why?

Around here it is Nosler Partitions. I buy the blemished bullets and I can't tell any difference between them and the first runs. The game, once hit, does a little circle dance and then takes a dirt nap.