Bullet Choice for Elk

[treillw]

What bullets are you guys using for elk? I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with a .300 win mag or .300 WSM for my build. My family has always used Hornady Interlock BTSP bullets with great success. We've killed about 4 elk with our little .243s at relatively close range and they do a number on the deer back home in PA. We're not crazy about the bullets that don't fragment as much - my dad shot an elk 4 or 5 times in the vitals with Barns X-bullets out of his 7mm-08 @ ~100 yards before it died and has never used them since. What do you like for elk?

Are the interlocks well suited for long range? The .405 BC doesn't sound too hot.

Hornady Manufacturing Company :: Bullets :: Rifle :: Choose by Caliber :: .243 6mm :: 6mm .243 100 gr InterLock® BTSP

 

[ShtrRdy]

For the 300 Win Mag, there has been a lot of positive experiences discussed on this forum using a Berger 210 gr VLD hunting or 215 gr Hybrid. Some of the pictures of internal damage are impressive.

 

[WildRose]

What bullets are you guys using for elk? I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with a .300 win mag or .300 WSM for my build. My family has always used Hornady Interlock BTSP bullets with great success. We've killed about 4 elk with our little .243s at relatively close range and they do a number on the deer back home in PA. We're not crazy about the bullets that don't fragment as much - my dad shot an elk 4 or 5 times in the vitals with Barns X-bullets out of his 7mm-08 @ ~100 yards before it died and has never used them since. What do you like for elk?

Are the interlocks well suited for long range? The .405 BC doesn't sound too hot.

Hornady Manufacturing Company :: Bullets :: Rifle :: Choose by Caliber :: .243 6mm :: 6mm .243 100 gr InterLock® BTSP

The original Barnes X was designed specifically not to expand much at all in very high velocity cartridges and basically acted like a solid at lower velocities.

The Interlock is a good bullet but there are better, higher BC bullets out there for long range.

If you can find some Interbonds out there still on the shelf that's an excellent choice.

What caliber and what range are you considering?

 

[jpd676]

I shoot the 208 Amax in my 300wm (and am doing load development in my 300 wsm with them). I have killed elk at 60 yards out to 725 with the Amax and it was one and done every time. I even shoot the 208 in my .308 and killed a cow last year at 300 yards. They have great BC's, are easy to load for, are very accurate and kill very quickly. The Berger bullets are also excellent for long range elk, or close.

 

[Rick Richard]

Not a 300, but a 7LRM shooting a 180 grain Berger Hybrid. Dropped an elk this year at 650 yards in his tracks.

Shot a buck last year with 300 mag at 200 plus yards with a 215 Berger Hybrid and dropped in his tracks. Yeah, a little over kill for deer but what a mess it did to the internals.

Strong believer in Berger since it gets the job done and is great for long range use.

 

[FEENIX]

What bullets are you guys using for elk? I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with a .300 win mag or .300 WSM for my build.

I'm currently using 215 Berger; 2750 out of 24" with RL-17.

 

[veezer]

Another vote for the Hornady 208 Amax. Have killed 2 elk and a bear at 500 yards and dropped them in their tracks out of a 300 WSM. Shot deer at close range and was devastating as well.

As someone told me long ago...."Amax's kill **** dead!"

 

[Scot E]

How far are you going to be shooting?

The Interlocks are awesome performance wise. We have had great luck with them. But you just need to know their limits. In the right gun and cartridge out to 500 yards is very doable which realistically takes care of most shots on elk unless you are really just looking for LR shots specifically.

I would figure out your realistic shooting distance for the places you hunt and your skill level and then run the interlock and a high BC bullet of your choice through a ballistic calculator and compare them. You will see the distance where separation in performance and flight starts to occur and can decide from there.

Good Luck!

 

[Scot E]

Another vote for the Hornady 208 Amax. Have killed 2 elk and a bear at 500 yards and dropped them in their tracks out of a 300 WSM. Shot deer at close range and was devastating as well.

As someone told me long ago...."Amax's kill **** dead!"

Agree with this!

I love Amax's for hunting. They are my go to bullet for deer. You just have to make sure you are using heavy for caliber bullets. Most of the bad stories you hear about using Amax bullets for hunting are from the light weight bullets.

For elk it gets more iffy for me but would consider using the 30 cal 208 grain Amax under the right conditions.

Scot

 

[bigngreen]

The 215 Berger is as good as I've seen, right now the only other 30 cal I'll load for elk is a 230 Berger.

 

[North Idaho Hunter]

4 kills on elk this year with the 215 hybrid out of the 300 WM. shots from 160 to 504. All one shot, 2 DRT, the other two didnt make it more then 75 yards.

 

[treillw]

How far are you going to be shooting?

As far as I can with my skills and rifle when I get it built. Just say 1000 for a number - that's kinda been my goal. Hopefully I only have to shoot 50 yards

 

[jpd676]

I'm currently using 215 Berger; 2750 out of 24" with RL-17.

Feenix, that is a smoking load for a 300 wsm! How does Re-17 do with this caliber with temperature changes? Is your ES/SD good? I've been doing load development with W760 (because I have a keg) but it hasn't been consistent and I'm looking for something else to try in a 300 WSM.

Thanks

 

[Scot E]

As far as I can with my skills and rifle when I get it built. Just say 1000 for a number - that's kinda been my goal. Hopefully I only have to shoot 50 yards

The tough part about long range hunting is that it hard to find a setup that works well at all distances. You really have to prepare for what is needed for the long shots and manage the weaknesses that may come at closer distances. The interlocks are out for the LR stuff you mentioned.

So a couple options. You can use 2 bullets, one for up close and one for your LR stuff. Or you can find your LR bullet then deal with what MAY happen up close.

I have one gun that will shoot the BTSP interlocks to nearly the same POI as my LR bullet. So I sight in for my LR bullet and just know I can shoot to 350 yards or so with the BTSP with no concerns. This isn't always easy to get to happen though and you may have to adjust your turrets for each bullet which isn't hard but is a step you can screw up and blow an opportunity.

I would agree with Bigngreen the 215 grain berger is a good place to start. If you can get them to shoot they will be what you need for your LR stuff and have enough weight that if they expand a bit too much up close you still have enough weight to get sufficient penetration.

Good Luck!