looking for help with bullet choice

[hesse]

hi all I am looking for help with bullet choice for my 300 wsm I shoot 165 grain sst with great success . I am looking to use 165 gmx or 180 grain nosler E tip. for my elk hunt in Idaho this fall has anyone use these on elk and how was the performance. thanks for the help Hesse

 

[Mtngoat690]

I haven't used the bullets mentioned, but I've had great success with the nosler 165's and 180 accubonds. I'm also quite fond of the nosler partitions as well in the same weights. Pick a few bullets you want to use and see what shoots best in your rifle. To be completely honest I've probably shot more elk with regular old soft points in the 180 grain versions and have been more than happy with their performance.

 

[Timber338]

I would recommend you shoot the heaviest bullet that your gun shoots well. Elk are big animals, and I would personally not hunt them with a 165 grain bullet unless it was all copper like a Barnes TTSX.

The 180 Accubond would be an excellent choice. 200 Accubond would be even better. I have seen some pretty big elk fall to the 200 Accubond.

 

[hesse]

yes both bullets the e tip and the gmx are full copper bullet . Barnes bullets don't shoot very well thru my gun or I would use them. thanks for your help

 

[Deleted member 46119]

IIWM: Anything 185grains and up. Partitions, Accubonds or A-Frames.

If you want to shoot lead free though, IIWM 175, 200 LRX or CEB Lasers https://cuttingedgebullets.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?search=action&category=3308 in either of the 180s.

 

[Rick Richard]

Berger makes a 185 grain hybrid that shoots great out of my 300 WSM. With the experience I've had and others with the Berger Hybrids, I would not hesitate to shoot it at any game. Other than that the Accubonds and the Barnes products would be my next choice.

 

[jonthomps]

The 180gr Nosler Accubond mentioned above is a great elk bullet!

 

[FEENIX]

I would recommend you shoot the heaviest bullet that your gun shoots well. Elk are big animals, and I would personally not hunt them with a 165 grain bullet unless it was all copper like a Barnes TTSX.

The 180 Accubond would be an excellent choice. 200 Accubond would be even better. I have seen some pretty big elk fall to the 200 Accubond.

+1 on the heaviest bullet recommendation. In 2013, my hunting buddy shot a bull elk just shy of 400 yards with HSM' s 180 Berger VLD in .300 Win Mag - DRT. With just a few minutes apart, I was also blessed with a bull elk. Shot him at 931 yards with 190 Berger VLD also .300 Win Mag, however, he managed to run ~200 yards before expiring.

Three weeks earlier, my other hunting buddy, shot a bull elk using factory 180 Barnes TTSX in .300 Win Mag. It took 3 shots on vital area to finally drop him.

IMHHO, all bullets used performed as advertised, but the elk expired differently.

I will be loading 210s and 215s for my .300 WSM for this season.

Good luck and happy safe shooting/hunting.

 

[Dosh]

hesse, I loaded 185 Bergers for my friend's 300WSM 26" Savage 111. This rifle shot them sub MOA at 200, but at 3,4,5 and 600 it got even better. We had tried several other weight bullets, but not even close.

 

[COBrad]

I had a Kimber .300 WSM that shot the Barnes 168 gr bullets especially well. They were very effective on elk. One cow I shot ranged at 292 yards. A high shoulder shot broke both shoulders and the spinal column, dropping her in her tracks. She had just came up out of a nasty place I couldn't get a pack horse into and I didn't want her running back down that draw.