i am helping a friend set up a weatherby in 300 win mag for elk and would like to know what bullet would be reliable. he says he might shoot as far as 500 yards. bullet may possibly hit a heavy shoulder bone on entrance. for those of you that have killed elk and know everything does'nt always go perfectly what bullet would you use. thank you for your advice.

I don't like to get into bullet discussions.
I'll make a generalized statement. Try Swift Scirocco or A-frame, Barnes Triple Shock and TTSX. Either 180 or 200 gr. I happen to prefer
180gr. See which one your weapon likes the best and practice. This is not to say there are not other good prospects out there, there are.
You are literally asking a loaded question.

I have used the 180gr Nosler Partition on two 5X5 bulls with good results.

I used a 185 Berger on my elk last year and will be switching to Hornady ELD-X. 100 yard broadside shot with no pass through. I was not impressed.

If the prospect of long distance and shoulder bone shots is on the menu I would only consider the 180 grain TTSX.
This bullet will expand and exit. My personal feeling is that a Partition is a great bullet but seems soft, lots of people recover their Partitions from the offside skin, out of a dozen rifles I have one that shoots partitons under an inch and that's not good enough for me to use them. Accubonds are great too, very accurate but if the thought of busting a shoulder on a mature Bull is part of the plan the Barnes is truly the performer.

I have been using both 165 and 168 grain Barnes out of my 300 Weatherby, either of those or a 180 grain Barnes TSX should work well in the .300 Win. Mag.

Best bet would be to try the different weights/styles and see what the gun likes best.

My Elk hunting group of 15 hunted Colorado for 23 years near Craig. 8 of those shot 300 Winnie's and took over 200 Bulls and a few cows. The load 180 gr. Nosler Partitions or Northforks at 3100 fps. RL-22 was the magic powder used along with Federal 210M or 215M primers. We had other buddies from all over the Country that shot the same load over those years. This way we did it for what it is worth. Good Shooting.

My preference is the 180 gr Barnes TSX with RL 22 powder. 20 years ago my answer would have been the Nosler Partition, and it still is an acceptable choice, just no longer the very best. No question there are many quality bullets available today, and few people get to try every viable option in the field. I have at least 20 elk kills with the TSX at ranges from 50 yards out to 550, with great performance. I shot a few with the Hornady GMX, which is similar, but see no reason to change from the TSX as my rifle shoots them very well and terminal performance is exceptional.
Bill

I prefer the 180 gr Barnes TSX out of my 300 Win Mag for elk. Around 71-72 grains of any 4350 should get you to about 3100 fps, which is plenty good medicine for elk.

Good luck!

After a 180gr C/L blew up on a cows ribs at 200yds I went to 200gr Game Kings myself.
Turned out they shoot half the size of groups on paper too. Amazed myself to make an inch 3 shot group at 200. Had to verify it, just barely over an inch. Whole lot better results too.

Anyone that shoots eating game in the shoulder needs his license pulled! No excuse in wasting meat that way. That's what the big ribs target is for!! No meat damage thru the ribs.
George

Phil, as has been stated, lots of good options out there. personally i'd look at the a-frame, barnes options, or nosler accubond in a weight the rifle likes. if long range is the thought, the accubond may be a good choice.

touchdown88: have you had experience with the ELD-x? i have not been reading good things as far as the bullets holding together and actually exiting. also a friend of mine tried one on a mule deer this past season in his 6.5 creedmoor and was not impressed at all with the bullets toughness. apparently it just went to pieces. i have no personal experience with them however.

quote:

Originally posted by touchdown88:
I used a 185 Berger on my elk last year and will be switching to Hornady ELD-X. 100 yard broadside shot with no pass through. I was not impressed.

Did it kill the Elk??

I've used the Hornady 180 on many elk and it always does it's job.

quote:

Originally posted by touchdown88:
I used a 185 Berger on my elk last year and will be switching to Hornady ELD-X. 100 yard broadside shot with no pass through. I was not impressed.

That's been the issue with Berger bullets. They have a fairly narrow range of velocity in which they operate well and close shots on elk falls outside their range.

OP, Barnes 168 TTSX will shoot through elk like most 180's. If you want a 180 I'd try the Partition. If you want a 200, I'd try an Accubond. These three bullets have been used extensively by me and with 100% positive results.

Zeke

thank you all for your input on this question.

quote:

Originally posted by OLBIKER:

quote:

Originally posted by touchdown88:
I used a 185 Berger on my elk last year and will be switching to Hornady ELD-X. 100 yard broadside shot with no pass through. I was not impressed.

Did it kill the Elk??

It died after 4 shots.......

Two broke the left shoulder, one broke the right shoulder, and one behind the ribs on the right side quartering away.

I also shot a whitetail with the combo last fall at 350 yards. The first shot was on the move and 6" behind the right shoulder with no exit. Second dropped him DRT with a shot behind the shoulder but still no exit.

It seems like I'm complaining a lot about the Berger bullets but I've taken a bull moose, bull elk, mule deer and whitetail with them. They shoot great in my gun but I just dont perform all that well once they make impact.

quote:

Originally posted by cooperjd:
Phil, as has been stated, lots of good options out there. personally i'd look at the a-frame, barnes options, or nosler accubond in a weight the rifle likes. if long range is the thought, the accubond may be a good choice.

touchdown88: have you had experience with the ELD-x? i have not been reading good things as far as the bullets holding together and actually exiting. also a friend of mine tried one on a mule deer this past season in his 6.5 creedmoor and was not impressed at all with the bullets toughness. apparently it just went to pieces. i have no personal experience with them however.

I'm gonna do some testing with them this summer. My next choice would be the CEB Lazer bullets. I might try them also.

Some that have not been mentioned are the 146g, 150gr and 160gr HV from GS Custom Bullets. Match the twist and distance of your 300 to the appropriate bullet and it is time for the skinning knife.

The 300 Win Mag has the shortest bullet protrusion from the case of most .30" calibers and the 146gr HV was specifically developed for this. For most of the other 300s, the 160gr HV bullet works very well.

For over 20 years, 180 grain Nosler Partitions at 300 Win velocities kept my freezer full of elk meat.

Since I started using my 300 Weatherby for elk, I've used 168 grain Barnes TSX and TTSX bullets with excellent results. This year I'll probably
use a 180 grain TTSX bullet for my elk.

I didn't really know how to hunt elk when I shot my first bull elk in 1966, and that was the only time that I ever took a shot at an elk at over 300 yards.

I've only killed one big cow elk with a 30 cal, it was in a 30-06 using the old Hornady Light Magnum 180SP @ 2910 ( in that rifle). that's 300 H&H speed. At 135 steps I knocked her down with a spine shot ( bullet wadded up/stayed in spine. 2nd shot was high lung and stopped against far ribs, completely fragmented. I did get to use a 300 win mag with 180XBT (late 90s)at 3100 with R22 on a few African hunts. Though I used a couple different rifles I also used my friends 300WM. We killed and I saw killed kudu, blue wildebeest, zebra, red hartebeest, then went to Namibia and shot a dozen (our party) Gemsbuck. In between we shot a bunch of deer sized critters. It was awesome and the newer TSX/TTSX should do as well or better. have a ball.

Use the 180 grain bullet that shoots best in the rifle. (Hint: It probably won't be a monometal bullet.) Any of them will do just fine, but if your friend thinks he might shoot "up to 500 yards" he needs to reconsider whether he wants to actually take an elk or just shoot at one.

If they shoot well in the rifle, why reinvent the wheel? 180-200 Nosler Partition.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
Use the 180 grain bullet that shoots best in the rifle. (Hint: It probably won't be a monometal bullet.) Any of them will do just fine, but if your friend thinks he might shoot "up to 500 yards" he needs to reconsider whether he wants to actually take an elk or just shoot at one.

Hint: You're probably wrong.

I've hears many, more experienced elk hunters ( actually elk killers as I have hunted far more than I've killed elk, ha) comment that a 300 Winmag can be considered a 500yd elk round and a 300 RUM a 700yd elk round. I don't know as I never kill game past 375yds or so. I've had both rounds and I used the 180 in the Winmag but the 200AB in the RUM ( my son in law put a Husqemaw dialamatic type scope on his, kills elk to 440 "easily" with it. A 300 Winmag would do the same.

It's obvious to me that some of the responders on this thread have never killed a bull elk. K.I.S.S. 180 or 200 gr. Nosler Partition. Barnes TSX if you like.
Any old 180 gr. bullet will not be good.

quote:

Originally posted by swampshooter:
It's obvious to me that some of the responders on this thread have never killed a bull elk. K.I.S.S. 180 or 200 gr. Nosler Partition. Barnes TSX if you like.
Any old 180 gr. bullet will not be good.

It depends more on where you place your bullets.

I killed my first elk, a 5x5 bull, with a borrowed .30-40 Krag and whatever factory bullets that came with that rifle.

I killed my next 7 bulls and a cow with either 150 grain Hornady Spire point or 180 grain Sierra GameKing bullets. That included a one shot kill on a 375" bull.

My next elk was a 330" bull that I killed with a single 117 grain Sierra GameKing bullet from my .257 Ackley.

The next year I stated using 180 grain Nosler Partitions because I had my .30-06 rechambered to .30 Gibbs and I thought the partitions would hold up better to the increased velocity.

Also, all of the elk that I have shot were on DIY hunts, and most were on public land.

quote:

Originally posted by graybird:

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
Use the 180 grain bullet that shoots best in the rifle. (Hint: It probably won't be a monometal bullet.) Any of them will do just fine, but if your friend thinks he might shoot "up to 500 yards" he needs to reconsider whether he wants to actually take an elk or just shoot at one.

Hint: You're probably wrong.

Yes, I'm probably wrong. Just look at how many monometal bullets are winning benchrest matches.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:

quote:

Originally posted by graybird:

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
Use the 180 grain bullet that shoots best in the rifle. (Hint: It probably won't be a monometal bullet.) Any of them will do just fine, but if your friend thinks he might shoot "up to 500 yards" he needs to reconsider whether he wants to actually take an elk or just shoot at one.

Hint: You're probably wrong.

Yes, I'm probably wrong. Just look at how many monometal bullets are winning benchrest matches.

I wouldn't argue with using "the 180 grain bullet that shoots best in the rifle" as long is it is a hunting bullet.

I'm not sure that target bullets that are winning benchrest matches are the best bullets to kill elk with.

If they shoot well in the rifle the barnes bullets would be pretty reliable from any angle at any velocity.

Early on in the 60s I guess I used the 180 Nosler partitions in my 300s and I had to shoot twice more than I cared to do but never lost one for sure...I switched to the 200 gr. Nosler partions sometime after that and never used another bullet for elk, mostly in my mod. 70 300 H&H..It performed to suit me better as I got a higher percentage of pass throughs..I love that caliber and that bullet..Great elk killer.

The past 10 or so years Ive used the .338 Win with 210 Noslers, 225 Accubonds and 300 gr. Woodleighs..this is the perfect elk rifle IMO. I gave the .340 a try but it didn't suit me as well. I also like the 9.3x62 but the .338 ranges it quit a bit it seems.

Is the 338 better than my 300s with 200 gr. Noslers..hard to say, but I think it is...I wouldn't run out and sell a good 300 just to get a .338, 9.3 or 375 however. If I were in buying a new elk rifle I would opt for the .338. unless I found a deal on a pre 64 300 H&H at a great price!!

thank you all for the input. my friend wanted a rifle for mainly deer but would also work for elk.we live in the south east so the vast majority of our hunting is for whitetails. i got it together and shot it this morning. it's an moa vanguard. only shot two groups. 74 & 75grs of reloder 22 with 165 gamekings. .010 off the lands and both were better than 1/2 inch. still have to run it over the chrono and test some more and then i'll see what it likes that will work for elk. for a dedicated elk rifle i would choose a .338.

IN any of the 300s I would use only a Nosler partition or accubond of at least 180 grs. but prefer the 200 gr....The 200 gr. partition works extremely well on deer BTW, or load the 150 gr. Accubond down to about 2800 FPS for a perfect deer load.

quote:

Originally posted by buffybr:

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:

quote:

Originally posted by graybird:

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
Use the 180 grain bullet that shoots best in the rifle. (Hint: It probably won't be a monometal bullet.) Any of them will do just fine, but if your friend thinks he might shoot "up to 500 yards" he needs to reconsider whether he wants to actually take an elk or just shoot at one.

Hint: You're probably wrong.

Yes, I'm probably wrong. Just look at how many monometal bullets are winning benchrest matches.

I wouldn't argue with using "the 180 grain bullet that shoots best in the rifle" as long is it is a hunting bullet.

I'm not sure that target bullets that are winning benchrest matches are the best bullets to kill elk with.

Hint: Who gives a crap about what bullets are winning benchrest matches, we're talking about killing elk, correct? So, those benchrest bullets, how do they perform on elk?

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
IN any of the 300s I would use only a Nosler partition or accubond of at least 180 grs. but prefer the 200 gr....The 200 gr. partition works extremely well on deer BTW, or load the 150 gr. Accubond down to about 2800 FPS for a perfect deer load.

I tried a pile of different powders and primers trying to find a load for the 180 grain Partition in my 300 Win Mag. I could never get the accuracy I was looking for. Great bullet, my rifle just didn't care for them.

I'd second what most of these guys say about TTSXs. However, with deer as the primary quarry, with elk a side dish, consider 150 grainers. I shoot them in my .300 WSM with excellent results. I haven't shot a bull elk, but I've killed two very tough gemsbok with this bullet over Re19. Neither stopped the TTSX. I really like this combo and will soon be having my new Leupold CDS set up for it.

quote:

Originally posted by graybird:


I tried a pile of different powders and primers trying to find a load for the 180 grain Partition in my 300 Win Mag. I could never get the accuracy I was looking for. Great bullet, my rifle just didn't care for them.

This has been my experience as well with Partitions in 2 - 30/06's, a 300 Win Mag, .338 Win Mag, .284, .243, .257 Roberts, and 22/250.
My oldest boy has a 30/06 that shoots them well enough. In all the other rifles I ended up with Sierra's, Accubonds or Barnes that are very accurate.

As Desert Ram suggests if shooting a monometal 150, 165, 168 or 180 would all fill the bill for Deer and Elk, whichever weight your rifle prefers. Even the light Mono's penetrate very well.

???Ive always found Noslers to be extremely accurate, both the partitions and especially the Accubond, and I use them more than any other bullet..but a rifle is an inity unto itself Ive been told..

I will be using 180 grain Swift A Frames in my 300 Win Mag this year. They did an outstanding job on Kudu, Gemsbok, Waterbuck, and Eland.

I've found IF your gun don't shoot some particular bullet like it should. It's most likely your bullet doesn't match the twist. OR there's some problem with the muzzle.

Compare the bullet weight charts, MEASURE your twist!! Use a bullet that fits that twist and you should have a shooter. IF it still don't. Most likely it's YOUR screwed up shooting. Bad scope, or loose screws in the mounting system.

Fix those things and you'll be in good shape.

George

quote:

Originally posted by RAR60:
I don't like to get into bullet discussions.
I'll make a generalized statement. Try Swift Scirocco or A-frame, Barnes Triple Shock and TTSX. Either 180 or 200 gr. I happen to prefer
180gr. See which one your weapon likes the best and practice. This is not to say there are not other good prospects out there, there are.
You are literally asking a loaded question.

Yep, whatever shoots best. I'd throw in Northfork and Woodleigh in there as well.