You guys with experience shooting elk. Would a 180 grain Sierra SPBT GameKing be acceptable loaded up in a 30-06 at ~ 2750 fps?

Thanks,
ASS_CLOWN

I think the 200 grain BTSP gameking would be better. The Speer 200 grain spitzer Hotcor flat base would be my reccomendation though.

Keep your shots smart and it will do just fine. Don't try anything fancy, just heart/lung boiler room or a spine shot if that is all that is presented. Don't go for a Texas heart shot or anything like that. I killed elk with my 30-06 using 180 grain loads from Core-lokt to Speer to TSX and they work just fine.

You're kiddin' right????????


http://www.accuratereloading.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=758601&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=21&fpart=1

Gentlemen,

Thank you for your comments, please keep them coming.

POP,
No I am not kidding. I realize that you don't think the Sierra bullets are good hunting bullets, but your thread seemed to me anyway, to deal with larger more powerful cartridges than the 30-06 (like your 378 Weatherby). I have no experience with the 30-06 on elk.

Actually my only "small" bore experience with hunting elk is with a 30-40 Krag when I was a kid shooting 220 gr round noses Remington factory ammo, the 30-30 Win shooting 170 grain pills, again primarily factory ammo, and the 300 Weatherby mag. Of those three the 300 Weatherby is the ONLY one to fail to bring down the elk, in a manner which allowed me to tag it. In other words I lost the one and only elk I shot with the 300 Weatherby. The range was very long and the shot should never have been taken. I was younger and dumber back in those days, and it was the only elk I saw after stomping around the Colorado Rockies for 5 days.

The vast majority of my elk hunting has been done with a 416 Rigby shooting, 340 gr Woodleigh (good bullet), 300 grain Barnes "X" bullet (POS bullet IMHO), and the 350 grain Speer MagTip (good bullet and the best for cost to benefit ratio). This year I will shoot an elk with the 500 AHR and a 570 gr Woodleigh, God willing and the river don't rise.

The 30-06 related question is for a friend, who is new to hunting and doesn't reload. I will reload the '06 for him and have an abundance of 180 gr Sierra SPBT GameKings. This fact, couple with my first hand lack of experience with said bullet on elk (and cartridge for that matter), prompted me to ask my question. The question was solely asked in an attempt to understand IF this particular Sierra bullet & cartridge combination would be suitable for the quarry of question (namely elk cows).

ASS_CLOWN

Cow elk, sure, but a big bull, especially up close, not my choice. Yes we all know it's shot placement, but that's where "better" bullets come into play. It's the just in case factor, bull in the shadows, not quite as broadside as you thought, takes a step as you fire, bullet a bit to far forward or high or whatever. This is where semi-prem. or premiums come into play, insurance baby!

A lot of years ago i also made a foolishly long shot on an Elk, due to frustration and my superior attitude about my shooting and reloading abilities.
Ruger M77, 7mm rem mag, 160gr Nosler partition....450 yds. The Bull flinched and humped at the shot, then ran off with the herd. I recovered the animal 1/2 hour later. Only because other hunters spooked the herd back in my direction as i followed them.
The heavily constructed Nosler had broken a rib, made a 7mm hole in the upper lobe of a lung and exited higher, between two upper ribs, same size exit hole. Too much range, lack of velocity etc taught me some humility.
The next morning i watched while my partner decked a nice Bull with his 270 and 150gr Hornady at 125 yds. Jellied the lungs and left a golfball sized hole out the off side ribs.
Within reason, its where you hit, not so much what your shooting

AC: Read my posts on that thread. I do have several examples on there with non-magnum chamberings and Sierras.....

True Hound, but maybe a bigger bullet, say .338, might have done alittle more damage & your elk drops earlier, maybe.

A few years ago I bonked a nice 5x6 Roosevelt with 180 spbt gamekings out of my 300 win. It was a hot load around 3100 fps at about 150 yards quartering away. It plowed right through and out the shoulder. It amazes me that using ballistic tips on elk gets less people fired up than using a sierra hunting bullet. At '06 velocities I wouldn't think twice about using a 180 grain cup and core bullet. Or go buy some Horny interlocks or Corelocks for cheap and most people will stop whinning. Or use a semi solid for a buck a bullet and impress a few more people. I honestly believe the perfect bullet is somewhere between the "blow up bullets" and the "pencil through bullets." Like maybe a horny, corelock, speer, SIERRA, powerpoint and yes a partition.

Heh Heh.....
Maybe a .50 huh? So damn many variables, but i knew too many guys that got a bigger gun every time they screwed up I guided and hunted in very open high country, too many long shots to mess with them loopy "howitzers" and too much weight Always kinda liked the .338 tho.

Hound,
The range was over 600 yards. The bullet a 180 grain Nosler Partition. We found blood and the animal moved (twitched/jumped/hopped/whatever the heck you wanna call it). I am not sure how good a hit it was, and I am NOT proud of the fact I took the shot!

I will not shoot at an animal that is over 150 yards out with the 500 AHR. Actually, my preference is to have them under 75 yards, and under 50 makes me REAL happy.

ASS_CLOWN

It should be a done deal if you get one of those honkin big slugs into an Elks boiler room
Actually i think an .06 with 180's would be a perfectly fine Elk tamer, any size too. I have seen numerous Elk and Moose anchored with that load. I also cut my shootin teeth on Jack OConner. My first "real" rifle, after a succession of 30-30's and 303's was a Winchester 270 in 1966. It dispatched numerous Elk, Deer, Bear and Moose. Most of them with 130 gr Hornady's ahead of a "caseful" (59-1/2 grains depending on the case )of H 4831. Never had a problem and jellied lots of hearts and lungs, mind you i lived in Northern and Western Alberta where game was plentiful in those days and you did not have to take any chancey shots.

I've never shot an elk, but I have shot some feral cattle about the same size. Federal's 180-gr. Trophy Bonded load and Remington's 220-gr. CoreLokt worked fine. I suspect either would beat the Game King on a raking shot. If your buddy holds out for a broadside shot, the Game King will probably do.

Hope this helps, Okie John.

I hope to get a chance to try out either hornady 180 interbonds or some old Win 180 Silvertips from my 30-06 for this years elk season. They are the ones rated for CXP 3 (elk moose or brown bear). Either should be good for penetration at the normal 30-06 velocity. I am hoping for a close in shot so the 180's. In the past I have used hot loads with Nosler 165 Partitions in areas where a long shot was a possible choice Old Core lokts in 180 have been good for moose.