If you were trying to choose between the two which would you pick and why? This will be for an elk hunt and the rifle will either be a 30-06 or a 300 Winchester magnum.

I'd go with the one that shoots best in your rifle, and I'd test at 200 and 300 yds. as well before I made that decision.

Personally, I shoot 180 gr. Nosler Partitions in my 300 Win. Mag., and I'll be using the same rifle and load on two elk hunts this season, in New Mexico as well as here in Oregon.

I've ironed-out a number of bulls with the 180 Partition out of the 300 Winchester over the years, and every one of them went right down, and the bullets went clear through.

If that bullet/cartridge combo didn't work, and work superbly, I wouldn't use it, pure and simple.........

AD

quote:

I'd go with the one that shoots best in your rifle,

Sound advice there Allen.

IMO it's flip a coin time unless one of the candidates speaks more eloquently from the muzzle.

I always start with Partitions for some reason, then move on from there if they don't shoot well. I love the 180gr. NP in .30-06, drops big game like a bad habit...

This particular rifle shoots the 200 grain partition so poorly I thought I would try the Woodleigh bullet first.

choices are difficult at times, but some are easy

rickt300, Have you tired 180 gr. Nosler Partition SPs yet in your rifle? For some reason, recent batches of these have been shooting extremely well for me.

Another great bullet that some guys have wonderful accuracy results with is the Swift A-Frame in 180 and 200 gr. weights.

I'd also order a box of 180 gr. North Fork: http://www.northforkbullets.com

Personally, I haven't tried the 180 gr. Woodleigh in my 300 Win., but I've tried Woodleigh 250s in my 338 Win., and they really shoot.

I'm not sure whne your elk season is, but you may have time to experiment with some of these as well.

AD

I think Allen gave some genuinely good advice about using the one bullet that shoots most accurately from your rifle. In elk hunting bullets in 300 Win Mag (180) and 338 Win Mag (225), I have had the best accuracy out of the Northfork and the Barnes TSX. However, all the above mentioned bullets (to include Failsafe) will do a great job on any large North American game.

G'day, Either of the projectiles you mention will do fine, for the task you have mentioned. If you use Woodleighs, make sure you check the velocity range the projectile is designed for (it is printed on the side of the box), as they make 30 cals for both the 30-06 class, and the 30 magnums.

Cheers, Dave.
Non Illegitium Carborundum.

quote:

Originally posted by rickt300:
This particular rifle shoots the 200 grain partition so poorly I thought I would try the Woodleigh bullet first.

I have said it on other posts, why not try some 180 grain Swift A Frames. I have had several one shot kills on elk size antelope in Africa with my M70 300 Win Mag. All retrieved bullets have shown perfect expansion with 98% weight retention.

I looked into the Swift bullets and feel 40 dollars for 50 was a bit high since Speer hotcor bullets worked well enough the next step up wpuldn't have to be such an expensive ojne.

What's cost of the Elk hunt?

I agree with Jim.

Don't step over a dollar to pick up a dime when it comes to bullet cost, especially on elk hunts and such. The savings are never worth it........

Woodleighs, which you're considering, can't cost a whole lot less than Swift A-Frames, I don't think.

AD

Cost of the hunt will be airfare and a tag. I never bought into that line of reasoning though. Any bullet with reasonable construction from Corelokts to the highest dollar bullet will work for the shots I will take. I won't take rear end shots and avoid the shoulder no matter what so my elk go down pretty quick if I get expansion and adequate penetration. Adequate means to the other side of the animal. If I don't get the shot I want then thats fine, it's hunting not necessarily killing.

quote:

Originally posted by allen day:
I agree with Jim.

Don't step over a dollar to pick up a dime when it comes to bullet cost, especially on elk hunts and such. The savings are never worth it........

Woodleighs, which you're considering, can't cost a whole lot less than Swift A-Frames, I don't think.

AD

This has been my reasoning and it's difficult to argue with.

A guy does a $5,000 hunt with a box of corelokts and the cost of a premium bullet is $1 each.

I still have 200 grain A-Frames for my .300 H&H and I bought them three years ago. 50 rounds is a lifetime supply for some folks...about ten years for me.

That's dirt cheap in my book.

I think the sage summary advice is pick any good bullet that works in your rifle and don't worry about the cost. Also from my experience having faith in one's rifle,load and bullet make a big difference. My Model 70 .300 H&H really likes the 180 grain Nosler partitions and I have never had anything but great sucess with this bullet so my confidence is high and I think that it matters.

I agree with the sage advice in finding the bullet your rifle likes best and not worrying too much about cost. I have spent way more money on speeding tickets on the way to a hunt. My model 70 .300 H&H loves the Nosler partition and I ahve used Noslers for most of my hunting. I think having confidence in one's rifle,load and bullet gives a great benifit when hunting. Most of the good bullets are just that,good.

quote:

Originally posted by rickt300:
If you were trying to choose between the two which would you pick and why? This will be for an elk hunt and the rifle will either be a 30-06 or a 300 Winchester magnum.

No doubt: Partitions, because Woodleigh ist too soft!

I've used the 180 Partition on several elk and it works. It also is very accurate in my 30-06. I can't fathom needing more. I have no experience with the Woodleigh's so can't speak to them directly, but I'm of the opinion most bonded bullets are overrated and over priced underachievers designed to appeal to folks who worship at the altar of retained weight and think bullets should look like advertising photo's after the kill. Most of them over-expand, limiting penetration while not giving the grenade effect of bullets like the Partition.

I like them both, the Woodleigh would be better if it were more streamlined, but a good bullet. Use the one that shoots best in your rifle & not worry.

Woodleigh. Why? Because Midway has them on sale..

Seriously hard to go wrong with either one.

What exactly is special about the Woodleigh bullets?

They have a bonded core.

I'd pick whatever shoots as has been said many times.
My .338 shoots the Woodleighs so they overlap each other at 100 yards. They retain a lot of weight and mushroom nicely. The one HUGE difference in them is the weldcore is basically the first "bonded core" bullet and they perfected it before Nosler,Hornady, Speer and others. It works beautifully when it's driven at the recommended velocity. Make sure you note the recommended velocity.
If your rifle doesn't like Nosler Partitions then I'd definately try the Woodleighs! Depending on the hunt though I might even lean toward an XLC or TSX from Barnes. I'm liking them more and more.
Check this out Woodleighs web page Nate

Thanks for the link, made my decision the Woodleigh's are not what I want. I can get that performance out of Hornady interloks or Speer hotcor's. I'll shoot them though but not at elk.

That surprises me. The way I see it, they retain about 20% more weight than a Partition, and expand to a larger frontal dia. and avoid penciling through. On elk I'd imagine it's quite rare NOT to get a pass through. Even through shoulders if it gets them both it would probably go through.

I'm a fan of them, but I have no qualms about using some others that have worked well. The newer Barnes Xes seem to work much better than the earlier versions, and although I haven't gotten to use them on game enough to really ring them out, they seem to have a better wound channel now.
To me the difference between any of these three is pretty dang small. I doubt you'd be able to tell much of a difference in the field. Nate