I've shot elk with a 405gr projectile and had no exit and was underwelmed so big and heavy don't always win the race
I trust this members experience and judgement fully
The TSX is the best option, especially for exits, from that point you start to determine which you can drive the fastest and remain stable. My suggestion would be the 185TSX
The Priority should be speed with the TSX, they faster they go the better they work. I have not yet seen where you can have them arrive with too much velocity. Unlike lead core bullets which can disintegrate, the TSX even losing petals is going to blow right through.
Exits and visible blood cannot be understated. Nobody should spend a day looking for game when they can be hunting. Herd animals stampede out after a shot like an explosion. They leave a mushroom cloud of dust to settle behind them. Sorting out the tracks without blood is a bugger. The advantage of making two holes to find the game quickly is critical many times.
The two bullets I have seen used most are the 210 and 250 partition.
The 185TSX is a distant third for frequency of use. However the performance seen with this much lighter faster bullet was significant. The only bullet recovered from my memory was a single bullet with only one full petal and a part of a second. The internal damage from all game killed and the exits were impressive.
The Noslers also do a fine job, but having seen both I would choose the TSX if they shoot well in your gun. Several of the hunters could not get the TSX to shoot well with the handloads they tried and stuck with Partitions for that reason. There is nothing wrong and you're not short handed with the partitions, I especially like the 210. But after seeing the results with the 185.......... well it was decisive and lots of blood compared to single entry holes. Partitions did not exit as often and that is the key advantage IMO.
I don't care if they lose the petals half way through the animal. They drive straight through and exit. The loss of petals inside is no different then the Partition losing the front half.
The advantage is that the "wad cutter" TSX that exits is better then the mushroomed partition that does not exit. Two holes have so many advantages in finding the game after the shot.
I use a 30/06 with 165gr TSX for all my personal Plains game hunting and it's the loaner for many of my hunters. It's had a long history of success with to my recollection only a single lost wildebeest in almost two decades of use and easily 1000 animals.
The same cartridge with a far greater diameter, and 20 more grains of weight is simply as good as it gets for plains game hunting in a nice light low recoil rifle. As I said earlier, the 338 Sabi Sabi made in RSA is a near identical cartridge built for good reason there. The TSX and modern powders has allowed the simple 30/06 to equal the 300 win mag when it uses cup and core bullets.
The 165TSX from a 30/06 will out penetrate the 180 cup and core from the 300win mag. This same situation can be closely compared with the TSX in a 338/06 VS the cup and core from the 338 win mag. However it's actually better then that. The 338 TSX bullets are all designed for the cartridge and capacity of the 338 win mag. Shooting them from the slower 338/06 means you can drive them as fast as you can and still be at or below the maximum design threshold of the bullet.
The flawless performance of the 30/06 with a bigger bullet......... how is that not the perfect choice?
