bea, you make an important point.. Saddlesore and myself live in elk country.. I have passed many shots that were not perfect, but for the man that travels thousands of miles, pays for a nonresident lic. plus other expenses, it is a small price to pay for Nosler Part. bullets.. I have been shooting the Accubond for the last couple years, but I probably have killed maybe a half dozen elk with a 150 grain Nosler BTBT out of my .300.. Hit I the lungs it is sudden death.. But if I were going on a hunt where I had only very limited time for the hunt, no question I would have the rifle loaded with something like partitions or accubonds. You mention of the 200 grain Nosler Part. is also a fine one.. I have used it quite a bit over the 180's.. It will penetrate from almost any angle.. Good insurance if you really want to take home an elk..
Matches my thoughts very closely. For a handloader, even the most expensive bullets are cheap compared to the total cost of a hunt. In years when I've filled two elk tags and a deer tag the difference in cost between the premiums I use and standard C&C bullets wouldn't buy me a cheap glass of wine with my dinner out. These days I prefer 165g-168g North Fork SS, Nosler AccuBond and Barnes TTSX for my .30-06 rifles and don't give cost a second thought.
I also live in elk county and have gone home empty-handed a few times after letting one walk away. That would be much harder to do it I was a non-resident for whom the hunt might be a rare or even a once-in-a-lifetime event. Moreover I worry more about what happens when things go south than when they go as planned. If shooting a wounded elk that presents only a THS, I want a bullet that will penetrate - i.e. a somewhat slower heavy-for-caliber bullet or one that is stoutly constructed to retain its mass. If an elk is wounded and gets away because the bullet wasn't up to the task, how much did you really save?
If buying factory .30-06 ammo for elk I'd probably go with a 180g if choosing a standard C&C bullet.
