In an earlier post I stated the following:

Originally Posted by Coyote_Hunter

The bullet choice isn't all that important, particularly at .30-06 velocities. Super accuracy is even less important. Put a bullet in the lungs and the elk will go down shortly.
...
My own choice of bullets, for many years, was Speer Grand Slams for my 7mm RM. Not very aerodynamic but accurate enough and they were hammers. These days I prefer North Fork SS, Barnes TTSX and Nosler AccuBonds for all my rifles. Two cows have gone straight down with a .30-06 and 165g North Forks, another with a 150g AccuBond.

If all I had was a C&C bullet, though, I'd use it and worry about other things. ...


That still stands true. Placement is king. That said, I choose tougher bullets because I worry more about what happens when things go south than when they go as planned. Dad gave me a Ruger American .30-06 last year, along with 4 boxes of Federal 165g Sierra GameKings and a box of Federal 165g Trophy Bonded Tip. Last weekend I had an opportunity to shoot both loads into water jugs.

Stick a GameKing in the lungs and elk will die, but take a look at the recovered 165g GameKing and 165g Trophy Bonded Tip bullets in the photo. Also look at the 225g .338 bullets, two cup-and-core Hornady SST bullets and one Nosler AccuBond.

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Here is another photo of bullets recovered from water jugs.
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Left to right:
4 jugs == .45-70, Sierra 200g FP .458" @ 2390fps, 81% weight retention (left group of five, front row center)
6 jugs == .45-70, Speer 300g Uni-Cor .458" @ 2247fps, 59.6% to 72.5% weight retention, 68.8% average (remainder of left group)
8 jugs == .45-70, Speer 350g FP .458" @ 2147fps, 87.6% weight retention
6 jugs == .45-70, North Fork 350g .458" @ 2189fps, 97.4% weight retention
9 jugs == .45-70, Cast Performance 460g WFNGC .458" @ 1812fps, 76.5% weight retention
5 jugs == .375 Winchester, Hornady 220g FP .375" @2230fps, 65.7% weight retention
7 jugs == .300 Win Mag, Barnes 180g MRX .308" @ 3100fps, 93.4% weight retention

In the image above, pay particular attention to the last bullet, a Barnes 180g MRX (similar to the TTSX but with a tungsten core in the caboose). It penetrated almost twice as many jugs as the .30-06 GameKing or Trophy Bonded. We have yet to recover an MRX or TTSX from deer, antelope or elk. I've taken three elk with AccuBonds (one with a .30-06/150g and two with a .338WM/225g) and all were compete pass-throughs. I don't expect pass-throughs will always be the case but I do expect them to hold together better than cup-and-core bullets, with deeper penetration the result.

If all you have is a bad angle on a fleeing and possibly wounded elk, which type of bullet construction would you rather trust - a standard cup-and-core or a bonded core (ala Trophy Bonded and AccuBond), or maybe a mono-metal like the Barnes TTSX?

For me there is no question. This fall I'll be hunting elk with the Ruger American Dad gave me last year. I had considered using the Sierra Game Kings because I had the 4 boxes Dad gave me. After trying them on water jugs I'll be using something else - perhaps the 165g Trophy Bonded Tip or .30-06 loads I already use, a 150g AccuBond, Barnes 168g TTSX or a 165g North Fork SS. In any case it will be something I trust won't come unglued on impact.



Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!

No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.

A good .30-06 is a 99% solution.