Do think a 165 grain Nosler Partition or Accubond out of a 30-06 is fine for elk? I'd like a single load for my 30-06 that can be used on anything from deer to elk and I think a 165 grain bullet would be a good weight for a wide range of game. And do you think a 165 grain Nosler Partition or Accubond would penetrate through an elk's shoulder?
Do your part and the elk will die.
My experience with a .30-06 on elk is limited to three cows. Two dropped straight down after being hit with a 165g North Fork SS. The first, at about 125 yards, disappeared in the tall sage and we had to circle around a deep gulley to get to her. She struggled back to her feet as I approached but didn�t move and I finished her from about 10 feet. The other, shot at about 25 yards, got back up immediately, although with difficulty, and I dropped her with a second shot. She slid to the bottom of a steep slope. The third was with a 150g AccuBond, range 262 yards. That one dropped straight down and stayed there.
More elk have gone straight down to my 7mm RM and a 160g Grand Slam than any other combo, but I�ve also used it more times than all my other rifles combined. None were lost and none went far � the exception being two cows that made it about 40 yards. Most of those Grand Slams exited and it wasn�t until my last elk with that combo (after 20+ years of using it) that I recovered one. That bullet had destroyed both shoulder joints of a 5x5 bull and stopped under the hide on the off side. My 7mm RM loads back then were not particularly fast and the sectional density of the 160g/7mm bullets is slightly lower than a 165g/.308� bullet. In other words, in terms of velocity, diameter and weight the loads were similar to what you are contemplating and they worked very well.
This year I�ll be using a .30-06 again, most likely with factory WW 180g Power Point ammo. My backup rifle will most likely be a .30-06 with 150g AccuBond handloads. My confidence level in both is high, provided I do my part but I will apply my long held belief in shooting them until they are down and stay that way. (Given good shooting I don�t recall ever needing more than 2 shots to put one on the ground. There was a cow I shot with a .338/225g AB that took three, but placement of the first was horrible, above the spine. The second would have done the job, a third just speeded things up a bit.)
Provided you shoot them well, either a 165g AB or Partition should work just fine. Some elk go down faster than others, even if mortally wounded, so always be ready for a follow-up shot.
