No 25 caliber cartridge or bullet has given me the slightest problem killing deer or antelope, but I've chased enough wound channels through elk with them to say they never impressed the hell out of me either in that role,compared to other stuff.
Even a pair of 120 Partitions fired into good sized mule deer bucks were riveted,bases squished and lead protruding,and lacked the muscle and jacket thickness to do a thorough job of smashing off side shoulders,unlike 270-130's and 7mm 140's, which blow right through the same mess leaving good sized exits at any distance from a few feet to several hundred yards. I can't imagine things would get any better on an animal weighing two to three times more. Maybe they have beefed them up.I'm no bullet engineer but seems there's only so much room to work with jackets and cores in a bullet that squeezes down a 25 caliber tube.
My own personal (bull) elk bullet criteria is that it has to smash (break) an on side shoulder,quartering on,reach the vitals and tear them up....and from quartering away do the same thing from the last ribs and have enough muscle to still smash a shoulder on the off side.(it doesn't have to go end to end since I don't generally shoot things that way).
But if I have to wait for a perfect broadside rib shot on any elk because I lack confidence in the bullet, I done brought the wrong stuff. Elk aren't so tough when you simultaneously bust up means of locomotion while destroying vital plumbing,too.
If there's any doubt it will do those things to an elk, I leave it home.I have to admit I have never used any mono on elk, but a 25 is still a 25 and straight line penetration is not the only part of the killing equation.There's frontal area of an expanding bullet as well,and enough weight retention to keep the expanded portion moving forward through heavy resistance.
I know enough about 25's to know they kill elk,but also know they aren't "ideal",at least to me. Maybe the new beefed up 115 BT will do these things and maybe it won't. The manufacturer doesn't mention the bullet being intended for elk. I think they make other bullets for that. Maybe it will on a meat sized cow but not on a herd bull...I don't know and have no intentions of finding out. It's just as easy to shoot them with something better suited to the task. JMHO. YMMV.
Last edited by BobinNH; 05/21/15.
