Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game What grain bullet to use?

Brain is scrambled trying to get settled on which weight bullet to get for reloading. I'd buy and try a bunch but budget is sad on about nuthin a month so I have to be very frugal. I shoot a .300 Wby Mag, 24" Vanguard v1. I reload of course to save gobs of dollars over factory ammo.
I also WTB brass if you have some for sale!
I have used 165gr Ballistic tips on many okla whitetails from 25yds to 425yds and dropped EVERY one where they stood. Will eventually hunt Elk, Moose, Carabou and Black Bear as funds and fate will allow. Knowing this I'd like to use BT's for target practice, deer, coyotes, etc and Accubonds in same grain for thicker critters, with both behaving identically in p.o.i. I personally have a max range/confidence limit on game of 450yards. Rare but have done...
Now...lol...the thing I can't settle on is weight. Will 165's in Accubond work on the heavy game or will 180's be a better choice, yet still be ok in BTs for the smaller stuff.
I like the flatter arc/speed of the 165s.
I like the thought of 180s because of better BC and "cheap" Remington factory ammo in 180 CoreLokts. (May be close in predictable poi)
I will likely be able to "borrow" some different powders to find what groups best before buying full pounds.
I know gr weight sometimes is the guns choice but for argument sake on this say its not a factor...yet.
They don't make BTs in 200gr so 180 is tops.
Well, what do you all think with your experiences? Thanks! Hope this isn't a stupid question, just need your opinions on choice!

Looks like you are already married to 165gr bullets using a BT for soft critters and an Accubond for tougher ones. I don't understand the problem.

Yup, I'd hunt anything with a 165 AB in my 300 Wby. Great speed and that bullet will work great. It's been excellent on the couple of elk taken with a 30-06 and 300 Mags.

People go nutty over a 165 vs 180 vs 200, but in reality you'd probably have to shoot a bunch of stuff to notice the difference in the way they take game.

The 180 grain NBT is one tough bullet as well.

I use the 168 TTSX in the 300 Weatherby for most things, sometimes the 180 TTSX. Everything falls over when hit.

The lead-free covers you when you make that trip to CA's condor zone!

I haven't shot 165 Nosler BTBT's but used thousands of 165 Sierra HPBT on moose, caribou, elk, deer, antelope,etc.. Mostly out of a .300 Win. Stick with the BTBT and if you feel the need for a stronger bullet, got with the 165 Accubond.. One of my favorites.. Killed my elk with it this fall.. If you really need penetration the 165 Part. will do it for all but brown bear.. Your already half way home, use the BTBT and the others as needed'

I would just stick with what you have, it will kill all the game you mentioned with out a hitch.. Barnes is just more money for something you don't need.

Already been said, the AB or the Partition will meet your needs. I have been using the Partition for over 50 years for one reason, they work.

Thanks for the good insights. I guess the simple question I was wresting with was would the 165 Accubonds be enough for anything on N. America (besides Grizzly of course) or would heavier be a must. Yall answered it and I'm used to the 165 BT and AB, I'll stick with them. I've heard the 180 BT is constructed a bit tougher than a 165 BT. The results I've had with the BTs and deer is when gutting, cut the diaphragm and chunky liquid comes out, what used to be lung n heart. I don't think I'd ever hunt in California but would like to visit again. The TTSX, Partion, A-frame would be great for the mondo hogs we have here though. Would punch through shoulder shields or skull fer sher. May try em in future after load workup for the "hunt anything with no adjusting" ammo... I'm praying I'll be able to hunt Elk here this year, IF I can find a landowner open to it... The dream is a move to Alaska. Everyday that is the goal I'm working towards. Wish i knew someone or had family there, would make the move ALOT easier. Im also going to workup a heavy A-Frame/Partition round to carry for emergencies with Grizz, just to have it if I ever need it, or to share it.. once again, I love this site, thanks all!

I have reloaded for 3-4 Weatherby's, they all loved the 180 TSX and a max dose of 4831.

I prefer heavier bullet s in 30 cal. Watch Shooters Pro Shop and you can get 180 gr Nosler Partition blems or over runs for about $13 /50 when they have them.

The lighter bullets bleed of velocity quicker than the heavier ones The lighter bullets may have a flatter trajectory ,but the heavier will have more left and more energy at distances.

Of course,they will all work.This stuff is all gack anyway

I load 165 gr. Barnes TTSX bullets over RL22 in my .300 Wby, and use the same bullet and load for everything I shoot at.

Makes life simple.

Saddle "This stuff is all gack anyway" love it, how true hahaha. Has had me re-guessing my selection for a while.
Bighorn, may play with different pointy ends later when money is there to play with, especially with the Hogs...
I ran the 165 BTs over 84gr of R-22 before there were Accubonds. They look to be built the same as BTs, just bonded the cores to the cup so flight should be identical, I set up with a 300yd zero.
I have an Ole Marlin 30-30 for in the woods closeup stuff. Always wanted one of those since I was a kid. My first borrowed rifle was a lever Savage with a rotary magazine...but I digress lol.

I load 81 grains of h4831 with a 180 Hornady interlock have killed moose elk caribou with it. If you are tight on funds just buy some 4831 and 180 bullets and go hunting.

Just fyi for anyone else, I loaded up the 165 BTs for a friend's .308. He hadn't hunted in 20 yrs. Shot a 10pt buck in rear of lungs @ 150yds. Blew out back side on exit, left a red carpet for 30 yds to where we found him. I rarely had an exit with the 300wby. Seemed to pentetrate lungs about 2-3 inches and explode turning everything to jelly and DRT. Would usually find end of cup against opposing hide and frag bits scattered.

Have you checked shootersproshop.com? It's run by Nosler and they sell factory blems. Right now they have 30 cal. 165 gr BT's for $15/50.

I hunted with a .300 Wby Mag for years with the 180 Partition factory loads. If I were to do it again I'd choose 200 grain Accubonds. At Wby Mag velocity I think you'd be maximizing the cartridge's potential.





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I think you are good with 165's, try some 165 TTSX. They are a touch more accurate in mine.

When I had my .300 Weatherby I used 168gr TSX and everything died pronto

I've never shot anything with the lead free bullets, heard lots about the TTSX and remember the X BULLET back in the day.. The shroom pics of Hornady GMX look good too. Then there's E-tips, and small company ones also. I have no doubts to their ability, which gets better With every new design, and like fact of no possible lead in my food! I know you have to load em lighter because of the extra pressure on bore due to solid copper, longer bearing surface contact and no lead core squish forming easier, causing higher chamber pressures. And the general rule to shoot down a size, if you shoot 180 leads, shoot 165 coppers. I think the engineering is great but just dont want pencil hole passthroughs. And would we have any of them except not for the environazis and snowflakes in the EPA? I know the Wby has the speed required for the monos to open properly, a billion choices, all gack lol. Plan is 165s will kill anything well except grizz. I can load cheaper BTs for practice and up to deer, then 165 Accubonds for Elk and up with no change to optics or aimpoints. With my expected max ranges the 165 would not fall off enough to must warrant 180s or 200s. And below those max ranges they Excell with speed, flat trajectory and no transonic turbulence. This will be my #1 DO-ALL setup, but playing with other mixes is what makes this all much fun! And if a new better do-all combo is found down the line I'll still have a proven backup to use if rarer components are hard to find. I'm sleepy and babbling on now, my apologies, ps pm me if you have 300wby brass! Lol good night ;-)

I used to shoot 150's in 308, 165's in my 30-06 and 180's in 300 mags. But the more I shoot the more I like the heavier bullets. I just don't have much need for the bigger guns and have pretty much settled on 308. I've been getting great accuracy with 178 gr Hornady ELDX bullets. There just isn't much penalty to going heavy.

In my 300 WSM 200 gr bullets only drop about 3" more than 165's out to 400 yards. But they sure do hit harder.

I'm seeing similar with my 308 shooting 178/180 over 150's. Bullet drop is about 2.5" more at 400 yards, but the heavier bullet has almost 300 ft lbs more energy.

If I were shooting copper (I've experimented with it some) then I'd certainly go lighter.