Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska 300 Win Mag Big Bear Bullet

I know that no .30 Cal is considered a stopping round, but I am curious. What would be "considered" the best bullet ( make, weight, design) that a man in bear country could put in his 300 Mag ( any of them)? I'm not going, ha, but I know plenty folks use a 300 Mag as an "all around" rifle, especially in country where elk and similar bigger animals are. My self, I'm thinking a big Woodleigh or a big Mono. Anyone ever used a 300 mag to "stop" an aggressive grizzly or even a Brown?

Used a 300WM as my primary back-up when guiding. In those days I used Partitions.

Today it would be 168gr TTSX. I have almost exclusively been using the 165gr TTSX in the 30-06 for quite a few years and would not hesitate to use it for big bears.

The 200 grain Nosler Partition worked great for me on a brown bear in Alaska, and many others consider it a superb choice. It shoots pretty flat, too.

X2

Where did you get the idea that "no .30 caliber round is considered a stopping round"?

If that's the case, just use multiples rounds, being sure the first one gets its attention.

I read it on the Internet! lol From reading stuff through the years I suppose. I know I would use whatever is in my hands but was curious on the 300WM. I like Woodleighs, but have only worked up a load for a 24" 30-06 and the 240RN that went 2400fps. I sold the rifle before I got to shoot a big hog with it. I also shot a lot of Nosler 200PTs and Sierra 200SBT in the 30-06. Killed a 300# hog with the Partition. Perfection. I figure in the 300WM, a similar bullet would work swell. I've shot a lot of big Plains game with the 300WM and the older Barnes 180xbt. Never recovered a bullet either. (Kudu, Blue Wildebeast, zebra all elk size), Red hartebeest (caribou size), Blesbuck (mule deer size) Impala and Springbuck ( Southern whitetail sized) and the big Namibian Gemsbuck (spike elk size) We used other calibers but the 300WM/180xbt was used a lot. For us, it was a great all around caliber. I figured many folks shoot those big bears with them?

I believe the .300 Win. Mag. is the most popular round in Alaska and I know more hunters using it or the WSM version then any other round. I doubt any of them would buy a bigger caliber for a big bear hunt as most bigger caliber guns are heavier and Alaskan hunters are always trying to keep their carrying weight down on their equipment.

Most of them use a 180 grain Barnes X of some flavor or a 200 grain Nosler Partition. Just get close and shoot your big bear and shoot him again and if he is still moving keep shooting and feeding the gun.

When the great 30-06 first showed up it was highly sought after for big critters. All the .300's do is extend the range a bit, but big bears should not be taken at long range in my opinion.

Long range shooting of dangerous game never made sense to me. But I grew up in the thickets of East, Texas. Everything was close there, ha. It took me 20yrs to get a shot at 276 steps down a pipeline at a buck! I figured there were a lot of 300s in use up there, thanks for the reply Pard!

I have no experience with these on bears, only elk, but I would give some consideration to the 200 grain Swift A-Frame.

Can't disagree, I'd even consider the 180 TTSX, no heavier than 180 for sure in the TTSX or TSX

No 180 partitions for sure...

The 30-06 was the simple most popular Alaskan guide rifle for many years and was plenty for the world record Kodiak bear. Having killed a few big bears myself using 200 and 220 gr Partitions with it I know for a fact it will do the job.
And the 300 Mag throws the same bullets a little faster.

As Sitka points out, even stout bullets like the 168 gr TSX should work just as well .

Any more opinions on the 200 Swift A Frames for this use? I'm planning on using them for elk in grizzly country so just curious if anyone's used them from a 300WM on grizzlies or brown bears.

I'm still a Nosler guy, and I'm also big on heavy per caliber bullet. For a 300 WM or even a 30-06 the 200 grain Nosler Partition is a good bullet.

My sample of one charging brown bear died from 300 Wby & 180 gr. Barnes-X (pre-TSX). First shot rolled her down a small hill at about ~ 5 yds (or less). She was up and running away and my second shot at 50-ish yards put her down.

That is close:)

Stopping power comes from bullet placement and performance

Marlin
I was all in with Nosler for many, many years... Then I got to looking at the big box of recovered bullets after reading the studies of the importance of exit wounds... I could relate the studies to my findings quite nicely.

But after a fairly large number of monometal shots I have found a different mantra. I want two holes per shot, every time.

NPs kill nicely, but the ability to find the dying bear is very big to me.

I humbly apologize for pretending to have a worthy post...

Late to join this conversation, but just wanted to offer experience of loving both the Nos. Part. and Barnes X: I have used the former on many animals and was my go to for "big." I started moose hunting in an area with some decent size grizzly and one big one we saw regularly. The first year, I recovered partitions from my first moose (two rounds broadside) and they'd lost more than half their weight, I started looking elsewhere. I started using the early 180 X bullets in 1993. In the moose that I shot after that, only one Barnes was ever recovered. It was quartering away and uphill. The shot hit the left rear "knee" joint, passed upward breaking the last rib, crossing the lungs, hitting the ball joint at the shoulder and turning slightly forward lodging under the skin. It traveled through two massive bone and nearly 7ft of animal and retained over 90% of it's weight. Nothing wrong with the Noslers, but bullet technology has come a long way. Partition design is more than a half century old. While I still have partitions on my shelf, for tough or mean or big, I'd always go with X.

Yup...

Shot my grizz with a 30/06 and Rem 180gr core Loct yrs ago..Went right down...Today I have a .300 Win and would not hesitate to shoot big bear with a 200 grain Swift A-Frame...That bullet works on anything...Swift A-Frames are considered by most experienced African PH's to be the best...Wife and I just took 15 animals in Namibia at all ranges with 180gr.. A-Frames ..She took a mature giraffe(2000#) with one shot from her 06..These bullets appear to be highly controlled from factory...Another good one is Federal's Trophy Bonded 200 gr..

Sounds like you used the 300WM/AF in Namibia for your rifle? How fast were you shooting the 200AF in the magnum? Were these handloads or factory? I had the privilege to hunt Namibia near Aroab, way back in '98. We used the 300WM/Barnes 180 xbt; 338WM and 200X. Gemsbok and Springbok only. There were a lot of Cape Eland on the place but we didn't take any.

When I switched from the 180 tsx to the 168 ttsx in my H&H I started recovering quite a few bullets. While using the 180s I did not catch a single bullet. I wouldn't think that 12 grains would make a big difference. Maybe it's the tip initiating expansion. Maybe it's just dumb luck, although I shot the 180 almost exclusively for quite some time. I've only shot 4 bears (2 grizzlies and 2 blacks) with the 168, but I recovered 4 out of 5 bullets fired..... only 1 exited. All but 1 of the recovered bullets had lost all petals. All individual who participated in these activities were quite dead, and in no way do I consider any of these bullet failures. I'm plenty happy with how the 168 works for me. However, if you insist on an exit I would stick with 180 and above.

I made the same switch but my experiences are 180 degrees out from yours. I have never recovered a 168gr TTSX and have used a bunch of them in 30-06, 300H&H, 308NORMA ,, 300SAUM, And 300WM. I have shot moose, caribou, deer, and bears.

200g A-Frame

lots of times whether you recover one or not can be directly related to shot placement. That said I think mags deserve heavier bullets than normal thinking. But didn't someone here kill a few moose and a bear or two with 80 ttsx in 25-06

i am not a guide or hunt big bears , but a 30-06 would be the cartridge i would use its simple and works well. i do have for trailing wounded animals if needed is just a Remington 760 pump 30-06 with a small scope ,22 inch barrel. we call this old rifle just the killer gun its simple,fast for a second shot and always works. i may have some very fine rifles for hunting but tough to beat a simple old Remington 760 - 30-06 to finish the dirty work if needed in the thick nasty stuff.

Nice answer. Irrelevant. But nice I suppose.

yes i did not answer the question exactly about bullets because its mostly the man behind the rifle , but if i did load bullets for my 760/ 30-06 a would use just Nosler Partitions 180 grain, but to be honest i may do alot of reloading but for my 760/ 30-06 i just buy factory loaded Remington 180 core-lokt this old rifle likes them.

So the bullet to use for big bears is a core lokt?

Better information then. I suppose.

you read into crap to much,but i would bet a cheap core lokt would get the job done in my hands. i know a bear hunter/ VIET Nam Marine vet in Alaska who has used Remington core lotks and killed bears, heck bowhunters kill these bears with a bow. >but maybe in your hands you need more ?

That would be my son...

180 gr BBC. (Bitteroot Bonded Core)

Just attempting to get you onto a level playing field here.

But the comparison to an arrow kill vs a corelokt might be all one needs to read. I can kill a bear with a 22. Or a bow as you note.

We are talking hunting a big one, with the possibility of follow up shots. Not a doe hunt where you can choose to pass the shot if you want... Kind of one of those once in a lifetime things where lengthwise penetration might be a good thing to have and 2 holes is much better than one. Especially with the cost of a hunt all included and the fact you might not get an ideal shot.

And any animal thats then adrenalin ramped....

But then again I was fairly sure you would miss the point.

wink....

>your right wounded animals can have plenty adrenalin if wounded,that`s why you wait awhile then go for the kill shot . enough said

not enough. So no one has ever made a mistake? And no one else ever has to deal with said mistake? Even possibly the shooter?

Its a great pipe dream I agree. No one ever fire other than a quick killing shot. No bullet ever fails. No bullet ever deflects. No animal ever moves at the shot.

Will take that under advisement.

Barnes tech told me that the 168 gr TTSX/TSX was designed to expand at lower velocities than the 165 gr TTSX /TSX and hence better suited for 30-06 loads.

I think I was asked about bullet speed for A -Frames in the 300 Win....They were Swift factory loads listed at 3015 fps...I don't handload and these are super accurate...Wife's 30/06 180s were listed at about 2700 fps..No need to since these are carefully controlled...Little pricey but not near what a lost animal is...You can order direct from Swift or Midway..About $70 for .300 mag..........The Core Loc was used before most of you were born in 1978 BC,Canada..Not a lot of choice then..

Jeff, why no 180 NPs?

Better bullets out there today...Never know for sure how much is left of a partition to carry through.

300 mag speeds they come apart to quickly. They won't even make it stem to stern on our TX whitetail deer. John told me that was designed for the 06 type speeds, if you wanted to use partitions on a bigger animal go to the 200 partitions. I was amazed at that poor performance. Even a Lehigh 194 started at 1000 fps will exit a stem to stern shot on most deer at a similar distance as my experiments, around 75-125 steps or so. So I was amazed the 300 with 180 partitions would not. Plus it blood shot a LOT of meat.

Really is no reason not too use mono these days when it counts and even not. But even us still hang on and push berger bullets in some guns.

I'm totally confident in Sierra bullets though. They will go through a paper target and make a hole every time. Anything beyond that... well lets just say I would use the SMKs still but nothing else

But you know core lokt in an 06 pump is the best bear medicine anywhere....

I've only shot 2 bull elk and 1/2 doz deer with 180 NPT's in handloads for 2 different 300 Win Mags mv of 3000+ fps never had a problem with them "coming apart". Having said that I now also have 250 200 gr NPT's from SPS to use and work up a load for my 300 Wins and 30-06's can't imagine for Alaskan hunting that there could be a 1 load does all, that would be better than the 200 NPT in a 300 Mag. just my 2 cts worth . MB

Interesting. Coming apart may have been bad wording, but full front end totally gone. No close shots, generally 75 to 125 on the distances I played with it. The main point is if a small whitetail can stop that bullet then I dont' want to use it on bigger game.

Heck I've driven 950 fps or so 194 lehighs lengthwise through deer for tests at same distances. goes either all the way through or caught by hide...

I think it was smart to move to 200s for you.

Smarter is mono by far in my opinion, but you know what you paid for that. LOL

a question. why no 200 gr monos being advised for the big ones? velocity? for my moose hunts and bou hunts i carried 5 extra 200 barns x for piece of mind just in case rounds. i figured if they were used it would be very close and a head on shot.

as a side note, i shoot a 180 grand slam [30-06] and it has been very good on elk, moose and deer and bou. stem to stern exit on deer and nearly full length on 3 elk. most shots were pass throughs but some [5] were recovered with high wt retention.
i still dont think i would trust it on big ones however. and this fall i used a 300 win with a 180ttsx on a blackie.

I'm no expert and only have limited experience but I have shot both interior grizzly and brown bears with both the 30 cal 200 Nosler Partitions and .375 cal 270 TSX. Either will do exactly what they were designed to do IF properly placed. If I had to decide today i would go with the Barnes TSX in 180- 200 grain in 30 cal or 270-300 grains out of a 375. YMMV

rost, now that you have defined (coming apart) I understand your view point better. Yes the frt end comes off to the partition. The first bull elk I ever shot was down hill at about 130 yds quartering on at slight angle. I placed the 180NPT in frt of the near side shoulder to spine him and I did .He went over backwards and never regained his feet. I figured I'd also get his plumbing as well as the far shoulder on the way out. The angle was less than I estimated. Never found the bullet while gutting him. When we ate the last roast from the frt of the right hindquarter, I found my bullet. weighed 116 grs. Yup I like NPT's and I'll be totally honest I think the Barnes people can take a free flying f*** at a rolling donut hole. MB

A 200gr. Swift A-Frame or a 200 or 220 grain Nosler Partition.

agreed x2

Well lets talk about barnes performance then. 210 TTSX. Yeah, just an old barnes. 126 steps. Bull was angling to me a bit. I had no choice. Put the bullet just on the point of the onside shoulder. Bullet broke that shoulder, the spine at the neck, the other shoulder, wrecked some other vitals in between, and came to rest as a lump just under the skin, and the skin was cut by the petals about half the thickness of the skin.

Weight after retrieval and cleaning. 210.4 grains so I'm sure there was still some tissue there.

Dumped the bull on the spot. Bull was not an elk but a mature Alaskan moose. Cartridge no magnum either. Just a measly 338-06 and not even a really hot load, warm, but not hot.

Gonna say I couldn't be any happier with results like that. 100% retention. 100% expansion. And going through what that did on a moose ain't shabby from a 338-06.

So I'll pass on the free flying etc and use the bullet that works better LOL. Again, no flies on partitions, but I've found something that works better for what I desire.

I like to use the best controlled expansion bullet that works the best in that particular rifle.(accurate, functions in the mag)
I have used coreloks for years on moose and caribou not one has bounced off their hide. I'm not in brown bear country so I don't worry about it much. Grizzlies in the interior aren't more than 5-6 hundred pounds. Not many bigger than that (in the interior). If I did I would use one of the great new CE bullets that are available today. Accubonds, interbonds, TSX, TTSX weldcore, Kodiak bonded bullets ect. Many more.

Rost,
no need for you to reply to my post I don't consider your input useful!!!!

I daught I will be that lucky.

You pretty well hit it on the head but thats evidently not a useful comment. So I went against your own personal wishes. Sorry. I think.

I suspect I have put more NPTs and Barnes X bullets through meat than you have. And I have looked at them and their result carefully after the fact. It has been years since I used a NPT.

Killed my grizz with a 200gr accubond.

Penetration was stellar

Did you catch one?

Wow bragging about putting bullets “ through meat”? So you’re a [bleep] shot? You like bragging about wasting meat? What a piece of chit. Trying aiming for the vitals. And then you’re realize it doesn’t matter which bullet...

Nosler partitions was my go to bullet in my .338. But I’ve seen too many impressive results from cuttin up dead critters that clients killed using Barnes bullets.

Nosler partitions are great bullets. The Barnes bullets are greater ime. Ymmv

Have cut up a lot of critters. Most of the time their vitals seemed surrounded by meat that must be shot through to hit vitals.

And it ain’t bragging if you’ve done it. Just fact

You had to go and quote WhattaDickHead so I had to read it... She is not worth the effort, just a whiney clueless twit.

Ouch! I had been in and out of the military, got married, had worked years on the Alaska Railroad, and had my first child on the way in 1978! Now I feel as old as the Core Lokt design!

But, admittedly, I've still got a few hundred 30 caliber, 165 grain Core Lokts (with another 150 loaded up) for my customized Garand. I don't hunt with it, but I can sure light up the area with it if a problem bear (or vehicle) is looking for trouble. It produces a consistent 2750 fps in winter temps, and is a hoot to shoot.

Barnes TTSX, Nosler Partition, Swift A Frame, and Hammers. Any of these make guides very happy when you show up with them.

Sure do miss ol’ Randy.

‘Sure do miss ol’ Randy.”
Yep.

I like what rost495 has to say in his several posts. It reveals the practical side of matters, not just the ideal.

We don't have griz or BBs here in Ontario but we may have the largest population of blacks of any US state or Canadian province. Whatever, I've been a "dedicated" bear hunter for at least four decades and trust larger bullets (calibers) than smaller ones for faster and more blood letting. As we all know, a bear's fur and fat can close up wounds very quickly. The first bear I killed was in the Northeast of our province near the Quebec border in a wilderness area - I used the same outfitter for my first eight seasons in that same general area southeast of Algonquin Park, mostly wilderness Crown Land. After that I started baiting on my own and have continued till this day in the Haliburton Highlands (Crown Land) mostly. That first was killed using a Marlin in .45-70, and I've killed lots using a variety of .45-70s, Including the Ruger No.1

I've used the 286 Nosler Partition and 250 AB in my 9.3 x 62 for bears without fail- one and done. And a TSX only once from my .458. It was a 350gr leaving the muzzle at 2750 fps. Frontal hit at 100 yds. A smallish bear that went the farthest of any I've ever shot lethally. The bullet was too tough for that young bear and didn't expand! Last year my .375 H&H was loaded with the 250gr TTSX and will be again this year at about 2850 fps. I hope it works. I had a big bear coming last year but didn't want it because it was too big! I'm 88 and hunting alone.

Just a quick story: When I was still using the outfitter, he'd put me in new locations every time I went. On this particular year, he put me in a location that no one had previously hunted (except one of his guides that he didn't know about). It was so new that no blind or stand was yet in place, but because he knew me from past experiences, he said I could find a spot on the side of the ridge above the old logging road where the bait was placed just off the road on the far side. Beyond that was thick bush and forest. I went up the ridge about 60 yds, found a good boulder to sit on with a young 6' fir in front. I found a space between branches where I could rest the rifle and waited for what was described as "a good bear" to show up. Well, the "good bear" showed up an hour later and only sat in front of the bait-site with it's back to me. I wanted a better angle, so waited. When the bear changed it's position and exposed a shoulder I squeezed the trigger on my .300 Wby, and as I did the branch - rifle rest "fainted" from the weight over the past hour. That bear took off hitting 30 mph in three strides. Well, I had to go check for any sign of a hit. There was none. The bear went down over a steep cliff, landed at the bottom in a carpet of moss leaving too large prints of front paws, crashing through the debris left behind by a logging operation several years earlier. Because I'd never previously hunted that area, I knew nothing of the cliff or previous logging operation. After crashing off for a few seconds, there was dead silence - a well known(to me) bear antic - dead silence. I was not going there. . . alone! My closest help was 10 miles away! My .300 Wby load was a 220gr Nosler Partition at 2800 fps.

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

This thread started out with the words "I know that no .30 Cal is considered a stopping round"

I am not so sure. I can't say what is the most popular round used by residents in Alaska today for big bears, but from the 1950s until 1990 it was the 30-06 and by far the favored bullets were 200 grain round nose. I'd be interested to see what was the #1 choice in Canada for the same years, but my guess is that it would be a 303 Brit or a 30-06 there too.

What is considered a stopping round is less about the round and more about who is doing the considering.

My sister lives in Alaska so I have been up there hunting a few times and if I were to go today I'd choose one of my larger and more powerful rifles, BUT if I were to find myself up there with any of my rifles from a 270 up to my 404 Jeffery and all those in-between I'd not feel under-armed with any of them ------ as long as I got to choose what bullet I was loaded and zeroed with.

Stopping any aggressive animal is first about placement and 2nd about straight line pentation, bone included.
Having killed many horses and cattle with a 270 Winchester I know what it's capable of doing with good bullets. In addition to horses and cattle I have killed animals from American bison, buffalo, moose, hippo, elephant and Kudu, a whole lot of elk, and a lot of others, I can say with no reservations I have learned about what works and what doesn't. In Africa I use 4 calibers. 308, 7X64, 8X68 and 404 Jeffery. I never had any problem with any of them either.
I own or have owned rifles up to 460 G&A and black powder rifles up to 8 bore. (I have made but not hunted with 4 bores, a 2 bore and also a 500 Jeffery and a 505 Gibbs) I kinda-like big rifles and as a rule I lean toward larger bore sizes. BUT experience has proven to be that it's far more important to have a bullet that holds together and a person shooting who has skill under pressure.

My nephew is a pilot in Alaska. As an illustration to my conviction of what I am saying, if he were to come down and land here and tell me to get in the plane to go hunting and I could take any rifle I have, from my 270 Winchester up, I would not even hesitate to get in the plane and go. Would I feel OK about facing down a mad bear with my 270. Yes I would!
That's not to say I would not choose one of my 9.3 or my 375H&H, or even my 404 if I had the chance, but the idea that I would just not be OK with a 270, 30-06, 308, 300 H&H, 8X57 or 358 Win is just untrue. ALL will do fine given good bullets and a cool head behind the rifle.
As a side note: My Sister has a Winchester M88 in 308 I got for her when she moved up there. In the years she's been there she has killed almost all her game with it including 3 brown bears. Caribou and moose too. All 3 bears have been one shot kills. I load her ammo and used 180 Gr Nosler Partitions.
No problem with any animal yet from 1988 to last year. Still going strong.

You and I are somewhat the same. Takes deep straight penetration. So far I have yet to get wound up. Just perform and do my job. That said the 458 has never felt over bore so to speak.

Take your pick. But for a guide following up it's never going to be small if I have a choice.

OTOH you can say but you killed a black bear tearing up camp with a 9mm. Yes. It's what was there. It worked.

Situations can be so different. Each one. And because of that there is no replacement for displacement. You never need it until you need it, then you NEED it.

That said RE good bullets. With the choices we have these days I don't understand why some still choose a partition. I've seen some really poor penetration from them. Broadside moose that never make it past the ribs. Plenty yes, But.... It's still better than showing up to a brown bear hunt with Bergers....

In the end it's almost always going to be the Indian and not the arrow. But the arrow still better be pointy at least.

My bullet can piss higher than your bullet.

Well, not really - they just kinda dribble out.... according to some.

I mostly use factory Corelokts or Hornady White-tail toand including 30-06. Other stuff in the .338WM.

NEVER AGAin a 210 NP tho, on game. Does OK on paper. I need to load and waste those last 30 or so that came with the rifle 35 years ago. Better idea- lsell them to some sucker.

Hunt w/ my M1 rifle.

Ported Gas Plug in place of the gas cylinder lock screw, and Remington or handloaded 168 gr. TSX at ~ 2800 fps.

Have to believe that a heavy, 8-round semi-automatic M1 rifle, loaded w/ such ammo, would be hard to beat as a defensive weapon, given 2-3 rounds/sec. aimed fire.




GR

Hey there Las- what problem did you have with that 210 NP? I've read of others who ruined the front half of a spike elk shot through the shoulders with a 338 WM. In the 338/06, many swear by it, but my rifle would not shoot it!

I'm too old to carry a heavy piece like a Garand, but sitting in a fortified defensive position with that monster, and they can't even drive up to harass you.

I got a gorgeous CMP field grade rifle a few years ago for $850.........delivered in a custom CMP rifle case. New barrel and stock. No pitting. 1944 serial number. I then sent it to Schuff's in Michigan. He builds Mini G's, but I didn't want mine cut down to 16", or even 18" (I also had a Tanker in 308). I wanted a 20" barrel, hoping to maintain 2700 fps with a 180 grain bullet. The best I can squeeze out of it in 180 grains was 2600 fps. So I went down to 165 grain, and voila! I get a consistent 2730 fps average with Core Lokts and A-Frames and 52.5 grains of IMR 4895. I'm customizing a Streamlight onto a chopped down M1 bayonet so the light can simply be snapped on or off. The rifle always attracts attention at the range.

one of those Garands in 458 would be cool to have. But they are heavy. Of course my 458 bolt is heavy too.

Apparently 9.3x62mm is doable.



Hell of a thing.




GR

Wow! a 9.3x62! Years ago, I read where a one arm guy had a gunsmith make a Remington 742 in a 9.3x62 for Brown Bear Hunting! That was the first time I ever even heard of the 9.3x62. Accordingly, he got his bear too, ha.

For big bear with a 300 Win Mag I would use a 200gr Swift A-Frame.

Schuff converts them to 35 Whelen. If the 24" barrel length is kept, the higher velocities are maintained.

thats COOL. I've seen pictures of and the 458 win mag M1 being fired. Wasn't interested at the time. Interested now though. Out of stupidity I imagine. 416 caliber and I might do it period but that wont' happen I doubt.

I'm loading up some right now for velocity testing. I need 2900-3000 fps, but the best I could get with the IMR 4350 that I've got loads of was @ 2800 fps. I finally got a few pounds of Ramshot Magnum and Accurate Magpro as well as a few hundred 200 grain A-Frames, so the testing restarts. The 300 WinMag Tikka has become my favorite rifle. I've been shooting 200 grain Accubonds at caribou over the past 15 years, but since caribou hunting has gone the way of buffalo hunting in the late 1800's, it's back to moose. The Accubond would do fine on moose, but I want to try the A-Frame just for the novelty of it.

I’ve loaded Federal Terminal Ascent bullets in my 300 Win Mag using RL26 and they’re running 2980 fps over the chrony. Very accurate and I’ve ran them through eight one gallon water jugs. Held onto 175 grains and expanded to .708”. Given the design of a bonded lead front core, a solid copper rear shank and a .608 G1 BC .304 G7 BC. Makes a dandy hunting bullet for just about anything in the 300. I also have a 35 Whelen with plain old 250 grain Speer Hot Cors at 2600. Both thump bears well. Not big brownies but a couple few black bears have met their demise from both. I’d be real interested in that Winchester semi auto in 9.3x62mm for a bear gun.

My 300 Win likes both the 200 and the 220 grain partitions. The best groups mine shoots is with the 220’s. H1000, H4831sc and RE 26 all work with those bullets - H1000 is the best.

Have mentioned this before, but how much difference in groups makes a realistic difference in killing a "big bear," even at ranges beyond 100 yards?

I know custom riflesmith D'Arcy Echols very well, and years ago during one of our many conversations (both FTF and phone) he mentioned a customer who'd just ordered a .458 Lott for an upcoming elephant hunt. The customer "demanded" that both softs and solids group 3 shots into 1/2" at 100 yards--into the same group.

D'Arcy phoned me that day, and instead of starting with hello, he said: "Just how f------ small are elephants these days?"

For what it’s worth, the absolutely largest bodied bear any of my clients has taken was estimated to weigh between 1600-1800 pounds and was killed with a single 180 gr Partition from a 300 WM.
The shot was appx 60 yards and the bear ran 40-50 before dying .

The worlds record bear, skull size, was taken in 1952 with a 30-06

That's interesting on top of it all because the 180 is not a 300 win mag bullet. The 200 is. I"ve seen small whitetails stop the 180 partition from a 300 wtby.

Bottom line the bear is dead and I've yet to see the partition fail to kill a moose or bear but some have scary penetration.

Thanks for sharing!

fwiw my 458 win is not that accurate. But its plenty bear accurate so far out to almost 300 yards. They are not small targets. I am not happy with the groups. OTOH I know well the groups are plenty small for the non prairie dog targets.

From bench shooting, a ragged hole of three from a .458 Win is not uncommon. Those from hot handloads. My first .458 was a Ruger M77 with the tang safety. I never fired a factory round through it but the first handload was a mild load of the 500gr Hor RNSP at ~2000 fps into a ragged hole at 100 yds. 68 grs of H4895. That became my hunting load. My next .458 came years later: a CZ550, then in 2018 I traded for a Ruger No.1H Tropical. It's my favorite rifle and will go bear hunting May 1st with a first time ever factory load in any .458 - The Federal Premium 400gr TBBC making an average 2282 fps for five. I've made at least a dozen handloads for it, and any would work but decided to shoot a proven factory load before I'm done.

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

> nice to know some truth , and as i get older the 30-06 recoil is plenty for me , thanks for posting this,Pete53

If you're still wondering about this: I can't say that I 'stopped' this interior boar but I suspect he was the one who bluffed charged a few days earlier, so he was fairly aggressive. I used plain jane 180 Core-Lokts out of a .300 Win Mag. They worked fine to break his onside shoulder at about 200 yards, and lodge up against the skin on the other side. I don't know the retained weight but it looks like any other retained C&C bullet...~50-60% retention.

Maybe they wouldn't have held together as well if the shot was 10 feet? I dunno.
I'd take Phil's advice and pretty much nobody else's, including mine.

“If” it’s primary purpose is to stop a bear, I assume that we’re talking fairly close range where there will be sufficient velocity to achieve maximum expansion…. my choice would be the 200 grain Barnes TSX with the 180 TSX as a close second!

If for general purpose use….the 175 grain LRX, which would also penetrate very well on a very wet, large, bear with ill intentions in mind!

Jim, I’m certain that you could’ve figured that would be my response! 😉 memtb

https://www.boone-crockett.org/bc-worlds-record-alaska-brown-bear#:~:text=The%20world's%20record%20Alaska%20brown%20bear%20(Ursos%20arctos%20middendorffi)%20scored,Lake%20in%20late%20May%201952.&text=The%20immense%20bear%20was%20shot%20by%20Roy%20R.

No mention of the bullet fired except that it was 180 grain, nor is it stated how many rounds were fired into the bear, and I can find no details of the shoot8 g itself. What bullet options were available in 1952? It was specifically stated that Mr. Lindsley was some sort of refuge employee, he'd never killed a bear before, and that the harvest was part of a scientific expedition, not a sport hunt. They most certainly didn't have the expansive custom bullet choices we have today.

You were doing quite well up to then 😁

220 grain Partition SMP....

83 grains of H 1000...