Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Elk bullets - calmly

10 pages and not 1 passing match - a new record!

Seriously, this is a good thread. I wish this existed when I was trying to figure out elk and elk cartridges/bullets. But back then (20+ years ago) we didn't have the selection we now have. Somehow I killed stuff with Sierras and Hornadys. Gasp!

4 thumping hayfield cows.

I like the hornaday FTX 160 in a 300 savage.

I personally think hornaday has got the momentum to become a serious player in the shooting industry.

Gonna use a 308 marlin express this year unless I get fortunate enough to stick one with an arrow.

My go to bullet for a very long time was Nosler Partitions in just about everything- from 25-06 up to .338 WM and 300 Weatherby Mag. They killed very well and we were able to take a lot of elk and deer with those combos as I reload for myself, my brother, and my son. However, a few years ago I started to get tired of the damaged meat I was getting with the Partitions so I went shopping. I had loaded a bunch of A-frames for my African hunt and was very happy with their performance and I had a few in different calibers laying around so I tried them in my 338 and my 300 Weatherby (actually a 300 H&H AI- potatoe/potato)... they worked fine and I recovered a few that had a perfect mushroom. When those ran out I tried the Nosler Accubonds and I am presently loading them pretty exclusively in all my hunting rifles how except my varmint rifles. They are extremely accurate and I'm definitely in the bullet placement camp, regardless of the game. But so far the few animals I have shot with them have been pretty quick kills and the bullets have been perfect if I have been able to collect them... I would like to try the Hornady ELD-X but I have a hard time changing once I find something that works...

Some great info in this thread...

Good old 180gr Interlocks about 2700fps from a 30-06 worked fine for me.


Will most likely be using 143gr ELD-X in 6.5 Creedmoor for this years elk hunt. Not that there are any flies on the 30-06, but my CM weighs about 2# less and getting myself up and down the mountains ain't as easy as it used to be.

In my experience the 143 ELD-X is a great bullet in the 6.5 Creedmoor. Haven't killed any elk with it (yet), but a hunting partner and I used it on mule deer in northern New Mexico a few years ago. I killed a 300-pound buck that was standing broadside in a patch of Gambel oaks only 100 yards away, and the only vital part of his body exposed was the "high shoulder." The buck collapsed at the shot, and the ELD-X broke both shoulders and the thickest portion of the spine, ending up under the hide and retaining 74% of its weight.

My buddy killed a bigger-bodied buck at 311 yards, which stood angling away. The bullet ended up in the far shoulder, retaining 86% of its weight.

Which is why I bought a lifetime supply of 143 ELD-Xs shortly afterward.

JB what do you consider a "lifetime supply"?
.mb

The 6.5 CM is at the confluence of a great number of human factors.

I’ve killed 20 elk mostly cows & assisted on that many more cutting & hauling. I’ve used 7mm, 30-06 and 300 Weatherby shooting accubond, partitions, ballistic tips & Barnes TTSX.

I’m agnostic on 2 holes or maximum internal damage. On deer explosive fragmenting bullets worked best & fastest hands down. I’ve gravitated to monos for elk 180 TTSX going near 3200FPS works for good & bad shot angles up close and at 500 yards. Seldom need a finisher on elk occasionally do on deer.

I dislike animals suffering & dislike having to pass up shots that I can make because of bullet limitations so like the OP I’ve erred on the side of stouter construction. The other benefit of monos is I’m never worried about lead in the meat that I’ve missed or the butcher missed because of fine fragments in the hamburger.

The component inventory list I keep on this computer shows a total of around 275 143-grain ELD-Xs.

As I related around the 'fire before, back during the latest unpleasantness when a bonded bullet couldn't be found anywhere, I loaded up the 143 ELD-X for multiple cow elk hunts because:
1 - they produce very consistent groups in my CM
2 - they were available when everything else wasn't

I've since knocked down a number of 400 - 500 lb cow elk with that bullet, all single shots, however I was very careful to avoid big bone where possible. All have been pass-throughs.

Any of you use old A-max on elk?

Yup, but not the .264" 140 gr version. Mainly the 7mm 162 gr AM. Works well on everything from coyotes to elk and moose.

They reached that point 20 years ago.

I've used the 6.5 CM and 143 gr ELD-X on a caribou (375 yds), one cow elk (125 yds) and a 5x5 bull (135 yards). All were broadside one shot scenarios with little fanfare. This year I will be using the 140 gr. Partition just because I found a box to work up a load. Looking forward to the experience beginning in 30 days.

I have shot a few elk with the 6.5mm 140 A-MAX, including one bigger bodied 6x6. Starting velocity of 2880 FPS and distances not too far out so impact velocity was still somewhat high.

It worked fine, though I’d stay off the shoulder if possible, based on the expansion I saw.

Understanding there are a lot of great bullets out there, I've settled on Barnes TTSX or LRX in all our rifles.
They shoot great, kill well and in my experience save a fair amount of meat vs many other bullets.
I currently load them for rifles chambered from .243 to 300 H&H and have yet to be disappointed.

I have killed elk with the following bullets...

Nosler partition and ballistic tip bullets

Speer grand slams and hot core bullets

Hornady interlocks

Zero 'match' type bullets that a certain company pushes as suitable hunting bullets just to sell more bullets.... this is completely my own opinion on the fad of using such bullets on game..... I don't do it.

No flies on the mono's for game, cause that's what they were designed for. I just have not put any threw an animal yet.

One game ranch I hunted for 10 years had a large qty of Exotics. I killed around 30 Axis (75% Bucks, 25% Does) with a 280 Remington. All were whacked with Remington 150 CoreLokt’s, commercial loads. Never had to track a single one. Those loads averaged 2820 fps. Farthest kill was an Axis doe, headshot, at 300 yds.

Those 150 CL's work well on elk as well? Probably pretty easy on that bullet at that speed.

A few years ago I had to hit a cow twice with a 150g eldx from an 18" fieldcraft 7-08. The first one should have done it as it was quartering away and I hit it center height back of the ribs angling forward. The bullet blew up going in and looked like it only penetrated 5" or so and never touched the second lung.

Feeling my placement was good and thinking she still looked too healthy a quickly put a second in the neck and she went right down. With elk i always keep shooting until theyre down because ive seen them take seemingly solid hits and go a long ways.

It was just under 200 yards and my muzzle velocity was only 2675 but angling across ribs is sometimes hard on bullets. I've since switch that rifle to 180s at 2550mv.

I'd been a bit spoiled by the way my 300 wsm with 215g match hybrids has been folding everything with 1 shot. Years ago I used 200g accubonds in a 300 rum and those killed really well too. I had one go lengthwise through a small cow at 500 and it really tore stuff up.

Bb