Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting which bullet recommended

for my 308 win, i have worked up accurater loads for all of these bullets.
which one would be best for my elk hunt in '24?
165 gr speer grand slam, 165gr sierra gameking hpbt, 180 speer mag-tip, 180gr sierra prohunter roundnose

Go back and work one up for the 180 Grain Nosler Partition?

I was gonna say the same except with a 165 gr Accubond.

All will work well, but personally I wouldn't bother with the 180 Sierra RN.

With the 308 I've killed elk with:

150 TTSX
165 Nosler Accubond
165 Speer Hotcore
165 Hdy BTSP
165 Sierra Gameking

All but the TTSX worked perfectly.

The 308 is wonderfully easy on bullets - premiums really aren't necessary.

Hey Uncle Brad...was that Sierra 165 you used the GK Hollow Point Boat Tail or the Spitzer Boat Tail?

Spitzer Boat Tail. The Hollow Point is reputed to be tougher than the standard Gameking. My friend Dober used the 165 HP GK on a fair bit of game including elk. Worked great.

That's what I've read. In fact, it was over three decades ago, I read it from Bob Milek who used the 165 HPBT on elk in his 30-06 he sporterized himself. He is the one who said it was tougher. Good to hear of others feedback on it. I've shot them alot, in the past, in everything from 308 to 300's and they sure are accurate. I've killed deer and hogs with the 165 GK Spitzer BT out of a 30-06. It too acted pretty tough on them. Lots tougher than the 150 Corlokt. Thanks.

Thanks for the feedback. i was leaning towards the 165 sierra or speer. probably go with sierra gk hpbt

I've shot both of the 165 gr. bullets you mention from rifles chambered to .308 Win. I've used the plain Speer Hot Core and well over a dozen deer with great success would add that to the list. I've only shot one elk with the 165 gr. Accubond but I can say it was one shot and done, DRT. To be honest though, it was from a 30-06 with 24" barrel at 2800+ FPS and the bullet was never recovered. I have used that Sierra Pro-hunter round nose but only on deer. Shots with it were on the short side, two deer at well under 100 yards and the result was a bit messy. This was back around 1975 or 76 as I recall so maybe the bullet might be tougher today.
PJ

Any of them except the round nose. The 308s lower velocity is a little easier on bullets. The old Speer grand slams were good bullets, the Game King HPBTs are pretty good too. Two of my friends hunt elk every few years (when they draw cow tags) with 308s with Winchester PowerPoints, drop elk no problem. Ranges are 100 yards or less and if we do recover a bullet, it looks like a good mushroom...never checked the weight on one.

Not .308, but in my 7-08, the best shooting bullet is the 140 gr SGK HPBT. Terminal performance is very good on WT’s. No experience on bigger critters.

Bottom line, don’t exclude the SGK HPBT. It’s a sleeper bullet, IMO.

DF

Nosler Partition, Nosler Accubond, Barnes TTSX, or any other number of premier bullets. All will get the job done. Having killed well over a 100 deer and elk with NOSLER , bullets I am a little opinionated

+1 on Nosler. I come by it honestly. I have a hand written receipt where my Grandfather bought partitions from Nosler in 1955.

It was called The Nosler Partition Bullet Co., 6 boxes of bullets $28.

LHS

That’s cool. Thanks for sharing.

DF

Partitions are always as good as you’ll get, IMO. I’ve been using partitions since they were made on screw machines. But if you want to save a buck, go with cup and core.

I used the Grand Slam in 308 when Grand Slam first came out what a worthless POS bullet. The front part of the bullet sheared off and the rear acted like a solid. SPEER evidently fixed the problem but I’ve never bought another box. I had 160 gr. (I think 160) SPEER mag-tips in a 280 that worked well on a cow.

Other than that, all elk hunting has been with partitions.

Not always, but sometimes the NPT can be the most accurate bullet, never a bad thing. That’s the case with my .240 HS precision SPL.

DF

Was your issue with the 150 TTSX a one off problem or something else?

I have a few boxes of them that I’ve thought about loading for a 308. I’m sure that they would work but I’ve heard that they can be a little harder than ideal at 308 Win velocities.

165 Accubond with 47grains of cfe223 is an elk killing recipe.

Not to speak for Brad but I have found the 308 just doesn't move a mono fast enough to get the desired expansion and shock.

150 ttsx
Or any bonded 165/8 that shoots well.
IMHO, 180 is little heavy for 308. Especially if you get further out

I've dropped a few elk with a 308. I'm a fan of ttsx at any distance.

168gr ttsx I think around 500 yards or so. 1shot

I've only shot 8 or 10 elk with my .308's but experience with .308 and other similar cartridges would lead me to suggest any of those bullets are OK choices for most elk hunting. 165's seem to be the "sweet spot" for .308 bullet weights when hunting critters bigger than deer. I've had good results with the Speer Grand Slam bullets, and it's the one I have the most confidence and experience with, so that's my recommendation. Speer Grand Slam 165.

I have an Afrikaner friend in South Africa. Way back in the mid 90'she used the 180 Mag Tip in his .308 for "culling jobs". He always tried for head shots, but often he had to shoulder shoot them. He killed all kinds of game including Cape Eland. For one thing, then they were cheap and he would buy them in cases, ha. Only problem was that South African powder he used was very temperature sensitive. He made a trip to the Drakensburg Mountains and it was ice/snow/very cold. He shot an Eland twice on the shoulder before he got a head shot. On inspection, they barely went through the Elands skin and were very slow. He had some Military Ball ammo and finished his cull with head shots.

Any mono bullet. You want the smallest wound channel possible and none of that scary lead stuff.

It may with Hammer or Cutting Edge bullets.

DF

Yeah, a TTSX will just pencil through from a .308 Win...

More than likely a one-off. The bullet hit the shoulder, didn't open, and was found facing backwards on the off side. But, it was enough to kill the elk. 168 TTSX supposedly open at lower velocities than the 150 TTSX, so if I wanted to use a mono in the 308, that's what I'd be inclined to use.

Lovely bull! But I'd not use a mono in the 308 beyond 500... I just don't think it has the gas to open mono's reliably much past that range.

Past three years I’ve killed four elk with my 308 and 150TTSX. All four broadside (I’ve never killed two broadside elk in a row until now), three of them 80yds or less, one at about 250 yds.

Naturally all four exited, all four left very moderate exit holes, as usual with broadside armpit shots none fell down on the spot, three ran 30-50 yds. The fourth took a couple steps and her front half was covered by several tree trunks, so I had to wait, and wait, and wait some more until she finally took two steps forward and I shot her in the neck.

Unless Barnes intends for the 150 TTSX’s to be used exclusively for the 300RUM, they don’t need to be as tough as they are.

I have a bunch of them, and will continue to use them until gone because two exits will always keep a critter from going very far, but have a bunch of 150 and 168 E-Tips waiting in the wings…….

A friend and his sons have killed several elk with the 150 E-Tip and says they perform better than the 150 TTSX’s used previously.

Good stuff Casey, thanks for sharing. I'll pick up some 150 e-tips when they show up on SPS.

^^^ This……

What’s wrong with the 165 grand slam?

If they’re anything like the original Grandslams you make a good point…….

Nothing, other than it's hard to find. Flatbrimmers don't know what it is since it isn't an alphabet bullet. Of the four bullets the OP listed, it would be my first choice.

155 Scenar

Brad, i have over 500 165 grand slams and 300 180 mag-tips. also have 3 full boxes of ammo of original gold box federal premium 308, 165 gr trophy bonded bear claw

I may be in the minority but I like the Sierra HP. I use them a lot in my 30/06s and have always had good luck with them. They can be a little hard on meat and the BC isn’t anything special but they have been easy to get to shoot and they have given good results on game. They’re kind of a mix terminally between the destruction of a match bullet but they are a bit harder and penetrate well for exits.

I’m trying to recall but I don’t think I’ve ever shot an animal twice with them, the two big bucks I killed this year were one shot deals and straight down.

I've read that newer Ballistic Tips perform very much like Accubonds. The 168's shoot very well in my rifle. Thoughts?

Go the Nosler website and look at the cutaways of the AB vs the BT—the AB has a lot thicker jacket, especially in the back half.

Interestingly, Nosler shows the Silver Ballistic Tip having a jacket thickness somewhere between the AB and BT.

A couple of years ago I did some water jug testing. The 165GS from a .308 penetrated more jugs than 210 partitions from my .338-06.

Out of all the bullets the OP stated, the 180 sierra roundnose shoots the best in my 308

If it shoots well, the 168 NBT would be a top choice for me - I've got quite a haord of them. It does have a jacket identical to the Accubond, it's just not bonded. A member (kman) did some testing here with various 30's and it performed well. While the pictures are no longer available, the information and discussion is still good:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...let-test-cow-femurs-and-newspaper-part-1

Great bullet. Even from 300 Wins it’s worked great.

Grandslam or mag tip

My son and I had good luck with a .308 shooting the 150 grain TTSX in Mozambique . We took a good sized sable, a bush pig, a bushbuck and an impala with that load. Everything was DRT. The shots were all under 100 yards though, and since the muzzle velocity was 2900 fps the impact velocity would have been pretty high.

Try the Grand Slam, please let us know how they perform.

I’ve shot elk with them in a 300 SAUM. Worked well, but you will recover them if it’s not a broadside-ish rib shot.



To the OP: The Mag Tips might result in long blood trails after 250 yards or so. I think they’re made with heavy jackets for use in magnums.

You’re right DF.

I’ve almost always had good luck with accuracy and NPT. For some reason accuracy has not been great in either of my 25-06’s and NPT. I have 100 grain, 115 grain, 117 grain and 120 grain 25 caliber NPT’s and so far nothing to sing praises about.

Any hunting bullet NOSLER makes is always an excellent choice.

Anyone have any exsperience with 168 grain A-Max's?

I have had some great accuracy from those bullets in my .25/06 which only proves that rifles and barrels are individuals.

Select the bullet you have confidence in! I would shoot bonded bullet's, heavy for caliber but I shoot favored loads quite a bit and can't afford even bonded bullet's. My hunting bullet's are either Hornady Interlocks or Speer Hot cores depending on which shoots best! Properly placed they will kill as well and quickly as any bullet! To many people try to replace poor shooting with more expensive bullets! Doesn't work.

Back when the world was flat and brims were curved, I killed a bunch of critters with 165 gr Grand Slams in .308 Speer Nitrex factory loads. Who knew?

I've only killed six elk. Three with my 6.5x06 and 140gr Hornady interlock bullet's and three with my 30-06 and 180gr Hornady interlock bullet's. If I was to go to a different bullet it would weight the same but would be Speer Hot Core bullet's. Place your shot properly and they are all you will ever need! I have no doubt that I could go to lighter bullet's in both cartridges but the lighter bullet would make me re-consider my shot placement!

Ive had good luck with both 165gr TTSX and 165gr N-AB. I prefer to use copper and the 165 TTSX just plain shoots, so I stick with it. Neither are "long-range" loads and performance has always been good, so i don't fuss with ballistics too much (MV, BC, etc). For the game you mention, something a little cheaper like a Sierra Game King might suffice.

Sir, just curious about the poor performance of the 150 gr. TTSX. I've just begun to load that bullet in my 308 and don't want to waste my time & components. Is it too tough to expand at 308 velocity?

Thanks.

I wouldn’t use any of the bullets the op suggested.

Partitions, TTSX’s, Accubonds, Interlocks, Core Lokts - in that order.

In 308 out of the bullets you are considering I would use Sierra 165 HPBT

I have had good luck with the Grand Slam in the .280, so I would probably lean that way

What range do you anticipate shooting to? Most of those bullets you listed would work well at closer ranges but the 308 benefits a lot from higher bc type bullets if shots are going to be beyond 300 yards or so.

Although a lot of us here load 155g lapua scenars in our 308s for hunting. Not a real high bc bullet but pretty good for a 155g and it's been proven by many here to take game well. If you can't find any I usually keep a few thousand on hand and could sell a few hundred but these days they're easier to find then a few years ago.

Lots of good options with a 308 though. Just pay attention to impact speeds to set your range limits. Most hunting bullets expand above 1800 fps. I like to set my range limit to 2000 fps with some of the copper expanders to make sure I get reliable expansion.

Bb

I've always had very good experiences with plain Core-lokt ammo. Sherwood