Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting looking for good .308 bullet for elk

kman has a 308 bullet test posted in Hunting Rifles. Pretty good info in the post IMO

Getting closer is the ideal but not always practical or even possible.

Most states, if not all, require expanding bullets for elk. A bullet that doesn�t expand may well fail to do the job even though it passes through the vitals. When I was first testing Barnes X bullets (160g in a 7mm RM) I found their performance to be very erratic. A coyote at 100 yards dropped instantly on a broadside to the chest yet I never found the entrance or exit holes. Then an antelope took two to the chest at a slight angle, range 300 yards. It stopped after the first and after the second laid down, head up high, as if sunning itself. Some 20 minutes later I had worked my way around the hill and had a ~75 yard shot. The antelope struggled to its feet and started to walk away at an angle. The third XLC hit a rib, messed up the heart and put the unfortunate critter out of its misery. The wound tracks for the first two bullets showed little or no sign of expansion. The third caused a lot more damage, whether because the bullet expanded or by flying rib fragments I can�t say. All bullets exited.

At one time I was experimenting using my .22-250 with FMJ�s on coyotes. Even with well-placed hits the results were far from satisfactory. As a result I went back to expanding bullets.

Even getting expanding bullets to the vitals with a well-placed hit can be problematic if the bullet is not suited to the task and impact velocity. I�ve seen the dust fly when an elk was hit broadside with a .243, only to have the elk lost after it wandered off. (In fact, I believe I�ve seen more elk wounded and lost to .243�s than with all other cartridges combined, which is one reason I have no interest in using them on elk.)

Then there is the problem of shots gone awry and situations where you must take a bad angle or let a possibly wounded elk get away. In those situations my preference is to have a bullet that will hold together, expand reliably and penetrate deeply. Bullets do not behave the same in these situations with some providing what I want much more reliably than others. Those are the kind that I take elk hunting. Light or thin-skinned cup-and-core bullets at high velocity need not apply.

180 grain NP has worked well for me on elk in my 30.06 and 300 Win Mag. I would probably use a 165 grain NP in the 308 Win. Other bullets will work for sure but the NP is hard to beat on big critters.

My youngest son was drawn for a cow elk tag this year. He'll be using his good old .30-06, a 6x Leupold, and 165 gr Nosler Partitions. It's a combo he's familiar with, and good with.

If the elk is out at 800 yards, we'll get closer.

That should work. Good luck to your son!

Very good information thanks, do you have a favorite .30 cal bullet for elk?

Believe I have settled on using a 300wsm that is being built if its back in time to get some field time with it. I have 3 boxes of 180gr accubonds to try.

rugerdiggs -

This year I plan to use a 180g AccuBond and a .30-06. The main thing I want is a bullet that won't come apart at close range (high velocity) yet will expand reliably at the longest ranges I'm willing to take a shot. (I practice to 600 but have never taken elk past 487.)

North Fork are my favorite overall based on results in multiple calibers and weights, including 165g/.30-06 and 180g/.300WM. Trophy Bonded and A-Frame bullets should perform about the same. Beyond that, the Barnes MRX (no longer available) and TTSX have worked well in 165g and 180g weights. I wouldn't lose any sleep using Partitions based on the experiences of others I've hunted with.

By far the most important factor is putting the bullet in the right place. Do that and it won't matter much what you use.

Best of luck on your hunt.

Wellllll, I am no expert by any means, but I know that a shot at that distance without a A LOT of practice from a very stable position is way beyond my comfort level. I have only hunted for about 21 years in CO and my son has went with me since he was 8. When we were hunting the winter range near Maybell for cows, he was fine. I waited until he was 17 to take him to the hills. For him, I had him start with a .308 win and 250 was max distance and then to a 300 wsm, and now he shoots a 270 wsm. When I let him shoot, we started at the bench, when we finished he was shooting off sticks or a saw horse. Usually we shot at least 100 times. I never shot an elk from my stomach or a bench. I wanted him to be ready, because you don't always have a lot of time or second chance. My hunting buddy's late father was old school and had wisdom beyond my belief. His best advice was, don't shoot one unless he is big enough or small enough. Truer words have never been spoken for anyone that packs one out! I was fortunate to hunt with a native, and always acclimated for at least 2 days.

The stalk IS the hunt.

My elk bullet is the same as my deer/pronghorn bullet........5 sates and 2 continents

It was also my PG Africa bullet with 10 animals

30-06 150 grn Accubond

The longest shot in my records being 341

200 grain Sierra spitzer boattail from an '06. Accurate in my rifle, and when I do my part couldn't ask for more. Had a string of 5 cow elk that took a combined total of 3 steps. No bullets recovered. What more could one want?

Here is what I found. If your hunting Elk in open country A very long shot is 400yrds. Beyond that the wind, bad rest, heart rate, heavy breathing, time to get on target, Elk moving all kill your ability to make a clean shot. I have a few Elk rifles. The 308, 30-06 class are fine 200yrd Elk rifles. They start lacking energy beyond that. 7mm rem Mag with 160-175gr bullets are fine for that rare 400yrd shot. Then there is what I carry most days when Elk hunting. 300 win mag loaded with 200gr Partitions at 2900fps. Good from 50yrds to 500yrds and a bit beyond if you have spent the time practicing. If you think hunting Elk is all about long shots, You need to hunt Elk more. Several times I have set up on nice Bulls at over 500yrds. Just because you can see them in your scope, Have ranged them with the range finder, doesn't mean you should shoot. Imagine you just climbed a 7000' ridge, Spot a Nice bull across the canyon or out on a spur ridge. Wind is blowing about 30mph, temp is 15deg up from zero when you started the day. You just spent 3hr hunting up the mountain. You get set up, sitting with your shooting sticks. Dig out the range finder and you keep getting reading on the bull. 535yrd then 615yrds, 585yrds, 615yrds. The deep cold and wind is screwing with the reading, your shaking from the excitement, The battery is cold. Bull is calm, has not seen you. You wait for a shot, look for a line of travel you can get closer. Longer you wait, the colder you get. The worse the sight picture looks. Wind is still gusting past 30mph. That is Elk hunting. Not some fantasy written in a hunting rag.

Sounds like you need a new range finder, fresher batteries or steadier hands. You might also want to switch loads in your .30-06 if you think they are lacking past 200 yards.


While a .300WM provides more energy and velocity than a .30-06, the difference is not nearly as great as the 300 yards you suggest. Take your .300WM/200g Partition at 2900fps. At 500 yards it is doing about 2186fps and delivers 2121fpe. A .30-06/180g AB at 2800fps is still doing 2310fps with 2133fpe at 360 yards. At 500 yards that same .30-06 load retains 2134fps and 1820fpe, which is comparable to many .30-30 loads at the muzzle. When the day comes that I can�t take an elk cleanly at 500 yards with a .30-06 the day has come for me to quit hunting them as the problem isn�t with the cartridge.

I agree elk hunting is not all about long shots. In 33 years of elk hunting I�ve never taken or seen an elk taken where a .30-06 or .308 Win would not have sufficed, and that includes my two longest kills at 400 and 487 yards. (I used a .300WM and .338WM on those shots, respectfully.) Both were standing broadside shots across to the next ridge from a sitting position. I would guess the vast majority of elk are taken at ranges well under 300 yards. Of the 13 elk I�ve taken since 2000, all but three were inside that range.

As to the weather, yes, it can be cold. It can also be short sleeve weather, depending on where and when you hunt.

Good post.
For someone to try to convince you that you aren't shooting at long enough range is simply looking for an excuse to spout off.
Guessing you probably don't need someone from another part of the country to tell you about your weather.

I'll PM the address for the check. I assume your buying all the new gear you think I need. PS: I'm a few elk ahead you, but have been hunting since before 2000.

Alamosa �
I�m guessing you didn�t read my post closely enough. Nowhere and in no way did I suggest baltz526 wasn�t �shooting at long enough range�. That concept doesn�t even begin to compute.

The only mentions of range in my post were with specific regard to cartridge capability, to agree that �elk hunting is not all about long shots� and to state that all but three of my elk since 2000 have been taken under 300 yards. (In fact, all but those three have been taken under 300 yards since I started in 1982.)

What I took issue with was that a .30-06 is a �fine 200yrd� elk rifle but starts �lacking energy beyond that�. baltz526 contends a .300WM is good to �500yrds and a bit beyond� but ignores the fact that a .30-06 can provide the same energy at 360 yards that his vaunted .300WM load does at 500. Wouldn�t that make a .30-06 at least an adequate 360 yard cartridge by his own yardstick?

I also pointed out that at 500 yards a .30-06 can deliver the same energy as many .30-30 loads do at the muzzle. Does anyone seriously suggest a .30-30 is inadequate for elk at muzzle contact distances? Certainly not I.

baltz526 describes one possible scenario and flatly states �That is Elk hunting. Not some fantasy written in a hunting rag.� While I have no idea what his hunts are like, no one I know has climbed 7000� up a ridge to hunt and if he is referring to 7000� above sea level, hell � you might be going downhill to get to that altitude. As to the weather, I can only think of maybe 3 years since 1982 when the weather was particularly nasty. Often we wish temps would drop to sub-freezing to keep the ground from thawing and turning into mud. Many years the ground has been completely dry with crunchy leaves and we found ourselves hoping for snow to quiet things down. We�ve learned to dress in layers because clear skies, bright sun and normal exertion can leave you sweating. It isn�t at all uncommon for us to �find the perfect aspen tree�, drop our packs, then lean back and take a snooze while basking in the warm sunlight. baltz526� description of an elk hunt may be based on an actual experience, as are many articles written in �hunting rags�, or it may be � and I suspect is - a composite which would make it a �fantasy�. In any case many hunters experience vastly different weather conditions than what he describes, including those who write about it in hunting rags. That isn�t elk hunting �fantasy�, it�s a fact.

A few examples, starting with 2003:


2005:


2006, hunting buddy�s elk. Mine is down on hillside in background.


2007, elk down on left:


2009:


2010, son-in-laws elk is down on far peak (382 yards or close thereto):


2011, with mud�:
[img]http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/IMG_13584.JPG[/img]

2012:
[img]http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/IMG_057511.JPG[/img]

2013, more mud under the snow, freezing temps would have been welcome:
[img]http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/20131107_085507.jpg[/img]

Yep, looks like a few easy country hunts you got there. We have too few Elk to get many easy ones

This is Colorado, with 52 mountains over 14,000 feet and many more reaching above treeline. Elk are where you find them. I spent years hunting high but found it isn't always necessary. They all come down for the winter.

This is elk hunting in Colorado. Easy? Not really, as the 75% of hunters that go home empty-handed every year will attest.

Nice looking animals,

I ran across a deal on 3 boxes of 190gr long range accubonds and in hopes they shoot, if not I have some 180's that should. Now just the hurry up and wait game on waiting for my rifle to be finished and get it in my hands. And trying to decide which optics to have ready to put on it.

Necked down to .243, with 100 grain Premium bullets of course.