Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting The 300 Wby Mag for elk- is there anything better?

Given the amount of pathetic shooting I've seen in the field and at the range, I'd say that the vast majority of hunters shouldn't be shooting past 300 yards and even that is too far for many. In any case, my hunting buddy and I don't have any problem with 'bricks' like the Speer Grand Slam and Forth Fork SS out to 600 yards at the range and 411 yards on game. I've been using them since the early 1980's and, since they don't have any, neither I nor anyone in my party has ever had a tip fall off. Can't say the same for tipped bullets, nor do you have to search hard to find stories from others of AB tips coming off.

As to punching through shoulders, I know 'brick-like' Grand Slams can do it as the first one I ever recovered (after about 20 years of using them) had punched through both shoulder joints of a 5x5 bull at about 110 yards. The only other one my buddy and I have ever recovered took down my 6x6 bull at 411 yards last year. It was recovered under the hide on the off side after breaking multiple ribs on a quartering away shot. Retained weights were 71.1% and 77.8% respectively.



While I use a lot of AccuBonds, B.C. isn't the primary property I look for. And while I consider them better than cup-and-core bullets, including the BT, I do not consider them the equivalent of Barnes TTSX, Trophy Bonded Tip or North Fork SS when it comes to larger game, particularly in the smaller calibers and weights. That said, I really like the 225g AB in my .338WM for elk where the higher B.C. helps make up for a lower MV. Every one I've fired at elk, with 487 yards the longest, has exited the far side but none hit the shoulder. The one 150g AB I used on elk did not exit on a neck shot. That remains a sample of one but, considering it took me 20 years of exclusive use to recover a Grand Slam, I consider it a poor beginning.