Very well-said




Originally Posted by szihn
Well 22250 and czech1022, I can't say which bullet is "best' for elk from a 25-6 but I can tel you a few bad ones to choose. and unfortunately your Sierra is one of them. Not as bad as their "Game King" but nothing made by Sierra in .257 is a good choice.

We read these things all the time. "What bullet is best for ________(add your favorite animal)

But the truth is usually most forthcoming from those that have shot said and a-fore mentioned animal for several decades with several calibers and several bullets. Those that are not trying to sell you something, and those that don't work for those trying to sell you something.

Premium bullets have their place, and that's a fact, but most men overthink these things a bit too much. If we look at the track record of hunting over about 100 years, you can come up with a very good idea of what works and want doesn't, and also some records of what was in need of improvement.
Every year for 42 years now I have seen men and women show up for elk hunting with 270s, 7MMs, 308s and 30-06s with bread and butter type bullets. 150 gr 270s, 150 to 180 grain 30 cals and 140 to 175 gr 7MMs. No problems as a rule with such factory loaded ammo as long as they are not trying to use target bullets (or target bullets sold as game bullets)

Bullet holes kill, not bullets. That's why we see such good records from those cartridges that are very old and very proven, which are not "new and improved whizz-bang extra special" and all that tripe. One that goes under the radar and isn't spoken about much but is super good for elk is now 144 years old, the 45-70, shooting cast lead bullets. Nothing super-duper ultra modern there, but the 45-70 works as well or better than most modern magnums as long as you can hit the elk where you want to.

Bigger animals have bigger bones, larger organs and are thicker through their bodies. Such animals need a bullet hole that goes deeper and hopefully is a bit larger in diameter than a smaller animal will need. But deeper is more important then wider. A wide wound in an antelope or deer that's only 10-14 inches deep is ok most times, because the deer and antelope are only that thick, even quartering. There are a few bullets that penetrate so poorly I won't use them even on deer, and even from a 30-06 but most 30 cal bullets of 150 grains and more from most 30 cal bottle neck shells will kill deer just fine. Same with 7mms and 270s with bullets of 125 grains and heavier

I would never talk anyone out of the use of a premium bullet for deer and antelope, but the truth is a lot of cup-core standard bullets are just as good for that job. I am highly impressed with Winchester Power Points as a rule. Most Remington Core-Lokts are quite good too. Just good, plain old-fashioned bullets.

The place I really recommend a premium bullet is exactly what you are talking about. A well respected "deer round" being shoved into elk country. But you have a rifle that just fine if you use the right bullet.

Elk are 3 to 5 times larger than deer. So even if you don't make a hole in them that larger in diameter, you NEED one that you can depend on to go 2X or 3X deeper. Not so important on a good broadside hit, but try to run a bullet from mid body through an elk's chest and break a bone on the off shoulder and that's when you will really appreciate a solid expanding bullet like a Barnes X, a Hornady GMX or a super premium lead and copper bullet like a Swift A-Frame. In fact, the Nosler Partition is also a good choice for elk if you are going to use a 25 cal.

Now don't let me talk you out of the 25-06. That's not my intent. You have enough gun if you are enough man. Work on your shooting until you can hit running rabbits with your rifle at longer range. Shoot close to them and that makes them run. Then shoot the rabbits. It's very good training for your upcoming big game hunting. YOU are the hunter, not the rifle and not the ammo.

I and my friends have been killing elk with "standard" calibers for over 40 years. As a hunter and guide I have seen more elk killed than I can count. I have seen them killed very cleanly with 257 Roberts and I have seen horrible botch jobs with 338 and 300 magnums.
I can tell you I would not choose a 25 cal Sierra bullet, or ANY Burger for elk (and I will not recommend any Burger for any game at all over 50 pounds) but the Barnes and the Bonded bullets from all manufacturers are fine, as well as the Mono-metal expanding bullets. Shoot a LOT of your Sierras to gain skill on targets at ranges from 20 to 500 yards, and try to practice on moving targets too. You may not want to shoot a moving elk, but if he doesn't fall you may have to. You may have to shoot more than one time.

Another vital point; Divorce yourself from the varmint/target idea of accuracy for elk hunting with a 25-06. You have a shell that's just fine out to about 400 yards, but that should be it's limit in my opinion. You do NOT need 1/2 MOA accuracy for elk. They are quite large! You need a bullet that holds together. If your rifle "only" shoots 2 MOA with a Swift A-Frame and shoots 1/4 MOA with a ____(fill in the blank) leave the _________(fill in the blank) AT HOME! You can't shoot 700 yards with a 25-06 and expect good results because you can'r depend on shooting at that range and so you use the bullets that you need at 50 to 300 yards which is 99% of the time and forget about that last 1%. A Swift, a Barnes or a GMX will not expand well from you rifle much past 400 yards. A Nosler Partition will expand farther out but so what? it's still striking a fairly light blow way out there, and even if it retains 100% it's still only a 120 grain bullet. I have done this for about 4 decades now. In all that time I have made exactly 1 elk kill at 400 yards. ALL the rest have been closer and about 90% of them have been at under 125.

My experience has shown me that a perfect hit on any game (including a Cape Buffalo and a Hippo) with rounds that are considered "too small" are just as good as hits with big rounds. Cape Buffalo can and are dropped with 308 ball ammo, 8MM Mausers and 30-06s all the time by people that know where to shoot them and when NOT to shoot. It's when your hits are "not quite perfect" that the larger guns, and bigger bullets and the addition of raw power comes into play. Cape Buffalo are as easy to kill as milk cows IF you hit them perfectly with a bullet that will penetrate as you want it to.. But miss the intended point of impact by just about 4 inches and all the rules change fast and radically......and NOT in your favor (you can trust me on this)

So that's the biggest reason I can think of to use a premium bullet. I see no reason not to ever (except for the price), but no real reason to demand them either for most deer and antelope hunting and even for larger game, if a larger gun is used.

The exception is when there is an extra challenge.......like killing bull elk with a 25-06.