Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Good constructed bullets for the .300 win man

Looking for some good constructed bullets for the .300 win man in the 180-220gr range. Will be using it on moose and black bears for ranges out to 300 yards.

I hate to state the obvious and don't know whom to quote but,


"nosler partitions are never a mistake". There are a few other "good constructed" bullets out there but I'll leave that for others.

My favorite (just ordered more a couple days ago) is the 180g North Fork SS. Have to be a handloader to use them, though. If not a handloader, the Trophy Bonded Tip loaded by Federal is a close match and possibly an even better bullet.

A Swift A-Frame is somewhat similar in that it has a bonded front core but instead of a solid rear shank it has a separate lead core in the rear.

My next choice is the 180g Barnes TTSX followed by Nosler Accubond and Partition.

My concern with cup-and-core bullets is not how they perform at longer ranges (lower velocity) but what they might do at close range. Stick with 180g and heavier and I wouldn't worry too much.

The TSX, Swift A-Frame should be a good ones to try, I have read they like speed so they open up. I think Ill get a box of Swift A-Frame, NP and one North Fork in the 180gr and see how they shoot at the 200 and 300 yard marks.

Just my opinion but I cant imagine why anyone would use a 300WM if your gonna shoot a 180 grain bullet to 300 yards or less....to each there own I suppose.

Because it is an outstanding big game caliber..

What would you recommend? Sure op could get by with less, but it's not like he's seriously overgunned for moose with a 300wm.

Nosler partitions are:

1) Popular- read that to mean easy to find, and obtain.

2) More reasonably priced that some other 'premiums' and...

3) The closest thing you'll ever get to a sure bet in life. They work every time....

Either a 180 or 200 gr Nosler Partition.

Barnes TTSX is my bullet when it comes to my 300 H&H.

Because a 300 yard shot can easily become a 500 yard shot at a fleeing animal?

Because a .30 caliber at high velocity can be very authoritative?

Because a 300 yard shot might really be 400 yards if you don't have a range finder?

Because in areas where you can get a 300 yard shot you can often get much longer shots and you never really know what you will get until after the fact?

Because of experience where the 100 yard opportunity of a few seconds earlier quickly became a 400 yard opportunity, resulting in a downed elk in the circle?

Hitting an animal with a faster bullet isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I shoot mostly 200 ABs in my .300 WM, but Partitions are just about as good. I spent a lot of time and money trying to get TSXs and TTSXs to shoot and perform as well as the Noslers. When they did, they weren't any better.

My 300WM loves 200 gr Nosler Partitions. IMHO it is the perfect bullet for this round.

All valid points....lets recap:

The 300WM is the only cartridge that can make 4-500 yard shots on elk, got it.

Also, hows the moose hunting out there?

It's a great one.

Whenever these threads pop up I always wonder how many animals the posters have shot with various bullets, and what they base their ratings on.

Yep.

Because not all of us hunt on game farms.

Many of us actually hunt wild critters in wild lands.

Sounds like you missed out on the SPS deal a while back. They had a bunch of 200gr. Nosler partition blemished bullets on sale. I think they were $13.45/50. I bought a chit load of them...

So you are one of those people who can’t make an honest argument and have to misrepresent what other people say in your attempt to make your point?

The .300WM is definitely NOT the only cartridge that can make 400-500 yard shots. If measuring effective range by retained energy and velocity, however, it adds up to about 200 yards over a .30-06. If using drop as the metric it adds about 50 yards.

Case in point, using a 180g AccuBond (B.C. .507) at 2800fps in a .30-06 and 3100fps from a .300WM (based on Nosler data, 2812fps max for .30-06, 3160fps max for .300WM), with MPBR (Maximum point Blank Range) zeros for a 6” diameter target, the two compare as follows:

.30-06 = 2800fps/3133fpe @ muzzle, zero = 243 yards, MPBR = 287 yards; 300 yards = -4.1”, 2403fps, 2308fpe; 500 yards = -35.3”, 2157fps, 1860fpe
.300WM = 3100fps/3841fpe @ muzzle, zero = 267 yards, MPBR = 315 yards; 300 yards = -2.0”, 2676fps, 2862fpe; 500 yards = -25.8”, 2415fps, 2330fpe

In terms of velocity and energy, with these loads the .300WM @ 500 yards is equivalent to the .30-06 at 300 yards. At 300 yards the .300WM is equivalent to the .30-06 at 100 yards. And so on. Logically, if the .300WM is “too much gun” at 400 yards then the .30-06 is “too much gun” at 100 yards. Do you use a .30-06 at 100 yards and, if so, why?

I’ve hunted elk with a .44 Mag revolver and carbine, .257 Roberts, 7mm RM, .30-30, .30-06, .300WM, .338WM, .375 Win and .45-70. This year I plan to use a .280 Rem, although can always change. Each cartridge and rifle combination has its advantages (even if only “I enjoy using them”) and disadvantages. I don’t kid myself that these cartridges are all created equal – they are not, but many are more similar in capability than they are different. I cannot conceive of a situation where I would use the .30-30 and consider the .30-06 to be “too much gun”. Likewise, there is no situation where I would consider the .30-06 to be a reasonable choice yet consider the .300WM to be “too much gun”. YMMV.

As far as I’m concerned the only disadvantage to the .300WM when compared to the .30-06 is increased recoil, but for me it is still well within manageable and easily tolerated limits. Some people would correctly claim lower powder consumption for the .30-06 and then go on to claim that lower powder consumption constitutes a significant advantage for the .30-06. To this I say pffft. When I have to worry about the cost of 10-15 grains of powder it is long past the time when I cannot afford to hunt elk.

As to moose hunting, I wouldn’t know. While I have some preference points for Colorado moose, I’ve never hunted moose, doubt I’ll ever draw a Colorado tag and it is almost as unlikely that I’ll ever go out of state to hunt moose. In the meantime, I’ll happily continue to hunt with my .300WM during big game season, regardless of what others may think.

" Each cartridge and rifle combination has its advantages (even if only “I enjoy using them”) and disadvantages."

Probably the only truth in this entire thread.

What most forget is that when the big magnum craze started, the advertisement was that a person could now throw those big heavy bullets as fast as the lighter bullets in smaller chamberings and the old standby C&C bullets worked. Then people found out that" damn,that hurts" and went to using lighter bullets. Then they found out " hey,they come apart at magnum velocties". The rest is history and the boutique bullet race was on.

It isn't rocket science to figure out that when one one exceeds the realm of 2900-3000fps they had best use a tougher bullet. Which ever shoots best in your particular rifle is the one to use

BTW, come the end of October,I will post whether the 30-06 is enough of a cartridge for moose here in Colorado