Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Who has shot elk with the .358" Nosler 225 Accubond?

I'm having good enough success with load workups I might get lured away from the 250 Partition in my .35 Whelen AI. I am looking for some real experiences folks have had on elk with the 225 AB, both good and bad (if there are any).
I also have some 225 TSXs which just arrived today so please include any of those stories too.

Thanks in advance,
Rex

Not a .358, but a .338WM and a 225g @ 2742fps MV. Two elk, one about 260 yards and another at 487 yards. In and out, elk down.

Both the 225 AB and TSX have been excellent in my Whelen. A few elk and bear with the TSX and a lonely old deer with the ABs but I’d not hesitate with either one of them in the Whelen.

The 225 AB is my bullet of choice in my Whelen. I have shot a moose, several elk, and african plains game with that bullet. I have not had to track any wounded game with this cartridge / bullet combo. It puts them down hard. I I have a few recovered bullets I'll post when I get home.

TRex, don't over think the application. I killed a lot of cow elk with 243 and 100g partitions, and two big bull elk with 7 Mag and the old 140g nosler ballistic tips.

Speed with bullet expansion equals stretching with permanent wound cavities.

Permanent stretch cavities are created at 2200 fps, otherwise you are punching a hole.

Elk are not hard to kill, but a bad shot equals an unbelievable tracking job with many ending up feeding the lions and bears.

Seems like a heck of an all-rounder in the Whelen. Decent flight characteristics also, especially when loaded to 2,700 or so.

I shoot them at .358win speeds in a Whelen and I can't get a deer or a hog to stop one. Good damage to vitals also, even with the lower MV.

Thanks for that data. I'm about convinced but please keep the stories coming. As you can see in the attachments I am having good luck with this bullet. And the 2000-MR powder achieves previously unattainable velocities with low pressure. It's quite impressive. See the dope card - this load carries your recommended 2200 FPS to 400 yards and over a ton of energy to 500. and if you compare the trajectories to that long range masterpiece, the 6.5 Creedmoor, you'll see they are identical. I must caveat that this dope is run for 7,300 feet MSL, where I will be hunting elk. It'd be "saggier" at lower elevations.

Thanks again for the inputs and keep 'em coming.

Well I can throw my two cents worth in on the 225 gr. TSX on elk. I've taken five cow elk with the bullet and all were either DRT or hit so hard they couldn't escape even if they wanted to. On the DRT, two dropped so fast the guide had trouble locating them, one, my longest shot with the Whelen sagged at the rear like a dog sitting down then dropped slowly at the front end. Two were hit a bit too far back but dropped on the spot. Both tried to get up but were unable to even crawl away, They required finishing shots.

Rifle is a custom Mauser with 24" 1 in 14" twist barrel. Load is Remington brass, Winchester WLR primer, and 60.4 gr. Re15 foran MV ov 2710 FPS 15' from the muzzle. Accuracy runs from .50" to .80" depending on how well I'm shooting.

Paul B.

Thanks Paul. I don't need much convincing on the TSX but your stories sure help. I just received a box in yesterday's mail and plan to start work-ups with them soon, as I am about there with the 225 NAB. I'll try the same 2000-MR powder for the TSX, which ought to give an extra 100-150 FPS over the load you quoted. Given the nature of the TSX that can only help performance, I think.
Cheers,
Rex

I’ve not killed any elk with the 225 AB but I’ve killed dozens of deer with it with my 358 wssm.
Muzzle velocity is 2400 and change and I’ve yet to recover a bullet.
Most are broadside shots but a few have been at a good angle.
I will say hitting shoulder bone is very destructive but anchors them quickly.
I imagine you are throwing them a bit quicker but also probably at longer distances where mv might be close to equal.
I’d not hesitate to use the bullet on elk one bit.

Thanks again Paul.
I settled on the 225 TSX at a little more than 2800 FPS as my elk load for this year (.35 Whelen AI, 70gr PP 2000-MR, CCI 200, 3.375 OAL). I got on a good bull just before sunrise Sunday morning. I shot at 151 yards. I was very happy the bull fell right there but disappointed that I did not get full penetration through the shoulders with an exit. You can see the little lump in the first pic, which is the bullet under the hide, then the second is after I slit the skin and picked it out. I put it on the scale after I got home yesterday...225.0 grains right on the dot. Can't get much better than that. The expanded TSX presents a pretty huge frontal area. I am wondering if I'd have had an exit with the 225 NAB or 250 Partition. I recall Mule Deer writing some years ago that he had never recovered a bullet from his favorite 30-06 elk load, the 200 Partition.
I'll still keep working on loads with those 225 Accubonds since I now have 200 of them thanks to the sale at SPS. I got the blems so cheap I can use them for foulers!

Thanks to everyone for all the advice and replies.

Cheers,
Rex

Shot one last year with 358 win with the 220 Hot Cor. Went about 30 yards and tipped over.

That 300yd MPBR looks awesome. I didn't know the Whelen was adept at that with 225's. I've had excellent luck with H4895, but I'm not getting 2800fps. May have to try the 2000-MR. I also hunt elk 6500-7500ft AMSL usually.