Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Are premium bullets needed for elk?

Did premium bullets exist before 1901?

Were elk killed with bullets before 1901?

PS: I have never killed an elk, but it doesn't mean you can't answer the question.

Depends on what you mean by "very accurately", "premium" and "good".

My rifles seem to be more sensitive to bullet weight than type. In particular I have a 30-06 that won't shoot 150g bullets well but loves 168g. And standard twist rates prohibit my using the heaviest bullets for caliber in various rifles. My 7mm RM doesn't seem to like 120g bullets but loves 140g to 162g.

When loading premiums for hunting, I try to find an inexpensive cup-and-core load that closely mirrors the ballistics of the premiums and use the cheap loads for most of my range work, switching back to the premiums for the last range session or two. I have yet to find a rifle where this does not work or where accuracy of one type is significantly different.

I did have one 30-06. an early Ruger American, that would not shoot any factory loads with suitable accuracy. Never fired a handload in it, but the 7-8 factory loads I tried, standard and premium, all shot about 2-1/2" groups at 100. It got traded as it wasn't acceptable for range work, let alone hunting..

The "premiums" I use in my hunting rifles include Barnes TTSX and LRX, Nosler AB and ABLR, Swift Scirocco II and A-Frame and my remaining North Fork SS, HP and FP bullets. While these have proven to be very accurate in my rifles, I would gladly use them even if it meant giving up a little accuracy compared to "garden variety" bullets.

Your question begs the question "At what range?" Many people hunt where 200 yards is an extraordinarily long shot. A 2MOA rifle is fine for that but I wouldn't take such a rifle hunting where shot opportunities could be well beyond that.

The type of game also matters. I've taken antelope with 95g SST, 100g TTSX, 110g AB, 130g Scirocco-II, 140g AB and North Fork HP, 160g XLC and 220g InterLock FP. The only one that did not work well was the 160g Barnes XLC, which was the first animal I took with that bullet and the last time I used it for hunting. When taking my 338WM elk hunting it gets loaded with 225g AB but I'd gladly use my 225g SST practice loads if I could not find AB to load.

If by "good" you mean thin-skinned bullets like the ELD-X, ELD-M or similar, I might use them on antelope or small deer but they would be far down the list my choices for larger game. Give me a BT, SST. InterLock, or similar instead. Or a premium that shoots "accurately enough" even if not "very accurately".

Coyote Hunter, You could not have said it any better for me, my experiences and feelings are very close to yours. I have sent a lot of Nosler Partitions downrange which has limited some of my experimentation, only because they did the job for me everytime. I have not fired a single factory round in decades and for the most part using powders that have been on the market for years and years. I even have used Speer flat base 180's for practice instead of the Partition, in order to save a few bucks. Finite accuracy is only necessary when you get past a few football fields, and most should not be shooting that far anyway.

If you had a magnum, they’d probably let you you hit it more than once.

She took a dandy!

My first elk died when a 162g Hornady BTSP InterLock hit it in the chest. Range was about 100 yards using my 7mm RM. The bullet centered an onside rib and slipped between the far side ribs. The bullet's weight was 47.7% when recovered, even though the challenge to its integrity wasn't very much. The spike bull went down but required a finisher shot. I was not impressed.

That was the last time I used a standard cup and core bullet in my bolt rifles for more than three decades. The following year I switched to 160g Speer Grand Slam bullets and it took me 20+ years to recover one. When I did, it had destroyed both shoulder joints of a 6x5 bull elk and was peeking out the bone on the far side. The recovered weight of the Grand Slam was 71.7%.

Since then I've only used premiums for my elk and mule deer hunting. And after seeing more results other people have had in the intervening years, I see no reason to change and lots of reasons not to do so.

Because the 162 Hornady is the most accurate bullet in the majority of my 7mm's, I was also conned into trying it on elk. With the same, reaction. Never hunted them again.

That’s a wicked bull.

The 3 biggest bulls I have l killed all went down with 1 shot with a Sierra GK. Two with a 7mag, 160 gr and one with a 180 gr out of an .06.

I am past 50 elk killed. First one with a.308 and a 165 gr Remington Bronze point in 1966. All in between have been with the .308,180 gr GK, 45-70 and 405 gr Remingtons, 30-30 ,170 gr fl pt, 50 cal.maxiball, 50 cal 348 gr Powerbelt, 7mag Remington,7 mag Weatherby (most with 160 gr GK, some with partitions), many with the .06, with either 180gr GK or 220 gr rn, several with the 180 gr partition.

Pick a bullet that is designed for the impact velocities you expect and go elk hunting. If that is on the north side of 2800-2900fps or so, then yea,you probably need a tougher bullet.

I have not seen one bit of difference in how the elk died that I have killed vs what was on the head stamp of the cartridge or the bullets I used. The ones that I did not make perfect shot (there were a few) went a ways, the ones I did, fell over pretty quick
Either the elk are a lot tougher in other areas than where I hunt, or some hunters need to figure out how and where to shoot elk

I don't know. I will never shoot enough elk to determine that. But I have killed elk with 165 Speer hot core from a 30-06 and 225g TTSX in .338 Win Mag. I hit the first better with the 165 Speer and broke both shoulders. The elk made it 50 yards down hill because it was rolling. However, I had a cousin who guided and hunting in the Bob Marshall for 40 years. He much preferred partitions and later Swift A Frames for elk.

My self concious magnumitus subsided when I was about 30. Now I bone everything I can with my short action, without shame. It is hot loaded though. Find pressure and all...

The projectile is premium, no doubt. It has never failed to perform, nor impress the dudes I mean ladies.

I hunted deer and elk with factory Speer Nitrex 165 gr Grand Slams in .308 Win for several years before I acquired other rifles. None failed to do their job when I did mine. Likewise with .35 Whelen 225 gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claws. In the past ten or twelve years, Barnes TTSX and TSX have been 100% effective on big deer and elk with no critters lost or bullets recovered. Never shot anything but paper with Partitions but your mileage may vary. Are premiums required? Probably not, but who GAS?

This is pretty much what I have seen. Saw one bull hit with a .375, and that I will say was pretty impressive.

On the other hand, the most dramatic reaction I’ve ever seen was with a .243. Before everyone gets their panties twisted, I’m not saying the .243 is superior. Until we figure out how to revive them and duplicate the exact scenario/shot, this war will rage on.

You only have to please yourself.

Don’t let the guys that shoot magnums make you feel inadequate.

In most of the elk country we’ve hunted, you can change terrain from 50 yard shots to as far as you dare....by simply crossing a ridge. It’s pretty nice to have one cartridge/rifle that will work well with both! memtb

There was a thread on another forum maybe 12yrs ago started by a guy who switched to a 375H&H exclusively for big bull elk. He was tired of them running off. The poster had photos and shot placement pictures with multiple bulls taken with just one shot each and straight down results. He mostly hunted off horseback so rifle weight was not a big issue. The thread generated alot of controversy as expected. Can't recall which forum it was on??

Agreed, that how I chose what I use.

With any cartridge/caliber .....results can’t always be predicted. All of my elk have been taken with a .375....the majority with my AI. I seen them collapse at the shot, and once, on a broadside, behind the shoulder shot at 50 yards.....continue walking as if missed. I’m certain he didn’t require a second shot, but, he got one.....while I was asking myself how I could’ve missed! memtb

I shot a rag bull with a .375 H&H back in 2011. 260 partition at about 100 yards. He didn't go anywhere but straight down.

That's what happens when you put a bullet in their brainstem. When they catch your wind and spin on a dime, but you don't have the reaction time to let off the trigger accidental head shots are about as lucky as you can get😀.

24 Hour Classic right there...Laffin’.