Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Elk bullets - calmly

Agreed. Same thoughts here. I have never read any of your stuff Dave and thought this guy is anything but right up front.

Says yet another guy I pay attention to......

I should've done this in my first post. I've bolded the parts of iddave's that are the "nail on the head" portions of his post.

Match bullets like the TMK, berger, and eldm provide massive trauma, while also being less affected by wind (ie they have less wind drift). Wind is the one variable that is always present yet always variable. There will always be some degree of error in your wind call (excluding a lucky guess), high bc match bullet reduce the error because they drift less in comparison to most bonded or solid bullets.

I don't worry about close range shots as I've taken them and seen the trauma caused at muzzle velocity impacts, it's impressive.

If only sierra would make a 115gr or 120gr 6mm tmk. That would be THE killing bullet. The perfect combination of shootability, bc, terminal performance. Or an eldm..

I killed over 40 elk with a 30-06 and Hornady 165 grain spritzers. Nothing fancy, but effective. I have since tried a 30-378 with 200 grain Accubonds and 190 grain Hornady Interlocks. The 30-378 is just too much gun.

There are those that think 22 caliber cartridges are fine for elk, I am not one of those. Today I shoot and have been shooting elk for some time now, with a 300 WBY and 180 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips. Blood trails to me are not as important as putting the elk on the ground, so I shoot them in the shoulder.

Based on dozens of elk killed, I haven’t found the need for “premium” or specialty bullets. Between Hornady Interlocks and Nosler Ballistic tips, I have witnessed enough dead elk to comfortably say that they work and I quit shooting them in the lungs.

Once in awhile a good fence will also work…

One thing I had happen to me is when I shoot cows over hay fields there is usually near 50 of them.

It’s usually just legal light, I am usually alone. It’s usually 200 plus yards. The cup and core bullets seem to make a much louder THWAAACK! Compared to Nosler partitions or Barnes monolithic.

This loud report when it hits them is most comforting as I have no spotter.!

“If only sierra would make a 115gr or 120gr 6mm tmk. That would be THE killing bullet. The perfect combination of shootability, bc, terminal performance. Or an eldm..”


Great minds think alike…as I couldn’t agree more with this statement! A 6mm 120 TMK or ELDm would make my parts tingle.

Dave

I enjoy reading everyone’s opinion and most of all first hand experience. One thing lacking in many posts is distance to the Elk. Impact velocity and performance at 300 to 400 yards tells a lot and I consider it an important data point.

I'm a Barnes TSX/TTSX Koolaide drinker, but, I've made the Koolaide myself. Pre-TSX, I was a "Partition-Guy". The Barnes were quite a bit more accurate for me than partitions were, thus the change. Grand Scheme of things I've killed 13 elk, a Moose, 2 caribou, a pronghorn, a black-bear, and a whole bunch of deer.

We had LOTS of deer during the early-mid 2000's when CRP ruled the landscape and every fall I had a pocket full of tags. The scene that really sealed it for me was having 4 deer hanging within a couple of days. They were all taken w/different rifles but all with TSX bullets. 243Win 85, 7-08 120, 270Win 140, and 300Win Mag 200. With the hide off, you couldn't tell which rifle had been used on which carcass because the wound entrance/exits all looked "the same". Caliber sized entry, golf-ball sized exit, excellent damage in-between.

I've recovered 9 projectiles from critters, 5 200gn TSX from elk, 1 from my moose, 1 257 100gn, and 2 270 140's. They're not all "text-book/magazine quality" mushrooms, I've lost petals on a few. About 10yrs ago the guy I hunt with the most started shooting TTSX bullets as well and the results are predictably the same.

All that said, I could go back to shooting partitions, ballistic tips, interlocks, or game kings tomorrow if I had to and I doubt I'd really notice much difference when all is said and done. Make holes in the heart/lungs, maybe try to catch a shoulder going in or out and validate your tag.

Slap any animal on this continent behind the shoulder with a 30 caliber 165 plus grain interlock moving 2900 plus inside 400 yards and it's gonna die. After that you may need the bonded deal, maybe. If you hit shoulder or azz, that's your problem, not the bullet. In my opinion you would have to be extremely desperate to shoot further than 400 yards at anything while hunting. In my experience, I usually have a pair of shooting sticks and don't have all day to make it happen. After 250 yards, I think a big game hunter on elk sized game should stay off the shoulder and target lungs. It's like popping a beach ball with no resistance versus shooting a softball through a cinder block.

Entirely too much common sense on display here... Well put.

Guy

I presume all these 9 recovered bullets were Barnes and not just the 200 grain TSX?

It is so odd that different people have different experiences with the same equipment. Many people preach they’ve never caught a Barnes bullet, or any mono for that matter.

I always think a big difference in people’s varied results/conclusions is their individual definition of “good” shot placement, but I am sure there are other examples.

When I shot barnes 180 grainxlc outta a 3006 I would find the bullets.

Perhaps the mushroom petals thwarted further penetrating the opposite hide?

You actually killed an elk with a 30-06 ? I thought that cartridge was obsolete I mean can you still get brass ? Well I guess you know what you’re talking about but I’ll have to think about this one “ calmly “

Rick

I’m sorta of with Jackson Hand on this. But I don’t use true ‘ frangible ‘ bullets in high speed cartridges cause I’m still looking to bust up big bones and putting them down. So bullets like Hornady Interlocs, Hawks and Partitions do the job. They reliably penetrate, retain enough lead to break bone and most often result in secondary projectiles as in bone shards that poke holes in lungs and heart. Never had them exit on good shoulder shots so the old exit wound equals good blood trail doesn’t apply. Even if there was a good blood trail I couldn’t see it being red/green color blind unless there is snow on the ground

Rick

JMO, you match my the caliber and ammo with the gun. Elk are tough animals, and broadside shots lend themselves to many bullets. But, if that bull of a lifetime needs to be punched through the shoulder, a quality bullet is needed. It won’t kill as quickly as a broadside shot that knocks it on its @ss, but it will be a dead animal within 100 yards. For elk and tough animals I’m a firm believer in Accubonds, Partitions, Ascents, etc.. For light skinned animals like pronghorn, give me a fast ballistic tip that produces a ton Of damage and anchors the animal in its tracks. There is no one “ best of” bullet.

Contrary to popular opinion, elk are not hard to kill.Finding them is. I have killed a lot of bull elk with only one double lung shot and I am sure many others have too.

Yes, all 9 are Barnes TSX (I don’t shoot any of the tipped version):

I have no data, but, I suspect not everybody actually looks for the offending projectile (I do, I consider it a trophy). Folks who take animals to a processor whole are also unlikely to get any recovered projectiles back as well unless their processor is a "loony" or has been alerted to the possiblity and asked for any results.

A buddy shoots all TTSX versions and I know we've recovered several .338 210's via 338Win and a couple of 150TTSX shot from his 280AI Kimber as well. None of his are pictured below.

Saddlesore I believe you have brought the debate full circle.

They may be easy to kill ……….

But hard to find……..(goes 4 both live ones and dead ones).

270 Win with 150g Partitions at 3000 fps has been my goto elk medicine for a long time.

Ive enjoyed following this thread. I've killed elk with a number of cartridges from 243 to 45/70. Bullets have been cup and core, partitions, and TTSX's. All the bullets have worked well. The chamberings I've used most are the 338 WinMag with partitions and the 270 with mono's. I've no experience with Bergers, Scenars, bondeds (on elk), or mono's designed to shed petals. I might also note that my experience with TTSX's has been with using them relatively light for caliber and driven fast. I'd like to try 168 grainers from a 308 or '06. Anyway, I'll share a few opinions:

Number 1 - Saddlesore is right, finding elk is where the conversation begins.
Number 2 - Bullet placement trumps all.
Number 3 - If the question involves hunting big game, "Partitions" is always a good answer.
Number 4 - A solidly constructed cup 'n' core works well especially at velocities below 2800 or so fps and when they are on the heavy side for caliber.
Number 5 - Mono's excel with speed. They're great for neck shooters or for the high shoulder shot. They seem to be the kings of penetration.

Thanks to all who've contributed to this thread, good info.