Elk bullet?

Hey guys,
I have my 1st elk hunt scheduled for next fall and I'm starting to look into bullets. Right now, the plan is to use a 7mm rem mag and 30-06 (one for dad and one for me). The guide is saying most shots will be under 200yds. Im liking what I read about the Barnes TTSX penentration and running a lighter bullet than traditional lead core. Of course the partition is good. Shooting the eld-x in 2 of my other rifles has been 50/50. One shoots them well, the other not so much.
Thanks for any info!
Scooter

My elk rounds in 7mm, 30, and 338 are all topped with partitions in weights appropriate for caliber, 160, 180, and 225 - 250 respectively.

Thanks! I know the answer but how's your penentration been? I'm curious too because I've never hunted anything bigger than whitetails.
Thanks again!
Scooter

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by scooterf79

Hey guys,
I have my 1st elk hunt scheduled for next fall and I'm starting to look into bullets. Right now, the plan is to use a 7mm rem mag and 30-06 (one for dad and one for me). The guide is saying most shots will be under 200yds. Im liking what I read about the Barnes TTSX penentration and running a lighter bullet than traditional lead core. Of course the partition is good. Shooting the eld-x in 2 of my other rifles has been 50/50. One shoots them well, the other not so much.
Thanks for any info!
Scooter

---

I shot a large northern moose with my old Savage in 7mm mag at 125 yds, the bullet I was using was a 160 grain Barnes X bullet.
I shot the moose when it was looking quartering toward me,the Barnes X went in about 30 inches after clipping part of the shoulder blade.
Whether I shoot traditional cup and core bullets or mono type in the 7mm mag, I do not go below the 160 bullet weight.

I do not get to hunt elk, however I needed extra penetration to shoot feral cattle. One club member picked up a 338 Win Mag, another picked up a 35 Whelen. I shoot a 30-06 Ackley. I went with a 200 gr Accubond with Reloader 19. I have shot 4 cows with it. All dropped with single shots to the heart/lung. The last was my longest shot at 640 yards.

Some club members shoot the feral cattle with bows. The preferred shot is high lung. They tell me that the animals will run 20-30 yards and drop. Seems like the answer is sufficient penetration. The second cow I shot was a 1000+ lb bull. Dropped with 1 high lung shot.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by scooterf79

Hey guys,
Im liking what I read about the Barnes TTSX penentration and running a lighter bullet than traditional lead core.
Scooter

---

Not bashing the Barnes stuff, but keep some reality in mind about them/ what the fans won't tell you about.
Barnes bullets start off as dead-soft copper, and get heat treated to be tougher(not dead soft). This leaves them harder to open reliably, THAT is the reason for going lighter with higher velocities. In order to reliably get them to open you need to: A) keep velocities notably higher than standard SP bullets. B) Put a "tip" in them to act like a wedge to begin expansion.
At your distances it is a non-issue, but don't believe the hype about being brought down from on high.
The other "Plus" that often gets heralded is the incredible penetration offered. One of the reasons for this is the razor sharp petals, when things slice with a razor edge they are "slick". Meaning that energy transfer isn't as violent and quick. So if you make a not so great shot(no vitals hit) you will be relying upon blood loss and not as wide of a destroyed tissue affair. Again, not to discourage you from using them, simply some realities that you need to understand when making a decision. Because of the less dense bullet, the SD will be less, and IME they tend to off-track more than others when hitting heavy bone at off angles. Also due to the lighter SD you will have less BC, but again at those distances it is irrelevant. Interestingly, I found that while X's tended to do less total tissue damage, they had an odd ability to throw strange tracts of "jelly-like" blood-shot radiating away from the bullet track. Less significant meat loss(if shooting shoulders/meat), but had to do more scraping than cutting to save meat.

All of my Elk(From a 30-cal at 06 velocities) were with a 165gr Hot-Cor, or Partition. Neither of those bullets are stunners when it comes to bragging about groups with your benchrest friends, but will easily pass through and have an elk hanging on the meat pole. I also like Berger Hunting bullets, but they are a different kettle of fish as well. DO NOT use a Berger if you are after meat/ can't place your shot off of a shoulder! You WILL ruin all shoulder meat. They easily kill quickly, but are brutally damaging(even going through shoulders). These need to stay in the pumphouse, not the muscle structure.

Scooter!!!

You want to shoot the 168 gr. TTSX in 30-06 or the comparable (150 gr.) one for the 7MM. I shot my elk from 145 yards out, (with 30-06) one shot right through the bottom of the heart... 5x5 bull ran almost 200 yards before he piled up on the deadfall. bullet was found on the opposite side shoulder, almost fully intact (was missing only one petal off of the bullet) and only dropped 3 grains of weight. Best bullet I've ever used PERIOD.

For the 06 I would recommend the Sierra 180 grain Game king.
I have not used them on Elk, but my BAR likes them, and the reviews are very good on this bullets history on large game.
Good luck

Thanks for all the resposes guys, I appreciate it. I'm not dead set on the Barnes or any bullet for that matter, just wanted to hear experiences with elk or elk size animals with regard to bullet type. I'll end up using whichever bullet shoots well for me. More responses are welcome.
Thanks again!
Scooter

One other tip for you.
Go onto Midway USA, look at the bullets and use the feedback on each, a lot of information on there from all over the country, and on all different bullets.
Good luck.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by scooterf79

Thanks for all the resposes guys, I appreciate it. I'm not dead set on the Barnes or any bullet for that matter, just wanted to hear experiences with elk or elk size animals with regard to bullet type. I'll end up using whichever bullet shoots well for me. More responses are welcome.
Thanks again!
Scooter

---

Sounds like a good plan to me, good luck on the hunt and seeing an elk to shoot at.
You will do just fine on the rest of it.

I know a guy who uses 55gr out of a 22-250 to hunt elk with. He only head shoots and keeps his shots under 200 and counts on accuracy. I thought he was nuts but he always seems to get an elk and says there is no wounded lost animals. I may try head shots at close range (under 100) but with my 6.5 not a 22.

With the TSX / TTSX, impact velocities above 2,600 fps guarantee a super quick kill.
You'll have to run the ballistics in a calculator. All depends on the bullet weight / Ballistic Coefficient and the muzzle velocity.

For Elk I think the Federal Trophy Bonded Tip is PERFECT !!! Solid copper shank and Traditional Led core front. It's like the Partition but a little better.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/10...tail-box-of-50

In all of the elk I’ve shot, the 180 Sierra Game King has never let me down. Plus, my youngest is able to use the exact same load in his Tikka and better groups too. I won’t own a rifle from overseas, but his Tikka is amazing for straight out of the box accuracy.

I suggest you ask your guide what bullets he has seen the best performance with. I have a few friends who guide elk hunts in Utah and Arizona. They suggest the ELDX, ABLR and partition to their hunters. I have never hunted big bull as it takes a long time to draw out. I hunt cow elk each year and have done fine with the Berger Hybrid.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hotolds442

In all of the elk I’ve shot, the 180 Sierra Game King has never let me down. Plus, my youngest is able to use the exact same load in his Tikka and better groups too. I won’t own a rifle from overseas, but his Tikka is amazing for straight out of the box accuracy.

---

I have used the 180 Gameking in a 308win, but for deer and not elk. It's a tough bullet and I chose it because that year we hunted in thick brush and a shot beyond 100 yards was impossible. So I wanted to make sure I was using a bullet that would hold together at very close range. In my opinion it should be ideal for elk.
It's accuracy was top notch too. It liked all charge weights at all speeds at any COAL. Easy to load is a understatement.