Favorite Hunting Bullets (especially reloaders)

[SA Friday]

Partitions and Accubonds. Once in a while, a gun just won't shot the Barnes bullets. I have one or two like that. They all shoot the Noslers. If you are using it for Africa or strictly for big nasty critters like elk, moose, and bear, just about every guide I've ever talked to recommends the Swift A-Frame. They work just like the partitions, but the front lead is bonded to the jacket as the partitions are not. They work every time and don't lose weight.

Good hunting bullets are more expensive than than deer bullets, but it's not like you are going to burn through them like Sierra Matchkings. The extra money is worth it. Do some research on the hunting/reloading forums out there and find out what others are using as recipes with whatever bullet and caliber you are using. It will help narrow down powder selection and specs. You still have to work up the load, but it really narrows down the choices.

[Troublco]

I have one hunting load for anything from Antelope to Elk - using 165 grain Sierra GameKing hollowpoints in a .308, at about 2550 fps at the muzzle. I've used it for a nice cow elk at 325 yards, an antelope at 520 yards, and so on. It isn't the latest, or greatest, or fancy, but if I put it in the right place it has worked every time for me.

[encorehunter]

I have shot several elk with a 25-06 with Accubond bullets, ranging from 20-350 yards. I only shot one twice, and she didn't need it. As said before, placement is everything, but a decent bullet is still good insurance.

[wrestler034]

encorehunter,
What kind of performance were you getting with the accubonds? Did you get complete penetration of the animal in most cases? I am torn between them and the 100gr ttsx. I am also considering the 120gr partition.

[encorehunter]

encorehunter,
What kind of performance were you getting with the accubonds? Did you get complete penetration of the animal in most cases? I am torn between them and the 100gr ttsx. I am also considering the 120gr partition.

The one white tail buck I shot, I got complete penetration from a frontal shot out through the rear ham. It was a 220lb buck, and it tore up a lot of meat. Of all 7 elk I have shot, only one complete pass through. Six of the elk dropped in their tracks. Shot placement was behind front shoulder and shattering opposite shoulder, all of the bullets were stuck in the skin on the opposite side. The seventh and last elk was shot at around 20 yards (may have been closer), quartering to me. The first shot was a complete through and through, never hitting any bones. She stood there, so I shot her again. She walked about 15 yards and fell over. The second shot hit ribs on both sides, the bullet was stuck in skin on opposite side.
Do NOT use ballistic tips on elk. I made the mistake once and I am still regretting it. I tracked the elk for about 4.5 miles and never found her. I found lung fragments close to where I shot her, but she kept going and going. Bullet choice is still important, though maybe not as important as shot placement.

[wrestler034]

The one white tail buck I shot, I got complete penetration from a frontal shot out through the rear ham. It was a 220lb buck, and it tore up a lot of meat. Of all 7 elk I have shot, only one complete pass through. Six of the elk dropped in their tracks. Shot placement was behind front shoulder and shattering opposite shoulder, all of the bullets were stuck in the skin on the opposite side. The seventh and last elk was shot at around 20 yards (may have been closer), quartering to me. The first shot was a complete through and through, never hitting any bones. She stood there, so I shot her again. She walked about 15 yards and fell over. The second shot hit ribs on both sides, the bullet was stuck in skin on opposite side. Do NOT use ballistic tips on elk. I made the mistake once and I am still regretting it. I tracked the elk for about 4.5 miles and never found her. I found lung fragments close to where I shot her, but she kept going and going. Bullet choice is still important, though maybe not as important as shot placement.

Awesome. Did you ever happen to weigh any of the recovered bullets? I know the accubond is designed to shed up to 40% of its weight to facilitate penetration but I am curious about the results on an animal as stout as elk.

[encorehunter]

Awesome. Did you ever happen to weigh any of the recovered bullets? I know the accubond is designed to shed up to 40% of its weight to facilitate penetration but I am curious about the results on an animal as stout as elk.

With the 110 gr bullet, the two that I weighed were in the mid 80s. The rest were in the same shape, but I did not weigh them.

MarkCO:
It was not my intention to use a ballistic tip on the elk. Out of pure luck, we crossed the cattle guard into the wildlife area and there is the herd of elk standing about 125 yards off the side of the road. In haste, I put the wrong load into my encore and made the shot broadside at around 90 yards. I carry 5 rounds when hunting elk, 4 accubonds and one ballistic tip. I carry the ballistic tip for varmints. After destroying a coyote with an accubond, I decided it would be worthwhile carrying the different load.

I use ballistic tips on pronghorn and white tail now. This year I shot a doe pronghorn at around 110 yards with a frontal shot. The others had already run, so I didn't fell I had much of a choice left. It went through the sternum and came apart. I was pleasantly suprised to find the bullet did not enter the abdominal cavity. All of the damage was in the chest, where I found multiple bullet fragments. The diaphragm was still completely intact.

[TennVol]

These photos are from my most recent elk. 185 yard shot with .300 WSM - 180 gr Nosler Accubond. The animal went down at the shot and the bullet passed through. The shoulder blade photo is from the entry wound. I forgot to take a photo of the exit wound...

I used to be a big fan of the Nosler Partition, but as mentioned previously, the bullet noses in your magazine get deformed after your first shot. I only use Accubonds now and they have never let me down.

[MarkCO]

Only two things I don't agree with posted above...Remington Core-Lokts are crap and shot placement is not everything.

I have well over 100 head of big game in the books with deer from 4 yards to 1010 yards and elk from 30 yards to 505. I have been present for shots on more than 400 additional head of big game with all variety of cartidges.

Powder...if 4831SC is suitable for your cartridge, use it. VERY temperature and altitude stable.

Rem Core-Lokts, of the 30 or so wounded game I have seen in person, long trails or never recovered, at least 20 have been with CLs. I will buy someone a box of Federal Fusion before I let them hunt with CL. If you want to go cheap, the Fusion is a decent inexpensive slug.

Here are some to consider that I have a lot of experience with.

Winchester Silver Tips. Hard as heck to find, but they were one of the best before all the polymer tipped stuff came out. The aluminum tip did not deform and they had excellent terminal ballitics. Cow elk at 425 yards had the slug (.30-06) just under the off side skin, perfect mushroom, 89% weight retention.

Nosler: The Partitions have great terminal performance, above average accuracy, but the lead tip is easily deformed which does affect accuracy. While I have used them a lot, the thing of making sure the chambered round is perfect became a PITA for me. The Ballisitc tips are too fragile, especially on big game, but I do use them for Antelope in the .243. The Accubonds have performed well for me, however I have talked to one guy that hated them. When pressed, I beleive it was an unskilled hunter with very poor placement.

Barnes TTSX is a very good bullet. You might lose a little barrel life and they are a bit harder on the throat, but for a hunting rifle, that is of little concern to me. Had one cow elk at 80 yards take 3 shots from a .30-378 and only the third one opened up based on exit holes. We think the first two went straight through the lungs hitting no bone on the way in or out. Only one bullet path had significant damage. All three were fatal, but new jacked up hunter dumped three rounds in like 6 seconds. He tried a 4th, but was out of ammo. I had to grab his hand to keep him from reloading.

Hornady: While the SST is good, the InterBond is better. The Interlock is a no-go for me for the same reason as the Partition.

I would pick two 50 round boxes of the following (all silimar in performance) and use the one that is the most accurate: Nosler Accubond, Barnes TTSX, Hornady InterBond, Swift Scirocco.

While shot placement is certainly important (gained by practice), big game does not hang out at the range. The conditions and positions affect a lot of things and sooner or later, you will not have perfect shot placement. That is when the better bullet might be a benefit. If I knew i was going to have a bad shot behind the diaphragm, give me a Ballistic tip. If I knew I was going to have a hip or shoulder shot on a bull elk, give me a Woodleigh or a Bear Claw. The 4 I listed above bridge the gap between the Uber tough and explosive and are therefore the best for big game IMHO.

The .308 is a decent mid powered round and what my 11 year old will be using on his first big game hunts in 2013. When you leave the .308 in search of "more power" avoid the magnumitis. There are several very good rounds with more horsepower in standard length actions. The .338-06 is my personal favorite, bu the .35 Whelen and .338 Federal are also good options for larger bores. Some of the .30 caliber magnums have short barrel life, very high bolt thrust and are a PITA to reload. The belted magnums headspace off the belt and are a little trickier to keep accurate with full length sizing as opposed to the rounds that headspace off the shoulder. If you have no desire to shoot big game past say 400 yards, there is not really any big benefit either. Personally, with a quality bullet, I like to use a rule of thumb of at least 2x body weight for energy levels. Meaning, for a 500 pound cow elk, the max range for me is where the energy hits 1000 ft-lbs.

[MarkCO]

encorehunter, no worries. My post was not directed at you at all. I started writing before I read your post. Looks like we both think the same way as it relates to BTs and hunting.