Which Bullet?

RugerHawg

New member
As some of you know I am going to hunt elk later this year out west, I have decided between Nosler Trophy Grade Ammunition 160 Grain AccuBond and Barnes VOR-TX Ammunition 140 Grain TTSX Polymer Tipped Spitzer Boat Tail Lead-Free. Which one should I choose? I am shooting 7mm rem mag, thanks for all the info.
 
if you punch an Elk at 350+ yards the Barnes do not always open up so you get a small frontal profile on the bullet. I would try Speer Grand Slams, I've never had one fail to open or penetrate deep.
 
As an all around bullet I d lean towards the Nosler.

Many people swear by the monolithics but I m a little old school and like heavier for caliber and bonding.
 
My wife shot her cow this year with a 270, 140 Grain Accubond. It went 30 yards and was done. I bought these based on a recommendation from a coworker who has shot a good pile of elk.
 
Depends on which one your rifle shoots accurately. If they are both accurate, then I would go with the Accubond
 
I've never had a Barnes not work properly, and have been using them since 1992, and I have never recovered a Barnes out of a big game animal.

I used Nosler Partitions from my very first biggame hunt, in 1970, until I tried Barnes in 1992.

A 140gr Barnes TTSX or TSX out of your 7mm Mag will work wonders on any elk.
 
RugerHawg, you should buy a box of each and shoot them. Don't shoot the barrel hot. Your rifle will tell you what it likes.

Having killed a few cow and bulls, I can tell you that I like a bullet that puts a lot of shock on the animal, and I will do what ever it takes to not put a bullet though a shoulder.

I used 7Mags with 140g Nosler partitions and 160g Speer Grand slams. For cow, I used a 243 with 100g partitions at 3000. I never had any problems but we rode mules and shots were not long.

Always, choose your shot or don't pull the trigger. I even killed two big bulls with a 140g nosler ballistic tips in the 7 Mag, and they flopped on the spot. Shots on these two big bulls were dead center of the body from length and thickness of the brisket. One bull kicked once, the other never kicked, about 150 yard shots.

We killed a number of bulls and cows in the late 70's and early 80's when we were young and dumb with a 7x57 shooting 140g Sierra's...never any problems but we were very experienced shooters killing thousands of jack rabbits per year at all distances.

I always sighted my rifle in at 200, knew the drop to 500 yards with an index card that I had taped to the stock.

I hunted with one guy in Az that shot a 7 Mag with 175g Sierra btsp @2900 fps, and that bullet really impressed me with how it penetrated. We butchered all our animals.

Elk never impressed me at being hard to kill at the short range distances we took our shots at. However, you are in for the worst possible tracking job you could imagine on a gut shot animal or one shot in the hind leg.

Do some serious planning on what you are going to do and how you are going to handle an elk once you get it on the ground. It is best to butcher them on the spot, bone the meat off the neck. Plenty of ice chests, large plastic bags, and a good knife or two, or the ability to touch up a knife with a steel. We never used a saw, ever.

Late afternoon kills are a real pain in the butt for many, many reasons. Plan on having lots of light for this occasion.
 
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I have always believed that a bullet dumps all of it's energy into the animal when you find it inside on a shoulder shot.
A pass through is wasted energy unless you hit a vital.
On every shoulder kill shot I have found the bullet on the opposite side just under the hide with a .300 WM 180 gr.
Here is a pic of the recovered bullet from my last elk at 342 yds, 180 gr CoreLokt w ivories.

[img:center] image upload[/img]
 
Whichever shoots better in your gun. As long as you hit the wheelhouse, either of those choices will work. I'm a fan of the Barnes, as the Nosler AB didn't shoot as will in my applications. 5/5 on deer this year and 1/1 on elk. No complaints.
 
Originally Posted By: tripod3I have always believed that a bullet dumps all of it's energy into the animal when you find it inside on a shoulder shot.
A pass through is wasted energy unless you hit a vital.
On every shoulder kill shot I have found the bullet on the opposite side just under the hide with a .300 WM 180 gr.
Here is a pic of the recovered bullet from my last elk at 342 yds, 180 gr CoreLokt w ivories.

[img:center] image upload[/img]

That energy you speak of is "heat" energy, not kinetic energy, so there is no "wasted energy" on a complete pass through.
 
Originally Posted By: JoeyJ

That energy you speak of is "heat" energy, not kinetic energy, so there is no "wasted energy" on a complete pass through.

That's funny.
 
Originally Posted By: JoeyJOriginally Posted By: tripod3I have always believed that a bullet dumps all of it's energy into the animal when you find it inside on a shoulder shot.
A pass through is wasted energy unless you hit a vital.
On every shoulder kill shot I have found the bullet on the opposite side just under the hide with a .300 WM 180 gr.
Here is a pic of the recovered bullet from my last elk at 342 yds, 180 gr CoreLokt w ivories.

[img:center] image upload[/img]

That energy you speak of is "heat" energy, not kinetic energy, so there is no "wasted energy" on a complete pass through.

So does this heat energy theory mean that you'll likely kill less game on a really cold day? Interesting concept that has probably been over-loked for years.......maybe even several centuries.
laugh.gif


The opportunity to learn new things on PM is beyond comprehension.
 
I shoot a 300WM and if the bullet doesn't go through I look for one that will.That way if I have to trail an Elk I have a good blood trail to follow.
 
Oh man..... Just shaking my head. "heat energy"? Is Joe Biden on PM now? Just because you heard an adult use a term doesn't mean you should try to use it.
 
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