Bullet Preference 300 Win. Mag.

[huntrfish]

Hey all,

I just wanted to get some feedback on a good elk bullet for a 300 Win. Mag.

Apparently Santa (aka my wife) thought I needed a new elk rifle, and had it sitting under the tree. I have never hunted elk, and this year will be a first for me. I know elk are a different critter than antelope and deer, so any suggestions would be great.

I know a lot of it depends on what your gun will shoot for groups, but I am just looking at getting started sighting it in and am wondering what people are using. Brands, grain, bullet style will all help.

Thanks

 

[jlmatthew]

180 grain Federal Trophy Bonded Tip

 

[idnative1948]

180 grain Federal Trophy Bonded Tip

What mine likes!

 

[ginkgo72]

Barnes bullets have been awesome performers for me on elk. You can't go wrong with most premium bullets...elk are tough animals...practice a lot and put the bullet in the heart/lung area on the first shot. Sounds like a great present!

 

[Goldtip]

I've had very good accuracy and performance on elk with handloaded 180gr Swift Scirocco's out of my 300 win Mag. Switched to them in prolly 97 or 98 and haven't looked back.

 

[belly-deep]

Pick a 180gr bullet from the following list:

Nosler Accubond (my favorite)
Nosler Partition (can't go wrong)
Nosler Ballistic Tip (but only if it is 180gr)
Nosler E-Tip
Barnes TSX or TTSX
Swift A-Frame
Swift Scirocco
Hornady Interbond (stay away from the SST)
Hornady GMX

Anything else that is a bonded bullet

 

[Elkmagnet]

Pick a 180gr bullet from the following list:

Nosler Accubond (my favorite)
Nosler Partition (can't go wrong)
Nosler Ballistic Tip (but only if it is 180gr)
Nosler E-Tip
Barnes TSX or TTSX
Swift A-Frame
Swift Scirocco
Hornady Interbond (stay away from the SST)
Hornady GMX

Anything else that is a bonded bullet

I agree with everything but the ballistic tips, stay away from the damn ballistic tips.
my personal favorite is 168 grain Barnes tsx or 190 gr Burger vld if you like lead in your burger and dead right there kills.

 

[nidahunter]

Mine likes 180 Barnes TSX, good groups and dead elk!

 

[1_pointer]

I agree with everything but the ballistic tips, stay away from the damn ballistic tips.
my personal favorite is 168 grain Barnes tsx or 190 gr Burger vld if you like lead in your burger and dead right there kills.

FWIW, the 180gr Ballistic Tip is made 'beefier' than many other Ballistic Tips. On anoter site someone sectioned one and it was pretty apparent. The jacket makes up 60% of the weight.

 

[noharleyyet]

Pick a 180gr bullet from the following list:

Nosler Accubond
Nosler Partition (can't go wrong)
Nosler Ballistic Tip (but only if it is 180gr)
Nosler E-Tip
Barnes TSX or TTSX(my favorite)
Swift A-Frame
Swift Scirocco
Hornady Interbond (stay away from the SST)
Hornady GMX

Anything else that is a bonded bullet

Amen and amen...but vice versa on the favorites.

 

[putm2sleep]

I have been a 180gr Nosler Partition man. However, I am curious and plan to try out a BarnesTTSX.

 

[2rocky]

Nosler 180 grain Partitions have been good to me.

 

[noharleyyet]

180 gr TSX's recovered under the hide on opposite sides shot from 300 WSM @ just under 100 yds. Very satisfied with mass retention and petal form.

 

[T Bone]

Of the list above I've only tried the Nosler Partition. It's excellent.

One other to consider is Hornady's Interlock. I've had nothing but excellent performance from the non-premium 180 and 190 grain Hornady Interlock. Never did catch one inside an elk.

 

[Much2hunt]

I am a 165 gr fan, never seen the need for 180's
The last nine bulls were all taken with 165 gr Nosler ballistic tips
I switched this year to 165 gr accubonds. I like em!

 

[tod w.]

I have shot 300 win mag for over 30 years .In that time i have shot 61 bull elk and have gotten almost all of the bullets back.They usually retain about 75 percent of their original weight.I have never shot factory loaded ammo .I shoot 180 grain speer boattails in front of 72.5 grains of 4350 powder.The biggest draw back with this bullet is that if i shoot all 4 bullets in my gun ,my last bullet will have the end of the bullet flattened from the recoil . Both of my boys shoot 280 remingtons and i load 145 speer boattails out of them and get the same recovery rate of the bullets . Some guys like a hole punched all the way through an animal but i like all the energy to stop in your target .I get similar results on deer .Shot a bighorn this year , same story. I have a Mickeys Bigmouth bottle full of elk ivory and recovered bullets .It would be pretty hard for me to switch to anything .Elk are an easy animal to kill .Shot placement is far more important than bullet selction in my opinion .

 

[poormanslam]

If you are a reloader go with the suggestions above if not a lot of factory loads may work well. I bought a Browning .300 Win Mag A-Bolt in the 90's and purchasd quite a few Federal "Silver Box" bullets. My rifle shot a 100 hundred yard one hole group non bench rested. I still have some of those bullets the price tag is 15.95 on them. I have killed Moose, Elk, and mule deer with this rifle. Everybody has their favorites my point being shoot what the gun likes and if cost is a factor some factory loads will get the job done.

 

[webejmn]

Shot placement. Thats what counts. Whatever you use, know it will hit where you aim. Range time and confidence where your bullet is hitting. Was going to say 180 grain but Ive put em down with 100 grain 243. Its all about shot placement, and knowing when to shoot and not to. They all will do the job.

 

[idnative1948]

180 gr TSX's recovered under the hide on opposite sides shot from 300 WSM @ just under 100 yds. Very satisfied with mass retention and petal form.

NHT that is way cool. Never thought of displaying what done the deed!

 

[putm2sleep]

+1, that is very nicely done NYH. Mine just sit on the shelf in a gun cabinent next to some ivory.