180 gr. SST for Elk?

[diehardhunter]

I will be going on a elk hunt in a couple years and am trying to decide what bullet I should shoot from my .300 win mag. Have any of you taken an elk with a sst. I am kind of worried they wont hold up on a big elk.

Thanks,

Die Hard

15 Days! Woohoo

[skeeter 7MM]

Personally I would switch to a more robust bullet when chasing elk. If your gun likes hornady's give the 180 gr Interbond a go, a polymer tipped bullet with a bonded core that will hold otgether better on the likes of elk. My partner used the IB last fall to harvest a bull elk with his 280 rem and it did a fine job. Other bullets to consider are the Nosler Accubond, Nosler Partrition, Hornady 180/200gr Hornady Interlock, Barnes TSX, Swift Aframe, Trophy Boned Bear Claw (TBBC)....well constructed bullet ( usually referred to as premiums).

While some may have used such a bullet I personally find elk to be the toughest animal in the NA deer family to bring down and as such I use a premium bullet designed for this task. Some may say overkill but to me its peace of mind in the real world of hunting where perfect shots don't always happen !! Good luck and enjoy

[Muliefever]

Good old Nosler partition! Works everytime!

[Folically Challenged]

ORIGINAL: diehardhunter

I will be going on a elk hunt in a couple years and am trying to decide what bullet I should shoot from my .300 win mag. Have any of you taken an elk with a sst. I am kind of worried they wont hold up on a big elk.

Thanks,

Die Hard

15 Days! Woohoo

I had this same question, & I asked the Hornady folx what they thought. My exchange with them is shown below.

HOWEVER, my last time at the range, I noticed that the 180 SST's were tearing apart pretty well, & I decided for this hunt to go back to the 165 IB's. I had wanted to shoot some stax o' wet newspapers to be sure, but time won't permit: I leave in8 days for beautiful BC!

As for their remarks about shoulder shots, I'd usually agree. However, my guide told me last year to break them down ASAP, and after seeing how thick the timber is in the East Kutenays, I don't blame him 1 bit!

Good luck in your choice,

FC

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Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2007 6:07 AM
To: Webmaster
Subject: Just Curious...

Why don't you offer the 180 grain Interbond in your .30-'06 Factory Loaded Ammo, whenyou offer the SST in that weight? My rifle loves the 165 Interbonds, & I'd like to try the 180's, but I'm not a hand loader. Just Curious,

Well it seems we didn't think of it!Sounds kind of stupid but you know you get busy and overlook the obvious. There really won't be an advantage since the 30-06 can't drive a 180 grain bullet fast enough that you really need the bonding technology, but you aren't the first who's asked so we will probably have it ready for next year.

Interesting... So, does that mean that the 180 grain SST Interlocks will hold together well enough to crunch bones on an elk without disintegrating? Whodathunkit??? Thanks for the reply!

In my opinion yes, at least that's what we've used on elk and Kudu. Most of the time you wouldn't generally shoot for the shoulder bone on an elk, or anything else for that matter, but if you have to break it down I wouldn't hesitate.

[fishantler]

I have taken an elk with an 300 win mag using a 165g SST and it did fine. Didn't find the bullet (pass though). Now I shoot a 300 Ultra mag and use a 180g Interbond. I have taken 2 elk with this bullet and will continue to use the Interbond bullet.

[PaJack]

I reload for my brother,he hunt's Colorado every year. 180gr. Nosler Partition work's execelent...