Since I' ve done a little work on my rifle, which is a Vanguard 300 WBY, which is more important, the most accurate bullet or using a premium bullet?
With Remington Cor-lokt' s I' m getting just over 1" , 5 shot groups. With Nosler Partitions, I' m shooting just over 1.5" 5 shot groups.
I use this rifle for deer and elk, and hoping to go black bear hunting in the near future. I' m happy with the Cor-lokt' s on deer, but which is more important on elk and bear? A much better constructed bullet that isn' t quite as accurate, or the bullet that is most accurate. It' s only a 1/2" difference, which is why I' m asking.
I' m not trying to be a smart but that premium bullet ain' t worth a hill of beans if it don' t hit where you' ve got your cross hairs. Above all i want an accurate rifle and for me personally that is more important than a premium bullet thats not accurate. You didn' t say what grain you were shooting but for Elk and Bear i would definately want a heavy premium bullet. If you want to use the partition then i wouldn' t worry about that 1/2" difference because imo a 1- 1/2" (100yds) group isn' t bad for a 5 shot group and you should still be in the kill zone at 300yds especially on bear or elk. It just depends on which bullet you want to use but i assure you if that cor-lock is a heavy bullet and you put it in the vitals from a 300 wby it' s gonna kill just as dead as that partition.
Premium bullet. The little extrta bit of accuracy you get out of your non premium bullet doesn' t make a hoot of difference if it breaks up in thick muscle or heavy bone. If the difference of 1 to 1.5 moa is a big deal to your hunting needs, you are probably thinking of shooting animals too far away anyhow.
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For elk, a bullet with premium construction for maximum penetration is the most important thing. If you can get acceptable accuracy with any of those available, that should be your choice.
With the high velocities produced by the .300 Wby Mag, I' d even use a good premium bullet on deer.
This is one of the most fundamental issues of our current science.....accuracy VS performance and the answer is ......as always..... It depends...
If I' m shooting prairie dogs I want accuracy...almost any bullet will do the job if I can hit him and the distances range a VEEEEERRRy long ways. If I' m hunting White Tails in the woods, I would prefer performance....even 3" groups at 100 yards is acceptable for this task. gFor prairieland and mountain hunting of mule deer and pronghorns the issue might turn back to accuracy again.
Here' s the rub......only you can say what the issues are.....but you must think to yourself what the accuracy requirements are. You must decide what performance requirements and accuracy requirements are minimal.
Example: Rocky mountain sheep.....potential longest shot you' re willing to take is 400 yards. You might assess that the worst accuracy you' d be willing to accept from your rifle/ammo combination is 1.25" .....then find what you consider a competent bullet for that accuracy requirement.
You' ll read a lot about 1/2" groups from hunting rifles.....I only ever saw one in my life...and it was a fluke from a M-70 featherweight .270 If you can actually shoot 1.25" groups...(5 Shots) you have a " keeper" and I' d be willing to hunt about anything short of Dangerous game with that rig as long as a suitable bullet was used.....and it just might be a Remington Core Lokt.
On the other hand, if I had a Champlin Thumbhorst .470 nitro double rifle and was after Rhino, and I could muster a 6" 4-shot group at 100 yards, I' d be a hunting Rhino.
Generally speaking, you should expect your bolt action rifle to shoot groups of roughly 1 1/4" at 100 yards with a decent bullet before you go huntying...but in the end, only you can judge the rifle.
So it looks like the general consensus is use the partitions on elk, the 1/2" difference in group size isn' t enough to outweigh the better bullet construction.
I read your entire post, Vapodog, and I respect your opinion. But for myself, I' d rather have the accuracy over bullet construction on deer. My deer hunting is done in Nebraska over open fields, creeks, draws, etc. and a 200 yd plus shot isn' t uncommon. Every deer I' ve shot with this rifle has been with Cor-lokts, and every one exited. By the way, where is Indianola? I' ll be hunting in Eastern Nebraska starting Wednesday night.
The only two animals I' ve shot with the cor-lokt' s that didn' t exit were a big boar and an elk.
Vapodog is right. It depends. My number one concern is accuracy. However when the bullet get there and hits right where you aimed it, it has to be strong enough to do the job. The corloc is a fine bullet and I think you would be right on useing it for deer. It will expand well even on distant shots. From what I have seen so far the new bonded corlock should perform well on Larger game as well. The new Bonded bullet from nosler just may become the best of both worlds. Good expansion. Good weight retention and penetration. And you can' t go wrong with the old Partition.
Just about any bullet fired out of a 300 will kill anything if you hit it in the right place. You cant kill anything if you dont hit it. Go for accuracy. Plus, what size groups will you get if you move your target out another 100 yards?
IF you are using th new, bonded-core Corelokts, use them! If not, use the Noslers!! 0.5" difference in 100-yard group size will not lose you an elk, even at 500 yards (2.5" out there!!).
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It shouldn' t be impossible to get both. Everything in life is a balance, if I have a bullet like Sierra that gets .5" groups at 100 yards, but won' t stay together in a barrel burner gun, I would rather have a bullet that gets 1.5" groups but holds together.
For deer, it don' t matter if its coreloks, or a rock out the end of a gun.
But for elk or an expensive hunt that is a once on a lifetime, I would think hard.
Lots of choices out there. Should be able to find something.
More Important: Accuracy or Premium Bullet?
