stubblejumper

I have recovered several partitions including two 200gr 8mm bullets out of my 8mmremmag from lung shots on elk.Even with no major bones struck,they did not exit.They are an excellent bullet,but there are new bullets on the market that simply perform better.I use the 180gr tsx out of my 300ultramags,but only because they group so wellin my rifles.If the 168gr tsx grouped better,I would be using them instead.You don't need heavy bullets if you use the right bullets,and lighter bullets offer less recoil,anda flatter trajectory at hunting ranges.

Smithbros.1

Hornady light Magwith 165 grainInterbonds. My father uses this settup out of his Encore & loves it. He has used it on Caribou & elk with good results.

mybigredford

i have found that winchester 180gr. silvertips have worked well in my 06 and my dads 06, i have tried core lokts, they shot so-so, and i tried federal, i cant remeber what kind they were, they wernt the priemium ones, and they shot a little better than the corelokts. anyways i am still to try the partitions and accubonds though, but for now i have stuck with the silvertips for the last 5 yrs cause the shoot well. give em a try, doesnt hurt i guess.

game4lunch

Leave the Core Loct's at the range! Use a bullet that opens faster and drives in harder. You can't go wrong with the Balitic tips..

deerslayer223

thanks for the help guys. I'm just curious though a couple of you have said about ballistic tips, I have always been told they have no place on a elk hunt. That you want something thats going to drive deep and exit. I'll get some and see how they shoot and do a little penetration testing. I just want to make sure i have enough bullet to drive deep and do the job. Thanks for you're help! keep the replys coming.

Buckshot

There is no way, no how I would use ballistic tips for elk, their nothing more than a glorified hollow point, much like the old bronze points. Their designed for maxium expansion and minumum penetration. Sure theyll work fine if you shoot the elk right in the rib cage, but try driving threw the shoulder with them and chances are youll be in for a long tracking job. I used a 140gr Ballistic tip to shoot a doe one time at 15 yards, shot her right in the shoulder, that deer took off like nothing ever happenend, found here piled up in a thicket a few hundred yards away, the bullet blew up on the outside of the shoulder and just barely threw some bone fragments into her lungs. I used a 140gr XLC to kill a bull ek at 60 yards,that bullet blew threw both shoulders leaving a half dollarsized exit whole and the elk dropped like a rock, that was the last time I ever used ballistic tips.

BareBack Jack

I would stay away from a balistic tiped bullets for elk,unless they are a controled expantion like a accu-bond,MRX or the likes.
I could go on with a big speel about why but just take my word for it.
BBJ

stubblejumper

I myself have killed 9 elk with the 180gr ballistic tip out of my 300 ultramags.What most people are unaware of is that some of the ballistic tips like this particular one,have been redesigned several times.The current version has a jacket about twice as thick as earlier versions.I use lung shots although I have occaisionaly hit shoulders and have witnessed the 180gr ballistic tip passing through both shoulders of a mature elk.That being said,I was so impressed with the tsx,that I now use them exclusively for all of my elk and moose hunting.

skeeter 7MM

I like BT's but not for game larger than deer. Stick to the Nosler Part, Barnes TSX, etc that we as hunters have to choose from these days. If things go right and you get that wonderful rib through broadside shot you'll still notch your tag but if they don'tyou'll be glad you picked a bulletbuilt forthe task.

Your thought process is sound, don't change it!

BareBack Jack

Stubble,
The balistic tips you are using are control expansion type,they do have heavier jackets like the Swift Siccorro.I to have used these on elk my self out of a 300 Ultra Mag and they flat pancake elk.
The one I'm talking about are the rapid expanding like a Nosler BLT.
BBJ