Ok I' m going to use this forum to vent. I was reading a thread on another forum comparing bullets of different weights for elk. Many responded with whatever shoots better from the rifle. You know I' ve given that same advice so stay with me. But then the thread moved to a guy saying take the heavier bullet even if the lighter one is a little more accurate. The responses after that blew me away. People actually responded saying that even if they only group a 1/4 inch better they' d go with the lighter bullet. WHAT?!?!?! An elk has what, about a 20 inch kill zone and you' re worried about a 1/4 inch?!?! I don' t even know what my rifle groups are. All I know is I can pretty consistantly hit a pie plate at about 300 yds and thats all I care about, I figure an elk is dead at that point. Now if you can' t hit a pie plate at a reasonable range then ok, look at other options.

The way I see it if you can sight your rifle in on a load you' re good to go. Because if your load isn' t going to work then you' re going to get frustrated sighting it in.

I say leave the grouping data at home and for competition. When it comes to elk hunting bullet weight and quality is much more important. Sick of tracking elk from 1/4" grouping rifles. Show me a guy toting an adequate rifle and bullet who knows his range and I' ll show you an elk hunter in the making.

I am with you rather be,
Some folks look at the wrong information.
Energy and trajectory don' t mean much if your bullet blows up on the shoulder.

With todays bullets like the X and failsafe people with calibers formerly considered light/marginal can now get much better penetration putting some formerly marginal calibers firmly into the reasonable category for elk.

As you stated some folks are more consumed with the group size and energy figures. These can make a 150gr ballistic tip look like just the ticket out of a 300 magnum to the inexperienced eye.

That is the great thing about these forums. Lots of folks here who have been there, done that and can give folks the benefit of years of experience. Some people even listen to that experience.
What makes me nuts is when people ask for advice and then don' t pay any attention to it.

o.k. you' re hittin' pieplates at 300 hundred yds. after that the only thing to worry about is bullet performance. as long as the slug works fine you should have no trouble.if you are dialed in and trust your slug you only have one problem, which bull to shoot, meat or majestic?

I' m with you on the grouping,elk are big.
I sight my rifles in to shoot 2" high at 100 yds,I to also shoot at paper plates out to ranges of 300 yds,after that I don' t think I should shoot any farther.

I shoot 180' s to 275' s size slug depending on caliber.

I must confess I am one of the people that always says " let your gun decide what it likes best." I guess I should alway be more specific in regards to my posts. I always shoot premium bullets in my hunting rifles. There are a ton of them to choose from, Barnes-X, Swift A-frame, Nosler Partition, TBBC, The list goes on & on.
Currently all of my hunting rifles are shooting Nosler Partitions the best so that is what I use. I hunt Antelope, Black bear, Elk, Whitetail & Mule deer, with anything from a 140-grain to 200-grain Nosler Partition.
I think I will start posting to shoot what ever premium bullet shoots best in your rifle.

Rather_be...your absolutely right...bullet performance is more important than a 1/4" difference at the range or even more. The animal is the size of a Honda Goldwing...The most important ingredient in connecting with an animal is a competent operator working that trigger.... otherwise the most expensive and accurate rifle/scope combination is meaningless