Best bullets for elk?
 

I live in Washington state where it is legal to use any type of bullet. I plan on hunting elk this fall and was wondering what a good choice for an elk bullet would be for good penetration and holding together if it hits bone? Any good advice from you successful elk hunters out there would be great!

250-300gr Thor would be the best option IMO.

www.Thorbullets.com

musketman59

I am totally predjudice so take all of this with a grain of salt... IMO the Nosler partition is a great bullet for elk. I use the .458/300 grain Nosler Partition Protected Point. I shoot it with a 120 grains of T7-2f which would work very well for you since you can not use a 209 ignition system.

The .458 is a true rifle bullet made for a 45-70/120 rifle.

I copied this post from another thread, so if you have already seen it I appolgize

I shoot boards, jugs of water, clay dirt banks, and even paper but the real proof is in the results...

This was with a .458/300 grain Nosler...



More of the story....








I really like this one...



Here is anothe one...



It is not a great bull but it is a nice one....



And there are a lot of these little guys....







Almost forgot the bullet information..... These are the only 2 Noslers I have ever recovered from shooting an animal - most are always a complete pass thru.





Believe me - Noslers work here in Idaho - Africa - Alaska - Canada and where ever else you might use it....

With all that said - I am actually going to try another bullet this year... Lehigh, a manufacturing plant, in PA is producing a new style hollow point brass bullet, that uses a completly different theory of operation for harvest. I used one of these bullets last season during deer season and it worked awesome but I have to admit the shot I made I could have probably made with any bullet and it would have dropped the buck on the spot.

Here is a picture with some bullet profile comparisons...

I'd go Barnes but like sabotloader I am biased. Either a big 290g sabot or a Thor conical.

:D this could have a long list but for me the short list would be.

Any .45x Partition

Barnes MZ or X coppers in at least the 275gr class and above.

Barnes Original 300gr Semi Spitzer or the 400gr if you can get it to stabilize..ive never tried the 400gr.

Any Lehigh with 250gr or more. I would lean toward the 277gr .459 since it fits better in my guns than the .458. Ive never tried the 305gr so i cant comment on it.

Swift .458 A frames

Combined Technologies copper poly tipped 300gr .458 SOCOM bullet if it shoots well for you. Its a boat tail so.... but the pricing is right and its made by Nosler for Winchester.

No particular order on the above. Whichever shoots best for you and the range/conditions you are likely to be shooting.

The best part is the Partitions are on sale right now in .452-260 and 300gr for half price $24/50 or less. Thats a steal for a bullet that has almost no chance of failure. The Partition .458s are still about a buck each.

The answer here is the 300g 45 caliber Nosler Partition from Wideners. The price is right, and the performance is right. If price isn't an issue, you have several other good bullets to choose from, identified by previous posters.

musketman59

The .458/275 grain Lehigh is shown here with some of the rest of the line. The Lehigh, Gm54-120 talked about, is a .458/277 grain is not pictured but basically the same bullet as the 275. If I am hunting the early Idaho rifle season I will be using an Extreme with the 277 grain bullet.

To use these or any .458 bullet you will need the MMP HPH-.457-.458/50 Orange sabot.

If you need a range bullet to use to sight in with, cause they are way less expensive - Sierra offers a .458/300 grain bullet for a lot less money.

Before I get carried away, what rifle and twist will you be shooting? You want to try a lot of bullets. And don't over look conical bullets. What ever one gives you the best and most consistent accuracy, and meets your hunting needs.

For instance, if my shots were longer in distance then 100 yards, I might go with a Barnes MZ Expander in 250 or 300 grain. I would shoot them with as much powder as I could that would still be accurate. In my case, my Genesis with 100 grains of Pyrodex RS will really shoot that bullet. So will my Knight Disc rifle.

If my shots were in woods, where the shot would be under 100 yards, I would be shooting a Bull Shop 460 grain or 500 grain Conical Bullet with 80 grains of Triple Seven 2f powder out of my White Ultra Mag. I would aim for the heart and lungs and put a world of hurt on them with that big conical bullet.

I have a Black Diamond XR that shoots Nosler 260 grain .452 bullets and 110 grains of Triple Seven 2f with some extreme accuracy. While that Nosler Partition's is not a 300 grain bullet, I personally feel it is plenty to handle the job.

Now for my disclaimer... I have never killed an elk with a muzzleloader. I have killed a lot of deer, but no elk as Wisconsin is still a little elk shy. But I've shot a ton of bullets on the range and into different media and do know what penetrates and expands. Just my two cents.

There are other bullets also that I feel could do the job. My recommendation again is, try some and see what your rifle shoots the best.

BARNES mz 250 gr.for me.........but i can't argue with sabotloaders pictures

A 525 grain conical that I cast myself. Tom.

Agreed. He sure loves to show off those Noslers. And rightfully so. They're without a doubt one of the best bullets available for us to use in our rifles. :hail: I never get tired of seeing those pictures.... Even if we've seen them 1,000 times.... HAHA which we have.... :rock:

SW

I did try to appologize for showing them again! I do try to get new ones every year though.

bottom line is he doesn't have to reinvent the wheel............. unless he wants to............

Like I said brother, I never get tired of them. Those are some great pics!

525 grain conical is a heavy bullet have u checked the fps at 100 yds. with a chrony ??????

I hunted elk with this bullet and an open sighted Knight MK-85 rifle. My load(please do not laugh) was 120 grains of 3F BP. It was a real hammer(on both ends). I sighted the rifle in 2" high at 100 yards. And it was about 2" low at 150 yards. 150 yards was my limit for distance. However I would have taken a good controlled shot out to 200 yards-but it would have had to have been a good broadside shot. I used the Knight musket cap ignition system.

I killed two bulls with that bullet. One was at 95 yards and the other was at 135 yards. Both bulls went less than 30 yards, and when hit they went sick(both were good behind the front shoulder-lung shots). I also shot one cow elk with the same bullet. But she was not nearly as big as the two bulls. But she tasted better!! :party0005:

I did not chrono the load. But point blank to 150 yards with open sights is good enough for me. My best guesstimate would be 1500 fps at the muzzle. But that is a pure guess, backed up by no facts. I am sure someone here knows how to figure the velocity, but I do not. All I know is that the combination was deadly. But I do not shoot that load very much, it is a real kicker. The round knurled knob on the MK-85 hammer(long circular bolt-I guess it would be called a hammer) would actually draw blood on the webbing of my thumb and forefinger.

We talked about this load before. I forget who it was, but somebody figured the velocity. But I forgot what he said. You do that when you get older.:D:D Tom.

why would i laugh ???? the load works for u that is all that matters ..ps. i am 66 this year and can still walk for miles in the bush ...