30-06 elk hunting bullet

powder burner

powder burner

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Was thinking of which bullet to use this fall. I have never shot an elk, but have shot deer and moose. I do reload, and have the following bullets that are accurate in my gun:

180 grain Hornady btsp
180 grain Hornady round nose : freakishly accurate
180 grain nosler accubond ( not the long range accubond) will never shoot a deer with these again. Acted more like a full metal jacket.

165 gr Hornady btsp: my go to deer bullet
165 gr sierra hollow points: hunting bullet, not the target bullet. Have not shot a animal with this yet, but was very accurate.


And picked up a box of 165 grain Speer, just recently. Have not had the chance to work up a load yet.


So if you had those choices which one would you take hunting?

If you have taken elk with the accubond, how was it? Also really interested to see if anyone uses the Hornady btsp in 165/180 and the Hornady rn 180s.

Also are the accubond 180s meant for close and longer shots? Close being under 100, far being 300-400 yds.
Lots of questions, but hey that's what cgn is for.
 
powder burner said:
Was thinking of which bullet to use this fall. I have never shot an elk, but have shot deer and moose. I do reload, and have the following bullets that are accurate in my gun:

180 grain Hornady btsp
180 grain Hornady round nose : freakishly accurate
180 grain nosler accubond ( not the long range accubond) will never shoot a deer with these again. Acted more like a full metal jacket.

165 gr Hornady btsp: my go to deer bullet
165 gr sierra hollow points: hunting bullet, not the target bullet. Have not shot a animal with this yet, but was very accurate.


And picked up a box of 165 grain Speer, just recently. Have not had the chance to work up a load yet.


So if you had those choices which one would you take hunting?

If you have taken elk with the accubond, how was it? Also really interested to see if anyone uses the Hornady btsp in 165/180 and the Hornady rn 180s.

Also are the accubond 180s meant for close and longer shots? Close being under 100, far being 300-400 yds.
Lots of questions, but hey that's what cgn is for.
Click to expand...

If it were me, I would immediately eliminate all the 165 grain bullets you have listed here. If you must use a 165 grain bullet on ELK, then my suggestion is the time tested Nosler Partition.

The 180 Accubond should be fine, but again, the Partition makes a great choice. As a matter of fact, the 200 Partition might well be the best of all.

My experience with the Accubond on moose shows reliable expansion from close in out past 300 meters, so it should work well, particularly if you can start it at 2800 or so.

Regards, Dave.
 
I've heard it said that 180gr is the "natural" bullet weight for .30-06. I've read of penetrating completely through a Grizzly from side to side but I don't recall the range. It was before the advent of the Nosler Partitin.

However I also read a magazine article years ago that promoted the 165gr as the great compromise. A bit more speed than a 180 and doesn't give up much is power. Haven't checked ballistic tables to confirm.

Regardles of weight, a premium bullet such as the Partition should give the best of short range integrity and long range penetration on impact. For a lot of years the Partition was considered the standard to judge others by. Though I'll bet the thousands of large critters shot with non-premium bullets over the years didn't notice the difference. Which bullet and load gives you the best accuracy out to 400 without surrendering too much power?

I'm getting back into reloading after quite a break so exploring options myself.

Personally I would not recommend a hollow point.
 
I am gonna say that any of the 180gr pills you have will do. I might even say that those roundnose bullets might drop an elk mighty quick. Nice energy dump with those. I used to use them ALOT years ago, but kind of moved on to strictly bonded or Monolithic bullets. I Still think those roundnose are more than enough, especially if your gun shoots them really accurately.
 
My experience with the Hornady 180 BTSP on two moose was bullet/jacket separation. This was two into each animal. Two shots into rear of front shoullder and two were kinda high lung shots. Having said that, both died quickly and these bullets were very accurate. Now I use 180 parts but if I was forced to I would use the BTSPs again. BTW the 250 RN Hornady is awesome in my Whelen. Why do round noses seem to shoot so well for so many people in so many different rifles?

Moosey
 
i use the hornady 180 btsp interlock in my 3006 loads and have never had an issue with it on moose or elk. I do prefer the older interlocks with lead tip over the plastic tip
 
180 grain Hornady btsp is my choice when I hand load. Anything less than 180 you might as well use your .308. I personally don't like accubond rounds, they have inconsistent effects at different speeds.
 
My sons and I have taken quite a few Elk and Moose with the 165 gr Barnes TSX.
Have never had them fail and they shoot quite well.
Reb
 
reb said:
My sons and I have taken quite a few Elk and Moose with the 165 gr Barnes TSX.
Have never had them fail and they shoot quite well.
Reb
Click to expand...

I concur that they do not fail and they shoot straight, its just that 180s have much superior dropping power for big animals.

I used 165gr for over 25 years, but after hunting with 180s I will never go back.
 
Really wonder how much the 180gr rn will drop, in terms of trajectory compared to the 180grain Hornady 180 btsp"s. I know btsp will have a higher bc, but if its not a whole lot, 180gr RN may get the nod. I was getting 1/2 inch groups at 100 yds with the 180gr Hornady round nose.

Which is strange as I expected the btsp 180 Hornady to be more accurate.

Really not sure on accubond. It's very accurate but seems to be one of those things people swear by or swear at.
 
Any of the 180's you list will do the trick, with the knod going to the Accubond. Or, just as good, maybe even better than any of the 180's listed would be a 165 Barnes TSX or TTSX.

Or if you want a REALLY good bullet for large game for the 30-06, don't disregard the 200 gr Partition. They can be easily loaded up to 2650+-, and shoot WAY flatter than most people think. AND they will penetrate WAY better than the 180's.
 
I've only killed one elk but it was with 165 accubonds out of a .308 at around 100 yards. Had one or maybe two pass-throughs right in the thick part of the bull. Any of those bullets will do it but I'd pick the accubonds.
 
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