What type of bullet is best for large game?

[270WSMXBolt]

This is a hot topic. In your experience what has been the best style bullet for killing large game (Elk/Moose)? Are you a monolithic fan getting good velocities, a cup and core guy/gal, or do you prefer bonded?

If you were going on a trip of a lifetime for a large game animal in North America (bison/elk/moose etc), what ammo would you bring?

The simple answer would be the biggest, heaviest, fastest, most accurate bullet your rifle likes to shoot.
I like the BC of pointy ones and personally prefer mono's. But if the gun doesn't like the bullet.. it doesn't make sense to use it. For me that's the only problem with mono's. The mono's need to be longer to get to a compared weight. That leads to less case capacity and/or longer seating and faster twist for stability. So lot's of older slower twist rifles just won't shoot the the heavy mono's that may be available in your chosen calibre. As an example I have two 6.8 western rifles. Both shoot factory ammo exceptionally well and don't seem to care what brand, weight or type of bullet in factory ammo with the exception of mono's compared to cup/core. The 7.5" twist shoots the mono's better than the 8" twist. So I've made a wonderful load for the 8" twist Winchester that sends 165 ABLR's at 3010 fps and the 7.5" twist Browning spits the mono Hammer HHT 160's at 3150 fps. Both loads I've dialed down from higher fps for accuracy reasons. The HHT's I had going at 3330 fps without pressure signs other than slight bolt lift without ejector drag mark. Both these rifles and the cartridge itself were designed to shoot coppers and long high bc bullets.
I have zero issue with either of my bullet choices for both elk and moose. But I think of Bison as the Tiger tank of the Panzers. I would probably jump up to the 175 grain bullet choice for that animal. Cheers

But probably wouldn't try the Texas heart shot LoL...

 

[tigrr]

If you reload you can try different bullet recipe's.
It is animal I am pursuing in the choice of bullet/speed.
An Island black tail is .223 and up.
A mid BC Buffalo is my favorite 45/70 350gr to 500gr. Doing 1500 to 1800 fps. Bruises show next day.
Have you said a caliber and animal?

 

[FOG]

So should complaining about me in the thread instead of via PM,, when all I did was say something about bullets and it rustled a bunch of jimmies.

Its really interesting how people cry about someone and call them a troll over posts that were on topic, and continue doing so, when there's ample opportunity not to.

You can step up and be 125, dude. No need to subject yourself to me lol

Does anyone remember, a number of years ago, a member by the name of Foxer ? he had a unique talent of skirting the limits of the written rules, while pissing many people off. Eventually he went off to form his own forum with the help of friends. I wonder what ever became of him.....

 

[todbartell]

My moose and elk have been taken with Barnes X, Nosler Partition, Barnes TSX, Barnes TTSX, Barnes LRX, Hornady ELDx, Berger EOL, Nosler Accubond, Federal Terminal Ascent. All work pretty good except for the ELDx which failed to penetrate (338" 230gr)

This fall we had Barnes in my rifle and my sons rifle for elk season

 

[daveadd12]

I’ve killed around 50+ big game animals with mono’s since they came out. Everywhere from 10 to close to 600 yards. 6-7 different rifles. Never an issue at all. Have also been around 30 or so more kills by others that have pulled the trigger using mono’s. Never an issue.

The biggest horror stories are from poor shooting.

Have loaded and killed with most bullets on the market over the past close to 40 years. If you saw my reloading room you’d know I’m somewhat in the know.

Mono metal bullets work if loaded and used within their parameters. Period.

The horror stories and crap you’ve read about are from poor reloading or poor shooting skills, nothing more.

Excellent post, cheers!

 

[daveadd12]

If you reload you can try different bullet recipe's.
It is animal I am pursuing in the choice of bullet/speed.
An Island black tail is .223 and up.
A mid BC Buffalo is my favorite 45/70 350gr to 500gr. Doing 1500 to 1800 fps. Bruises show next day.
Have you said a caliber and animal?

Thanks for the message! I’m a fairly new hunter (6 seasons in), and new to CGN. The responses have all been great, and it’s very evident to me that people on this forum truly love guns and hunting. I hunt in northern BC and shots aren’t very far as the timber is thick. A dream hunt for me would be one on the river in my jet boat, where you drift and call. I like the Federal bonded bullets, but am way more concerned about where I hit vs the bullet in the gun. Cheers!

 

[Bustercluck]

I’ve been shooting moose with nosler partitions or barnes ttsx since 2013 with nothing but success.

The two current rifles I’m loaded up for are a 7saum shooting barnes 168lrx and my 6.5-284 with 156 Bergers. I’m not a fan of berger hunting bullets, but they retain far more energy further out than any other hunting bullet and they’re crazy accurate when they get out there. My compromise on the 7saum is having a tough bullet that’ll work in Grizzly country with confidence and still shoot medium sized game out to 500 yards if the weather permits.

 

[pathfinder76]

OR we don't take marginal shots on NA game animals. If I were heading to Africa I would be needing a new rifle along with new ammo. Your passive aggressive use of the word stupid speaks more of your condition than that of the average outdoorsman using the most popular ammunition on the market. I don't recall you calling me stupid when you were at my home.

I did not call you stupid. You know that. What I think is dumb is the movement back to a bullet type that an entire industry tried to improve on 50 years ago. Because of failure on big game. They did it quite successfully and now we are in uno reverse. It makes no sense.

I’ve not been to your house either.

 

[MK2750]

I did not call you stupid. You know that. What I think is dumb is the movement back to a bullet type that an entire industry tried to improve on 50 years ago. Because of failure on big game. They did it quite successfully and now we are in uno reverse. It makes no sense.

I’ve not been to your house either.

I believe a gentleman from your neck of the woods with the same name bought a bunch of 7mm rem mag brass from me at my home, but I am getting old. And no you did not call me stupid, you implied it, but that is neither here nor there.

We are spoiled as outdoorsmen and the McMillan stocks on our rifles are worth more than a lot of people's complete rigs. I use factory ammunition and have no use for the so called premium line up. I use Hornady Custom because it was $29 a box and shoots lights out in my hunting rig. Never will a deer walk away that I shoot because an Interlokt bullet failed. I can hit a golf ball consistently from the ranges I shoot game at and just don't mind letting them walk if I don't have a good shot. Deer just aren't that hard to kill with an accurate rifle.

Ironically, I don't mind spending top dollar on shotshells but there in no way I am dropping over $100 on a box of rifle ammo when $30-$40 will do the job. A big spend for me is Federal Fusion and that price irks me to no end.

 

[pathfinder76]

I believe a gentleman from your neck of the woods with the same name bought a bunch of 7mm rem mag brass from me at my home, but I am getting old. And no you did not call me stupid, you implied it, but that is neither here nor there.

We are spoiled as outdoorsmen and the McMillan stocks on our rifles are worth more than a lot of people's complete rigs. I use factory ammunition and have no use for the so called premium line up. I use Hornady Custom because it was $29 a box and shoots lights out in my hunting rig. Never will a deer walk away that I shoot because an Interlokt bullet failed. I can hit a golf ball consistently from the ranges I shoot game at and just don't mind letting them walk if I don't have a good shot. Deer just aren't that hard to kill with an accurate rifle.

Ironically, I don't mind spending top dollar on shotshells but there in no way I am dropping over $100 on a box of rifle ammo when $30-$40 will do the job. A big spend for me is Federal Fusion and that price irks me to no end.

You definitely have the wrong guy.

 

[Gatehouse]

What I think is dumb is the movement back to a bullet type that an entire industry tried to improve on 50 years ago. Because of failure on big game. They did it quite successfully and now we are in uno reverse. It makes no sense.

An entire industry sure did. And for sure there were some in the industry that thought "Hey lets come up with a fancy bullet and convince hunters they need it so we can make more money" But many of them actually DID come up with something better.

To me it's so simple. Yes any bullet can kill a deer with a perfect broadside hit at 150 yards. Even a FMJ .223 will do that. So sure as heck any cup and core .308 will do it too.

But as I said before- I'd rather use a bullet that works no matter the shot angle, no matter if the animal is big or small, no matter if things go perfectly or not.

Hunters can be a weird bunch. They will spend thousands on their truck, their ATV, their gas and the whole hunting trip....But complain about the price of ammo and tags. When ultimately the "success" of their trip comes down to making sure they have the proper tag for the animal they see and the bullet they are going to shoot at the animal.

 

[pathfinder76]

I’ve never understood the good bullets cost to much complaint.

 

[Redneck Hippy]

Speaking to the original question, I have always loved Nosler Accubond. I handload mostly but the best 30-06 group I ever shot was with factory Nosler Trophy Grade Accubonds, 5 into 5/8” from a Sako 85 Black Bear at 100m with a 1-4 scope. Likely a fluke but accurate in all my rifles and on game performance satisfactory.

 

[Highwind]

My son and I had a conversation related to various calibers and various bullets last weekend. I told him that I've tried many brands and types of bullets in most of the guns that I have had over the years. I said I usually stop searching when I find a bullet weight with accuracy out of a given rifle. I said no need to feel under-gunned if you find that the least expensive bullets shoot well in your rifle. And no need to press on searching... And, over-all it takes a lot of time in the field (with results) where a proper evaluation of how the bullet performed on the hunts where it was used. A dead deer, elk, moose, caribou or bear is a successful hunt - so there's nothing more to ask for. That kind of knowledge adds up and mental notes should be seen as a way of gaining long term knowledge - and applying it to future hunts.

 

[FLHTCUI]

There’s a reason well over 100 people have him on their ignore list…

I'd say that is an Out Standing feat myself.

 

[crazy_davey]

I'd say that is an Out Standing feat myself.

It’s not something to be proud of.

 

[FLHTCUI]

It’s not something to be proud of.

Depends if you are a "Glass hall Empty" kinda guy...
What I will suggest is this thread and many like have drifted far from what the original poster had intended.
Debating the merits of one product over the other does nothing.
Other than to create more sometimes useless debating points.
I will now return this thread back to its intended audience.
Q) what type of bullet is best for large game?
A) the one that is in your rifle that was designed for big game hunting, placed into the boiler works of the game animal one is chasing.
Anything else is just speculation due in part to the broad and I do mean broad topic.
Kinda like asking what is the best red pick up truck?
Ford, Chevy , Toyota, Dodge ??

 

[BlackRam]

I will start off by saying that I use both factory ammo and handloads. Been hunting big game for 39 years, and handloading for 37.
While I try to find a more accurate handload for most of my rifles, I own a few where the accuracy is such that I do not think that I can improve on it y handloading, as I am not the best shot to begin with. (Shake like a leaf in a high wind! And it is not getting better with age!) While I can attain sub-MOA accuracy from the bench, that is rarely duplicated in the field. I am confident that I can place a bullet accurately in the vitals within my range limits with various rifle/cartridge/scope combinations. Like any other hunter who has hunted long enough, I have missed, and lost a couple of animals over time. But I attribute this to me and my shooting, not the bullet.

I have used a number of cup and core bullets over the years with great success, including Winchester Power Points, Hornady Interlocks, Speer Hot Cors, Sierra Game Kings, and Nosler Partitions, from mild to magnum cartridges from 243 on up to 375 caliber. If I had no other choices, I would still hunt with any of these, and I still do where they are the most accurate bullet from a particular rifle suited to the game and environment that I am hunting. I too have seen instances where the bullets may not have killed as quickly and cleanly as they should have, even with good bullet placement.

As always, bullet placement is more important than the bullet design may be, given an appropriate caliber and weight, with the proper retained velocity and energy, is used for the game animals being hunted.

I have shot a few Bergers in a few rifles, and while they are accurate, my only instance of on-game performance was less than desired. Ultimately the animal died, but it ran farther than any other animals I have ever recovered with a well placed double lung shot, just above the heart. The bullet split and travelled in different directions within the animal, with lots of shrapnel on the onside ribs, a small part going out the opposite ribs, and the remainder going through the guts to the hind quarter. While only a sample size of one, it has kept from using them again on game.

I have also used the Trophy Bonded Bear Claws, Trophy Bonded Tips, AccuBonds and newer Terminal Ascent Bonded bullets. I have to say that the consistent accuracy, and ease of finding good loads quickly with the AccuBond, from .257 to .375 cal, and then the on-game performance (antelope to bison), has made it a favourite of mine, since it first came out. Where bullets have been recovered, weight retention ahs averaged above 90%, and expansion has averaged between 2 and 2 1/2 times the original diameter. While I still hunt elk with cup and core bullets from some rifle/cartridge combos, I prefer the bonded bullet for additional penetration performance should heavier bone be encountered.
While my experience with the Terminal Ascent is limited to 7 animals, all have been complete pass throughs and one shot kills. And the accuracy from several rifles has been MOA and better, except for one, where the accuracy is still acceptable for hunting. So far, I am impressed with it. I will continue to hut with them too.

As for the monolithic bullets, I have tried the Barnes X, and then the TSX and TSX bullets too, and the Trophy Copper. Accuracy hasn't always been top notch, but where it was, I did like their accuracy. I did take a moose with the older X bullet, but the kill wasn't as quick and clean as I would have liked...but could have been attributed to bullet placement rather than the bullet on the initial shot. I am looking forward to seeing how they (TSX) work first hand on bison from my 416 Taylor. From there, a Cape Buffalo???
The Trophy Copper accounted for a moose, where the bullet completely passed through it, and it only made 15 yards from where it took the shot.
I have witnessed a number of animals taken by others with the TSX/TTSX, Nosler E-tips, and GMX's. Many worked as advertised, but a few did exactly as others have experienced. For me, the jury is still out...but I will still try the Trophy Copper on more game, as it is the most accurate factory load in that rifle, and it killed quickly and cleanly.

It is good to have choices!

In the end, use what performs best for you in your rifle, and place the bullet accurately.
And keep your knives sharp!

 

[hawk-i]

Any type of bullet can have failures from time to time. If its made by man shyt can happen.