300 win mag ammo for elk

[ericF]

Another vote for Barnes ttsx. It will Penetrate over everything else that has been mentioned. Keep the velocity above 1800fps and you won't have issues.

 

[scott_co]

Hornady ELD-X 200 has worked for me.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

What factory load shoots best in your rifle? That would be my number one priority. Second priority is bullet type.
If you have a certain type of bullet that isn’t as accurate how do you maintain confidence in that system to make the shot when needed? I want the bullet to go where I want it first and foremost. The Terminal ballistic characteristics are secondary to proper shot placement.
I don’t have much experience with elk, having just shot my first this year, but I had excellent results with 200gr hornady eld-x bullets out of my 300wsm. It was a hand load which was shooting at 3000fps so it is faster than it would be factory but it shoots like a laser and I was very impressed with the elks reaction to being shot with it.

 

[Blackdog317]

For exit holes, solid copper like the Barnes TSX, TTSX and LRX are a good choice. My 300 WM loves the TSX. I have yet to recover a bullet on multiple animals (including elk and mule deer to 320 yds). Hornady also makes a solid copper bullet called the GMX. All the above are available in factory ammo in various bullet weights (if you can find them in stock). Good luck!

 

[rootacres]

I watched 3 bulls fall to rifles on my last elk hunt. Two of those were with a 300 WM. One was with factory 180gr TTSX Barnes ammo, the other was with factory 185gr Berger Classic Hunter Federal loaded ammo. The shot distances were 250 yds and 155yds respectively. After seeing the performance of both of those bullets I would say if you aren't going to shoot accubonds I would go TTSX second and Berger third. This is coming from a guy that dropped my bull at 325yds using a 168gr Berger Classic Hunter (7mm WSM).

Where the Bergers shine is longer range, bucking the wind and performance with slightly slower impact velocities. When the impact velocity is too high the bullet tends to break up on impact. My brother shot his bull twice in the shoulder and we only found a couple pieces of the bullets. My dads TTSX we recovered lodged in the opposite side leg joint.

A happy medium between the two would be a bonded bullet like the Accubonds. If two holes is what you expect the TTSX is going to be your best bet.


180gr TTSX (300 WM 250 yds)

168gr Classic Hunter (7mm WSM 325 yds)

 

[section8mainiac]

Nosler Accubond or Partition. My 300 win mag loves the 200 grain Accubond. Elk are tough. Many times they do not expire right away like a deer. An exit hole is VERY helpful when tracking.

 

[coppermushroom]

Enjoy the process of finding out which bullet your rifle prefers; good excuse to buy a few brands and see for yourself which is best. For my 300 I prefer 180TTSX...after the first fouling round they are consistently 3/4MOA out to 450 yards (that is all the further my range goes).

 

[Franger]

I really tried to embrace the whole process of finding an accurate factory round from my Winchester M70 300WM. Why factory? Because I’m not a range nut and I’d rather be riding mountain bikes or skiing than picking up powder grains with a tweezers. It took seven boxes of well-reviewed ammunition, all with great reputations for penetration and weight retention. I tried not to care about bullet construction, other than wanting bullets that were known to stay intact and penetrate.

Barnes TTSX and LRX bullets shot pretty well. Hornady GMX shot better. Nosler Accubonds and E-Tips, for whatever reason, shot poorly. Same with Sierra Sirocco II’s. My guess is my barrel likes grooved bullet shanks. But I can’t be sure. Federal Trophy Bonded shot second best; very consistent 1in groups at 100yds. What shot best? Federal’s Trophy Copper. And it frankly wasn’t close. It was almost always 0.75 MOA as long as I did my part from the bench. Then I took it to a buddy’s farm and got a box worth of LabRadar data on it. The ES was laughably small for a factory round, something like 18fps if I remember correctly.

From there it was easy. Run a Strelok Pro chart for my rifle, scope, zero conditions, and the round itself. Take a screenshot and print it out and tape it on my stock. Use a rangefinder with the ability to compensate for angles. Then I bought 200 rounds and voila, elk medicine for years to come.

I’m not saying my process is genius or foolproof. But at my own comfort range based on my own skills and practice (350yds), I feel very confident that the round will impact where I point and the bullet will do the job.

All this to say, do you research, spend some coin on good factory ammunition, get the data and learn your dope, shoot until you’re comfortable, be honest with your skills and ethical hunting range, and go hunt. It isn’t rocket science. I’ve learned far more about elk hunting from elk hunters than ballisticians.

 

[Tonyjohnson619]

i shoot barnes 180gr tsx handloads out of my 300 wm. another bullet if you handload are 181gr hammer hunters. they are accurate, full copper but do partition off and only retain 50-70% weight where the barnes will retain 98% or more

 

[davsco]

I have the same gun and same ammo. I’ve killed a couple elk, a MD buck and antelope buck with it. No complaints.

yeah my t3x lite liked liked the fed 180 tbt's the best, accuracy-wise. i shot two elk last month (200 & 400yds), both ran a short distance, stood for a little bit, then fell over.

 

[TAGPUNCHER]

I have a Browning x bolt that loves the 200gr ELDX and ELK hate it! A Nosler Partition is second.