elk bullet question

hntnnut

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Well now that my wife drew her first elk tag (cow) I'm going to need to put her .308 barrel back on her savage. My question though revolves around bullet selection the primary bullet we use is a Barnes 130 TTSX. But for elk I'm thinking of running 150Gr. TTSXs or a Nosler partition of the same weight. considering she is recoil conscious what would you run?

Richard
 

handwerk

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150 TTSX, would be my pick for her, I think it is worth it to step up in bullet weight, just don't hot rod it and with trigger time I'm sure she'll do fine.
 
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I'm thinking stay with the 130 grain. The TTSX needs speed to open up more reliably, and the 130 should give you a little more velocity than the 150. No need to change since you have the 130, and everything is set up for it on her rifle. If you go for the partition, then the 150 would be my suggestion.
 

5MilesBack

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I wouldn't rule out the Accubonds in the .308. I've shot Partitions since 1980 but I think I prefer the Accubonds now. I got rid of my last .308 so I still have some .308 reloading stuff laying around. But as for bullets, I think I only have the Accubond 165's.
 

robtattoo

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I'm thinking stay with the 130 grain. The TTSX needs speed to open up more reliably, and the 130 should give you a little more velocity than the 150. No need to change since you have the 130, and everything is set up for it on her rifle. If you go for the partition, then the 150 would be my suggestion.

This.
I hemmed & hawwed over the same question for nearly a year. In the end, I figured that I really couldn't get the speed required for reliable performance with any of the 150gn monolithics, beyond a couple hundred yards out of a short barreled .308
I tried the 130 TTSx & they gave great accuracy, but for some reason my brain kept telling me that heavy & slower would be better. In the end I went with 165 Partitions. Didn't get a shot at an elk, but I know they're reliable performers in pretty much any situation & they'd work well beyond my 300 yard limit.

I've since switched up again & I'm now shooting 150gn Accubonds. A couple of hundred more fps, slightly better accuracy & with a great proven record.
 

WyoElk

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I'm thinking stay with the 130 grain. The TTSX needs speed to open up more reliably, and the 130 should give you a little more velocity than the 150. No need to change since you have the 130, and everything is set up for it on her rifle. If you go for the partition, then the 150 would be my suggestion.

I agree with this. I have personally killed multiple elk with a single 100 gr. TTSX (.257WBY) with great performance. Keep your shots to a reasonable distance and take high percentage shots and you have nothing to worry about with those 130's.

Also remember those TTSX retain 98-99 percent.
 
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Richard I feel that the 150 gr. Accubond or Partition would serve you very well for anything that your wife would hunt with using the .308. Both are great reliable performers. Best of luck.
 

kcm2

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imo, any premium bullet penetrates well enough. I've killed a bunch of elk with a 130/270/partition, and my last two with the Hornady 130 GMX.

You can't go wrong with the three you listed. you didn't list your wife's max shot distance, but if it's more than 300, I'd go heavier. If not, she's well-served with any of them.
 
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I'd stick with what you have. It's not uncommon for 150gr Partitions to lose the front part of the bullet (40% of the weight if memory serves) wich turns it into a 90 grain bullet at some point. The TTSX on a ruff day might lose 10% of it's weight (the tip and 1 or 2 pedals) for a bullet weighing about 117 grains to penetrate.

I'm normally not a big fan of mono's but for making an elk round that's light, fast, forgiving recoil, and good gives penetration I can't think of anything better. Load the 130gr TTSX on the hotter side and don't look back.
 

vlad

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165's is my pick for her, she will be realy comfortable with it. as times goes on she can as well try others,
 
OP
hntnnut

hntnnut

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Thanks for all the input looks like I'll stick her with the 130 TTSXs since I already have about 500 in stock. Oh and shots will be kept under 200 yards.

Richard
 
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It has been my experience, anything mono....you want moving as fast as you can. It seems they don't open up good at lower velocities.
 

GKPrice

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I'd stick with what you have. It's not uncommon for 150gr Partitions to lose the front part of the bullet (40% of the weight if memory serves) wich turns it into a 90 grain bullet at some point. The TTSX on a ruff day might lose 10% of it's weight (the tip and 1 or 2 pedals) for a bullet weighing about 117 grains to penetrate.

I'm normally not a big fan of mono's but for making an elk round that's light, fast, forgiving recoil, and good gives penetration I can't think of anything better. Load the 130gr TTSX on the hotter side and don't look back.

FYI, the partition bullet is designed to lose approx. 40% of it's weight on impact - THAT info has been in print for a good many years - The Accubond shares that design feature, they both work great
 
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