First elk hunt- caliber and ammo choice.

[JordanAdams]

Come November I'm going on my first elk hunt. It will be a rifle hunt. I plan on taking my .308 and I'm currently in the process of researching what bullet would be best to take with me. I'm leaning towards the Hornady precision hunter 178 grain ELD-X round. However, I'd love to hear what others think about that round and the caliber choice as well. I have access to a 7 mag thats not out of the question either. Thoughts? Also (side note); My range limit for myself is under 400 yards, just my personal choice.

 

[brsnow]

I use 130/168 ttsx and also 150 GMX in a .308 for elk.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

165 or 180 Nosler Partitions, or the lighter monolithic bullets. Just make sure you have enough velocity to achieve expansion at 400 with the coppers.

And use the rifle you know/trust/shoot regularly. A borrowed 7mag introduces uncertainty.

 

[Blinddog]

7MM 160 gr. Nosler Partitions or Accubond, next choice Speer 160 gr. BTSP.

 

[AZsniper]

308 is plenty for the elk and you are familiar with the rifle. stay with that. The ELDx is a great round, it kills at short and long ranges, The copper bullets are only for short range kills. The ELDX is perfect imo

 

[brsnow]

308 is plenty for the elk and you are familiar with the rifle. stay with that. The ELDx is a great round, it kills at short and long ranges, The copper bullets are only for short range kills. The ELDX is perfect imo

the Barnes 168 ttsx minimum velocity to expand is 1600fps. It is actually their LRX bullet model. That gives you some distance. That beingsaid I don’t shoot past 450, so I will never test the boundaries.

 

[Raypo]

I’m looking at 2 boxes of ELD-x in 178’s to give to a friend for an elk hunt. I say that is nearly perfect.

 

[JordanAdams]

165 or 180 Nosler Partitions, or the lighter monolithic bullets. Just make sure you have enough velocity to achieve expansion at 400 with the coppers.

And use the rifle you know/trust/shoot regularly. A borrowed 7mag introduces uncertainty.

I agree on the gun choice. My .308 is what will go with me with the backup being the 7 mag in case things go wrong early.

 

[Catahoula]

165g Nosler Accubond are what goes thru my 30 cal....

 

[11boo]

I’ll echo the 308 support. Mine has dropped 2 med sized elk, quick. I use handloaded accubonds.

 

[Fourteen]

My first trip and I chose 28 Nosler with 160 Accubond. Almost went with the ELD-x. It was hard for me to make the change since I use Hornady with all my other guns. My 30-06 will be backup in case something goes wrong.


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[Elkero]

I would say go with your 308, any Hunting bullet weight over 150 grains should do the trick. Good luck

 

[ElCapitan]

Same as above. Aim small miss small is the important part. Learn the anatomy and where the bullet will travel from different angles. Hit the off shoulder and good night Irene. Good luck

 

[sndmn11]

Hornady has the Superformance ammo if you are on the fence about the 308. That gets you around 30-06 performance.
I think the 308 is plenty though, and there are more good bullets than questionable ones in hunting lines.

 

[Jusgunn3]

I am also going on my first elk hunt this year in Colorado. I am going to use 168ttsx out of my 300wsm and 150ttsx out of my 06 as a backup. Good luck and I’d go 130 or 150’s out of your 308 if you go mono.

 

[Brooks]

My niece has killed an elk three years in a row using a 308 and Nosler 160 Accubonds. Farthest shot was right at 200 yards.

 

[sndmn11]

My niece has killed an elk three years in a row using a 308 and Nosler 160 Accubonds. Farthest shot was right at 200 yards.

We're any of those bullets recovered?

 

[MesaHorseCo.]

We're any of those bullets recovered?

I’ve put down a handful with 150 accubonds and recovered some. Held up well.

 

[TheGDog]

168gr TTSX had a gnarly 6" bloodshot circle around the entry wound on my 1st Mule Deer of approx 140Lbs. Knocked him 10" sideways upon impact @40yds. I have to imagine that kinda round would be what you want for an Elk.

 

[rootacres]

178gr ELDX, 168gr TTSX, 165gr Accubond. In no particular order these would be my top 3 for elk out of a 308.

For 400 and in, these will be just fine on elk.