.308 bullet choice for elk?

The AccuBond bullet is a very good choice. I have a feeling Nosler would love it if everyone who is now shooting the Partition bullet would switch to the AccuBond. They are easier and cheaper to make but still perform. The AccuBond bullet will do what you need to do. (IMO of course)

It really depends on what your typical/expected ranges are. Any of the bonded bullets or an A-frame would be a fine choice at 165 grains and up. Monolithic bullets would be dead last on my list of candidates but then again I don't take tail-on shots or points of aim that would meet heavy bone. I do prefer 180 grain for elk sized critters.

You know, growing up we always used the ol' 180gr corlokt bullets and took elk every year they presented themselves to us. But then again we were poor hillbillies from the Cabinet Mountain range of western Montana, we didn't know any better. Shot my first one at 140 (or so) yards with a 300 savage, the 99F lobbed that 180 grain round nose at a measly 2300fps but the elk never seemed to know the difference.

I second the accubond. My .308 has killed quite a few mulies with the 165g accubond over Rel 15. Expands reliably but holds together very well.

I did take a deer with Sierra 165g hollow point game king (165g). Accuracy was great but it kind of blew up and I lost a lot of meat.

I did take a deer with Sierra 165g hollow point game king (165g). Accuracy was great but it kind of blew up and I lost a lot of meat.

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I love the SGK BTHP for whitetails, but definitely wouldn't use it on elk because of it's rapid expansion.

As far as loosing meat, don't shoot them in the meat.

Personally, I'd stick with the Partitions. I love Partitions. I run them in all my hunting loads from .223 up to 7mm Rem Mag, .30-30, everything.

You can actually get seconds at Shooters Pro Shop at about half the cost of new and they perform just like firsts. I recently got 170gr Partitions for my .30-30, and got 200 for $60 shipped. Can't beat that.

Plus if you're military (AD or veteran), LEO or Fire, you get a discount.

Partition or Accubond, either one in either 165 or 180 grain.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

^^^^ Would be my top choices as well. I'd lean toward 165 gr Accubonds. But it would depend on what was available and what shot best in my rifle.

As everyone else has mentioned, I don't think you'll go wrong with either.
Partitions have been getting the job done for about 65 years now. Game animals haven't changed during that time as far as I know.

Partitions are where it's at.

Kingcreek said:

Thanks I was leaning to the accubond or tried and true partition. I have used the game king HP on deer with devestating effect. I wouldn't use them on elk even at .308 velocity. The Sierra 165s I have are the soft points.
I'll try some accubonds in 165gr the WA state elk aren't quite as big as Montana bruisers.

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The last elk i brought down here in wetern Washington was just over 1100#, how big do they get in Montana? Back to bullets though, the 165 game kings do seem a little fragile, the core loct 180s in a 30-06 work good though. Should be good with an acubond on the 165 from what I've heard. Btw that last bull was with a wasp broadhead, not the 30-06

That's an above average elk for sure. Mine usually come out in pieces so I've never got to weigh one. Yours up there are Roosevelt aren't they?

X-Rap said:

That's an above average elk for sure. Mine usually come out in pieces so I've never got to weigh one. Yours up there are Roosevelt aren't they?

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Yeah, big healthy Roosevelt elk. The one i got was kinda small in the rack and kinda massive in the body. 5X5

Out of a 308 I think either a SGK or Hornady Interlock North of 150 gr will perform well.

I have used the 220 gr RNSP for all of my elk- no need for anything else.

I don't know if you have tried other bullets, But I can speak with Certainty, My son and I are finalizing loads for 30-30/308/30-06/ and 300 WinMag.

For all but the 30-30, we have been shooting the 200gr and 220gr ELD-X by Hornady, in all 3 calibers we were getting 2/3 to 1/2" groups at 100 Yards.

The Ballistic Performance you can see for yourself. The bullets are designed and Tested for Long Range. Check there data sheets for performance.

Good Luck

If you're not stuck on Nosler, then consider the Hornady interbond. I loaded the 139gr. interbond for 2 .280's and one 7-08 and a couple of .308's with the 165. For the whitetails, at least a dozen kills, all DRT,(Dead Right There).

When they first came out, I did a bunch of expansion tests in water jugs;





Rifle is my 300 WSM loaded to 3000 fps. Slower speeds from a .308 would/does show less expansion. Retained weight was average of 85%.

My experience was you could drop down one notch in bullet weight with the interbond, achieve the same killing power because of higher retain weight.

The sierra game king soft point would work for broadside rib shots, but through shoulders would not provide enough penetration.

Nothing wrong with the accu-bond either. Here's some shot in my 300 WSM again into water jugs;







Less weight retention, smaller frontal expansion. Take your pick.

Again a Hornady interbond;



A poster said the Remington core loct. I had some 180's laying around, so I loaded a couple in the 300;



Good weight retention, good expansion. These bullets are from the 70's, there's been changes in just who makes the Remington line of bullets since then.

Find the bullet that shoots the best in your rifle.
For general elk work we've used the Hornady 165 gr interloc bullet with great successor 40 years. I am also a fan of the 190 gr inteloc, it doesn't go fast but shoots flat enough to make shot placement to 300 yards easy enough, and penetrates like a bunker busting bomb.. Not all of our 308's shoot that bullet well, and the recoil is a bit stiffer than the 165's.

FWIW...

I've got a nearly identical setup as you Kingcreek: .308 Tikka T3 stainless, with Leupold VXR scope. Took this rig to Namibia a couple years ago for a plains game hunt using Hornady 165gr Interlock factory ammo (before I got deep into reloading).

The Hornady ammo performed flawlessly. In spite of being "old fashioned" not bonded bullets, I was able to cleanly harvest a 750 lb kudu with a 200yd shot off sticks. The bull ran about 85 yards before collapsing in death. Meat processor didn't have much bullet left for me (exploded inside the shoulder), but I wouldn't call that a "bullet failure". Used the same 165 gr load on springbok, jackal, gemsbok, blue wildebeest and impala. No reason it shouldn't work on elk.

One of my coworkers and his son used 165gr factory interlocks in their .308's for decades with great success on Colorado bulls. This past year he used a .300WM, again with factory 165gr interlocks, and knocked down a big Wyoming bull and a nice Colorado bull. I wouldn't be worried about using interlocks, but when I was working up my elk load, I just went with 180gr SGKs because my rifle likes them and I've had great luck with the 165's on deer. Unfortunately the elk didn't let me test them out last season, but hopefully this year they will.

Kudu are probably around Elk size.

I have used 180gr. Accubonds to great effect, as I have 180gr. SGK's. I have no doubt that Partitions are equally as good.

My personal observations are that partitioned bullets are slightly less accurate than a bonded bullets, not material on a hunt though.

At 70 yards a 180gr. Accubond at 2 620fps MV whistles through a Kudu standing broadside leaving about a 11/16ths exit wound. A SGK disintegrates and turns the chest cavity in a bloody mess. Both kill the animal effectively, prefer the result of the Accubond when it comes to dressing the animal.

Further out they SGK's become less frangible.

I think we get too bent out of shape with the "premium bullets" but this for another thread. I would rather have an accurate load with a SGK than an iffy load with a Barnes. Shot placement is a great leveller of "premium bullets".

I won't use anything other than monolithic copper bullets on deer, elk, moose or whatever. For handloads I like Barnes TTSX bullets. For factory ammunition I've had great results with Federal Trophy copper. I'm not sure who makes the bullet for Federal but it looks like a Nosler to me.