Thoughts on .308 factory round for elk.

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thefish

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Wondering if there are any success or disaster stories.
I'll be elk hunting this year, pulled a forpw tag, and am conflicted on what bullett to use. I won't have time to do any reloading and load development between now and the season, so I'm looking for input on different factory ammo.

I've done a few searches on the net, and of course there are a million opinions, but THR has never steered me wrong.

.308 savage bolt gun. I'm guessing shots will be within 300 yards.

So far it seems the choices I have run across is
Remington core lokt in 150 or 180 grain.
Winchester ballistic silver tip in 168 grain
Hornady super performance SST in 165 grain.

I know, "what your gun likes, and "placement".

Just looking for a little insight on what to try first.

Thanks in advance.
 
I'd be more inclined to use a heavier projectile. I usually use 150 and on occasion 165 for whitetail. While I have never hunted elk (therefore no expert) I would lean in favor of the 180 or 165. Of course my advice may be worth slightly less than what you paid for it. ;)

Edit: I will clarify that I mainly use 30-06 as my go to deer rifle.
 
They will all kill elk. I favor 165-180gr for elk, there are a lot of times you'll wish you had better penetration. I would also look at bonded bullets (i.e. Nosler Accubond) and monolithic copper (i.e. Barnes) bullets.

I shot them with 150gr cup and core bullets for a long time, 168's and 180's with bonded/monolithic bullets are hands down better and ruin less meat. I won't go back to cup and core for elk.
 
For elk I wouldn't use any of the bullets you've mentioned. Those are all rapid expansion thin jacketed bullets meant for light game. Look for 180 or 165 gr controlled expansion bullet. My recommendation would be a Nosler Partition, Barnes TSX, Trophy Bonded, Swift A-Frame or a Hornandy GMX or Interbond.

(Sorry Jake I was typing while you were posting. )
 
I'd use 180s for elk. +1 on Nosler Partitions. I think you have the right idea for a max range of the .308 on elk.
 
Good advice. You want a harder, tougher bullet than your first choices. Normally 165-180's are the way to go, but if you choose one of the copper bullets stay with 150's for 2 reasons.

Copper just plain penetrates deeper than lead of the same weight. A 150 gr copper bullet will out penetrate 180 gr lead bullets. In fact 130 gr copper bullets will just about match lead 180's.

They also really need speed to expand. Once the speed at impact drops below 2200-2000 fps they often don't expand. With that in mind 300 yards is about the limit for 150 gr copper bullets. 165's and 180's fall below 2200 fps at just over 200 yards. At least with 308 speeds. Those weights are better used at magnum speeds.

If you choose Barnes, I'd highly recommend TTSX over TSX in anything 30 caliber or smaller. The plastic tip gives better speeds at long range and aids expansion at slower speeds.

A couple of photos borrowed from Noslers website showing why speed is important with copper.

1st photo is the Accubond, bonded lead bullet. The 2nd photo is their all copper bullet similar to the TTSX.

Accubond-mushrroms_zpsruavhnhd.jpg
E-Tip-Mushrooms_zps7eudhbix.jpg
 
My brother has killed several with his Win pre-64 Mod 70fw using 150gr Nosler 150grPartitions. I'd suggest either the 150 or 165gr Federal factory loads with them. Hard to beat 50yrs of experience.
 
I've killed far less truly big game animals than some hunters. My trophies include elk, moose, caribou, and stacks of deer. For elk, I like the performance of 180 grain Core-lokt ammo. My longest shot at this stately creature was about 225 yards or so. Two quick shots into the chest downed the bull. My brother-in-law has taken moose with his .308 shooting 180 grain Nosler Partition bullets with equal success.

Hoping this is helpful.

TR
 
Hi Guys,
Thanks.
I tried to get some partitions but couldn't find any, but I did find some Nosler Trophy Grade Accubond in 165 Grain. Picked up 2 boxes. so I'll give those a shot (literally)
 
Those accubonds should work very well for you. I've shot 5 or so mulies with my 308 with them and have had great expansion and little meat loss.
 
I've used 160gr. Nosler Partitions in my caliber as loaded by Federal for the last ten years or more. Pronghorn, Deer, and Elk at 250 yds or less and it has worked on them all very well. Though I don't use your caliber, I'm lauding the bullet.
 
Peakbagger46 said:
Nosler claims the accubond is a dressed up partition. Any truth to this?
Click to expand...

Nosler has a FAQ on the Accubond vs Partition difference. A part of what they responded is:

The AccuBond® and Partition® are very similar in terminal performance, but they differ greatly in internal structure. The Partition® bullet is the original, controlled expansion, design created by John A. Nosler over 65 years ago. Long before the invention of bonding technology, the dual-core, partitioned jacket design of the Partition® bullet created the perfect blend of controlled expansion and deep penetration. The AccuBond® bullet was designed to mimic the on-game performance of the Partition® in a sleeker, more aerodynamic design by taking advantage of modern impact-extruded jacket design and bonding technology. Internally, where the Partition® features separate front and rear lead cores separated by an integral partition, the AccuBond® features a heavily tapered jacket and a single lead core which is permanently bonded to the jacket. Externally, the Partition® has a flat base and lead nose while the AccuBond® has a boat tailed base and a white polymer tip. Both bullets are designed to be general-purpose hunting bullets suitable for all game animals. Both bullets are designed to expand into consistent mushrooms while retaining 65-70% of their original weight with proven performance over a wide range of velocities and game. Partition® users will not see a gain by switching to AccuBond® unless their particular firearm shoots them more accurately.

Andy
 
jmr40 said:
If you choose Barnes, I'd highly recommend TTSX over TSX in anything 30 caliber or smaller. The plastic tip gives better speeds at long range and aids expansion at slower speeds.
Click to expand...

I use TTSX bullets for .264", .277", .308" and .375" caliber hunting loads. I use TSX bullets in .452" and 458" hunting loads. The TSX is a good bullet but its sweet spot in terms of velocity is narrower than the TTSX. The tip does nothing for expansion other than preventing the hollow point from plugging with hair/skin. As mentioned it does increase the BC of the bullet. When I worked at Remington we collaborated with Barnes quite a bit and Tim Jansen told me that he believes the tip heats/melts in flight becoming very soft which might explain why so many tips are found on the ground next to a dead animal.
 
We've had very good results with Barnes VOR-TX and Federal VITAL-SHOK Trophy Copper ammunition. Here are five 3-shot groups from last week shot from a Kimber Mountain Ascent in 300WSM using Federal VITAL-SHOK Trophy Copper 180gr loads. This is outstanding performance from a factory load and a lightweight production rifle shot at 100 yards off bags. The average of the five groups is 0.891 moa and it was a very hot day with little cooling between groups.

http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/rifle.aspx?id=978

300wsm_fed_trophy_cu_01.jpg
 
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