Yeti GOBOX Collection

Preferred .300 Mag Elk Loads You Use?

Also use the 215 gr Bergers. I buy the Berger factory loads. A bit pricey but no more than I shoot they are worth it. My APR custom loves it, stacks rounds at 100 yds. Sample size of 1 on bull elk but so far so good, he tipped over immediately.
 
I have tried a few different bullets out of mine.

Didn't Like
* 165 Barnes TTSX
* 180 Hornady GMX

Likes
*190 gr Barnes LRX
*200 gr Hornady ELD-x

Going to try
*180 gr Nosler E-Tip
*175 gr LRX
 
215 Bergers. Moving around 2900-2950 out the muzzle. Most accurate round, in an easy to shoot rifle.

I've worked my way towards a "One" rifle to do all my hunting with. I think this is it.
 
My son and I have together shot many elk, and deer over the years. We reload everything except shotgun shells. Started reloading 40 years ago. The elk we’ve shot were mostly with a 300 Wea., using Partitions, Accubonds, Sierra GK, and Hornady Interlocks. Partitions are great, 180/Accubonds never seemed to expand much, 200/Sierra a little too soft. The hands down winner and most devastating lung damage goes to the Hornady Interlock. Yep. The 190 gr is amazing on elk. They stopped making it for some reason. The SD and BC numbest were high. Expansion is crazy good. Almost never find the bullet. We’ve never had an elk even break into a run. At the most we see a couple kicks like a saddle bronc, and done. These are big bulls too, not always cows. The 180 Interlock from a 30-06 is pretty good. The 162/Interlock from a 7mm Rem Mag is great. Just stay on the heavy for caliber with the Interlocks and you won’t be disappointed. I do have a box of 180 gr. Interbonds I am going to use this season. We’ll see about those. The SST? I stick to deer with those.

I did learn not to shoot deer with Nosler 180 grain Ballistic Tips out of a 300 Wea. Blows em up like a prairie dog hunt. They are perfect in an 06.
 
I used the 30-06 Hornady Light Magnum 180sp load on my first cow elk. First shot hit her spine above the shoulder (it was all wadded up in a broken vertebrae) , rolled her over in a run. when she got up on the front end, I popped her through the lungs. It shredded the lungs and all I found was fragments against the far rib wall. It was clocking 2910 from that rfile. I "felt" it was going a little fast for its design. I later shot a mule deer doe, and it worked sell, big hole, kept going. We used the 150 Hornady sp in 30-06 on East, Tx deer and it also was a good one. In their speed design, I always felt they were "harder" than either Speer or Sierra boat tails. Hot Cor/Pro Hunters are great. I too wish they still had the old 190, I never got around to trying it before it was gone.
 
My 300wm really likes the 180 trophy bonded tipped bullets, and they are great on mule deer. I do need to find an elk to test them out on however.
 
180 grain TTSX or 200 grain A-frames depending on if I am hunting in the open or in the trees. Both equally reliable. I have never worried about bullet performance with either.
 
I settled on two rifles for now, the Bergara 300 win Mag and a Kimber 8400 300 WSM. For the 300 WinMag, I settled on RWS cases/175 LRX/73gr R23/Fed 215M for 3080fps ( but it consistently wads them up! I started with the 150 TTSX in the 300 WSM and a couple powders, but then settled on the 168 TTSX/64gr R17/prepped WW cases/Fed 215M for 3167fps. It does this under 3/4" ( sometimes under) for 4 shots consistently. So I'm sett. My Cow Elk hunt got moved up the first week of September. Getting jazzed now! :) Thanks for the input guys, I have friends who use the Barnes and Accubonds in their magnums. There is a smattering of factory loads used, from corlokt/Fusions to Hornadys. I do seem to see more Accubond users than partitions for soem reason, maybe its just the marketing or they like how they shoot. I always used (since early 80s) Partitions/Sierras, Hornadys (wads of corlokts) then fought the early Barnes X ( had to get their copper cleaner along with their bullets then, ha) I also found the coated XLCs a pain to mess with ( I didn't have a LEE FCD then) the XBTs were fantastic though. I felt the TSX was wonderful, then the TTSX just "thrills my soul", ha. But I seldom shoot anything "just lung shots) with a Barnes, I try to get at least one shoulder, some bone. I even like the "High shoulder" shot and "base of the neck". I too feel the best description of them is "an expanding solid". I like Partitions for heart/lung meat saving shots.
 

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