Question for Elk Hunters

[eagle24]

I am going to TX to bowhunt whitetails for a week the first of Dec. Myself and two buddies were offered an opportunity we could not refuse. Rather than coming home after our hunt in TX, we are going to NM to hunt elk for 5 days. We have rifle tags, so we will have the option of bow or rifle. I really don't have a rifle ideal for hunting elk. Best option is my 7mm WSM, so that is what I am taking. I ordered some Winchester ammo loaded with a 160gr Accubond bullet. What are your thoughts on using a bullet that light on elk?

Also, anybody have ballistic data on POI at 100 yds for a 200yd zero? I won't be able to shoot 200yds until I get to TX.

 

[ZeroJunk]

I'm not familiar with the Accubond, but I have killed elk with 160 grain .284 Nosler Partitions and they worked great.

 

[eagle24]

Here's the link to Noslers info on the accubond.

http://www.nosler.com/Bullets/Accubond.aspx

 

[CoRoMo]

I really don't have a rifle ideal for hunting elk. Best option is my 7mm WSM...

If that is not an ideal elk gun, I simply don't know what is. I kill them with 130gr .277 bullets myself.

I just ran your cartridge through a calculator...

POI = 1.4" high @ 100yds if sight-in range is 200yds
muzzle vel = 3,050 fps
100yd vel = 2,863 fps
200yd vel = 2,683 fps

 

[Captcurt]

I would be comfortable with your combo.

The Accubond is a great bullet. You shouldn't have any major problems with the 7 WSM as long as you pick your shots. But then you need to pick them with any caliber.

Good Luck.

 

[youngda9]

Here is a calculator. All you need to enter is the muzzle velocity, the BC of the bullet, and the height of the center of your scope over the bore...then mess around with it and find an optimal sight-in point. Preferably where the max height high is 4". That way you can find out where the bullet will be low by 4" and all you have to do with an elk is to aim for the center out to that distance and don't worry about trajectory at all.

http://www.handloads.com/calc/

 

[wankerjake]

I ordered some Winchester ammo loaded with a 160gr Accubond bullet. What are your thoughts on using a bullet that light on elk?

I kill one every year with a 150gr core-lokt or hornady interlock from a 30-06. A 160gr accubond will kill elk all day long, I wouldn't give it a second thought. The 7mm WSM is plenty of gun for elk and you'll be fine. Post up some pics when you get one eh?

 

[eagle24]

Thanks for the replies and info. I'm not an "overkill" type guy, but I'm sure not one to try and stretch the capabilities of a cartridge. I talked to a couple of guides who like their clients to use at least a 200gr bullet on elk hunts. I don't disagree, but I'm betting they have dealt with some less than desireable shot placements during their tenure.

I found the ballistic data I need and I feel pretty confident with this setup 200yds and in. Maybe out to 250 with the right shot angle/situation, but I like the energy numbers better inside 200. If I were planning to hunt elk on a regular basis, I would probably opt for something in .30 cal and a 200gr bullet weight, but this is a one time deal for me. Hopefully, I don't resort to the rifle and we get it done with our bows anyway.

 

[dougwx12]

Your gun and load are fine.

 

[quietman]

Gawds I hate the magazines and TV shows for making people think they need the latest howitzer for elk.:banghead:

You're rifle and load is fine. People have taken elk with .270's (not magnums either) for years, so I can't see why your short mag can't do the job, unless it's been watching the TV ads and now has an inferiority complex.

 

[H&Hhunter]

Yep that rifle is and bullet are a sensible choice for elk. Keep your shots to a reasonable range and everything will be just fine. The Accubond is very similar in performance and penetration to a Nosler Partition.

 

[GJgo]

One of my hunting buddies takes an elk every year with a trusty Remington 788 in 7mm-08 with a 140gr TSX. We haven't had to track one yet...

 

[natman]

160 grains is fairly heavy for 7mm. While I would prefer a larger, heavier bullet for elk, I wouldn't hesitate to use a 7mmWSM with a 160 grain premium bullet if that was what I had.

 

[ms6852]

I use a 30-06 150gr for elk have been doing so for the last 28 years. Your 7mm WSM is more than adequate. Never understood why there are sooooooo many people that think you need more for elk.

 

[Ankeny]

I have four examples of experiences with elk taken with Accubond bullets just this week. My brother and I both shoot 7mm Remington Magnums with 160 Accubond bullets traveling at around 3000 fps. We both had two tags this year. I got caught in some really nasty weather last Monday so I wiped off the 7 mag as best I could and put it in the rack in my jeep and finished the day with my 6.5x55 Swede shooting a 140 Accubond. I took a 6x6 bull at 150 yards with one shot. The bullet hit it just below the backbone high on the shoulder. The critter went down in it's tracks and didn't even twitch. The bullet didn't exit. A couple of days later I took a cow with a 160 Accubond from my 7 mag with a similar hit at twice the distance. The animal died quickly and didn't travel any direction other than straight down.

On Thursday my brother took a 6x7 bull at 502 yards with his 7 mag shooting the 160 Accubond. The bull went down, got back to his feet and traveled maybe 30 yards before expiring. The bullet exploded like a hand grenade on the entrance side and did not exit. That's odd for a bonded bullet.

The next morning he took a rather large cow with the same rig. He hit the cow high on the shoulder at about 175 yards. The cow went down in a heap with all four legs clawing at air. She got back on her feet and started toward the canyon so he shot her again, through both shoulders, shattering the major bones on the exit side. Bullet performance was just the opposite from his experience the day before as far as penetration. Before any of you condemn him for shot placement, the canyon was almost vertical and perhaps 1000 feet from bottom to top. In a case like that you either break the animal down in it's tracks or you pass on the shot unless your are at the pinnacle of fitness and have an entire day (or more) to spend recovering the animal.

FWIW, my brother and I have taken 8-10 elk with Accubond bullets and performance has been excellent. But having one splatter at 500 yards really leaves me scratching my head.

 

[H&Hhunter]

But having one splatter at 500 yards really leaves me scratching my head.

My experience with accubonds on elk is similar. They generally do not exit as is the case with most polymer tipped boned bullets. They simply open to fast and expand to rapidly to exit on a heavy critter like an elk. Not that that is a bad thing. They are not great weight retaining bullets they generally retain about 50 to 60% of their original weight just like a Nosler partition which is adequate no doubt.

I've never seen one disintegrate either. I'm guessing that particular bullet had some manufacturing flaws in it. Especially since it came apart at over 500 yars where it had slowed considerably.

But hey that's how it goes with bullets and game I've seen many different kinds of bullets do weird stuff on game.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

But hey that's how it goes with bullets and game I've seen many different kinds of bullets do weird stuff on game.

Had a .44 caliber hard cast from a .444 marlin hit dead center shoulder on a deer and there were 2 perfect halves exiting out either side of the opposite shoulder I am guessing air bubble maybe? They do some funny things is an understatement!

 

[Bryant5582]

I think you will be fine with that rifle and bullet. I Just killed an elk at 365 yrds with a 200 grn accubond muzzel vol. 2800 fps.

"They" say you need 2000 Ft Lbs of energy to consitanlty kill elk with a rifle. Find out how far that is for your gun and go from there.

BTW, the bullet went clean trough both lungs and exited on my elk (cow). She made it about 40 yards.

 

[wankerjake]

They generally do not exit as is the case with most polymer tipped boned bullets. They simply open to fast and expand to rapidly to exit on a heavy critter like an elk. Not that that is a bad thing. They are not great weight retaining bullets they generally retain about 50 to 60% of their original weight just like a Nosler partition which is adequate no doubt.

So...is there, in your opinion, a great advantage to using bonded bullets over standard cup and core bullets? I would have to guess that the mushroomed interlocks and core-lokts I've pulled from animals have retained on the order of 50%, though I admit I haven't weighed them. I ask because I was planning on shooting accubonds but if there is not much difference I won't waste the money.

 

[H&Hhunter]

The advantage is that cup and core bullets have a higher failure rate in regards to penetrating heavy bone. Bonded bullets tend to be a more reliable bullet in that regard. Especially at the velocities that your WSM will be firing them at. There is nothing wrong with velocity but it requires the use of a stouter bullet. I'd go bonded or monolithic if I was in your shoes. I've simply seen to many failures at high velocity with standard bullets on elk sized critters and up.

 

[wankerjake]

Ok I'll stick with them. Really I think the WSM will see more action at long range deer hunting than for elk. I bought a box of 140gr Accubonds so I'll try them first. I was also thinking about a TSX or TTSX, but for deer I don't think it matters. Especially these little 100 pound coues deer. But for elk, would you prefer something like a TTSX over a bonded bullet? I personally either will work but they are about the same price so if the TTSX would be better I'd proly use 'em, IF I ever use it for elk.

I'm shooting 168gr TTSX (30-06) this year for elk and 85gr TSX (243) for deer. I've never used solid copper before but I was talked into it...I'll be sure and post the results. People seem to really like them for the most part.

 

[lloveless]

I had a friend with a 7 mm Rem Mag. We went to Colorado for an elk hunt. He also had a deer tag HE MISSED IT, cause he held over its back at 100 yds and that is where he hit. Spooked said deer into the next county.
ll

 

[H&Hhunter]

I'll just say this the the Barnes TSX is one of the if not the finest most accurate and reliable game bullet I've ever used. And that statement is coming from personally having killed multiple hundreds of head of game with them.

The other nice thing about TSX bullets is that they cut down on blood shock and meat loss on smaller critters like a Coues. Polymer tipped bullets open explosively and can cause some pretty bad bruising out of a lighting zapper like the 7 WSM.

I shot a largish bodied whitetail yesterday with my .300 WM and a 180 gr TSX MV of about 3,000 FPS the deer was at about 250 yards. Results were very little meat damage and DRT buck. That has been my experience with the TSX on just about everything I've shot them with.


I have had one weird deal with a TSX on an antelope buck last year. I still haven't figured that one out. The bullet did a 90 degree turn and exited at a weird place but I think that the round might have contacted some tall grass on the way to the buck. One out of several hundred works for me, I'll take those odds.

To answer your question I like the accubond I love the TSX.

 

[Sunray]

Three weeks off work? No wife? Big freezer? snicker.
"...my 7mm WSM...a bullet that light..." That'll do nicely. 130's and 140's out of a .270 Win are used regularly. You'll have to hope your rifle likes 'em and get it sighted in.
You can use your bow.