Elk Bullet

LeadPoison

New member
I am going out to Colorado this year and want to work up some loads for my Win Mod 70 7 Mag with a Boss. I just can't seem to make up my mind about bullet choice though. I need a bullet that is cheap to practice with because I never have shots over 150 yards on deer where I hunt.
So that rules out Noslers. I was thinking about using the 154 grain Hornady InterBond and using the 154 grain SST for pracice since they have the exact same ballistic measurements. Assuming that they will shoot identical (I know I will have to check POI), I think this will be the best option for me. Hopefully they shoot great because I don't want to spend 40 cents a bullet for the Noslers during practice sessions. What do you think?
 
It's been a while since I worked up a load for my 7mm Mag but what I did was used the 160 grain Sierra spitzer boat tail for working up a load and trying the gun out. Once that was done, I subbed in the 160 grain Nosler partition and tried a few of the "real product" The POI wasn't much different and they both shot real well with the same load. I used IMR-4831 and Remington 9-1/2M primers.

Good luck hunting!
 
Sierra bullets are as good as you need. I've killed a bunch of elk with the 7mm Mag, 243, 257 WthBy and 25-06. I have NEVER had a Sierra bullet fail me yet.
 
tcman,

What grain sierras did you use? 160 grain Gameking?
Did you have the chance to see how they performed when you hit bone?
 
I also used the 160gr Sierra Gameking for my elk load. Never hit bone, but 2 downed animals proved enough for me. I keep thinking I might try some of the bigger names, but common sense keeps telling me WHY? Where did the Sierra's fail on the 2 dead elk. These are the only 2 elk I had the chance to drop trigger on also.
 
I have an Elk load for my 7mm WSM I used a sierra 160 grain Gameking to work up my loads, then found with a Nosler Accubond in 160 grains to decrease the load by 1 grain and I had simular velocities. The Gameking is supposed to hold up with the bonded cores for weight retention. The nosler is a bit longer per weight due to the thicker jacket. both shoot real close POI within 1 inch in my gun using Ramshot Magnum and CCI 250s
 
in the 7mm Mag I used 140 grain...in the 243 I used the 85 grain and in both the 25-06 and 257 Wheatherby I used the 100 grain.

The 7mm Mag and 140 would do a shoot-through on normal body cavity shots. Heavy bone wasn't an issue...hit one high in the shoulders once, took out the backbone and dropped it in it's tracks.

Some people swear by heavy bullets...I prefer (as you can see above) faster flatter bullets and the Sierra game bullets have never let me down.
 
I load Hornady 175 and Nosler 175 in my 7 mag. They shoot to nearly the same POI, and will shoot more than flat enough for 300 yard shots. I use the Hornadys for deer and sight-ins and the Nosler Partitions for elk. RL-22 gets me just over 2800 fps in my Savage rifles.
 
I would not use the Hornady SST.

I shot a cow elk in the head at approx. 50yds about 2" right of her left eye (almost dead center of the head) with a 180gr Hornady SST from a .300SAUM

The bullet did not exit the head, just one .308 hole going in and a dead freezer full of meat. Needless to say, I think the bullet should have exited, no matter what. It was a 180gr hunk of lead and copper that should have held together well enough to exit. I think the bullet simply blew up. So, I don't think if you hit a shoulder bone, or a rib, that the bullet would stay together well enough to penetrate deep enough. (by the way SST bullet are, or at least were advertised as an elk bullet by Hornady)

My .02
 
How many yards to recovery was it on that cow elk? LOL

Yeah I think it should have exited as well, but lots of bullets at that close range have a tendency to blow up on impact, especially at the velocities of the .300 SAUM.

I am not going to use the SSTs. I am going with the 160 Nosler Partition and am going to practice with the 160 Sierras. Can't wait to get out to Colorado in November.
 


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