308 bullet choice

[N2TRKYS]

Mine are still running at over 1800 fps. The last elk I took was at 110 yards using the 168gr TTSX, that bull didn't even take one step, he just fell to the ground. I will admit that the shot was a perfect heart shot so I can't tell you what would have happened if I'd of done a double lung shot but I'm sure that the bull would have died.

I used to be one of those guys that believed that the bullet needed to stay in the animal in order to kill effectively, I no longer subscribe to that school of thought. The TTSX bullets will, quite often, go through an elk very easily and that's not a bad thing, if you hit the heart or lungs. We kill animals by bleeding them out and two holes will bleed faster than one hole, especially if you hit the heart in between.

I've never wanted a bullet to stay in an animal. I've always wanted the most expansion and exit. Seems like the 130 grainer would be the best of both worlds. With a 60% retained weight of a 180 grain Accubond or Partition, the 130 grain Barnes would still weigh more in the end.

That's why I asked.

Thanks

 

[Ryan Avery]

I would rather the bullet dump all energy inside the animal. I rather use target bullets on thin skinned game(Including Elk).

This is not bow hunting...Bloodtrails matter much less to me with a rifle.

To the OPs question, Ross Russell, one of our writers here has killed a pile of elk with the SSTs out of his 7 mag.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Thanks for everyone’s input. I can’t wait to get my ammo in and get to the range and see how my rifle likes it. I wish I had the time to reload- presently don’t, but will be saving all of these tips for the future!


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Save one of those factory Barnes TTSX to set your seating die once you get into reloading (assuming you want to load your own with the same weight TTSX).

 

[juan trueno]

Looks of a bullet doesn’t have anything to do with how much damage a bullet creates, and consequently how fast it kills. Bullets that shed weight and look mangled create more damage along their path than ones that don’t.


As far far as not exiting a deer- skin is extremely elastic, and is much harder to penetrate than organs. It is quite possible for a bullet that is caught by the offside skin to easily penetrate another foot or more of muscle tissue.

Tell you what- I will go along with you and we can “guess” sure, “I guess” that bullet had enough ass left to punch through another foot of meat and organ- but... I was talking about getting through another 3/16” of hide- which as you so expertly explained is another and more difficult matter.

A glance at the bullet absolutely reveals that it sheds weight readily even in thin skinned light game at very very (200 yard shot with a 308) moderate velocity... which gets us right back to- if you prefer 2 holes in your elk(or deer apparently) you probably need to start with more weight- or start with a different projectile in that weight. If 2 holes don’t matter to you- or better yet- you don’t want a second hole... that right there would be a good contender.

You are quite the sharpshooter brocephus, but that comes with being the SME I suppose


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[Ryan Avery]

I talk a lot of shit about 7 mags but the fact is bullet placement trumps bullet design. I posted this video before but it fascinates me.

6 Creedmoor
108 ELD-M yep, target bullet
485 yards on a cow elk. Broke both shoulders and somewhat exited the others side. Make soup out of the lungs and sending shrapnel into the heart. She made it maybe 50 yards.

Think about that, a little 108 grain target bullet at 2975 FPS did some nasty work.

Hornady 108 gr ELD-M on elk - YouTube


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[juan trueno]

I’d personally be a lot more worried and reluctant about a 50-75 yard shot with that combo than one a quarter mile away. Not asking nearly as much of the bullet out that far and having sloughed off a good bit of speed

 

[Ryan Avery]

I’d personally be a lot more worried and reluctant about a 50-75 yard shot with that combo than one a quarter mile away. Not asking nearly as much of the bullet out that far and having sloughed off a good bit of speed

The rifle shot another elk at 70 ish yards but it was not in the shoulder. More lung/liver. The cow made it about 150 yards. Just guessing after seeing elk shot with 105 Bergers out of 243s in the shoulder at under 100 yards, it would work. But it would not be my first choice.

 

[juan trueno]

I like the sst’s fine especially for your sensible middle of the roaders like the 6.5 creedmoor and the 308win and dont pay the extra few cents for the eld’s as i don’t personally benefit from the additional BC
And like you with the 108 6’s- I prefer them on the heavier side

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[bluetick78]

I've killed lots and lots of elk of all sizes from all different angles with a 154 SST out of a .280 Rem. The load has been tweeked some as new powders are invented, but it's stayed the same for the most part. Big bulls, fall-fat cows, raghorns, they all die from that load without protest. There's nothing wrong with the newest, shiniest bonded super-bullet that everyone raves about till something newer hits the cover of Outdoor Life. They will kill elk too. Just don't let a bunch of gear junkies tell you that an SST won't kill and elk reliably. I have a lot of antler on the wall and meat in the freezer that'll prove the truth undeniably. Along the same line, I've seen lots of elk fall to 165 Sierra boat tails at 2665 fps from a 30-06. It's my dad's favorite (and only) load. 44 elk and counting......

 

[mtmuley]

I love bullet threads. Well, I know of a bullet that took down a 1900 pound eland. 116 grain all copper from a .257 Weatherby. Gonna load a 199 grain .308 version for an LE elk hunt this fall. mtmuley

 

[Middleofnowhere]

I'm surprised no one has suggested a Barnes TTSX yet. Use the 168 grain TTSX and don't look back. No worries about it breaking up on a shoulder at close range and out to 400 yards it'll perform great. You can bet your house that you'll get a hole in each side of the animal as well.

152 gr Hammer Hunter is also worth a consideration.
https://hammerbullets.com/product/308-cal-152g-hammer-hunter-50/
There is a load discussed over at longrangehunting using using Cfe223

 

[LightFoot]

I used a 178gr eld-x to take down a big stag. Broadside, behind the shoulder double-lunged and exited the other side.


My 308 and 30-06 both shoot Hornady Precision Hunter 1/2-moa.

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[TauPhi111]

I’ve ordered a couple of boxes of the Barnes 168 TTSX- I’ll see how my rifle likes them. Thanks for all of the feed back from everyone


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Allow me to make some suggestions on loading your TTSX's (nice choice BTW) 1. Use the Barnes load data listed on their site. I've found that it is super reliable and my muzzle velocities match up pretty well with thier data. Last loads I did were 30-06 with the 168s and they were spot on. Barnes also tends to publish data that'll give you higher velocities than the Hodgdon site, and pressure has never been an issue. I think Hodgdon is just being extra cautions for no reason. 2. I used to play around with jump to the lands with Barnes bullets...I don't anymore. Look at any Barnes factory load, and you'll see the bullets are always seated to the first groove. I started doing that because I had to load to mag length instead of the optimal jump for a couple of my rifles, and accuracy was outstanding. Started doing that with all my other Barnes loads, and accuracy was still awesome. Playing around with jump made little difference. The jump will be much bigger than the suggested .05 start, but Barnes bullets tend to like a big jump anyway.