AaronMColeman,
You are correct that the "corelocks' and "power points" have killed many elk and deer. No doubt that in most cases coupled with a good hold they will continue to perform. I'm of the school that I want to have that extra margin of performance and penetration for a less than stellar shot. As good as the rounds are they have some better ones IMHO that have been produced in the last 2 decades.
One example of what getting to is the performance of a 200 gr. Hornady pointed soft point in my ,358 Winchester. Finding ammo for this 1955 Model 70 featherweight has been a task. I was tickled to find a box of this factory load that grouped well through the 19" barrel. With this accurate load I was confident I could make a clean kill. In mid-December I took a fine 3 1/2 year old 4X4 whitetail while hunting on public land in Louisiana. The shot was only 45 yards with the buck quartering towards me. Out of habit my hold was just behind the front shoulder. Not the best choice, but I did get a whole lot of lung. The buck was hit hard and continued on his line where I made two follow up shots as fast as I could work the jeweled bolt action in my now favorite rifle. The second shot was a clean miss as the deer stumbled and I shot in front of his chest. It appears he broke a hind leg in his effort to escape. He only hesitated for a 1/2 second when I nailed him with the third shot now quartering away. The entry wounds were in almost the same hole. While field dressing and later skinning and quartering the buck, we found only one exit wound. The 1st shot would have been fatal with an exit wound low and back on the off-side. the 3rd shot dropped him and it looks like it found bone after passing through the lungs. The second jacketed soft point came apart. the largest piece being the copper or gliding metal jacket weighing less than 25 grains!. My concern is what if the angle, distance and other factors allowed only one hit. What if the buck weighted 250# instead of 170? I might not get an exit wound and could struggle to find the buck with out a good blood trail. The accuracy was fine and had I placed the shot INSIDE his shoulder it might have dropped him. The deer was down wind of my stand, so I did not hesitate once I spotted him.
I found a service in Delaware that loads custom ammo, as I don't yet reload. They sent me two boxes of 200 gr. TTSX loaded ammo. Was pleased that they shoot even tighter groups than either the Hornady or the Winchester Silvertips. I managed to kill a spike using these TTSX loads on a February trip to Alabama. The shot was broadside (90 yards) from a ladder stand with a shooting rail. My shot was near perfect. Top of the heart just behind the fore leg with a identical location for the exit on the off-side. Result was a ,35 caliber hole going in and 60 or 70 caliber exit. No meat damage and the deer traveled about 30 yards and died. A 4 year old could have followed the blood trail.
With this load I would not hesitate to shoot an elk out to 300 yards. Of the modern bullets I really like the Nosler AccuBond, My brother is a huge fan of the partition. Have killed 3 bulls with a ,280 Rem utilizing a 160 Fail Safe load. They performed flawlessly breaking bone when needed, but are long since discontinued. The Trophy Bonded Bear Claws are impressive but they wont group out of my rifle. I'm thinking the E-tip may be another good choice along with the Swift bullets or the ELD-X. Your results may vary.
LaGriz
