Brown bear / mnt goat bullet

[Timeee123]

I've done a ton of research on a bullet to use on a brown bear hunt. Most every rifle I shoot Berger's or eld bullets. They have stopped everything. my caliber if choice because it's a combination goat/brownbear hunt is a 300 prc. Reading articles I decided to go with a 200 gr barnes trippleshock. The reason is i read you need a hard bullet or else. Today at the range i noticed somebody put up some steal gongs so i decided to shoot them. I shot 1 with a 300 gr berger out of an edge and 1 with a 225 eld from a 300 prc. . Both went clean thru 1/2 inch steal plate.. not 500 steal but still steal

I guess my question is why if my berger or hornady eld-m go through a steal plate why are they not reccomended for the shoulder of a brown bear. Do I really need to take time developing a load with a ttx. Or would the hornady 212 eldx or 225 be perfect acceptable. They are devastating bullets.

Anyone with real world experience. It kinda feels there's a "we have always done it this way mentality. . No disrespect ment but the ballistics and performance on paper are there

 

[Spiral Horn]

Know that many guys have had success using target and frangible bullets on deer and other ungulates. However, a Brown Bear is a completely different class of critter with a heavy frame, dense muscle tissue, and a nasty disposition when wounded. Would always recommend a well constructed bullet = Barnes, Swift A-Frame, TBBC, etc. Took a 9ft Brownie a few years back with a 180gr Barnes TTSX which performed flawlessly. Have taken a bunch of Sheep and Goat species with the ELD-X and been very impressed with both accuracy and terminal performance. Although there are likely better bullets for a Brownie, I’d feel much more confident using an ELD-X than any frangible or target bullet.

Over the years we’ve seen all kinds of stunts with bullets and broadheads being shot into various media, including metal. In my experience these are not always an accurate predictor of how they’ll actually perform on game. Frangible ammo might go through a steel plate, but will only penetrate a few inches into a game animal before beginning to come apart and will not have the deep penetration of a controlled-expansion, bonded or monolithic bullet.

Also, if just studying ballistics charts a 22-250 looks like it might outperform a 45-70 in standard loads. Have no doubt which one guys would want while following up on a Brownie through the alders.

 

[hodgeman]

What a bullet will do to a steel plate and what that same bullet will do trying to shoot through 4-5' of muscle, fat and bone are not really relatable in any way.

For brown bears you're going to want either a monometal (TSX, ETip, GMX, etc) or a bonded, controlled expansion bullet (A-Frame, Accubond, Trophy Bonded, etc) to get complete, straight line penetration from any angle.

Back in the days of bad bullets, bullets blowing up on bears and not reaching vitals happened often enough that some hunters used full metal jacketed bullets to ensure penetration. We have really good controlled expansion bullets now that will penetrate and expand that are really the best choice for the job.

 

[Raypo]

I’m going to be using a 300PRC 212 eldx on an upcoming grizzly/sheep hunt. I’m perfectly confident in that bullet on any animal in North America.

 

[Guy]

Seven days into a nine day Brooks Range hunt, this interior grizz showed up at about 40 - 50 yards, heading towards us. I shot and missed. I shot and dropped him, he was up almost instantly, but I'd cycled my bolt faster and shot again. The guide started shooting too. Things were moving fast. Real fast.

Finally he went down and stayed down. I finished him with a shot from my guide's 338 Win mag using a 225 grain Barnes. At over 8' squared, he's big for an interior grizzly, but well short of the size of a big coastal brown bear.

Here's a 200 grain Nosler Partition recovered from just under the off-side hide of the bear, fired from my 30-06 at about 30 yards. Velocity is not your friend when it comes to deep penetration on animals.

I've got the 225 gr .338" Barnes TSX recovered while skinning too. Not sure where it is, but I could probably find it and photograph it too. That was the one I finally killed the grizz with, at about 15 or 20 yards. I'd put him on the ground again with my 30-06, but had run out of ammo. I was starting to reload when the guide handed me his rifle to finish the bear. It was a pretty fast and furious 30 - 60 seconds. Bear was moving. We were moving. Range was getting shorter. Shots were being fired. Good hits. Bad hits. Misses. Pretty intense.

If brown bear or grizzly are a real possibility, I'd hunt with a controlled expansion bullet, a reasonably heavy one. Barnes TSX, Accubond, Nosler Partition, something along those lines.

I've put 168 grain Sierra HPBT Matchking bullets through steel plates with my 308 Win. Doesn't make it a good choice for big bear.

Regards, Guy

 

[AKG]

338-06, 225 grain partition at just over 2500 fps, bullet entry behind the shoulder and located off side under skin at base of neck (picture attached). Instant death without a twitch. I'm planning a goat hunt and plan to use my 6.5 PRC and I have a couple boxes of Barnes tsx that I need to load and test. My thought process is the extra penetration may be beneficial in case of accidental bear encounters when trekking to goat country. I'll still take the 338-06 on the trip as well in case I decide to bear hunt. I've shot a couple deer with the eldx bullets out of a 6.5 and did not get pass through. The fat on my bear was at least a full hand length deep in some areas. Buddy on the same bear trip shot a bear with 300wm using accubond and had pass through but bear did run a few yards. My verdict- I don't really have one other than my experience seems to agree with the premium bullet recommendations.

 

[goonplatoon88]

I'm having going through this same debate right now. I have a spring brown bear hunt coming up next year. What complicates things is the fact that there are no where near as many choices for factory ammo in .338 Win Mag now as there were when I bought the gun.

 

[Spiral Horn]

Here is some 225gr Barnes TTSX 338 Win Mag (looks like they have a bunch) - took a 9ft Brown with a 180gr TTSX a few years back. One shot kill and the bullet performed flawlessly. I’ve used Choice Ammo before - they make consistently good stuff.

.338 Winchester Magnum 225 GRAIN BARNES TTSX (LEAD FREE)~100% HAND-LOADED!!

.338 WINCHESTER MAGNUM 225 GRAIN BARNES TTSX (LEAD FREE)~100% HAND-LOADED!!

choiceammunition.com

 

[t_carlson]

The bullets will punch through steel because steel is hard enough that the bullet doesn't get a chance to break up and expand.

Try shooting bullets into a piece of firewood sometime. Pretty much any bullet will hold together because the wood is so dense. Even with bullets that will hold together regardless, the recovered bullets look very different when shot into wood versus animal flesh. Its just not the same medium.

I’m going to be using a 300PRC 212 eldx on an upcoming grizzly/sheep hunt. I’m perfectly confident in that bullet on any animal in North America.

Key word: "upcoming"

Unless you've already done it, its all hypothetical for you.

Best of luck.

 

[rootacres]

So will a Berger out of a PRC kill a brown bear? Sure.

I think guides want a high weight retention, high penetration bullet for bear. More often than not, guides don't want long shots being take on brown bear. The closer you get, the higher your impact velocity. The higher the impact velocity with Bergers, the greater likelihood you have that they will break up on impact and not get the penetration desired. I think as a general rule, everyone wants a tough, durable, high penetrating bullet.

**My dad has a brown bear hunt booked for next spring. He's bringing TTSXs in a 300 WM.

 

[Formidilosus]

“Bears are scary so use a big cartridge”.

“Dang, bears are tough, shoot a tough bullet”.

“Dang bears run off and get pissed when you shoot them, get a bigger cartridge”.

“Dang bears are still scary and tough when shot- they must be magical”.



- The very definition of insanity

 

[kkp005]

“Bears are scary so use a big cartridge”.

“Dang, bears are tough, shoot a tough bullet”.

“Dang bears run off and get pissed when you shoot them, get a bigger cartridge”.

“Dang bears are still scary and tough when shot- they must be magical”.



- The very definition of insanity

. Exactly. The last thing I’d want is a caliber sized hole blown straight through a grizzly. I’ve never killed a grizz but I wouldn’t hesitate shooting one with a “soft” bullet.. a big, heavy Berger or eld isn’t going to bounce off a bear

 

[Shooter264]

I’ve killed 2 grizzlies, a mountain goat, and tons of black bears with Bergers. I’ll be sticking with them for my upcoming brown bear hunt.