Federal Fusion 30-06 for Elk

[HighUintas]

I don’t know how we killed anything before boutique bullets and 1/2 MOA rifles were the norm.
That fusion will kill the hell out of an elk if you do your part.

Exactly. People need to spend more time worrying about shooting accurately and practicing rather than the equipment they're using. Unless you are on the high side for velocity and trying to break shoulders, nearly any cup and core bullet except for the absolute most frangible should work. I'd be a little bit worried about shooting one with a Hornady SST at real close range.

It's similar to how guys get so worked up about their arrow setup. FOC, gotta have a 500 grain arrow, etcetera etcetera. Just make sure your spine is correct and put on a 125 razor sharp broadhead. Then worry more about practicing.

 

[Laramie]

No offense intended to the OP here- thanks for asking the question.

A lead roundball without a jacket has killed elk but why would you want to? Those talking negatively about advances in bullet technology are the same guys who would bitch if you hung them with a new rope. There is a wide range of bonded bullets on the market designed for elk sized game so everyone should be able to find one that shoots great in their rifle. Shooting anything less is just lazy.

I have guided and hunted elk for 30 years. Bad things can happen when you shoot elk with deer bullets. Why take the chance?

 

[Runningwater]

Round balls still kill plenty of elk.

 

[HighUintas]

No offense intended to the OP here- thanks for asking the question.

A lead roundball without a jacket has killed elk but why would you want to? Those talking negatively about advances in bullet technology are the same guys who would bitch if you hung them with a new rope. There is a wide range of bonded bullets on the market designed for elk sized game so everyone should be able to find one that shoots great in their rifle. Shooting anything less is just lazy.

I have guided and hunted elk for 30 years. Bad things can happen when you shoot elk with deer bullets. Why take the chance?

Yes that is true that it's silly not to use the bullets designed for thick skinned game IF they shoot accurately in your gun and IF you can afford to practice with them.

I think going with a higher end bullet that is tougher is most often an excuse for not being as proficient with your weapon as you could be or taking shots that you shouldn't be taking.

So of course with you being a guide, I'm sure you see a lot of people that have shot their rifle a total of 10 times leading up to season and they need all the help they can get in order to prevent a non lethal hit or a very slowly lethal hit.

Being proficient with your weapon and taking smart shots is more important than anything else, in my opinion.

I'm using cheaper bullets that aren't bonded, because I want to practice weekly with the gun I'll hunt with and the exact load that I'll hunt with. And my gun is a lowly '06 that likely won't cause bullet explosions with excessive velocity.

 

[Laramie]

 

[Runningwater]

Remind me to not recommend Laramie as a guide. I'll echo the above. Im not a guide, but have hunted big game for over 35 years, have lots of friends with equal experience, and know plenty of guides. The ranch i grew up on had guided hunts both upstream and downtown from us. I have personally spent a lot of time witnessing and helping to track down wounded animals that were shot with poorly placed shots from belted magnums from hunters that had little trigger time behind them. I have never spent half a day helping to recover an animal where it turned out to be bullet failure. I have no doubt it happens though. I have seen core cup separation but never did it make a difference to the animal.

OP, you need to use whatever you have the most confidence in. That could be your 06 with fusions, your 06 with a different bullet that still gives you around 1.5 groups, or by all means your 300 if you shoot it well and like it - its a hell of a cartridge.

FWIW I would never infer that someone shooting a cup and core, or a round ball, or an arrow for that matter, lazy.

 

[Laramie]

I have never made mention of caliber. I love guys who show up with a .270 or 30-06 and can shoot them well. I fully agree accuracy trumps all. My problem is with people saving 10 or 20 cents a round by shooting bullets engineered for deer at elk. That is in fact lazy. Every hunting rifle in the world has a bonded bullet that will fly perfect out if it. It's up to the end user to find that bullet.

 

[HighUintas]

1. Mark Twain never said that
2. I stated in my first reply to take what I suggest with a grain of salt because I haven't shot an elk with my rifle yet. I've only looked to other's experiences to decide what I want to use. But, what I am doing is a logical approach.
4. I think mark Twain would agree one's budget has nothing to do with laziness and the hours I spend every week practicing and learning don't suggest laziness.

 

[Runningwater]

Laramie if misread or interpreted you posts - I apologize, looking at my post the first sentence certainly seems snarky. I'm glad there are plentiful choices of outstanding bullets these days. I personally just have 2 loads for my 3006 these days - 166 hammers and 180 partitions. They are greats options to have. That said, I grew up buying whatever was available or on-sale at the local hardware store - which were always remington, federal, or winchester cup/ core of one flavor or another. Premium factory basically didn't exist back then, and even if it did i wouldn't have been in a position to spend an extra $20 or so a box over the $12.99 a box stuff. As much as i enjoy and appreciate the quality stuff I'm using now, I can't think of a single animal that I've taken that would probably have known the difference. I'm sure it happens, but I believe in the vast majority of those instances it involves a soft bullet pushed to fast.
To each there own though! Cheers!

 

[Spiral Horn]

The primary reason I started this thread was simply not having personal experience with the effectiveness of Fusion 30-06 bullets on critters as big and tough as a bull elk. My 30-06 definitely shows a strong preference for Fusion, Gamechangers, and VLDs, and doesn’t do well with heavy bonded bullets (have tried many). Since it shoots boringly sub-MOA with Fusions, that’s what I’ll stay with in that gun and keep it as a deer rifle. BTW - the assumption of being cheap or lazy couldn’t be further from the truth. Just don’t see the utility in further attempts to force-feed the rifle bullets that don’t align with its natural harmonics, especially when I already have a 300 Win Mag that’s .5 MOA with Trophy Bonded Tips. It’s just not as handy to carry as my 06.

 

[FLS]

The 165 Game Changer is a good bit stouter bullet than the Game King if your rifle likes them. A friend at Sierra advised me that is plenty of bullet for elk when I asked about them for my 308.

 

[HighUintas]

The 165 Game Changer is a good bit stouter bullet than the Game King if your rifle likes them. A friend at Sierra advised me that is plenty of bullet for elk when I asked about them for my 308.

Are they really? I was under the impression that they were very similar to the tipped game king but with better BC

 

[FLS]

Nope heavier jacket and harder core. One of their engineers is a friend and he brought several prototypes out to try before they settled on the final version for production.

 

[Dabouv]

a Guy who I know,is an avid sportsman. Retired school administrator and works at our local fishing and gun shop. He has travelled the world and shot all manner of beast. He recommended them and my 300 mag loves them for accuracy. I shot a cow Roosevelt elk at 320 yards, 87percent bullet weight retention and not much left of the lungs. Bullet was recovered inside of hide on the backside. I’m glad I hadn’t read how inadequate it was before the hunt.