Looking for opinions on the Norma 143gr Bondstrike for use elk hunting. Has anyone used them on elk or other like size game animals? If you have please share your thoughts.
I would think you would be perfectly fine. They seem to perform the same as Accubond or Interbond bullets. I have a buddy who uses Tip Strikes on Whitetail, they are impressive. Norma makes pretty good stuff, I would sling it if I could find them to reload...
I have not used the 143gr. I have used the 180gr in 300 RUM on deer and a moose. It did it's job on the moose very well, and that was at a muzzle velocity of 3300+ fps.
Assuming the same construction, I would be comfortable using the 143 for elk.
Bullet placement matters most.
If you look in my thread history, you'll find the post about my 2022 moose hunt and how the bullet did.
I used the 143 Bondstrike in a 6.5 PRC in Africa. Took a Waterbuck, Sable and Kudu along with a couple smaller animals. Bullet worked but I had no pass throughs on anything which I expected with a bonded bullet. I always had pass throughs with the 130 Scirocco.
Own a pile of them because my 6.5 PRC absolutely loves them, but have only taken one WT with them, which isn't the best test. Haven't been ultra thrilled with 143 ELD-X on deer or elk, so wanted to try something different. The 143 ELD-X, while a perfect bullet in the CM for which it was designed, is maybe a little lightly constructed for 6.5PRC, IME. Still effective by the animal-is-dead measure, just not as much penetration as I'd like to see on broadside chest shots without any major bone contact.
I should mentioned that I was using the Bondstrike in Africa but my buddy was using the 147 ELD-M. His animals died much faster than mine and he shot a few more large animals than I did.
I am a fan of bonded bullets if they shoot good. I just want to be able to trust a bullet to get to the heart lung area if I have to take a shot that might hit heavy bones on the way to them. Not sure I trust the cup and core type, ( ELD-X and ELD-M), to do that. I have never used the ELD line on anything elk size, but if you hit the animal broadside in the ribs with one they are impressive according to reviews.