The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Ammunition to take down Russian Boar/cow elk

Art Eatman · February 11, 2006, 06:22 PM

My father used the Hornady 150-grain spire point (flat-based) bullet from the end of WW II until somewhere in the mid-'80s. He was regularly invited to hunt camps to make sure the poker players and whiskey drinkers had a deer to take home and show Mama. So, I guess he averaged eight or ten bucks a year in a two-buck state.

I'd have to say that the Hornady bullet works, although for elk I'd probably suggest more than a 150-grainer.

Based on comparative behavior on steel at 500 yards, I really think the Sierra 180-grain .30 bullet would work just fine on anything in the lower 48. I've 95% used the soft-point Sierras. The flat-based 150-grain is a bit "tougher" bullet than the boat-tail. The boat-tail will come all apart above 2,800 ft/sec at impact. Not a good "up close and personal" bullet, as I found out on a 30-yard mulie. (Fine at 100 yards and on out, on other deer.) But, the 180-grain SPBT holds together quite well.

For deer, I've also found that the Remington 150-grain Bronze Point is really good. I shot one buck at 350 yards, hitting a rib on the way in and again on the way out; the exit wound was a good 3" in diameter. DRT.

Art

February 11, 2006, 06:22 PM	#5
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	My father used the Hornady 150-grain spire point (flat-based) bullet from the end of WW II until somewhere in the mid-'80s. He was regularly invited to hunt camps to make sure the poker players and whiskey drinkers had a deer to take home and show Mama. So, I guess he averaged eight or ten bucks a year in a two-buck state. I'd have to say that the Hornady bullet works, although for elk I'd probably suggest more than a 150-grainer. Based on comparative behavior on steel at 500 yards, I really think the Sierra 180-grain .30 bullet would work just fine on anything in the lower 48. I've 95% used the soft-point Sierras. The flat-based 150-grain is a bit "tougher" bullet than the boat-tail. The boat-tail will come all apart above 2,800 ft/sec at impact. Not a good "up close and personal" bullet, as I found out on a 30-yard mulie. (Fine at 100 yards and on out, on other deer.) But, the 180-grain SPBT holds together quite well. For deer, I've also found that the Remington 150-grain Bronze Point is really good. I shot one buck at 350 yards, hitting a rib on the way in and again on the way out; the exit wound was a good 3" in diameter. DRT. Art