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Originally Posted by Wyosmith
The focus in the OPs post is the word "best".
And I agree, you are always going to be "best" with an expanding bullet that exits the elk and the best way to get the deepest penetration is weight retention.
So if one set of bullets retains 90% or more of it's weight at striking velocity and another retain 80%, you can bet that if the bullets are of the same unfired weight and leave the barrel at the same velocity, and open to the same diameter, the one that is 90% when it stops is going to have a capability to go a bit deeper then the one that weights 80%
But if both exit the cow, the effects of the bullet HOLES are going to be identical. It's the bullet wound that kills, not the bullet itself!
So, with that fully acknowledged, I will point out a fact (which is a fact, not just an opinion) that in my 50 years of hunting elk, and guiding elk hunts, I have seen an awful lot of cows and bulls killed with 180 grain Winchester and Remington "plane vanilla" bullets and in the 180 grain weight, from both 30-06s and 308s, I have seen very few failures. I have seen a few, but I can remember only 3 Remingtons "fail" and all 3 went about 2 feet deep before they came apart. So far I have seen no Power Points fail.
I hand load, so I can use "the best" for my elk shooting,--- and I do. Because many of my friends load their own too, I also recommend Partition, Bonded or solid expanding bullets. But in total fairness, I have to say that the Power Point and the Core-Lokt bullets you can buy at Wal-Mart are as good for killing cows in probably 80% of the cases. In fact I have found that both of those bullets hold together better then Most Sierras, many Speers and all Burgers.
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Thanks for your insight, you are obviously an old hand at this, so, much appreciated.
You seem to prefer the 180 grain slugs, but what is your opinion of 165's? My latest test batch are Federal 165 grn Fusion, and they seem quite accurate. Please forgive all the questions, but I'm a real Greenhorn when it comes to hunting Elk or Deer. I have been shooting for a long time though, so that part is not new to me.
I have a couple friends that swear by Remington Cor-lokt ammo. I'm not opposed to switching, and a friend suggests I take up reloading again.
