Sabotloader, tell me about elk bullets.

[MHWASH]

I'm looking for a less expesive alternative to the regular saboted muzzy bullet. I've done a fair amount of looking, mostly at Modern Muzzleloading, and I see there are several options.

 I'll be shooting a WA legal muzzy with loose T7 and musket caps.

[Sabotloader]

I'm looking for a less expesive alternative to the regular saboted muzzy bullet. I've done a fair amount of looking, mostly at Modern Muzzleloading, and I see there are several options.

 I'll be shooting a WA legal muzzy with loose T7 and musket caps.

I think and this is my opinion only... the best less expensive elk bullet would be a Speer .452-300 grain Gold Dot/Deep Curl.  They are bonded have a BC of .233 and are really accurate when driven hard.  They do not come apart like an XTP can on occasion and expand much like a Nosler Partition.

Here is a picture of some that I tried to blow up shooting them into mud... Palouse clay soil waterbar...



Here is the information sheet from Speer.



Here are the XTP's that I tested the same way...

[Sabotloader]

I'm looking for a less expesive alternative to the regular saboted muzzy bullet. I've done a fair amount of looking, mostly at Modern Muzzleloading, and I see there are several options.

 I'll be shooting a WA legal muzzy with loose T7 and musket caps.

Another really viable option is a 460 grain Bull Shop conical.  During our ML season we are required to shoot full bore conicals and that is my bullet of choice during the ML season

[carpsniperg2]

I'm looking for a less expesive alternative to the regular saboted muzzy bullet. I've done a fair amount of looking, mostly at Modern Muzzleloading, and I see there are several options.

 I'll be shooting a WA legal muzzy with loose T7 and musket caps.

I think and this is my opinion only... the best less expensive elk bullet would be a Speer .452-300 grain Gold Dot/Deep Curl.  They are bonded have a BC of .233 and are really accurate when driven hard.  They do not come apart like an XTP can on occasion and expand much like a Nosler Partition.

Here is a picture of some that I tried to blow up shooting them into mud... Palouse clay soil waterbar...



Here is the information sheet from Speer.



Here are the XTP's that I tested the same way...

For what it's worth on these bullets I have shot all 3 in my 454 casull 250 xtps-noslers and 300g gold dots. The gold dots work the best and hit hard, with good weight retention.

[HighRoad]

What would you guess the velocity was when the 300 grain Gold Dots hit the clay bank?

[Sabotloader]

What would you guess the velocity was when the 300 grain Gold Dots hit the clay bank?

Here are the ballistic reports for the two bullets...

For the 300 grain...



For the 250 grain



These should be fairly close...

[HighRoad]

Good to know. I might just have to try that 300 gr load!

[MHWASH]

Thanks, how would rate the Harverester 300 Scorpoin, compared to the 300 Speer?

[Sabotloader]

Thanks, how would rate the Harverester 300 Scorpoin, compared to the 300 Speer?

I personally have not shot that bullet, the reports that I have read have been mixed.  The Scorpian is a bonded bullet also as the copper is applied to the lead, much as the same process as a Powder Belt.  The big difference being the hardness of the lead being greater with the Harvester - less likely to pancake and blow up as the PB can if shot to fast.

The Gold Dot/Deep Curl on the other hand has a small copper cup installed in the lead to help control the expansion of the bullet.

Here is a Speer that I bisected  - If you look at the 1/2 on the left you can see the copper cup in place in the lead... I did not exactly get the bisect in the middle of the bullet.  I was operating with a hack saw...



Because of this controlled expansion - I often call the Speer Gold/Deep Curl a 'poor man's Nosler'

[dupedc]

Sabotloader, this is some great info!  Thanks for taking the time to really show and explain the differences in bullets.

[Sabotloader]

Sabotloader, this is some great info!  Thanks for taking the time to really show and explain the differences in bullets.

Not a problem I really enjoy the exchange of information...

I truly believe the Speer Gold Dot/Deep Curl to be one of the best production bullets on the market for havesting big game.  Also I should say at ML velocities I am not much of a fan of the 'pointy' bullets - I am much more interested in what the bullet does when it gets into the animal.

My favorite ML bullet for big game is really a premium bullet made by Lehigh and now sold through the Knight website....  You would not believe how well these things work

This one for elk



This is a picture of the family

[dupedc]

I shoot a Rem ML700 in .54cal - Bullet selection seems to be really limited vs. the .50cal.  What would you shoot?  I have been using 348gr. Copper PBs. 

[Sabotloader]

I shoot a Rem ML700 in .54cal - Bullet selection seems to be really limited vs. the .50cal.  What would you shoot?  I have been using 348gr. Copper PBs.

I have and do shoot a Rem 700ml also, except mine is a 50... They are a great gun!!!  And they certainly work well on elk...



Since yours is a 54 you are somewhat limited in projectiles...  Were I you with that gun there would be no doubt in my mind - I would go to the .452/300 Gold Dot/Deep Curl in a 54 sabot, provided that you can find a sabot that will load correctly.

I am not a fan of Power Belts at all - but that is a whole different story....

Send me a PM and we can talk some other options if you want to do a little experimenting this summer...

mike

[dupedc]

Thanks!  I'll PM.

[WDFW Hates ME!!!]

SO sabotloader i bout a bunch of the nosler partition ML bullets what do you think of those??? Sorry for the thread jack just figured i could ask here. I bought them on sale from nosler for 5 bucks a pack.

I have shot the lead bullets from knight for almost 10 years with out failure. was thinking of trying something new when they were gone.