Nosler Accubonds and my .300 WSM

[Jay Scott]

I've shot elk with rounds as small as the .270 and as big as the .300 Weatherby. I know lots of folks that have killed elk with even smaller rounds and certainly plenty of bigger ones. Unfortunately, I can't afford to own a gun collection so I'm always trying to find the perfect elk round. I know this is a subject that will be debated until the end of time, but this is my current favorite. The .300 WSM. I've now owned two Winchester model 70's chambered in .300 WSM and both were tack drivers. The .300 WSM seems to be a near perfect combination of a lightweight action, a heavy bullet(if wanted), enough powder for long distance, and minimal punishment on the shoulder(My "long distance" is out to 500 yards). My bullet of choice on any elk is the Nosler Accubond. I'm a fan of heavier bullets for elk, so I was loading 200gr. Accubonds but switched to 180gr. to pick up a bit of speed. With 69gr. of IMR 7828, my 180's are going 3000 ft/s. To date, all the elk I have shot with an Accubond bullet have died quickly and the bullets were never been recovered as they have all been pass through shots. Here are the results from this year's hunts with my Winchester M70 in .300 WSM.





The Winchester Model 70 Extreme Weather SS, chambered in .300 WSM, topped with a Leupold VX-3 4.5-14x40. So far, a great mountain hunting set up.

300 WSM with 180gr. Nosler Accubonds

 

Cow elk: Walking at 250 yards. 3 shots: one in the paunch, one in the shoulder, and one in the neck; in that order. All pass throughs. Cow went 50 yards downhill.

Bull elk: bedded at 80 yards. One shot in the forward part of the shoulder; pass through. Bull went 10 yards.

My cousin's bull: Feeding at 171 yards. One shot behind the shoulder, through both lungs; pass through. Bull went 40 yards.

NE Whitetail buck: Standing at 150 yards. 3 shots: one miss, one spine and one finishing shot in neck. Dropped in his tracks but required follow up.

As you can see the 180 grain Accubond performed well at distances as close as 80 yards and as far as 250 yards. When the bullet hit bone there was considerably more damage and larger exit wounds than on the meat only type hits. In any case, the bullet held its path and mass to create a wound channel all the way through. I'm a fan!

 

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