A .300 win mag and 180 grain accubonds?

That sounds pretty perfect to me.

I can’t think of a reason why not.

Yes.

Yes.

If I was picking a load for that task i'd probably choose a different bullet though.

No. I shot my eland with a .300 Win Mag and 200 grain Barnes TSX and that worked okay, but I've also hunted with the Accubond and I think it is a little soft for game that size. If I went after one again I'd used the 180 grain TTSX.

used my 28 nosler.. took it like a champ

Sure.

That ammo, and good shot placement = dead animal.

I can't think of anything in N. America that wouldn't die with a 180 grain AB from a 300 WM.

I shot a huge old bull with my 375 and 260 gr AcuBond. Broke both shoulders and stopped under skin on off side. Perfect expansion and performance. My friends that own the safari company typically shoot 30-06 with 180 Partitions. I think you're good.

Ahh your friends pick bullets like I do.

I had a 160 grain Accubond from a 7mm RUM fail to exit on a very large hog. It was a high shoulder/spine hit that maximized resistance, but the result was certainly unexpected. I shot my eland with a 160 grain TSX using that same 7mm RUM and the superb penetration turned out to be very useful. An Accubond @2650 fps from a .375 is a very different animal than an Accubond @3250 fps out of a 7mm RUM. A 180 grain @2950 fps out of a .300WM lies somewhere in the middle ...

That is the biggest animal I am going to get a shot at by a considerable amount of weight.

I would use a TTSX but don’t plan on shooting that load long term and most of the game we will be shooting is in the 250-450 lb range

Basically I don’t want to over bullet myself on an animal I may not shoot, but want to be ready if an opportunity presents itself


I have a bad taste in my mouth on Barnes tsx type bullets after guiding hunters who used them and seeing pretty poor terminal performance on 200 lb animals

You are right to be concerned. I shot heart-shot a Springbok with that very same load; it ran off, and my PH assumed that I'd missed. After shooting a second springbok, we found the first one as we drove back to the lodge, perfectly dead in the middle of the dirt road. The TSX is definitely a "live by the sword, die by the sword" bullet. Lots of penetration, but unpredictable expansion.

I don't like the barnes bullets either. A 180-200 grain partition would be my bullet of choice.

I'd probably shoot a .243 just to show you it wasn't to little of a gun for a task like that and it was all about putting that bullet where it should go....but that's just me

Yep, shot a big bull with a 150 gr Corelokt in 30-06. Was a neck shot though.

Absolutely. I'm a fan of the TTSX myself, but the 180gr AccuBond will really do a number on an eland.

I completely agree with your statement, but...isn't an Eland a South African animal?

I don't like Barnes bullets either, but because the Accubond is bonded, it tends to make a wide mushroom and limit penetration. The Partition blows the front off and then the base keeps penetrating. If it's a once in a lifetime hunt for eland, use what you want for your normal game animals and use an E-tip, GMX, Partition, A frame type for that one hunt.

It's not the unpredictable expansion. You can easily calculate how well (or poor) the TSX bullets expand if you know your starting velocity. The issue is the solid copper bullets do not transfer enough shock to the animal you are shooting. The bullet expands about 1.5x bullet diameter and keeps going. They penetrate well and give you an exit because less energy is transferred to the animal. The hydrostatic shock of a solid copper bullet is much less than a lead bullet. This is why a lead bullet does not penetrate as well as a copper does. The lead bullet will expand more and create a much larger hydrostatic shock area, which transfers more energy into the animal, therefore penetrates less.

Yep that’s plenty of gun and bullet for eland.

Touchee!!! Yes, I guess it would be! But a 300 WM with 180 AB should be fine. If you wanted more penetration, you could up it to a 200 grain AB.

I'm sure you're right, but the perception of what happens can be very different. I shot that springbok at modest range and there was no visible impact. I shot a zebra at very long range and it looked like he was hit by a freight train; very spectacular. I also had a kill similar to that on the springbok on a gemsbok. After we chased it down, the PH turned to me and commented that the shot had actually been pretty good and he wasn't someone who threw around compliments. My takeaway, is that one should always aim for bone when using the TSX as it behaves very differently than traditional bullets on impact with soft tissue.

I still believe the TSX is an excellent bullet, but I do question whether it's an all purpose bullet.

I know nothing about Eland...or South Africa, but I would think that you are correct now. My job is done for the day. I'm gonna go have a beer. Cheers!