I'm having a difficult time finding a consistent supply of 300 Win Mag ammo. I'm going elk hunting in October and I picked up a box of Hornady 178gr ELD Match bullets. Hornady sings the praises for this load is how great it is for long range shooting. Have any of you used this bullet for hunting? It has the same polymer tip as their other hunting bullets and it has the same comparable f/ps and energy as other 300 Win Mag loads they offer. Is there any reason I should not use this bullet on an elk?

Maybe but I wouldn't risk it. ELD-X is what is meant for hunting living things rather than steel or pieces of paper.

You have a lot of options that would give more confidence on a great elk hunt:
https://ammoseek.com/ammo/300-winchester-magnum

I'm shooting a 180 ELD-M out of my 7 Rem Mag and it works fine on deer sized critters. I "think" it would work on elk, but I probably wouldn't use it if I could find another option.

I would just perfer not to hold lung, just a thicker jacket. A lot of guys prefer the Berger 180 Match over the 195 Berger in a 28 Nosler, due to thicker jacket= less explosive and more penetration. With that said have you looked at the speciality loader like unknown ammunition, Cooper creek and Dallas reloads.

Here is ELDx in stock
https://www.unknownmunitions.com/product/300-winchester-magnum-178-hornady-eld-x/

Nosler accubonds are hard to beat for elk sized game

Amen from the back row! Accubonds are hard to beat for anything IMHO.

x3. Or Partition.

I've hunted truckloads of Critters with a 208 grain A-max and at any range it will drop an elk in its tracks. I'm assuming and from what I've heard the ELD-M has a very similar construction so I would expect similar results. Heavier is always better if hunting heavy animals.

The prices seem pretty reasonable for what you get.

my take is this.....Elk hunting entails a lot of effort, time and money for a non-resident. If you are fortunate to see a legal elk within shooting distance, why would you chance using a bullet that your not confident in? Ammo choice is literally the cheapest part of the hunt.

You even asking this question on a forum answers the question.


Its a match bullet made for shooting paper and steel targets. When a match bullet hits flesh and bone results are very sporadic.....it could work great or it could blow up on the hide. Is that what you want happening on your first elk hunt? Use a bullet designed for heavy game.

If I were shooting a 300 WM I would use 180 gr TTSX.

I think the 178 ELDM would be taking a chance on the bullet having too much expansion and not penetrating enough. The difference between the ELD-X and the ELD-M, the ELD-X is a controlled expansion bullet. The bullet jacket gets thicker the further down the shaft of the bullet. This helps prevent over expansion and the lead coming out of the copper jacket. The ELD-M should work, but I think that bullet would be too soft to chance on an elk. I would certainly step up to a tougher or heavier bullet. The 212 ELDX is one of my favorite rounds.

Also, I have plenty of 300 Win Mag ammo available with multiple bullet options to choose from.

what would make you pick that over an accubond?

End of the day it’s a cup and core bullet, the ELD -M is a speciality tipped AMAX essentially. I thought it had a thicker jacket like bergers target but I was wrong. It’s the opposite. The eldx actually has a lower velocity expansion ability then the ELD-X.

At that bullet weight… pick a spot and send it

I have had better luck with the Barnes bullets than the accubond.

Barnes TSX and Tipped TSX do one thing well- penetrate! You will get an entrance, and you will get an exit. The bullet will expand to 1.5 to 1.75 times diameter. The Barnes bullets penetrate so well because they transfer less energy into the animal. They have a smaller temporary wound cavity than a lead bullet does. The reason why we use lead is, lead is very dense and soft, and it expands very easy. Lead bullets (generally) create a much larger temporary wound cavity than copper bullets do. The most common thing I hear about game being shot with a Barnes bullet, is that they run further after being hit. For this reason, I prefer the lead bullets. You get a much more effective kill, with much more hydrostatic shock than a copper bullet. Now, to combat this, you generally drop down in bullet weight (about 20-30 grains) with the copper bullets to pick up some velocity for increased hydrostatic shock. But you lose BC and bullet weight.

I load ammo for a couple TV shows. One of the guys was upset about why his animals were running off a long ways after being hit with factory ammo, 180 grain Barnes in a 300 Win Mag. I explained to him what I mentioned above. We switched to the 190 grain Berger VLD-H. He sent me some videos with immediate DRT kills. One of the elk he shot, the first thing to hit the ground was the elk's belly. When he shot, the elk's legs tucked up under him and the elk dropped! He was sold on the 190 VLD-H. That bullet works very well at DRT and quick kills (but they do tear up a lot of meat in the process).

There is a balance though between those 2 bullets for performance that I like. One of the best bullets I've seen is the 212 ELD-X. It has a high BC and has shown to get tennis ball to softball size exits on game out to 800 yards. It is a very impressive bullet. I also like the 180 and 200 grain Accubonds. A good bonded bullet will get you 80-90% weight retention and deep penetration.

With the amount of bullet choices out there today, you can cater the desired terminal performance you are looking for, and shoot the bullet that should give you that performance.

Interested to hear what animals you have shot with the barnes and what you have shot with the accubonds and what constitutes "better luck"


My experience with Barnes bullets are exactly what Chad has posted above....small exit wound every time, but very little energy transfer and animals ran quite a ways, often appearing unhit with a heart or lung shot.



I've had great success with the accubonds on all game including elk, kudu and sable. High weight retention and excellent energy transfer in a .300 win they are destructive on deer sized game if that matters....tennis ball sized exits are common.

Partition, accubond, or trophy tip (in that order) would be my preference.

My luck with Barnes is better accuracy than with the accubond. For animals taken 1 each both 140 gr launched from 7mm-08. Cow elk with the Barnes at 160 yds slight uphill through the on side ribs to off side sholulder, drt. Nilgai cow with the accubond 100 yds broadside high shouder drop her had to finspish her with 45. What bothered me most about the Nilgai shot placement just a little low (my fault) and it looked like the bullet just past right under the spine with very little to no expansion.

I realize both are examples of one and things don't always go the way we expect. Things happen. The most success i've had as been with 35 Whelan and 250 gr Horn. SP (very big exits), 7mm-08 and 120 gr NBT and 280 with 150 gr NBT all high shoulder shots. Mixture whitetail, axis, blackbuck, yearling red stag, red stag/elk cross cow, and simitar oryx.

As of now I have a cow elk hunt in NM this year and plan on using 6.5 CM with 127 LRX with max limit 300 y'd shot. Should I change my mind the 280 with 150 gr NBT will be used.

If I were to go to Africa, I'm not, I would load up my 7mm-08 and 280 with Barnes and go hunt.

I’ve Killed a lot of stuff with 80gr ttsx in both 257 wby and 243. I’ve also seen the damage pictures of a lot of stuff BMD daughter killed state side and Africa with 7-08 w/120 ttsx, and what BMD did with 150gr in 300win mag.

If you don’t push range limits then TTSX is a killer. If you push range limits it’s going to be dead just not in same dramatic fashion. My only complaint with AB was being picky, I do like the ABLR better on game then the AB especially in lower velocity guns.


I personally think everyone is over thinking the OP’s post it’s a 178gr bullet. Send it, then send another and another if you have too. It’s an elk not an elephant

80gr ttsx out of a 243 @ 110 yards

How does the Barnes TTSX performance compare when it’s not goin 3350 FPS (per the box)? I’ve never seen anything like that out of the TSX which I know is a different animal. I think a lot of that performance has to do with the excessive speed, which not all of them have.

Is it okay to use Federal Premium 180 grain Nosler Partitions?

You nailed it that why I said watch your range. Hot and fast. Only way to run a TTSX. So go down in weight to gain speed. That’s why 120 in 7-08 or 150 in 300 win mag, etc


I run Berger in everything but CM now but those rifles I push range a lot more then I use to. Even though Alaskacub killed a Caribou at 500 plus with 257 wby and 100gr TSX, I’d prefer a bullet with a lower impact velocity threshold, after experimenting over the years.

I’ll likely never loose faith in the partitions, but they are few and far between these days. I have also come to like the hornady eldx in heavier for cal options.