Premium bullets needed for PG?

[Philip Glass]

I’ve been wondering if a premium soft bullet like A frame, Northfork SS has a significant advantage over other SS. Now this is with respect to all PG big and small and not to be mixed up with DG

I've been on many hunts in many different places. I have listened to guides and PH's discuss what works and what does not work as far as bullets are concerned. So my opinions are from actual hunts and from conversations with folks much more experienced in their field than I.
I believe that Swift states in one of their commercials that the bullet is the least expensive part of your hunt. This is quite true. African game can be tough and in certain unfortunate circumstances PG can become DG. I recommend and use Barnes TSX for most everything. It has never let me down in 6 calibers now. I also can recommend Swift AFrame and Nosler Accubond (very similar).
On my recent Alaskan hunt my guide mentioned how much he loved the .300 Win that I was carrying and the Barnes TSX. He said the new .300 PRC was terrible and clients had to shoot animals over and over to get them down. We both agreed that it was the bullet not the caliber! I won't say more.
Everyone gets to choose what they hunt with. I hope folks will listen to experienced hunters on this subject and not just focus on velocity and accuracy at the range.

 

[mdwest]

I’ve shot and killed a lot of PG and North American animals with Barnes TSX and TTSX Bullets. My preferred choice from .22-250 to .375H&H. Never had one run off and not recovered in a short period of time. From small cats to giraffe, Buff, Croc, Hippo all with Barnes TSX or TTSX. Nosler Partitions used to be my choice until I switched to Barnes close to 20 Years Ago. Likely close to 100 animals with Barnes TSX or TTSX if you include Coyote, Pigs, Jackal, Baboon, and a few other non-trophy animals…

There have been a lot of PG killed dead with non-premium bullets and well placed shots. Emphasis on well placed shots…

+1 on barnes TTSX and TSX... I load it for every one of my rifles from 308-416... and have had incredible success on NA game as well as African PG..

That said, Im now in the process of giving the Hornady CX bullet a try... I bought a bunch of the Hornady "Outfitter" ammo for my 300 PRC that is loaded with the 190gr CX (hornadys version of the TTSX.. monometal, polymer tipped, etc).. At the time I bought the rifle only Hornday Outfitter and Hornady Precision Hunter factory ammo was available.. so I bought a couple of boxes of each to see what grouped best in the rifle.. but really just to provide a supply of brass so that I could handload up a bunch of TTSX and see how they did in the gun...

Im getting sub MOA groups out to 200 with the 190gr CX.. and all reviews/reports Ive read on the CX says performance is equal to (almost identical) to the TTSX... so.. Ive bought several more boxes of the factory outfitter load.. and Im headed out this afternoon for northern Idaho.. we're hunting elk and deer this weekend and next week..

Assuming it performs on elk and deer like I believe it will (assuming we see an elk and a deer lol).. I might start moving toward the CX bullet... theyre a bit less expensive than the barnes.. and the seem to be a little more readily available..

 

[Oldwavy]

Ask them about the Lion bullet if you choose the NF bullet. The bullet does all the work, as I'm sure others will agree.

 

[mdwest]

On my recent Alaskan hunt my guide mentioned how much he loved the .300 Win that I was carrying and the Barnes TSX. He said the new .300 PRC was terrible and clients had to shoot animals over and over to get them down. We both agreed that it was the bullet not the caliber! I won't say more.

Im going to bet most of the hunters he is taking out that are using a 300 PRC are shooting either Hornady ELD-X or Hornaday ELD-M.. Those two factory rounds appear to be far and away the most popular among 300 PRC "hunters".. Ive found this to be especially true with guys that are hunting WY, MT, ID, CO, UT, etc..

Granted the 300 PRC was designed to be a "long range" cartridge.. and the ELD-X and ELD-M are both "precision" projectiles.. so if what youre going for is accuracy at a distance, they are a really good combination with any well built 300 PRC..

But if youre going for bullet weight retention, straight line penetration, and overall terminal performance, I think the CX (or a TTSX) is a much, much better option (which is why I have gone with a CX in my PRC)..

My personal max engagement distance with the PRC is 400 yards.. and my intention is to keep shots below 300 if at all possible.. with a 190gr CX thats still trucking along at 2550 fps at 300 yards (roughly 2375 at 400 yards).. I think terminal performance will very likely be devastating on an elk or a deer (or a bear for that matter.. not that I'd shoot a bear at those distances)...

 

[Philip Glass]

Im going to bet most of the hunters he is taking out that are using a 300 PRC are shooting either Hornady ELD-X or Hornaday ELD-M.. Those two factory rounds appear to be far and away the most popular among 300 PRC "hunters".. Ive found this to be especially true with guys that are hunting WY, MT, ID, CO, UT, etc..

Granted the 300 PRC was designed to be a "long range" cartridge.. and the ELD-X and ELD-M are both "precision" projectiles.. so if what youre going for is accuracy at a distance, they are a really good combination with any well built 300 PRC..

But if youre going for bullet weight retention, straight line penetration, and overall terminal performance, I think the CX (or a TTSX) is a much, much better option (which is why I have gone with a CX in my PRC)..

My personal max engagement distance with the PRC is 400 yards.. and my intention is to keep shots below 300 if at all possible.. with a 190gr CX thats still trucking along at 2550 fps at 300 yards (roughly 2375 at 400 yards).. I think terminal performance will very likely be devastating on an elk or a deer (or a bear for that matter.. not that I'd shoot a bear at those distances)...

You are correct. I've seen some recovered CX bullets lately. One from an Addax hunt I conducted here at my ranch. Those bullets seem to perform well but may not open as widely as a TSX. No doubt they are a much better option than the others you mention.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

+1 on barnes TTSX and TSX... I load it for every one of my rifles from 308-416... and have had incredible success on NA game as well as African PG..

That said, Im now in the process of giving the Hornady CX bullet a try... I bought a bunch of the Hornady "Outfitter" ammo for my 300 PRC that is loaded with the 190gr CX (hornadys version of the TTSX.. monometal, polymer tipped, etc).. At the time I bought the rifle only Hornday Outfitter and Hornady Precision Hunter factory ammo was available.. so I bought a couple of boxes of each to see what grouped best in the rifle.. but really just to provide a supply of brass so that I could handload up a bunch of TTSX and see how they did in the gun...

Im getting sub MOA groups out to 200 with the 190gr CX.. and all reviews/reports Ive read on the CX says performance is equal to (almost identical) to the TTSX... so.. Ive bought several more boxes of the factory outfitter load.. and Im headed out this afternoon for northern Idaho.. we're hunting elk and deer this weekend and next week..

Assuming it performs on elk and deer like I believe it will (assuming we see an elk and a deer lol).. I might start moving toward the CX bullet... theyre a bit less expensive than the barnes.. and the seem to be a little more readily available..

My 300 RUM was built and match ammo was created with Berger 210 VLD Hunting bullets. These are bullets that I use to shoot out to 2,000 yards. I’ve killed elk with the same load and bullet. That said, I have some Barnes LRX 212 Grain I’m eager to try. Because I really like Barnes…

 

[C.W. Richter]

No. Nos PTs have worked wonders on PG (from klipspringer to Eland). They're like an "A-Frame light."

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

Im going to bet most of the hunters he is taking out that are using a 300 PRC are shooting either Hornady ELD-X or Hornaday ELD-M.. Those two factory rounds appear to be far and away the most popular among 300 PRC "hunters".. Ive found this to be especially true with guys that are hunting WY, MT, ID, CO, UT, etc..

Granted the 300 PRC was designed to be a "long range" cartridge.. and the ELD-X and ELD-M are both "precision" projectiles.. so if what youre going for is accuracy at a distance, they are a really good combination with any well built 300 PRC..

But if youre going for bullet weight retention, straight line penetration, and overall terminal performance, I think the CX (or a TTSX) is a much, much better option (which is why I have gone with a CX in my PRC)..

My personal max engagement distance with the PRC is 400 yards.. and my intention is to keep shots below 300 if at all possible.. with a 190gr CX thats still trucking along at 2550 fps at 300 yards (roughly 2375 at 400 yards).. I think terminal performance will very likely be devastating on an elk or a deer (or a bear for that matter.. not that I'd shoot a bear at those distances)...

300 PRC is very popular in long range hunting and gaining popularity in hunting in general. If I didn’t have a custom 300 RUM, I’d likely have one built for long range. I also have a Winchester Model 70 XTR in 300 WBY Magnum, but it is not as predictable as my custom RUM. Still a great rifle and caliber. There are a few 300 Magnums now that are similar in ballistic performance and only gain an advantage with factory ammo. I reload, or have match ammo made for my rifles, so I’m not overly concerned with factory ammo.

There were a lot of 300 PRC’s at my last shooting school!

 

[C.W. Richter]

No. Nos PTs have worked wonders on PG (from klipspringer to Eland). They're like an "A-Frame light."

*admittedly (not always possible) throwing a solid in your fav DG rifle is best for preserving skins on the tiny antelope (got dik-dik w/ the 264 and a Nos PT and it needed some taxidermy work!) but others w/ 375 solids worked out perfectly. They do make solids for smaller bores...you just have to find 'em (easy w/ .30 cal-old FMJs).