Bullets For Bulls

Tip : While many standard (as opposed to magnum) rifle cartridges are elk-adequate in power, your projectile is critical. The one place not to scrimp in your elk-hunting budget is on your bullets.

Big, tough elk are best taken by big, tough bullets. The so-called "premium" bullets which offer controlled expansion and deep penetration are what you need to punch a big bull's ticket. There are several strategies for building tough bullets. Some feature a partition, some a bonded core and some are all copper with expansion cavities in the nose. Style really doesn't matter as long as the bullet mushrooms adequately, penetrates deeply, doesn't fall apart and shoots well in your particular rifle.

Another factor to keep in mind is that long, heavy bullets retain velocity and energy and penetrate better than short, lightweight projectiles. The ballistic term for this is Sectional Density, which is the relationship of the bullet's weight to its diameter. Bullets with sectional densities over .250 both fly and penetrate best.