6 300 Win Mag Ammo Loads for Dangerous Game Built for Deep Penetration

The Alaskan air is cold and heavy, and the alder thicket is so dense you can’t see ten yards. You know the bear is in there. In this moment, the brand of your rifle or the pattern of your camouflage means nothing; the only thing that matters is the 200 grains of engineered lead and copper sitting in your chamber. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a famously capable cartridge, but when facing game that can fight back, its power is only as good as the bullet it’s pushing.

Disclosure: This site earns commissions from listed merchants at no cost to you. Thank you!

Why Bullet Construction is Critical for Dangerous Game

When you’re hunting deer or antelope, a standard soft-point bullet works just fine. It hits, expands rapidly, and transfers its energy quickly. But that same bullet can be a catastrophic failure on a 1,000-pound brown bear or a bull moose. These animals have thick hides, dense muscle, and heavy bones that act like armor, and a simple bullet can fragment on impact, failing to reach the vital organs.

This is where bullet construction becomes everything. You need a projectile designed to overcome these barriers. That means it must hold together, retain its weight, and drive deep into the animal to disrupt the heart, lungs, or central nervous system. A shallow wound on a dangerous animal is the start of a very bad day.

The key is "controlled expansion." Unlike the explosive fragmentation of a varmint bullet, a dangerous game bullet is engineered to expand to a specific diameter—often 1.5 to 2 times its original size—creating a wide wound channel while the remaining solid shank continues to penetrate. This is achieved through designs like bonded cores (where the lead core is fused to the copper jacket), internal partitions, or solid copper monolithic construction. Your goal isn’t just a hit; it’s a deep, disabling wound, and that starts and ends with the bullet.

Barnes VOR-TX 180gr TTSX for Monolithic Integrity

Imagine a bullet with no core to separate from its jacket because it doesn’t have one. That’s the principle behind a monolithic copper bullet like the Barnes Triple-Shock X (TTSX). It’s machined from a single piece of copper alloy, giving it incredible structural integrity. It simply cannot come apart on impact.

The Barnes TTSX design features a polymer tip that initiates expansion upon impact, peeling the nose back into four razor-sharp cutting petals. These petals do immense tissue damage while the solid shank of the bullet maintains its momentum and drives forward. This design is famous for retaining nearly 100% of its original weight, which is the primary driver of deep penetration. For hunters pursuing elk, moose, or black bears with a .300 Win Mag, the 180-grain TTSX offers a fantastic blend of high velocity, flat trajectory, and bone-crushing terminal performance.

The main tradeoff with monolithic bullets is their length. Since copper is less dense than lead, a 180-grain copper bullet is longer than a 180-grain lead-core bullet. This can sometimes require a faster barrel twist rate for optimal stability, but most modern .300 Win Mag rifles handle them without issue. They perform best at higher velocities, making them a perfect match for the magnum case.

Nosler Trophy Grade 200gr Partition: A Proven Classic

Long before bonded cores and monolithic solids dominated the market, there was the Nosler Partition. Developed by John Nosler after a frustrating experience with a bullet that failed on a moose, the Partition has been the benchmark for performance on tough game for over 70 years. It’s a design that just plain works, trusted by generations of hunters from the Rockies to the African savanna.

The genius of the Partition is its simplicity. The bullet has a lead core separated into two sections by an integral copper wall, or "partition." When it strikes, the front lead core expands violently, delivering massive hydrostatic shock and energy transfer. But no matter how much the front expands, the partition stops it, preserving the integrity of the bullet’s rear half. This solid base continues to drive deep, ensuring you get the penetration needed to break heavy bone and reach vitals from tough angles.

For the .300 Win Mag, the 200-grain Partition is a sweet spot. It offers excellent sectional density—a key factor in penetration—while still maintaining a respectable velocity. It might not have the sleek, high-BC profile of newer long-range bullets, but for hunting inside 400 yards, its terminal performance is legendary and utterly reliable. It’s the definition of a proven classic for a reason.

Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claw 200gr for Tough Hides

If your hunt takes you into grizzly country or after the largest game on the continent, you need a bullet built with a singular purpose: smashing through the toughest barriers. The Trophy Bonded Bear Claw is that bullet. Designed by the legendary Jack Carter, its reputation was forged on the biggest and most dangerous animals in the world.

The construction is robust and uncompromising. It starts with a thick copper jacket and a solid copper rear shank, providing a solid base that guarantees forward momentum. The front portion contains a lead core that is molecularly bonded to the jacket, preventing any chance of separation. Upon impact, it expands into a classic, rounded mushroom that plows through hide, muscle, and bone without deflecting or breaking apart. It’s not designed for pinpoint accuracy at 600 yards; it’s designed for absolute authority at ethical hunting ranges.

Choosing the 200-grain Bear Claw in your .300 Win Mag is a statement. You are prioritizing terminal performance over all else. It’s a load for when you might have to take a quartering-on shot at a big bear in the alders or break the shoulder of a big bull moose. It delivers a massive, non-stop punch that inspires confidence when you need it most.

Swift High Grade 180gr A-Frame for Controlled Expansion

Think of the Swift A-Frame as a modern evolution of the partition concept, refined for maximum weight retention and a perfectly controlled mushroom. It’s an exceptional choice for the hunter who wants reliable penetration on a wide variety of big game, from large-bodied elk to moose and bears. It offers a fantastic balance of expansion and deep driving power.

Like the Partition, the A-Frame has a dividing wall that protects the rear of the bullet. However, the A-Frame’s thick copper jacket is progressively tapered and the front lead core is bonded to it. This bonding process, combined with the protective partition, ensures the bullet expands to a perfect mushroom shape—about twice its original diameter—and stops. It results in extremely high weight retention, often over 95%, for a devastatingly effective wound channel that goes the distance.

The 180-grain A-Frame is a stellar all-around option for the .300 Win Mag. It provides a flatter trajectory and slightly less recoil than the 200-grain heavyweights, making it a versatile performer. If your season includes the possibility of elk across a canyon and black bear in a dark timber patch, the A-Frame is a load that can handle both scenarios with unwavering reliability.

Hornady Dangerous Game 220gr DGX Bonded for Big Bears

When the quarry is truly massive and the ranges are likely to be close, sheer bullet weight and momentum take precedence. For the hunter focused specifically on the biggest bears or bison, Hornady’s 220-grain DGX (Dangerous Game eXpanding) Bonded load is a true heavyweight contender. This is about delivering the most punishing blow possible.

The DGX Bonded isn’t trying to be a sleek, long-range bullet. It features a flat meplat (the front tip of the bullet), which is known to create a wider permanent wound cavity and track straighter through dense muscle and bone than a spitzer-style point. Its heavy, bonded lead core is locked to a thick copper-clad steel jacket, ensuring it can withstand the violent impact of hitting a grizzly’s shoulder without disintegrating. This is a bone-smasher, plain and simple.

The tradeoff for this level of power is trajectory. A 220-grain bullet from a .300 Win Mag is not a long-range performer; its trajectory will be noticeably more arched than a 180-grain load. But for a hunter in the thick coastal forests of Alaska or British Columbia where a shot over 150 yards is unlikely, that doesn’t matter. What matters is having a bullet that will not fail when it hits something big, hard, and close.

Norma Bondstrike 180gr for Long-Range Penetration

What if your hunt for big game takes place in wide-open country? You might need a bullet that can reliably penetrate a moose at 400 yards, where velocity has dropped off significantly. The Norma Bondstrike is engineered for exactly this scenario, blending the deep-penetrating power of a bonded bullet with the aerodynamic efficiency of a modern long-range design.

The Bondstrike’s standout feature is its extremely high ballistic coefficient (BC), achieved through a sleek boat-tail design and a polymer tip. This allows it to slice through the air with minimal drag, retaining its velocity and energy far better downrange than traditional bullet designs. The magic is that it pairs this aerodynamic performance with a bonded core, so it still holds together for deep penetration, even on high-velocity impacts at closer ranges.

This load is for the hunter who needs versatility. It offers the terminal toughness required for large animals like elk and moose but doesn’t sacrifice the flat trajectory needed for confident shots across open basins or prairie. While some heavy-duty bullets are optimized for close-range power, the Bondstrike is designed to expand reliably and penetrate deeply across a much broader velocity window, making it a superb choice for the modern mountain hunter.

Matching Bullet Weight to Game and Shot Placement

Ultimately, the perfect load doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The right choice depends entirely on your specific hunt. A bullet designed for brown bear in thickets is not the ideal choice for pronghorn on the plains. You have to match the tool to the job.

Here’s a simple framework for your .300 Win Mag:

• 180-grain Class (TTSX, A-Frame, Bondstrike): This is the all-around workhorse category. These bullets offer a great combination of flat trajectory, manageable recoil, and excellent terminal performance. They are ideal for elk, moose, caribou, and black bears, especially in terrain where shots might stretch out past 200 yards.
• 200-220-grain Class (Partition, Bear Claw, DGX): This is the specialist category for the biggest and toughest game. The added weight and sectional density provide maximum penetration, making them the top choice for grizzly, brown bear, and bison, particularly in scenarios where a close-range, straight-on shot might be necessary. The trajectory is less flat, but the terminal impact is undeniable.

More important than any gear debate is shot placement. Even the most advanced bullet in the world can’t make up for a poor hit. Choose one of these high-quality loads, sight in your rifle meticulously, and practice shooting from field positions. Confidence in your rifle and your chosen load is the most critical piece of gear you can carry.

Your .300 Win Mag is a formidable tool, but its true potential is only unlocked by a bullet capable of doing its job when it matters most. By choosing a well-constructed projectile designed for deep penetration, you’re not just buying ammunition; you’re buying confidence. Now, make your choice, get to the range, and then get out there and enjoy the wild places you love.