I have seldom used round nosed bullets except in the .303 and 8mm when that was all I could find. Guns I wasn't looking for serious accuracy. However today I went to the local gun shop and she was out of the Hornaday 150 grain BTSP bullets I have been using in the .308 rifle I just built. However she had about 5 boxes of 150 grain round nose bullets. I opted for a box of Nosler BT's in 150 grain as I am a big fan of the BT. However this .308 will be my bad weather under 300 yard more like under 200 yard rifle and I was thinking about trying the round nose bullet.

What are you folks experience? So far my best groups are 3 shots in an inch with the BTSP and I don't expect much better considering components used in the build.

I think RN bullets killed deer for our grandfathers and fathers without a hitch. At least I know mine used them and I never heard a bad word about one, try them.
I`ve only used the old 6.5 129gr RN in one of my rifles and found them plenty accurate, more so then a lot of SP bullets. Under 300 yd the difference in drop between a RN and SP bullet from a cartridge like the 308 or 270 is likely under 3". I doubt I can hold that well under field conditions and suspect most others can`t either.
Never did use one on game though....

There is significant evidence that round nose bullets are actually superior in terminal performance.....acting much like a bonded premium bullet.

Inside 200 yards the advantage of pointed bullets is quite small....they're best past 250 yards and more...

Accuracy is also excellentt with well made round nose bullets....In fact, I'm surprised we all don't use more of them.....get some and go hunting.

I have shot a lot of game with RN bullets. At distances under 250 yards I do not see them as any disadvantage.

I have also found them to be very accurate.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
I have shot a lot of game with RN bullets. At distances under 250 yards I do not see them as any disadvantage.

I have also found them to be very accurate.

X2 in 6.5, 30 and 35 calibers. Did well 25cal. 87grain Flat Points also!
At ranges (distances) most people shoot the round noses have no flies on them. roger

Round Nose bullets work just great, and most folks under rate them.

Agree on the RN bullets.
That's what my Step Dad used in his 30-06 for Deer back in the late 1940's (220 gn RN bullets), and he probably used them before the war, but I didn't know him then.

If that Hornady 150gr RN has Part# 3035, I'd suggest you measure the Bullet diameter Fore and Aft of the cannelure. What you should find is the Fore portion is Land diameter and the Aft portion is Bore diameter.

This 2-diameter Bullet design by Hornady is absolutely excellent in many ways. Since the Nose rides atop the Lands, it tends to self-center the Bullet much better than 1-diameter designs. That generally means extremely good accuracy.

The design reduces the overall Pressure due to less Friction in the barrel. You can typically get Higher Velocity with this specific 30cal 150gr Bullet than you can with ANY OTHER Bullet.

The smallerEDIT IN: larger diameter Aft portion allows proper Neck Tension and Obturates properly to seal-off blow-by.

It also has a right decent B.C. for a RN. Here I'm talking actual Trajectory as opposed to Paper Trajectory. You will see what I mean if you shoot them out to 300yds.

And they open very quickly, while tending to retain the Core. An excellent Into-a-Lung headed toward the Off-Side Shoulder Bullet.

Those are the good points. However, if you work up to a SAFE MAX using this Bullet and then just switch to a different 150gr 30cal Bullet, chances are you will have Pressure Problems.
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Hornady has a great design in this specific Bullet.

Hot Core,
Those are the bullets I am talking about. I have decided I will try them. As for loads I work up a load for every bullet even if it is the same grain weight as One I have used. However thanks for the warning.

I'd agree that you may get slightly higher pressure with the same load with the same bullet in RN profile than the same bullet in spitzer profile.

But against that you can also, providing it feeds, also seat the bullet further out of the case thus increasing the case capacity.

Like most have said, I have found them to provide excellent performance. I know years ago Rick Jameson did a comparison of different 308 bullets and brass and found the BEST 100 yard accuracy was provided by the Hornady bullets you are looking at. It beat all of the spitzer and even the match bullets in that weight range. I have had similar results, but still like the pretty sleek bullets.

As mentioned, out to 200 yards or so, round nose bullets are just fine, and several advantages. The average round nose has more exposed lead, so they open up quicker, and leave big for caliber holes.

Compared to the Spitzer, they are a very simple bullet design. The simplier the design, the easier it is to make an accurate bullet. In addition, since they don't have the long ogive of a spitzer type bullet, they can engage the rifling quicker on a standard hunting rifle.

A round nose flat base bullet packs alot more lead in the same length then a spitzer boattail. This is why they have the reputation as bone crushers.

I have a few rifles that really like them, but I hunt too much open country for them to be my goto bullet.

I use round nose bullets in my .30-30 and sometimes in my .30-06 and the terminal performance was just fine. I don't know if this is fact or not, but I feel a slower, round nose bullet will be deflected less by brush, than a fast, sharp pointed bullet.. I may just be fooling myself there, but that's what I've come to believe.

quote:

I feel a slower, round nose bullet will be deflected less by brush, than a fast, sharp pointed bullet

I don't know about that but they are more likely than spitzer bullets out of an XX (number) per 1000 to tumble inside the target animal.

Certainly, at one stage, the bonded round nose SAKO Hammerhead had a bit of a reputation for it in certain calibres.

I used a 200 grain Nosler Partition RN at 2950 fps from my .300 Winny to take my 91/2 ft. Brown Bear at Cold Bay Alaska. I couldn't have asked for better performance. Good shooting.

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:
The smaller diameter Aft portion allows proper Neck Tension and Obturates properly to seal-off blow-by. ...

Had a PM about the above which contains a BAD TYPO!!!(Thanks Bartsche.)

The Aft diameter is LARGER than the Forward diameter. Pitiful!!!
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Hey Don, If you do not have excellent accuracy and fine on-game performance with them, you will be the first person I know that has those results.

Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.

I just got done shooting some 170gr roundnose Hornaday bullets in my 7x57.
To my delight they printed about the same as my 139-140gr bullets do.
They shot a group about 1 in and they were loaded with RL-17 a double +.

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:
The smaller diameter Aft portion allows proper Neck Tension and Obturates properly to seal-off blow-by. ...

Had a PM about the above which contains a BAD TYPO!!!(Thanks Bartsche.)

The Aft diameter is LARGER than the Forward diameter. Pitiful!!!
-----

Hey Don, If you do not have excellent accuracy and fine on-game performance with them, you will be the first person I know that has those results.

Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.

Oh I have decided I am going to try them. Any idea if these would be enough bullet for PA black bear? It would keep me from needing to find a second bullet and load.

quote:

Any idea if these would be enough bullet for PA black bear?

So long as you do your part, it will kill a black bear dead.

to be honest, I haven't shot any game with RN bullets, but every time I use them at the range they create more destruction and pretty good penatration. I think the round nose has more smack when it hits and they can be very accurate also. They also don't fall off as quickly as you would think. I have been seriously considering cheap RN bullets for future hunts

When I moved to WV, I shot a WT with a 154gr RN bullet from a 7-08. That deer was hammered down in a most dramatic manner. It was at least as impressive as any animal I have shot with a magnum and spitzers.

quote:

Originally posted by Donald Nelson:
Any idea if these would be enough bullet for PA black bear? It would keep me from needing to find a second bullet and load.

Hey Don, I've never used one of them on a Black Bear, so I'm not sure what they would do. They always seemed relatively quick to Expand, kind of like the 1st generation B-Tips.

I've used a good many 30cal Hornady 165gr Flat Base Spitzers, Part# 3031 EDIT in AGAIN!!!!! Actually the 165gr FBSP is Part# 3040!!!, on Balck Bears with excellent results. When I was in the CORPS, we would Pull-Down 7.62 NATO Ammo, dump the Powder in a large can and use that same Powder to redevelop a Load using the 165gr Hornady. And we used it in M14s for Deer, Bear and Hogs, all with fine performance.

Today, I'd probably get two boxes of 165gr Nosler Partitions, use one to develop the Load and the other to Hunt the Bears with. But, the 150gr Hornady might do fine for you - I just don't know.

Best of luck to you.

If you load these .308 150gr RN bullets to much greater than .30-30 velocities, you could see the bullet blow up on heavy game. Most likely, these are .30-30 specific bullets so bear that in mind.

Only round nose bullets I know of not for .30 carbine, plinking, or the .30-30win are 220gr for the .30-06.

Great bullet for deep penetration but way too long for most anything but a magnum or an 06 ctg body

Hmmm, I'd forgotten about that. Why don't you call the manufacturer and see what they've got to say.

after a ballistic tip the first bullet I will reach for if they are available is a heavy for caliber round nose...

just wish they wouldn't quit making them...

I have used 160 gr RN bullets in 6.5 cal. They penetrate like crazy on game.

My 6.5X54Mannlicher Schoenauer shoots them at a slow 2200 fps. I shot a fallow doe in the throat and the bullet penetrated about 12" of spine! I know another hunter who used the 6.5X55 Swe on an Australian buffalo cow & dropped it through the shoulders with one shot - mushroom under the skin on the other side. Another friend had a Browning BLR 270 that would not chamber spire point ammo smoothly & so he used 150 gr RN factory ammo. He used that on deer & shot them dead out to 200 yds+.

I've used them in medium bores and round nose bullets work and work better than anything else, especially if velocity is kept reasonable.

I was once wooed by the pointiest, highest BC boat tails money could buy and yet 99% of the game I shot came in well under 200 yards!!

Eventually I saw the light of day and now use the best bullet for the job in hand. Round nose softs have their place and I agree that within their envelope they kill better than anything out their.

As far as round nose accuracy is concerned, my best moose rifle is a Rem 7600 carbine in 35 Whelen. It shoots the 250 grain Hornadt RN's into one hole at 50 yds.

As far as those particular bullets go, the only 150 gr. .308 Hornady RN's I have seen and used are intended for use in the 30-30 and they tend to explode on contact with bone at 308 Win velocities. At least on my experience with one whitetail buck.

Hugh

Well in my search for a bullet this rifle likes I found it loves the Nosler 150 grain BT as well as I do. I don't see me trying any thing else now.

I like the Sierra 180 gr. RN for deer in my .308. I don't use them much these days because where I hunt now, ranges can be longer than what I'd be comfortable in using an RN bullet.
I would go with the heavier bullet if hunting Black bear.
FWIW, you can shoot a bullet as heavy as the Sierra 220 gr. RN in the .308 with darn good esults. With a proper load of W-760, you can easily reach 2300 FPS or darn close. My M70 Winchester in .308 does 2310 FPS with that Sierra load. That's only 90 FPS slower than factroy advertised velocity for the 30-06 with a 220 gr. bullet. That's also fatser than the 30-40 Krag round and apparently hat's OK for it at 2000 FPS but 2300+ FPS is not Ok in the .308? GIMME a break!.
Paul B.

I shot my leopard last year with 300gr round nose Hornadys out of my 375H&H. I have shot groups as small as .375" at 100yds with that bullet and rifle.

My most accurate load in my HOWA .30-06 is a 150 gr, Hornady RN over 59gr N160.

I have tried accubonds, partitions and a lot more other bullets. None of them produce groups as tight as the RN. bullets.

Stopping power is more than adequate on upto 100 kg. wild boar. At close range, up to 25 metres and hits on the shoulder, which I prefer on boar, performance is sometimes brutal.

I gave up trying to find a more appropriate bullet for target shooting and hunting!

I was surprised to see both Winchester and Federals website shows their 150 grain loadings as the loads for the .308 for hunting Black Bear and Moose for that matter.

I used 220 gr RN bullets when I shot my moose in Maine two years ago and they punched right through that big old SOB.

Used a .30-06 with 180 gr Hornady RN bullets on a number of German wild boar in the early 70s with no problems at all. Worked really well as a matter of fact - all one shot kills.

My box of Hornady 150 gr. RN is so old they don''t have a number on the box. They measure .308 behind the cannalure and .297 just in front of the cannalure. Is this the same bullet Hot Core is talking about?

I plan to load them in my Remington 700 in 300 Savage and maybe a 30-06. I also have 150 gr. Hdy spire points numbered 3031 for either gun.
Merg

I think I am being redundant but to add to the pro column. If they were such a terrible bullet why are they still offered? Because they are really superior when it comes to hunting. They can be more accurate and more effective.

quote:

Originally posted by merganser1:
My box of Hornady 150 gr. RN is so old they don''t have a number on the box. They measure .308 behind the cannalure and .297 just in front of the cannalure. Is this the same bullet Hot Core is talking about? ...

Yes, those are the ones.

quote:

I also have 150 gr. Hdy spire points numbered 3031 for either gun.

You are correct about that number. I made ANOTHER typo above.

The 150gr Hornady rnd #3035 is listed under the .308 loading data in Hornady's 7th edition reloading manual b.c. 0.186/ c.o.l.2.520" 2300-2800fps

It is also listed for the 30-06 b.c. 0.186/c.o.l. 3.000" 2500-3000fps

What is really interesting is it is also listed under the 300WSm 2800-3250fps, the 300WM 2800-3300fps and the 300RUM 3100-3600fps

If it was designed for 30.30 velocities checking with hornady would be good advice if you are going to push it that fast.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Bird:
The 150gr Hornady rnd #3035 ...

Is it a Boat Tail?