I'm partial to the Sierra Game King BTHP in both .30 and 7m/m calibres. As luck would have it, they shoot to the same point of impact as the Nosler Partition when the weights are the same. I use them interchangeably, depending upon what I'm hunting.
165's and 180's are my favorite bullet weights in the standard calibres, and 200's in the magnums.
Posts: 594 | Location: MT. | Registered: 05 June 2003
The majority of my testing has been with 180-gr. flat-base spitzers in the 30-06 and 308. At those speeds, everything works so well that I'd just use whatever shoots best. Game Kings and Hornady Spire Points shoot well in my rifles, and Spire Points tend to hit alongside the corresponding Nosler Partition. (I haven't compared Game King trajectories against Nosler P's.) Also, I've just started loading Remington 180 CoreLokts that I got in bulk. They've shot a couple of groups with RL-22 that are so small I'm convinced they're flukes. I'll keep trying--I know I can get those groups opened up if I just work hard enough.
Don't overlook factory ammo. I've had great luck with Federal's 180-gr. Trophy Bonded and 220-gr. Remington CoreLokt on bigger animals in a 30-06. As with component bullets, so much work has gone into getting .308" projectiles figured out that it's hard to go wrong.
At velocities under 3100fps, I have had very good luck with the plain jane 180gr. Hornady SP (#3070). I've used it in a 300WM and am currently using it in a 30-06imp. @2950fps. I've loaded them for friends in 308 at 2600fps and recovered bullets look picture perfect at all the above velocities. Like I said, they work for me and many others and for the money, you won't find a better performing or a more accurate bullet. If you want a so called premium bullet, I've had real good luck with the 180gr. Speer Grand Slam also. Elk Country
[ 10-03-2003, 19:27: Message edited by: Elk Country ]
Posts: 180 | Location: Northern Colorado, USA | Registered: 26 March 2002
i mostly use hornady flat base 165 & 180 on 30'06 & 300 win mag,,, 150 sierra flat bases on .308 win..it's hard to find a bad .308 bullet at 2500-2800 fps except ofcourse for the nosler bal tip.
Posts: 1125 | Location: near atlanta,ga,usa | Registered: 26 September 2001
I have used 125 grain ballistic tips in my .308 on deer with good results. 165 grain BTs in my .300 Win. mag. Work awesome. Moving up to 180's this year in it. Tried 150's in the .308 but got better groups with the 125's.
My 30-06 also shoots 150NBT very well, shot one deer with them, turned the heart into pudding, have some 168MKs & AMAXs waiting in the wings for the 308, would like to test them in water-filled milk jugs first, just to make sure I don't have a lot that doesn't open up upon impact, Jay
Posts: 1745 | Location: WI. | Registered: 19 May 2003
Okie John got it right, if deer are the biggest item on the menu then just use whatever your rifle shoots best. Ive used hot cores, hornadies, BTs, core locts and they all deliver the goods quite well.
Posts: 10189 | Location: Tooele, Ut | Registered: 27 September 2001
quote:What bullets do you recommend for best performance on medium to light thin skinned game?
Muzzle velocities in the 2600 to 2900 range. Naturally I have my favorites, just like you do. What are they?
Although premium bullets are NOT needed for such game, and although there are probably better choices in regular jacketed expanding bullets, I use Nosler Partition bullets for this kind of shooting. The reason is that they are "soft" enough at the front end to expand at extended ranges (low velocities), but are tough enough overall that they absolutely WILL NEVER disintegrate on a game animal at short ranges and high impact speeds. In short, they work at all ranges on any kind of game animal!!
Nosler Partitions, Northforks, Woodleighs, will about handle your criteria. I see little reason today not to use a preemium bullet, its the cheapest investment I known of for a hunt..A fifty cent or dollar bullet. A tank of gas costs a heck of a lot more.
Posts: 42228 | Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | Registered: 04 June 2000
180 gr Speer SP in my .300WM. Mv ~3100 fps. Clover leaf groups @100. Held together just dandy in a raking shot in my last moose.
200 gr. Barnes X for real penetration - mv 2850, hit a black bear in the centre of the chest (it was standing on all fours looking at me) and was recovered under the skin behind the left rear thigh. Range 150 yds, went end to end, picked up about 2 grains of meat and weighed 202 gr. The neat thing about Barnes X, IMO, is that the petals cut through rather than just plowing like a lead bullet. I have read that they can be a problem in not liking every rifle, but my .300 WM A-Bolt w/ 26" bbl. eats them just fine.
Posts: 36231 | Location: Laughing so hard I can barely type. | Registered: 21 April 2001
I shoot a 300 RUM and would not reccomend 180 BT's as I have had poor luck. I shot a whitetail at 178 yrds(lasered) yards quartering on the bullet shed the jacket (as best as I can tell) and travel the legnth and ended up in the hind blowing the hip apart and making a mess of the deer. 3/4 of the meat was ruined by stomach matter.
I have used them many time before and had great luck they do punch a nice hole. But if I can not take a quartering shot in my book they are no good to me. I am now trying the new TSX in my 270WSM.
I have heard from others that they have had problems like that with a BT at higher velocity's.
Any others out there with failures on the BT bullet??
quote:Originally posted by Steve in MI: I shoot a 300 RUM and would not reccomend 180 BT's as I have had poor luck. I shot a whitetail at 178 yrds(lasered) yards quartering on the bullet shed the jacket (as best as I can tell) and travel the legnth and ended up in the hind blowing the hip apart and making a mess of the deer. 3/4 of the meat was ruined by stomach matter.
What a horrible failure! Tremendous penetration and maximized trauma! For god's sake, what do these bullet makers think we want to do -- actually kill the deer?!!!
Posts: 13266 | Location: Henly, TX, USA | Registered: 04 April 2001
My .30-06 shoots the 150 gr Ballistic Tips fantastically well at about 2900 FPS. Anyone used these on deer?
Yes. I load these for my son's .30-06 (which has a 24.4" barrel) to about 3000 fps. They are exceedingly accurate, and although I haven't compared actual trajectory to other bullets, they are amazingly flat-shooting. His buck last year was a one-shot kill at 375 yards.
While they show faster expansion than most other bullets, they also exhibit deeper penetration than most "standard" bullets, I assume due to the solid base design. Recoveries in 150 lb whitetails are rare, but those I have recovered usually have the jacket and base lodged adjacent to the separated remains of the core. The only recoveries are on lengthwise or quartering shots -- broadsides won't stop the solid base. People complain of meat spoilage, but I don't think of this as much of an issue: There's no meat, to speak of, on a deer's ribs; a portion of a shoulder is not much of a loss; and a shot into the hams or backstrap is wasteful with any bullet, so what's the issue here? The only meat that is sure to be spoiled is that which is lost due to a poorly expanding bullet failing to down the deer within a recoverable distance.
Posts: 13266 | Location: Henly, TX, USA | Registered: 04 April 2001
quote:Originally posted by Tumbleweed: What? Nobody has said "Match Kings" yet?
Hey, now that's an original idea! If we can find any of the darn thing, we will let you know how it works out!
DCMI, The pictures of the MKs looks just like some gamekings I've seen recovered from game, make you wonder why wouldn't the MKs be just as effective on game as the gamekings. Jay
Posts: 1745 | Location: WI. | Registered: 19 May 2003
I live in Pennsylvania (I never get to type the name). Our shots are, for the most part, very close. The closest deer I ever shot was with a 30-06 using a 150 Hornady at about 3,000 fps. What a waste of meat. The entire off side was blood shot, from its neck to its hind quarters.
I will never use the '06 in the woods again. Instead, I will use my old .303 Brit. The velocities are much slower and the meat won't be destroyed. I will use a 150 gr. Hornady.
Hornady's are great bullets if you don't try to use them in ways they were not intended to be used.
Aside from hunting elk in PA, which I haven't, there isn't much to hunt that a 150 gr. Hornady bullet won't handle.
Good shooting,
Smoker*
Posts: 178 | Location: Pennsylvania - USA | Registered: 17 September 2003
Not every shot is broadside.. In places where you have heavy cover you may have to take other shots. Should I not take them due to a poor bullet?? NO.... I use other types now HMMMM problem fixed. There was no real penetration it went into the cage and then changed course to travel along same side it entered to hit hip. That is a failure!!The only thing i recovered was part of the base( small)
Sorry I want some useable meat. Not some pudding with bone shrapnal in it. I could use a BMG 50 with a A-MAX I am sure it would kill it,.. sure it would give me great Tremendous penetration and maximized trauma! Not the point some bullets do not work as well as others was my point.
stonecreek What a horrible failure! Tremendous penetration and maximized trauma! For god's sake, what do these bullet makers think we want to do -- actually kill the deer?!!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ 10-10-2003, 15:58: Message edited by: Steve in MI ]
I dislike mangling a deer with a fast exploding bullet, especially if I might have to take a going south or angling shot that hits the stomach....I usually use a fairly tough bullet on them, of course depending on the caliber of the rifle...
I have found that a big bore rifles kill deer as well as anything and destroys less tissue and lets out more blood than anything else..Use a tough bullet, and eat to the hole as Elmer used to say. It works..
I have shot a world of camp meat for self and the game scout Hdq. in Tanzania with the 416, 404 and 375s with both softs and solids and they worked really well without excessive meat loss, much less than one would get with a 270 or 06, much less the 300's....
But mostly these days I use a 25-35 Win. rifle out behind my house and shoot them in the heart or lungs at up to 200 yards or let them go....I have to use good judgment and shoot straight with that little gun, but it kills clean when properly used and damanges very little meat.
Posts: 42228 | Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | Registered: 04 June 2000
I use a Nolser Partion 150, 165 and this year I will be using Lord Willing a 150 Hornady Interbond I am really impressed with them, and like Ray said their really is no good reason today for using a bullet that will fall apart. Use a premium bullet you won't be sorry. Old Timer
My .300 H&H really like 200grn Nosler Partitions at 2850fps. Once I found it liked that load, I left it alone and shoot nothing else through it. That way I don't have to mess with it, no matter if I go for deer, antelope or elk.
Posts: 580 | Location: Mesa, AZ | Registered: 11 May 2001
I shot my 91/2 ft. Brown Bear with a 200 grain Nosler Partition roundnose bullet at 2900 fps from my .300 Win mag, got a one shot in his tracks kill. They ceased to produce that bullet, but I found 4 boxs and hoarded them and still have them to use occasionaly when needed. I have discovered the 200 grain North Fork bullet to be just as good or better. My bread and butter .300 round for everything is a 180 grain Nosler Partition or North Fork at 3100 fps. Those bullets are in my opinion the cat's meow for 30 caliber shooters. If you must budget shoot the Nosler, if you don't shoot the North Fork, it is that simply. On Deer sized game shoot anything you desire. Good shooting.
Most of my hunting is for CA wild pigs. I generally use a .270 Winchester with 150 grain Nosler Partitions or Partition Golds. I have used the 130 Grain Sierra Boat Tail on deer, with good results.
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