Deer Bullet

19 December 2001, 10:10

<TimB99>

Deer Bullet

I plan to start reloading soon for a 7.62x54R cartridge. I use this cartridge for whitetail deer hunting. I have narrowed the bullet choice to 3 options;

150 grain Hornady Interlock BC=.361
150 grain Sierra softpoint BC=.341
150 grain Speer softpoint BC=.411

Suggestions?

In my ballistics program, the external ballistics are virtually identical for the shot ranges I normally have.

Are any of them better at terminal ballistics than the others?

Try all three, and see how they group?

Tim

19 December 2001, 10:20

Terry Blauwkamp

Any of the three will kill a Deer just fine.

Try all three and see which one shoots the best. They go with that one.

The Deer will never know the difference.

19 December 2001, 10:38

<Bill>

I agree with what Terry said

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www.rifleshooter.com

19 December 2001, 11:23

Paul B

I go along with what Terry and Bill said. I do kind of tend to drift towards the Speer, but that's because that's the one that has worked best for me under the conditions I hunt. Either way, any of the three will do just fine.
Paul B.

19 December 2001, 11:50

Atkinson

Few bullets will fail on deer these days and the ones you name have all worked for me...I agree with the consensous of use the most accurate one. The Hornady with the interlock may hold the edge as an after thought.

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

20 December 2001, 03:39

<TimB99>

Thanks gentlemen.

20 December 2001, 04:49

Hot Core

quote:
Originally posted by Paul B:
I go along with what Terry and Bill said. I do kind of tend to drift towards the Speer, but that's because that's the one that has worked best for me under the conditions I hunt. Either way, any of the three will do just fine.
Paul B.

AMEN! I completely agree with Paul B's post. So far this year I've only recovered " 1 " Speer Hot-Cor bullet (which I don't think is the style you mentioned, don't have a Speer Manual here afield). It expanded to an average of 0.500" from 0.284", retained 66% of it's weight and drove through 3.5 feet of Deer before stopping just short of the hams were they meet in the center of the body cavity.

Don't get overly concerned about the differences in Ballistic Coefficient. In the "real world" afield, BCs that close together doesn't amount to a pile of Clinton.

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Good hunting and clean 1-shot kills, Hot Core

20 December 2001, 05:21

<TimB99>

Hot Core,

Unfortunately, I'm kind of limited to the three choices I mentioned, since the bullet diameter I need for the 7.62x54R is .311, not .308. These are about the only hunting bullets available in that diameter near the bullet weight I want. Actually, I was hoping for a 165 grain hunting bullet but that is unavailable in that diamter, so I'm going to use the 150.

Nosler, Barnes and Swift don't even have bullets in .311.

Thanks again,

Tim

20 December 2001, 05:22

<Paul Dustin>

I agree with Ray all the bullets are good on deer but I like the Hornady

21 December 2001, 04:05

Hot Core

Hey Tim, I understand not being able to find a specific bullet that you want. I'm watching all the Gun Shows for some 30cal 165gr Hot-Cor RNs. There are 100,000 in the Speer Finished Goods Inventory, but no one has ordered any in a long time.

The good news for you is any of those three 0.311" diameter bullets you've found are excellent. Just include a "shoulder" in the shot, either going in or coming out, and there will be a Deer to drag out.

Some of the Custom Bullet makers listed in Handloader and Rifle would make any kind of bullet you desire. They are not cheap, but depending on how you would want them made, they are not totally unaffordable either. Get 500 to hunt with and practice with the less expensive ones.

But, the 3 you mentioned are all good too, so you really can't go wrong.

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Good hunting and clean 1-shot kills, Hot Core

23 December 2001, 15:49

franke

TIM,
What is the muzzle velocity of your rifle?
If it is around 2500 FPS,I recommend the Hornady interlock.
A while back,I inquired of Sierra via their toll-free number,about using their bullet instesd of the Hornady that I was now using.I asked because the Sierra was more accurate in my rifle.
When I told him what rifle that I was using,and that I was having no trouble hitting and killing deer,he advised me to NOT switch to his bullet because it had a harder jacket,and was better suited for faster shooting rifles like the 30'06 at longer ranges.He earned a heck of a lot of respect from me,by saying that,and I was glad to tell him that I usually shot more rounds at the range then I did hunting.
Frank

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Frank

25 December 2001, 03:33

<TimB99>

quote:
Originally posted by franke:
TIM,
What is the muzzle velocity of your rifle?
Frank

Frank,

I plan to reload to a muzzle velocity in the 2700-2800 ft/sec range. Sounds like from your post the Sierra bullet would be OK. I think I'll still give all three a try and see which combination performs best for accuracy, since it sounds like all three will do the job once they get to the target.

Tim

25 December 2001, 07:52

Eterry

Tim, I reload for the 7.62x54r also, and I wanted a heavier bullet for hog hunting in the brush. I bought some 180 grain roundnose softpoints from Midway, they came bulk, but look like Remington coreloks. I have yet to try them on game , but they give good groups. You might look them up.
Good luck and good hunting

28 December 2001, 04:07

<TimB99>

Eterry,

You can get the Sellier & Bellot factory ammo pretty cheap through a couple of places (cheaperthandirt.com and jgsales.com) This ammo has a 180 grain semi-round nose bullet. This is what I currently use for whitetail hunting.

I was going for a little more velocity, hence my decision to go with the 150 grain bullet when I reload the cases.

Thanks for the imput.

Tim

28 December 2001, 16:19

John Frazer

quote:
Originally posted by Atkinson:
Few bullets will fail on deer these days and the ones you name have all worked for me...I agree with the consensous of use the most accurate one. The Hornady with the interlock may hold the edge as an after thought.

As a bonus I've found either the regular or boattail Hornady Spire Points to be the most accurate bullet I've found for the 3 rifles I've tried them in. Haven't tried their RNs.

John