So in one of the other forums in response to a question about the suitability of SMK's for pronghorn hunting there was a reply where the user stated that to respect an animal it needed to be hunted with a "hunting bullet".

I don't agree. To me it is about matching the bullet and equipment to the hunting you intend doing and then matching the shot that you take to your ability and that of the equipment - including the bullet which may be required to penetrate from poor angles in certain conditions and may not in others and so forth.

This requires restraint and maturity that I acknowledge not every hunter has, but then those guys who take chancey shots can't buy a conscience or a brain with a TSX or something tougher....

So, for LONG RANGE or shall we say "longer range" how many of you shoot what bullets?

I am doing some work with bonded bullets as there are times when I know I will prefer a tougher bullet to allow me some leeway on penetration on larger game. Examples are areas where scrub will limit my choice of shot, or for trophy hunting where I may need to be able to take most opportunities presented.

Thusfar most of my longer range shooting has been with with Berger VLD's and my buddies favour SMK's. THat said I've never needed to shoot an animal "waaay out there"!

Obviously this does not include really large dangerous game which is a different discussion and less likley to be long range here in Africa.

Question:
Do you use "match" bullets (including VLD hunting) or traditional hunting bullets or a combination of the two for your longer range hunting?

Choices:
Match bullets only
Hunting bullets only
A combination of the two

 

Treading very carefully here I prefer the Hornady 162 Amax in my 284 WIN and the 300 GR SMK in my 338 LM.
Not all match bullets are created equal however, some act more like FMJs, eg Lapua Senars, paper only bullets!

I had a little video of shooting goats,deer and pigs with Amaxs from 20 out to 800 yrds,it turned into a little piss take for the "match bullets dont kill!!!" camp.
Sadly the Disc/camera had a little techy problem and 30 mins of edited kill shots was history.
I have the other side of the DVD but that aint soo cool.

RUNAS

There has been some very impressive trophy's taken with Scenars by a guy in Montana

I have used the 180 grain TSX in my 300 win to take game out to as far as 777 yards and I like the 300 SMK in my 338 Laupa

I have used, Ballistic Tips, Partitions, Accubonds, Matchkings, and Berger bullets. The Matchkings can be hit or miss depending on what caliber and grain they are. The Berger bullets have given me the best results for sure.

A lot of things to consider with the topic.

My theory has been to match the cartridge to the bullet. If you are shooting a cartridge that is high velocity, I would err on the side of using a hunting bullet with good construction. If the cartridge muzzle velocity is less than 2900, I think you can get away with using bullets of lesser construction.

When hunting, will only long range shots be taken where impact velocity will be low and a standard or even "target" bullet will perform best?

A lot of my competitive shooting buddys load "target bullets" for their hunting needs. Bergers, A-Max's, Scenars. They say the results are spectacular. One of my friends loads the Scenar in his .264 Win and has killed antelope with it. Makes quite a mess he says.

When I hunt I want to be prepared with the proper bullet for a 25 yard shot as well as a 1000 yard shot, so I load hunting bullets. I don't go hunting with the mind set of only taking long range shots. Most of your killing will most certainly be within 400 yards. For me hunting bullets do not mean monometals. I just don't see the need for a solid copper bullet unless I'm gonna shoot a Cape Buffalo. I just finished load development in fact this morning in my .264 Win Mag with the 130 grain Swift Scirocco.



It's a pure, thick copper jacket bonded to a pure lead core. BC of .571 with a secant ogive, boat tail, polymer tip. Shoots 1/2 MOA. So it is well constructed, ready for high velocity impacts, as well as having target bullet characteristics for BC and shape allowing accuracy at long range.

In my .300 Win Mag hunting rifle I load the 200 grain Game King and am quite confident in the bullet at close and long range for performance. Muzzle velocity is 2850.

Here's what the 130 grain Swift Scirocco does at 100 yards out of my .264 Winchester Magnum.

The rifle is the one at the top of the Long Range Forum as the Banner Photo.



Not bad for a "regular hunting bullet"

Made hits on steel out to 900 yards on Sunday with it.

quote:

Originally posted by rcamulia:
Here's what the 130 grain Swift Scirocco does at 100 yards out of my .264 Winchester Magnum.

The rifle is the one at the top of the Long Range Forum as the Banner Photo.



Not bad for a "regular hunting bullet"

Made hits on steel out to 900 yards on Sunday with it.

You may have forgotten how to spell your name right but you still shoot some sweet groups!!!

quote:

You may have forgotten how to spell your name right but you still shoot some sweet groups!!!

Thanks Vapo! The Devil made me do it!

Rick,

You have good taste in bullets for your 300 Mag. My 700 likes the 200 grain Game Kings well.

I've shot 4 animals at extended range. 1 elk at 600 with the 168gr TSX out of a 300 WSM. Then I switched to a 300 RUM and used the 200gr Accubond at 3250fps. So far it's taken two elk at 850 and 856 and one mule deer at 1180 yards. One elk was shot through the upper shoulder, the other was through the lungs behind the shoulder and the deer was just behind the shoulder across the top of the heart. In all instances the expansion was excellent and the accuracy is right at 1/2 MOA. I could gain a little in BC with the Bergers but I've seen a deer hit at 826 yards with a 180gr Berger out of a 7 RUM and was not impressed. It seems the bullet is pretty fragile and yes it kills well, but I feel better with the good expansion and overall performance.

For my loads I try to use the impact velocity that I expect to have, as a guide for which bullets I use. If the ranges I plan on shooting to will be dropping the bullets into the normal velocity ranges that will allow the use of standard bullets then I see no reason not to use them unless the starting velocity is too hard on them. I can only speak from personal experience with three calibers, .257, 270, and .284.

In the .284 I am shooting a 7mm STW which I have been playing with loads for. For it I decided that the 162gr Hornady would be my go to bullet, but it hasn't worked out accuracy wise. I have since been looking over some 154gr Bonded cores which I picked up and want to test them to see just how they expand at range before getting overly involved with them. So far the accuracy seems to be good, but more testing will be done this fall for expansion.

With my other two LR built rifles, in one I shoot .277 Wildcat 169.5gr and 195gr for the LR stuff, but I also have some 150gr Nosler Solid bases for up close. With no additional work needed the Nosler's shoot right in there to easily hold dead on out to 500yds and hold together much better at the closer ranges even though they are starting out at just over 3250fps. There just aren't many heavy for caliber bullets made in .277 to get overly excited about looking any further. The Wildcats are awesome at range, but up closer than 200yds, I have cut 150# hogs literally in half with them on shoulder shot. If they allow me to put one through the ear hole thats an entirely different story. Not that it matter a lot as this rifle was expressly built for picking them off at any range, but I do enjoy a good set of pork ribs on the pit on occasion.

For my other a custom 25-06 AI, I also have some of the 125 and 130gr Wildcats, but have found that the 120gr Nosler Solid Base and the Rem CL both shoot equally well out to 350yds. While this isn't LR to some, I personally believe it is getting to the mid ranges that I would personally use this particular caliber. Starting the above bullets out at 3350fps from the 28" barrel, I have full confidence in any of them to reach out to 500 with enough accuracy and authority to drop a hog or deer, and especially the coyotes I really built it for. Again, with this caliber as with the .277, there simply aren't many bullets to choose from in heavy for caliber. I knew this going into it but I simply love how well this caliber works on most of the critters I hunt. I have not tried the lighter weight 115's or even lighter 110gr bullets but I feel that with the ability to easily hit the 33-3400fps range with the 120s that the lighter ones might be more like some of the 55gr varmint bullets. Other than the 115gr Partitions, I really have no intentions of trying anything lighter.

Decades ago when I shot deer at soy bean fields I used my .284 with 162 grain Hornady BTHP. A chest shot would liqify the lungs/heart, but seldom pass through. Those were 350-400 yd shots. Today I use my 8 X 57 and never shoot more than 60 yards while using original Barnes 180 grain bullets. None of the above ever failed, nor required a second shot.
ARWL's 2nd and 3rd paragraphs of this post explains everything needed.

I didn't quite know whether you were asking about hunting bullets for LR hunting or just LR shooting. But to tell the truth I use the Nosler BT for both. They have excellent accuracy and are what I use exclusively in my regular twist 223 Contender. I have no problems whacking a coyote out to 400 or 500 yards with them. I am not set up, yet, for long range big game hunting but for small game, no problem with the hunting bullets. Slim

I use classic hunting bullets - the 156 grain Norma Oryx bullet for my 7x57 and the 220 grain Nosler Partition in 300H&H.
So far these have covered all game spectrum (not DG) without hiccup.

Personally I would not use Match bullets for hunting. Even Sierra will advise you not to use Match bullets for game.

And I have shot some game with Sierra Matchkings.
They do not perform in a consistent manner, like a hunting bullet.

For long range hunting I would use a Ballsitic Tip or a Sierra Gameking, depending on which shot best in my rifle.

I have killed a lot of game with these 2 bullets with never any problems, both near and far.

IF I am hunting bigger game like elk and above, and I might have to take a shot up close or far away, then I would pick a Nosler Partition, North Fork Soft, or a Trophy Bonded Bearclaw etc...

I have found hunting bullets to be plenty accurate enough for long range hunting, and a lot better performing when they hit game.