weekend hunter with his $200 or less rifle doesnt just use it for that one short extra time of hunting. I get to hunt 5 to 9 days per year depending what tags i get. That $100 cva mountain stalker doesnt sit in the corner all year, its out every other day shooting. Just because you pay a lot less than the other stuff doesnt mean you are stupid nor does it mean you only use it a short time per year. That $100 rifle with a set of $40 after market open sights gives a lot of scoped inliners a tough run for their money.

Heres those 300gr XTP Mags.

They looked real good. I used them part of 1 season, my son used them for a whole season, we shot several deer with them. I believe they have a better performance range than regular XTP and that is why I chose them. I liked them, reason I want away from them is Noslers were better in my opinion, they opened better on close shots.
Cha

Tom, awesome thread! Chap, awesome post! Great info as always. My question to those who have shot the 300 gr. Gold Dots,what range do youfind them suitable up to for Elk?

Colorado Cajun

It is my feeling that they could be used close to 200 yards - IF - everything were to present itself properly.... the biggest factor being the external forces that work on a bullet after it leaves the muzzle. Only you can actually be the judge of that.

I have not shot an elk with one as I am still using Noslers, but as i have said before if the Noslers continue to climb in cost - I would not hesitate switching to Gold Dot.... although I think Cayugad actually found a Speer that might be better for elk. It is a .458/300 grain Uni-Core bullet, a bullet built for the 45-70 specifically the Marlin 450

http://www.speer-bullets.com/ballist...il.aspx?id=127

Here is a ballistic sheet for a 300 grain Gold Dot. The numbers might help you decide...

Most of my deer and hogs have been killed with the 240 grain .430 XTP: The vast majority of those kills have been bang flops. Never put much stock in how a bullet performs when fired into gelatin, wet newspapers or clay. A few years ago i started using the 250 grain SST/Shockwave in my Encore. That bullet has also worked well for me.

Put either of those bullets in the right place and they will do the job for you.

Grouse-I buy Nosler #43013 .45 Colt .451" for about $16.00/100. They impact the same out to 150 yds as the 260 Nosler partition that I use for hunting. Nosler had 54 cal partitions in their clearance section last year for $4.95/10. I bought enough to hunt with for the rest of my life.

Charlie

That's the way to do it. End of the season clearance's are also a great way to buy bullets. Thanks for the info

Grouse

I was just packing up to go do some shooting and thought of another bullet that has really been good to me, actually the whole line of Sierra's have been great through the years.

But one that comes to mind right now as I look at the box in front of me is a .458/300 Grain Sierra Prohunter. I have not taken game with this bullet, but i do shoot it lot as sub for the .458/300 Noslers I normally shoot. This bullet is really accurate and flys very well for me. It's little bit of thicker copper jacket for the 45-70 really makes the bullet a bit stronger.

http://www.sierrabullets.com/index.c...0&bullettype=0

Back in the centerfire days - Sierra's were always my back up for the Noslers.

Price: $23.00

http://www.wholesalehunter.com/produ...productid=5274

Well, I don't have much $$$, so I shoot a $120 CVA, a $40 scope and XTP's. The 3 deer I've taken the past 3 years didn't seem to notice my cheap-o tendencies. Seriously, if I had the money, I would be shooting a more expensive rifle (probably an Accura) with a better scope and more expensive bullets - at least for hunting.

But my cheap setup shoots groups like this:



And every XTP I've put into a a deer looks like this (if I was able to recover it)



I figure my bullet/sabot combo costs 0.34 cents per shot. I buy 777 powder on clearance after the season is over for $12 - $14 per pound. So I don't spend a lot.

By the way- I use a 10mm 200 grain XTP with Harvestor light blue sabots.