good deer bullet?
02-06-2009, 07:32 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location:
Posts: 16
good deer bullet?
anyone have good luck with 165 or 180 grainfederal power shok sp?you think a180 gr bullet isbest for 100 to 150 yards? im thinking of trying a ballistic tip in sst or interbond i hear gamekingbthp dont work well for deer. i dont know any thingabout gameking btsp do thay hold up at all
02-06-2009, 07:46 PM
#2
Typical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 608
RE: good deer bullet?
If you are talking about a 30-06 or 308 I would go with a 165 gr for deer sized game. The 180 gr in these calibers are really intended for elk sized game. Sierra Game King works well on deer. You may have been given some bad info or misunderstood about Sierra. Some people were using the Sierra Match King for deer hunting. The Match King is NOT made for hunting, and it would break up if it hit bones. Sierra warns about this in their literature, and it also use to be on their website.
02-06-2009, 08:21 PM
#3
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,519
RE: good deer bullet?
I just recently got some 150 grain ones and tried them target shooting. Never shot a deer with one. As many of you have read my gun seems super picky about the ammo. I get about 2" groups or so with Federal Fusion ammo vs with these I got about a 3" group but I decided it was cheaper and still close enough to kill a deer. 3 shots were probably in a 2" group one right next the other but the one of the 4 shots was a little out that made it a 3" group. I posted pictures of targets in another thread. That's just me and my gun though. It may have been a little me too.
I've heard people really like them on deer. I shot a deer at 150 yards with the Federal Fusion. It was a large doe and it just flopped over. Didn't move at all from where I shot it. It didn't do much damage. Just left a hole about 1" in diameter all the way through the deer but it did flop it over. Someone had shot the deer in the butt already with buckshot. We learned when skinning it. Only 2 or 3 pellets had hit it so they had mostly missed it but they had hit it. Didn't look hurt at all when I shot it but when we skinned it we found the couple pellets and little dried blood from it.
I've heard people really like them on deer. I shot a deer at 150 yards with the Federal Fusion. It was a large doe and it just flopped over. Didn't move at all from where I shot it. It didn't do much damage. Just left a hole about 1" in diameter all the way through the deer but it did flop it over. Someone had shot the deer in the butt already with buckshot. We learned when skinning it. Only 2 or 3 pellets had hit it so they had mostly missed it but they had hit it. Didn't look hurt at all when I shot it but when we skinned it we found the couple pellets and little dried blood from it.
02-06-2009, 10:56 PM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Cornwall, Pa.
Posts: 1,720
RE: good deer bullet?
For shots on deer size game you need not spend the extra cash on the hi performance bullets like the SST or Interbond. Remington Core Lokt in 150 gr. will be more than sufficient at this yardage and this round will drop them on the spot. One of the most tried and dependable rounds ever produced at a reasonable price.
02-07-2009, 04:41 AM
#5
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 9,085
RE: good deer bullet?
ive killed deer with all 3 bullets in 165gr from my 3006.
killed 2 with the game king HPBT...1 at about 40yds dropped dead, the other at 25ish..blew his heart out and went 20yds and was dead...no problems, goot exit holes both times
killed countless with 165gr ballistic tips...never had problems...all exited...
killed 1 with the hornady SST..70 or so yard shot through the heart...went 15yds and dropped dead...hole through the heart was about 1/2-3/4"...lungs and everything else was a mess...
cant go wrong with any of them IMO for deer...
killed 2 with the game king HPBT...1 at about 40yds dropped dead, the other at 25ish..blew his heart out and went 20yds and was dead...no problems, goot exit holes both times
killed countless with 165gr ballistic tips...never had problems...all exited...
killed 1 with the hornady SST..70 or so yard shot through the heart...went 15yds and dropped dead...hole through the heart was about 1/2-3/4"...lungs and everything else was a mess...
cant go wrong with any of them IMO for deer...
02-08-2009, 01:51 PM
#7
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 89
RE: good deer bullet?
Dont overlook the Hornady interlock. I shoot a 140 grain boattail interlock in my 270 at about 2960 and that drops deer like nothing else. I love the interlocks because they work and compared to a lot of other bullets are cheaper. But i have also shot deer with a 150 Core-Lokt in a 308 and that did a wonderful job on the deer as well. I would say for deer, stick to the Hornady or Remington bullets. Then again, shoot the bullet that shoots best in your gun, that is just as important.
02-09-2009, 06:49 AM
#8
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location:
Posts: 267
RE: good deer bullet?
At my hunting camp I am still the only one hunting with regular bullets...everyone else is using ballistic tips.
I experimented with my 270 a bit over the last year. Tried 130 core-lokt, federal blue box, federal fusion, winchester, and hornady. All standard soft points non ballistic. The only ones that werent grouping well were the core-lokt bullets. still getting about a 3in group which is fine for hunting purposes. All the rest shot pretty good and the hornadys shot excellent which is why i stuck with them.
Personally i dont see anything wrong with using any kind of bullet that gives you some confidence of making a clean fast kill. Me personallyI am not going to stray away from hornady 130gr SP in my 270. They shoot almost perfect at 12 o'clock and i have em sighted in 2in high at 100. Performance on the deer is very impressive and it puts alot of energy into the animal causing an almost immediate death with a proper shot. Usually they stagger a bit andthencollapse.
I had one bad experience with core-lokt ammo and will not go back to it for my 270. It involved my 1st buck whoI shot almost near perfect. Bullet over expanded leaving no blood and had to do some tracking where i found him some 150yrds later laying on the ground. My 30-06 loves 150 core-lokt bullets, but it puts a hurting on a deer and a shot in the shoulder results in alot of meat loss.
I experimented with my 270 a bit over the last year. Tried 130 core-lokt, federal blue box, federal fusion, winchester, and hornady. All standard soft points non ballistic. The only ones that werent grouping well were the core-lokt bullets. still getting about a 3in group which is fine for hunting purposes. All the rest shot pretty good and the hornadys shot excellent which is why i stuck with them.
Personally i dont see anything wrong with using any kind of bullet that gives you some confidence of making a clean fast kill. Me personallyI am not going to stray away from hornady 130gr SP in my 270. They shoot almost perfect at 12 o'clock and i have em sighted in 2in high at 100. Performance on the deer is very impressive and it puts alot of energy into the animal causing an almost immediate death with a proper shot. Usually they stagger a bit andthencollapse.
I had one bad experience with core-lokt ammo and will not go back to it for my 270. It involved my 1st buck whoI shot almost near perfect. Bullet over expanded leaving no blood and had to do some tracking where i found him some 150yrds later laying on the ground. My 30-06 loves 150 core-lokt bullets, but it puts a hurting on a deer and a shot in the shoulder results in alot of meat loss.
02-09-2009, 07:16 AM
#9
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location:
Posts: 1,785
RE: good deer bullet?
ORIGINAL: savage hunter44
anyone have good luck with 165 or 180 grainfederal power shok sp?you think a180 gr bullet isbest for 100 to 150 yards? im thinking of trying a ballistic tip in sst or interbond i hear gamekingbthp dont work well for deer. i dont know any thingabout gameking btsp do thay hold up at all
anyone have good luck with 165 or 180 grainfederal power shok sp?you think a180 gr bullet isbest for 100 to 150 yards? im thinking of trying a ballistic tip in sst or interbond i hear gamekingbthp dont work well for deer. i dont know any thingabout gameking btsp do thay hold up at all
For a "good deer bullet", no matter what caliber you are talking about, it is hard to beat a Remington Corelokt for the money. I am referring to their "bullets" and not their loaded ammo.
02-09-2009, 07:36 AM
#10
Fork Horn
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Southern NH
Posts: 197
RE: good deer bullet?
Sniper151
Your statement is generally true but I have a Ruger M77 in .30-06 that only likes premium bullets in the way of accuracy. I simply cannot get any accuracy from Express Core Lokts or other basic ammo. This is frustrating to me as Ihave a real issue paying $35-45 forpremium ammo. I would rather pay $16-18 for the same accuracy results...who wouldn't. Either ammo category will put them down but you have to have the accuracy to put the bullet in the wheelhouse in order to put them down. Conversly I have other rifles that will shoot Express Core Lokt's or Federal Power Shoks all day long into tight groups. From an economic standpoint these have become my working rifles because I can feed them cheaper ammo with basically the same results which is back to your point.
Your statement is generally true but I have a Ruger M77 in .30-06 that only likes premium bullets in the way of accuracy. I simply cannot get any accuracy from Express Core Lokts or other basic ammo. This is frustrating to me as Ihave a real issue paying $35-45 forpremium ammo. I would rather pay $16-18 for the same accuracy results...who wouldn't. Either ammo category will put them down but you have to have the accuracy to put the bullet in the wheelhouse in order to put them down. Conversly I have other rifles that will shoot Express Core Lokt's or Federal Power Shoks all day long into tight groups. From an economic standpoint these have become my working rifles because I can feed them cheaper ammo with basically the same results which is back to your point.