Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

Hey guys,

I would like to load up some hunting ammo for a Swiss K31 7.5x55. It uses a 30 cal bullet. I don't want to shoot premium bullets. Other than the Remington Coreloks what are some other budget 30 cal bullets that I might want to consider?

Shots with this rifle will be within 70 hards.

Thanks

Tom

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

Sierra Gameking and Hornady Interlock come to mind.

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

winchester power points are decent I shoot these from my 30-30 they do the trick fine on a deer. Sierra prohunters are good too I use the prohunters when I cant get PP's. I think speer might make a decent economy soft point too.

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

I always thought the gamekings were a premium bullet. Is this not the case?

Tom

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

No it's not the case.The gameking is a plain unbonded cup and core bullet.

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

Maybe this time i can do this without hitting the wrong key and posting too soon and haveing to edit....

What iwas trying to say is, that i see a lot of bullets mentioned in these forums that "i" don't consider "premium", that is for hunting anyway.... Most of them just have a catchy name and/or a higher price, like Corlok, innerlock, gameking, silvertip, or even Hotcore! Drive any of these a bit too fast or hit heavy bone, and they come apart, because the jacket seperates from the core.

If the core isn't bonded in, or a partition bullet, or something else spl.., then in my book, it's just not a premium "hunting"bullet....

Drilling Man

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

Gamekings, prohunters, powerpoints, and of course coreloks.

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

Ok, so what is the cheapest premium bullet available?

I've priced out the Sierra Gamekings at $17 per 100 for 165gr.

Tom

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

The hornady interbond is one of the lowest priced premium bullets.

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

Another vote for the Hornady bullets.

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

I found a Hornady bullet called the A-Max that is $18 per 100 in 165gr. Where are these in the grand scheme of things?

Tom

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

Also what about the Hornady SST's?

Tom

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

The a-max is not meant to be used as a hunting bullet.The sst works well on deer sized game,but expands rapidly and does a lot of damage if bone is struck.I would suggest that you go to each manufacturers site as they explain the intended uses for each bullet..

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

Hey Stubble,

I did go to the Hornady website but unless I was looking in the wrong place they don't really give you a whole lot of info. You can get some info but not much. As an example with the SST say that it is a bonded bullet but that it was perfected in the interbond. I also can't find any info on the interlock or interloc.

Thanks for all the info, I just didn't want you to think that I'm lazy.

Tom

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

Also another quick question, in general is it a good idea for a bullet to have the ring around it. I believe it is a crimping ring, but not sure. If I'm not going to crimp it is the ring a bad thing?

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

According to the hornady website the sst is not bonded.The interbond is basically a bonded sst,while the interloc is basically an sst with a lead tip that expands slower and penetrates more.The hornady site has cutaway views that show the differences.Don't worry about the cannelure,it has no effect on bullet performance.If you aren't going to crimp.ignore it.

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

Thanks for the info!

Tom

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

No offence, but i haven't found this to be completely true.

When a bullet is really stressed, i've seen the jacketbreak at the canlure... So, on one hand if the bullet isn't driven too fast, or if it doesn't hit an heavy solid object, (like bone) it may not matter much to have a canlure. BUT, if the bullet is over driven (going too fast like getting a really close shot) or it hits something tough, then haveing a canlure adds to bullet failure...

At least that's what i've found....

Drilling Man

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

I have never witnessed that myself,but I don't doubt that it could happen.I guess that it depends a great deal on the particular bullet,and the hardness of the jacket.I have used some bullets with a cannelure,but most that I usedo not have them,and most of my bullets are never recovered.

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

The cheapness of a hunting bullet should'nt be the reason for use.Quality,accuracy and bullet type and construction are all high on the list,cost should be on the bottom or not even on the list,you owe it to the game you hunt!Bullets are cheap in comarison to the rest of the equation.

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

Speer and Hornady both make good hunting bullets. But the most consistently accurate of the "standard" bullets are those made by Sierra. And I have had no trouble killing deer and caribou with Sierra softpoint/hollowpoint game bullets!

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

Just for the record I ended up ordering Hornady Interbond 165gr this morning. $27.30 per 100. This is pretty close to 50% cheaper than the Nosler partitions that I've bought before.

If bullet knowledge expert were to compare the Interbond Vs the Partition what would be the points of contention?

Tom

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

The Partition is likely to penetrate a tad better I think. However, the Interbond should be plenty of bullet. I'm using the 165 gr. Interbond in my .30-06. I haven't had a chance to kill anything with it yet, but I can say it's plenty accurate.

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

"If" your driveing the bullets hard, or hit something solid or need deeppenetration there is NO comparison! The NP's are a world better!

I use the std. bullets for practice, and hunt with NP's...

Drilling Man

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

And under those conditions,the tsx is even better.

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

BUT, will the TSX also open up at low velocities like a NP does?????

I've found NO bullet that works as well as NP's at BOTH high and low velocities! NP's penetrate better than a bonded bullet,while ALSO opening up faster in small or soft animials at lower velocities than any other bullet i've ever found or designed myself.

Here's a good example. I shot a coyote at something close to 300 yards with a 8mm 200NP with a mv of 2,550 fps and i noticed that the bullet showed a bit of expansion when i was skinning it out. I used the exact same bullet/load to shoot a fairly big bull moose at 150 yards, and the bullet not only expanded fairly quickly, but i got the 100% penetration that i like. Hard to beat that performance, and that's why i stick with them. I've seen this same thing happen many times with other cals. too...

BTW, i also stalked and shot a decent sized bear with that same load at 20 feet and got 100% penetration too!

Drilling Man

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

Do not confuse the tsx with the original barnes x.The tsx has a redesigned nose cavity that results in it opening up much better even at lower velocity.And at higher velocity it holds together much better than the partition and easily out penetrates it as well.

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

"If" it opens as easily as a NP, and still drives deeper than a NP, it would be a first (and i'm NOT saying it doesn't) as i've found nothing that works as well as NP's.... It's hard to beat a "solid" for driveing deep and that's what an NP becomes after the nose blows off.

Drilling Man

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

Have you even tried the tsx?I have used both and much prefer the tsx.

RE: Cheaper 30 Cal Hunting Bullet?
 

No i haven't, and that's why i'm NOT saying your wrong.... I will buy some if i see them though. It won't take long to test a few and see how they compare....

Thanks for the info..

Drilling Man