Favorite 30 cal. hunting bullet?

[bigngreen]

The 215 Berger followed by the 230 Berger, don't use anything else anymore from 308 win to 300 RUM! The Accubond I respect but in the 30 cal I will only shoot the 200 gr, the 180 does not have the sand in it's shorts and if you hit elk in the shoulder you'll have a percentage not penetrate the chest. I shot Barnes for a good number of years in a 300 WBY, a 165/168 TSX is NOT a bullet for elk unless you like chasing a percentage of them, Barnes make a great deer bullets for 30 cal but nothing I'll shoot elk with anymore, got better things to do that shoot elk repeatedly hoping one will stay on track through the vitals!!

 

[effendude]

An outfitter friend of mine reported that he has had trouble with the 210 Bergers out of a 300 RUM on elk this season. They didn't penetrate elk shoulder bones, but did the job if the shoulder was missed. He is going to try some 210 LR Accubonds in the offseason. I have a friend who has used the 190 VLD all the way up to grizzly with no issues.
Scott

 

[2506]

My favorite 30 cal. bullet for deer size game is the 125 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip but you have to keep the impact velocity below 3000 fps.

For your stated use I would also choose the 165 Accudond as a one bullet load. I would prefer at least 180 gr for Elk but for a one bullet for all the 168 should suffice.

 

[Medium rare]

I tried the 125sst from 300 wsm on whitetails this year. I shot 2 and neither took a step but there was no exit so I decided against them. Do you get exits with the 125 nbt's?

 

[fourpower]

we have 2 guns in 300wsm. shoot bergers and you will shoot no other. 168 are great but we now shoot 210s hold half minute out to 1000 yds. we have tried accubonds but no luck. barnes suck copper up barrels bad and shoot all over place past 400 yds! bergers 19 shots 19 animals dead in tracks!

 

[2506]

The 125 BT is designed to work with IMPACT velocity under 3000 fps and from what I have read of those using the 125SST it sound like they are made about the same. Usually with muzzle velocity of 3000 fps the average deer shot at 25 to 150 yards through both shoulders the bullet will not exit but the jacket will be found under the hide on the off side shoulder. A little beyond 150 yards it starts to exit. I would say with impact velocity under 2700 fps it will exit going through both shoulders. I shoot this bullet in my 308 win. 3000 fps and 30x47 2850 fps rifles and 14" Contender pistol 30-30AI 2670 fps for deer. I have killed around 20 deer from point blank to 120 yards with the 30-30AI pistol and most shots have been through both shoulders and I have never recovered a bullet. All exit with about a quarter size hole and all but 2 have been bang flop and those two did not go over three jumps. I have killed 50+ deer all the way out to a little over 300 yards with the 125 BT and none have gone over 50 yards with 90% bang flop.

 

[Chuckhunter]

I have always used 165Gr. Sierra GK's out of a .308, 30-06 and my 300 RSAUM. Since they have killed everything that I have launched them at, I never saw a reason to change. The only exception was, I switched to 180Gr. Nosler Partitions for Elk and they did the job. The Sierra's are inexpensive, relatively speaking, are accurate and work just fine. I'm sure there are many good bonded bullets that would work fine also but for deer and antelope they really are not necessary.

 

[CharlieNC]

After reading a number of research articles about the anatomy of killing, their consensus was to create a major wound channel. Energy, depth of penetration, and other often discussed factors were only important in as much as they contributed to the wound channel. Comparing this to the various bullets and their design/function, I settled on the Berger Hunting VLD since it is supposed to penetrate 3-4 inches before massive fragmentation to create the wound channel. So far two elk with the 175 gr at 300+ yards, with as-advertised bullet performance. Of course all bullets will fail to perform in some situations, and that defect level is difficult to determine.

 

[oldblinddog]

I don't want "varmageddon" performance on any deer or elk. A quarter to half dollar sized exit hole is perfect. I use Speer 165-180-200 gr. HCSP's in my .308 or .30-06. They work.

In a .338-06 the Speer 200 gr. is a "deer" bullet and also works perfectly. As Elmer said, "you can eat right up to the bullet hole."

 

[Chappy]

Has anybody had any trouble with the Accubonds not opening up correctly and just penciling through? If you would hit a deer in the rib cage but miss the ribs, would it just smoke right through and not even open?

Not that my friends or I have experienced. They mushroom perfectly.

 

[Lone Hunter]

I have always used 165Gr. Sierra GK's out of a .308, 30-06 and my 300 RSAUM. Since they have killed everything that I have launched them at, I never saw a reason to change. The only exception was, I switched to 180Gr. Nosler Partitions for Elk and they did the job. The Sierra's are inexpensive, relatively speaking, are accurate and work just fine. I'm sure there are many good bonded bullets that would work fine also but for deer and antelope they really are not necessary.

This is also what I think and use. Have considered going to Bergers just to try something different. I know the Bergers are accurate but so are the Sierras. Then there's the price difference.