Got to Bullet for whitetail deer

[Al Lu]

Gents:
I handloads and never shot at a deer. First hunting for an old man. What is your go to bullet for whitetail deer in .308 WIN and 6.5 Creedmoor in your experiences? My ideal shot will be a high shoulder but hunting is different than shooting paper so might have to go to lungs area. Range average 100 yards. Nice blood trails would be nice also. Thank you.

 

[rebel]

Any plain old cup and core design will work. Interlock, core lock, game king ect.
Just find the one that shoots best in your rifle.

 

[hunter67]

What rebel said

 

[pirate ammo]

I know that in my 308 a Hornady 168GR. A-Max works good on pigs and so does a 180GR. Nosler Partition.

 

[Gary in MD]

Nosler Ballistic Tips - accurate and real killers.
Gary

 

[wwbrown]

130 grain Nosler Accubond has always worked well with my pre-1900 6.5x55 Mauser.

 

[jmkasza]

+1 on the Nosler BT. Also had good success with 168gr Hornady SST in my 308. Almost all of the guys in our deer camp shoot one of those two. Where we hunt whitetail in central Idaho it’s rare to take a shot past 100 yards.

 

[Lone Hunter]

I like the 165 Sierra Game King in the .308. Shoots really good and puts deer down.

 

[swd]

It's hard to beat a Nosler Partition. The front core creates lots of damage and the back half generally penetrates all the way through.

 

[jim_k]

Any plain old cup and core design will work. Interlock, core lock, game king ect.
Just find the one that shoots best in your rifle.

I hunted once with a relative who was guided by the head guide at one of the largest hunting ranches in the country. The guide had seen every bullet shot at about every type of animal. He only wanted to see hunters use a lead-tipped bullet of traditional design. This was the bullet that had given the best animal killing rate/recovered animal rate, in his vast experience.

 

[Mr. Ten-X]

The Hornady Interlock served me well for many years in 6mm, 6.5mm, 7mm and 30 cal before switching to the SST. Good energy dump, massive tissue destruction and excellent penetration. Kills were always clean and very fast. Ribcage shots generally produce golfball-size exits. Cheap...accurate...effective.

Will be using the 6.8mm SST this fall in the woods and feel very confident that any whitetail that absorbs one will be in a coffin quick.

For the 6.5mm...the 129SST or the 140SST will plant them. The heaviest WT I have ever harvested during deer season took a 129SST directly behind the shoulder and just low of center at 20 yards. He went 40yds with a golfball size exit and went on his chin. 242# DRESSED weight. Later that morning I poked a doe quartering towards me at either 278 or 287 yds (old-timers disease) and took her center lungs. The projectile left a golfball size exit on her last rib. She dressed out at 140# and was recovered within 25 yds. Biggest doe I ever harvested.

For the 308, the 150 or 165 SST will yield similar performance.

My aiming point is always the dead center of the lungs...100% of the time the Interlock or SST will drop them in their tracks or have a very short recovery distance. Cannot say that about deer I have shot with Game Kings or Partitions.

 

[rwk]

Interlock-sst and nosler BTS

 

[Larryh128]

Gents:
I handloads and never shot at a deer. First hunting for an old man. What is your go to bullet for whitetail deer in .308 WIN and 6.5 Creedmoor in your experiences? My ideal shot will be a high shoulder but hunting is different than shooting paper so might have to go to lungs area. Range average 100 yards. Nice blood trails would be nice also. Thank you.

Barnes TTSX, high shoulder, there will be no tracking involved.

 

[msalm]

I used the 150gr Lapua Mega sp in a 308 for deer one year and was impressed with the expansion and penetration. Excellent bullet for the 308 and deer.

 

[Nowhere Man]

I'm deer hunting with an AR-10/.308 this year. The 1-10 twist barrel seems to like Federal 180 grain store bought ammo.

 

[K22]

I've used the "no frills" 150 grain Sierra Pro Hunter for 20 years and never lost a deer to it. I like the behind the shoulder shot. For the range you are taking about, i.e. 100 yards, the 308 is excellent; it will pound them hard.

The key is shot placement no matter which bullet you choose.

 

[Liven The Dream]

Serra Game King and Speer Hot Core worked in my .270 ..

 

[JEFFPPC]

Gents:
I handloads and never shot at a deer. First hunting for an old man. What is your go to bullet for whitetail deer in .308 WIN and 6.5 Creedmoor in your experiences? My ideal shot will be a high shoulder but hunting is different than shooting paper so might have to go to lungs area. Range average 100 yards. Nice blood trails would be nice also. Thank you.

Hornady Spire Points

 

[KentuckyFisherman]

Interlocks, Partitions and such have their place, but for a beginning hunter taking shots inside 100 yards with a .308, you'll be spending money you could better use somewhere else. I'd go with a tried and true factory Remington Core-Lokt or a Nosler BT, in the 165-168 grain range. Some folks will try to tell you the BT is thin-skinned and for varmints only, but that's not true of the ones in larger calibers, they're definitely medium-game rounds. And for my 2 cents, go for the heart/lung shot. Good luck.

 

[5spd]

My 30 cal go to for antelope/deer is the sierra 125g jsp, does the job perfectly every time.