Whitetail bullets

[darreljwick]

I shot a 280 Remington with 150 gr Sierra Gameking BT at 2950 FPS for big Whitetails...250# Dressed. It performed excellent and I am a Shoulder shooter. Accuracy was great as well......djw

 

[HTSmith]

Plain old Hornady 150 gr spire point. Between my nephew and me its killed a lot of deer. No need for fancy or expensive. If you have a long throated rifle a light crimp in the cannelure with a Lee factory crimp die can really help

 

[Lefty2506]

Soft point is about all I use for white tail.
Deer are not hard to kill, most any bullet will do the job, if a guy has game run off then maybe the aim was poor.

Generally speaking, I would agree. I think the issue comes from trying to push the limits of the cartridge or projectile, or trying to maximize expansion or penetration. A 180gr expanding cup and core bullet loaded to 308 Win velocities does not fall into those category. If a person were looking for a bullet that would expand and penetrate well on Elk at 600 yds, but didn't want to tear up a lot of meat on whitetail at 50 yds, that person could experience some issues. Marginal cartridges like the 300 blackout can also fall into this category.

I tried using a 110gr vmax out of a 10.5" 300 blackout for hunting just to see if it was a capable bullet. I suspected that it was a little too thin skinned and proved myself right. I had a nice doe come in that field dressed around 130 lbs. I was in a ladder stand that was only about 12' tall. The trail she was on came within about 10 yards of me. I let her pass slightly with the intention of taking a slight quartering away shot so that the projectile would end in the far shoulder (I didn't expect an exit wound). I put the round right behind the shoulder, just above the heart. The bullet hit a rib on entry, and took out about a 2" long section of it. I could see the depression from the missing rib on impact and knew I had hit exactly where I wanted. The up side, she only ran about 25 yards. One of the shortest retrieves I've ever experienced from a heart/lung shot. On the down side, it didn't end up being a heart/lung shot. Upon hitting the rib, the projectile veered significantly rearward and down. It put a 3" hole through the near lung and liver and tried to exit just past the sternum without actually making it through the ribs/meat. I never did find the projectile, and assume that the jacket was ripped into multiple pieces and there was very little left of the core. Total penetration was in the neighborhood of 8". It was 8" worth of some of some pretty nasty devastation, but I delegated that round to home defense and re-zeroed the AR to a 125gr SST that afternoon. On the opposite extreme, a friend of mine shot a decent doe with his 16" 300 BO using 110gr Barnes TAC. He's an accomplished rifleman and hunter, the shot wasn't far, and he's certain he made a good hit, but there was very little blood. It's one of the few deer he ever failed to recover. We suspect that he didn't hit any bone on entry, and the bullet failed to expand. I've known others who've had excellent results with that load and swear by it. I've also used a 120gr Sig Elite monolithic on a doe at about 75 yds (also from the 10.5"). She ran the typical 75 yds before expiring. Entry wound was very small, some damage to the lungs but not a ton, exit wound was moderate. Looked more like I had shot her with my old 45cal ball and patch muzzle loader. That bullet needed more speed. It might be fine from my 16" upper out to 100 yds or so.

The point of all of that is to say that yes, there are times when a bullet just doesn't measure up. If you're using more than enough gun, and you're taking shots at reasonable distances and not using some magic projectile that's advertised to field dress, process, and package the game for you, the the average run of the mill ammo will do a fine job on a white tail, and if they run off its going to be the hunter's fault, not the bullet.

I should add, that I DO like monolithic bullets, and use them a lot for hunting, but I've learned that you have to pay attention to what the bullet is designed to do. If it's intended to be used at higher velocities, or shoot through car doors and walls, maybe it's a little too tough to use at marginal impact velocities. If it was designed to expand at slower impact velocities while also holding together at more moderate speeds, it is likely a great hunting bullet. Its just hard to find companies that design their monolithic bullets to operate like that. Most want them to either impact at relatively high speed, or they design them to shed the pedals and create separate wound channels. There are a few out there that do design them to expand well and drive very deep, and those folks make some really good hunting bullets....

 

[pdog06]

I’ve had really good performance with 165 NBT’s on deer out of a 308. And they do expand fast. Had same results with 140 NBT’s in my 260.
I’m using Berger 130 VLD-H in my 6.5cm and have been impressed with them. Shot a bear with it and did a number on it. No exit wound but plenty of internal damage and no tracking needed. Sure they’re just as good in a 308.

 

[searcher]

If most of my shots were that close, and mostly neck shots taken, I'd opt for a lighter, faster bullet to impart more hydostatic shock to the central nervous system. The spinal cord is a small target and any bullet that can impart more shock is better, I think. That said, either of the bullets you mention will do the job.

 

[Hoekight]

I bought some 150g Remington Core Lokt to try because that’s what I shot before getting into reloading. Surprisingly, they shot very well in my 308 and my son in laws 30-06. They do great on whitetails and hogs here in FL. Like them so much I bought several boxes to keep on hand.

 

[B Nettesheim]

Of the 3 bullets you mentioned.. in your 308
gameking (180) would be my choice, never had one take more than a few steps, probably 20 instances

 

[jwalexande1]

Anyone have any real world experience with performance on different 30 cal soft point bullets ? Such as the Sierra gameking btsp , nosler ballistic tip , winchester power point ?
remington discontinued, there core lokt bullet which was the best performing bullet for white tail In florida that i've used.
I'm looking for a bullet that will perform similar to it. Winchester has their powerpoint available now in 150 grain .
Our average shot is about a hundred to a hundred and twenty yards.If that we always make a neck shot. So I need preforms like the old core lokt bullet , fast and big . I am leaning more towards the winchester.Powerpoint, and the sierra gameking.
i'll be loading for a 308.

30-06 180gr Nosler ballistic tip on 150ish whitetail in Kentucky. Never had one do anything other than drop right there. Bullet is in the skin on opposite side mushroomed beautifully.

 

[std7mag]

30-06 180gr Nosler ballistic tip on 150ish whitetail in Kentucky. Never had one do anything other than drop right there. Bullet is in the skin on opposite side mushroomed beautifully.

I'm still wondering how you guys are recovering the Ballistic Tips?

I'm assuming that they are expanding well due to the amount of internal damage that they do.

But again, I haven't recovered one yet from 5 different calibers.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

 

[msalm]

My absolute GO TO bullet in a 18-20” barreled 308 hunting rifle has been the Lapua 150gr Mega sp. that bullet opens up quickly, has a wide crimp band in the middle with a heavier shank that keeps the jacket and core together and flat out works as expected. Phenomenal medium game bullet. Very quick kills and if a deer makes it any distance, it will leave a very generous blood trail. Not a high BC bullet but for the ranges you’re talking I can’t think of a better bullet than this one.

 

[mmcu]

Another option to consider is to use a 30-30 bullet downloaded to about 2,500 - 2,600 fps in your 308.

This load can be very accurate and with the shot distances you're looking at they're not going to go far when you put the bullet where it belongs.

I worked up a load in one of our ranch 308's for culling does and 43.6 grains of N140 was the ticket.

 

[msalm]

Last year I needed a few more for the freezer and sat on a field that the farmer planted turnips as a cover crop. 9 does/fawns came out and after shooting the first doe (160 yards or so) that dropped w/ a shoulder shot, I shot another that stood still. And then one more that stopped to look back. Three in about 10 seconds or so and not one made it 5 feet from where they were standing. The 150gr Lapua Mega is definitely a contender for an effective deer bullet. As a side note, the buck fawn was the last one and was limping severely, looks like a fence incident?

 

[Websurfer]

Anyone have any real world experience with performance on different 30 cal soft point bullets ? Such as the Sierra gameking btsp , nosler ballistic tip , winchester power point ?
remington discontinued, there core lokt bullet which was the best performing bullet for white tail In florida that i've used.
I'm looking for a bullet that will perform similar to it. Winchester has their powerpoint available now in 150 grain .
Our average shot is about a hundred to a hundred and twenty yards.If that we always make a neck shot. So I need preforms like the old core lokt bullet , fast and big . I am leaning more towards the winchester.Powerpoint, and the sierra gameking.
i'll be loading for a 308.

 

[Websurfer]

The Hornady 150 grains (sp or btsp) and various Speer 150’s are ideal whitetail bullets for 308. Gamekings are deadly too, but seem a little stronger/less expansive, in my experience. Nosler Accubonds, Speer Grand Slams and Barnes Tipped TSX are devastating too, but may be a little more bullet than you need for whitetail. Go with whatever shoots best in your rifle.

 

[Websurfer]

Hornady SST and Interbonds are incredible, too. All the bullets I’ve noted are great whitetail bullets, and are great on hogs, too.

 

[AckleymanII]

The Speer 165g BTSP is an awesome bullet in a 308/30-06, puts a ton of shock on a deer, usually anchoring them on the spot. Hornady 150g in both flat base and BT versions all are extremely effective and accurate. The 165g Hornady flat base acts like a partition in penetration.

I have killed a lot of deer with the 125-130g weights in a 308, so has my brother. The 125g Sierra, 125g Nosler ballistic tip loaded with Win 748 shoots bug holes at 3050-3300 depending on the barrel. Tac is another powder that performs very well with these lighter bullets, fast and accurate.

If you are shooting any distance, the 155g Berger VLD-Hunting is a bullet worth building a rifle around with incredible performance on deer/hogs at some distance. I use a short freebore Palma reamer for this bullet, and with Lever powder getting 2950 with a 26" barrel shooting a bug hole.

 

[long40shot]

I have taken two good sized whitetail with the Sierra 180grn Gameking. Excellent performance. I might field some 117grn Gamekings in my 257 Bob this year.

 

[BHP9]

I've had good luck with Ballistic Tips, Hot Core, SGK,.

 

[cjmac]

I have the nosler ballistic tip and winchester jackets off point on order. I have a great load for the sierra 150 grain game king boat tail soft point.
We will see how these do