Bullet Selection

[ImBillT]

Guy pointed out a good one that doesn’t get much mention these days. Wide meplat bullets can be very effective killers. They don’t slip through tissue the way that pointy FMJ bullets do. They rip and cut and tear as they go, and if they’re lead or soft pointed they expand well at much lower velocities than pointier bullets. Furthermore they tend to suffer less deflection when hitting brush. If I was hunting somewhere that dense brush was the norm and seeing long distances didn’t happen, I’d be all over a 30-30 or the like with a heavy blunt bullet. Even somewhat in between are protected point designs like the BSB, Grand Slam, and some Lapua and Norma bullets. I don’t k ow if they’d be quite such instant killers as I’ve experienced with Burger, but they certainly have their place. There’s no need for Hugh velocity or high BC in a brush gun. At best it makes little difference, at worst you get major deflection. That has been document by folks who had the need.

 

[shaffe48]

Swift sirroco, hornady interbond, and federal trophy bonded tip are more reasonably priced bonded polymer tip bullets though only the sirroco seems to be available at the moment.

You ask me the nosler are all over priced based on features but a lot of people seem to like them.

In the end it's what your gun prefers. I'm half tempted to just go with interlocks myself, to be honest. A lot of people say it don't matter if you use the right grain weight bullet and I'm apt to start believing them.

 

[Walkathon]

I used Hornady Interlocks , 140 GR / BTSP last year in my .270win and was very happy with the results. Accuracy was good and the performance on deer was good. I used 140 gr Nosler Accubonds last year and also had good results, same with 140 gr Partitions out of my 7mm Rem mag, and 150 GR Sierra Game kings out my .30-06 in past years.

 

[JLS]

1. Lead free
2. Exceptional quality
3. Small company where you can talk to the owner
4. The price difference is minimal compared to other hunting costs

 

[Don Fischer]

I would advise everyone to use expensive premium bullet's. If you buy inexpensive cup and core, no matter the bullet or what you shoot it in, it will simply bounce off!

 

[Carlin59]

Sure, standard cup and core ("cheaper") bullets will get the job done (although I do think in certain circumstances "premium" allow more leeway in shot selection). However, how much is the meat worth to you (actual dollars and as a desirable end result of the hunt)? For me, the meat is the primary reason to hunt, and I place a very high value on every ounce I can take off an animal. Under that viewpoint, I use a monometal (Hornady GMX, $37/100 on Midway) since they tend to waste the least amount of meat (from personal experience, maybe yours differs). Especially on a smaller animal like an antelope doe, I got sick of how much meat would end up bloodshot even on a shot that didn't touch the shoulder using cup-and-cores. So much less bloodshot meat since switching to a monometal.

 

[Brian in Montana]

If we really wanted to get into it, I think we could do a whole thread on "standard cup and core" bullets". Some of those are much better than others. Since getting into handloading, I've been pretty preoccupied with Accubonds and Federal TBT's, but that's not to say I wouldn't shoot any game animal in the lower 48 with an Interlock of appropriate caliber and have the slightest lack of confidence.

 

[mtmuley]

Guy pointed out a good one that doesn’t get much mention these days. Wide meplat bullets can be very effective killers. They don’t slip through tissue the way that pointy FMJ bullets do. They rip and cut and tear as they go, and if they’re lead or soft pointed they expand well at much lower velocities than pointier bullets. Furthermore they tend to suffer less deflection when hitting brush. If I was hunting somewhere that dense brush was the norm and seeing long distances didn’t happen, I’d be all over a 30-30 or the like with a heavy blunt bullet. Even somewhat in between are protected point designs like the BSB, Grand Slam, and some Lapua and Norma bullets. I don’t k ow if they’d be quite such instant killers as I’ve experienced with Burger, but they certainly have their place. There’s no need for Hugh velocity or high BC in a brush gun. At best it makes little difference, at worst you get major deflection. That has been document by folks who had the need.

Along those lines, the Sledge Hammer from Hammer Bullets oughta work pretty good. Even out to 3 or 4 hundredish. mtmuley

 

[Guy]

Fall of 2016 I hunted with one rifle, one load: 30-06 Rem 700 with 165 Nosler Ballistic Tip:

Antelope @ 245 yards, one shot
Mule deer @ 140 yards, one shot drop, a second to finish him
Black bear @325 yards, one shot
Elk @ 338 yards, one shot

Accuracy, and lethal. I don't think the Nosler Ballistic Tip is the only bullet that can do this, but I absolutely know it can. Was a good season.

Regards, Guy

 

[GlockZ]

For me i generally shoot Barnes bullets. When you think about it, when you go on a hunting trip, whether locally or abroad, the least expensive part is the ammunition. The Big Finn has said this, and it's true. Why take anything to chance? If you're willing to dish out a few hundred on a good pair of boots, or a thousand plus dollars on a top of the line scope, then why not spend a few more dollars on high quality bullets? Plus that'll be one less worry, once you pull the trigger, as long as you do your part on the one end, you'll be 100% confident the bullet will do it's part on the other.

 

[shaffe48]

For me i generally shoot Barnes bullets. When you think about it, when you go on a hunting trip, whether locally or abroad, the least expensive part is the ammunition. The Big Finn has said this, and it's true. Why take anything to chance? If you're willing to dish out a few hundred on a good pair of boots, or a thousand plus dollars on a top of the line scope, then why not spend a few more dollars on high quality bullets? Plus that'll be one less worry, once you pull the trigger, as long as you do your part on the one end, you'll be 100% confident the bullet will do it's part on the other.

If you prefer to practice with your hunting load, then the cost can add up. That's why.

But yeah I mean you'd want to make sure the stuff you have is going to do the job.

 

[mtmuley]

Practice with a hunting load isn't needed. You can practice with a .22 LR. mtmuley

 

[shaffe48]

Practice with a hunting load isn't needed. You can practice with a .22 LR. mtmuley

22 practice is good. But it won't be good practice for 2,3, or my max range of 350 yards. Nor will it be good for practicing shooting a gun with recoil.

I'll admit that from my ranges it won't matter as much shooting the exact same bullet. But shooting a cheap bullet with a completely different ballistic profile will be slightly less valuable for practing drop and wind even with these ranges.

I'm someone who places a lot of value on making practice realisitc. Same reason I do most of my shooting from field positions from either my exact hunting gun and scope or as similar as possible. I'm sure some people are better than me without this sort of prep. But for people like me there's some value even if it's just confidence in my setup.

 

[Don Fischer]

Practice with a hunting load isn't needed. You can practice with a .22 LR. mtmuley

No practice can match practice with the rifle and load you plan on hunting with!

 

[Don Fischer]

Sure, standard cup and core ("cheaper") bullets will get the job done (although I do think in certain circumstances "premium" allow more leeway in shot selection). However, how much is the meat worth to you (actual dollars and as a desirable end result of the hunt)? For me, the meat is the primary reason to hunt, and I place a very high value on every ounce I can take off an animal. Under that viewpoint, I use a monometal (Hornady GMX, $37/100 on Midway) since they tend to waste the least amount of meat (from personal experience, maybe yours differs). Especially on a smaller animal like an antelope doe, I got sick of how much meat would end up bloodshot even on a shot that didn't touch the shoulder using cup-and-cores. So much less bloodshot meat since switching to a monometal.

Boy did this catch my attention. Hornady GMX for $37/100?Had to go look. 243 dia Hornady GMX at Midway are $35.99/50! Actually that is quite a bit less expensive than most premium bullet's I've seen.

 

[mtmuley]

No practice can match practice with the rifle and load you plan on hunting with!

Okey dokey. mtmuley

 

[std7mag]

Well, i know i'm not going to fit in MtMuley's boots! $500 HOLY $##* !!!

I shoot a lot of SST's for practice, to the tune of about 1,000 rounds a year.
Powder, primer, case prep being the same, i go from just over 3/4" 5 shot groups with the SST's to under 1/2" 5 shot groups with either Ballistic Tips, or Berger VLD's.
At 100 yards, no biggie. At 500 it's more of a deal.

 

[mtmuley]

Well, i know i'm not going to fit in MtMuley's boots! $500 HOLY $##* !!

I ain't the only one sporting good boots. And, you don't have to shoot expensive bullets for practice. Guess I don't know what an expensive bullet is. You can shoot a rifle that is economical to put lots of rounds downrange for practice. Trigger control, breathing and proper form can be practiced without using your primary hunting rifle. Even with a .22 LR. mtmuley

 

[Brian in Montana]

Practice with a hunting load isn't needed. You can practice with a .22 LR. mtmuley

Actually, I completely agree with this statement. I find that the more I shoot my grandaddy's old .22LR the better I shoot my hunting rifles. I get in the habit of flinching when I shoot my big bores a lot. Practicing with the .22 cures that.

 

[std7mag]

The cure is to hunt ground hogs at distance...