30 cal. bullet you use?

[JACK308]

What 30 cal.bullet do you use for deer hunting?I havent found one I want to use yet I tryed Barnes but the cost is to much if I was going for elk then I would use them.The bullet I will try next is the Hornady IB 165gr.

[KenL]

For whitetail I've tried a lot of bullets and settled on a 150gr Nosler Partition for my 308 Win. I'll use the same bullet in my 300 WSM for deer and pronghorn, and a 180gr Partition for elk.

[Doyle]

I'm going to Hornady Interlock SP's this year. Deer don't have tough enough hides to need Interbonds and I don't like SST's (ballistic tips) so the compromise is the Interlock SP.

[PawPaw]

I use Sierra Gamekings. My rifle likes 165 grain bullets, so that's what I use. I don't push them too hard, about 2600 fps from my .308. My farthest shot will be at about 250 yards and the rifle is easily capable of making that shot.

[Saltydog235]

'06 165 Grn Ballistic Tips

308 same or 165grn Sierra HP Gamekings.

[GURU1911]

My personal favorite .30 caliber bullet for plains game such as white-tail, antelope, & mule deer, is the 165 grain nosler ballistic tip or hornady sst @ a velocity range of 2500 to 2700 fps. These velocities are easily obtainable from a .308 winchester or .30-06 springfield.

MY 1953 REMINGTON model 721 .30-06, will PLACE either of these bullets almost to the same impact point.

Guru1911

[dahermit]

I have never seen any evidence that premium bullets are of any significant advantage over the standard bullets offered by the major makers for hand loading for hunting. I have killed many deer with Hornadys.
Years ago, before premium bullets, deer, bear, elk, moose, etc., all were taken with standard bullets.
In my opinion, until necropsies are done comparing bullet performance, the purchase of the costly bullets is naught but to satisfy an illusion.

[Antique Shooter]

For deer the only thing I shoot is Remington Core Lokt 150 grain PSP's. They are the deadliest mushrooms in the woods. I don't know how many thousands of deer they must have killed. Antique Shooter

[JACK308]

you guys are right killing a white tail should not be like splitting hairs on what bullet to use.Any 150 165 grain should do the job the SST's seem to be the best value out there instead of the expensive Barnes.

[Art Eatman]

I've used 150-grain bullets pretty much to the exclusion of anything else. Sierra GameKings, both flat-based and boat-tailed. Remington Bronze Points. My father always used Hornady Spire Points.

They all work just fine.

[Doodlebugger45]

I have a couple of really accurate loads developed using hunting bullets for my .308. One of them uses a Hornady BTSP 150 gr and the other uses a 165 gr BTHP Sierra bullet. Both of them give consistent 5 shot groups les than 1" at 100 yds. Either one of them should work just fine for deer or elk. The problem is for the last couple years I just happen to be carrying a 7 mm mag or 270 WSM or a .243 when it was time to pull the trigger on a critter. Those all worked well too. So I haven't seen first hand how my .308 hunting loads work on animals. Maybe this year I'll make a concerted effort to use the .308 on game.

[FrankenMauser]

If I knew I would have been stuck hunting whitetail for the foreseeable future, several cartridges/rifles would have had more non-premium bullets purchased. Everything you see here was developed around 4 priorities: 1. Elk. 2. Antelope. 3. Mule Deer. 4. A rare chance at a Moose.
Hindsight...

.30-06:
165 gr Core-Lokt (Remington - 1, 2, 3.)
165 gr Scirocco II (Swift - 2, 3.)
168 gr Ballistic Silvertips. (Winchester/Nosler - 2, 3.)
180 gr Oryx (Norma - 1, 3, 4.)
220 gr Round Nose (Hornady - 2, 3.)

.30-40 Krag:
220 gr Round Nose (Hornady - 1,980 fps makes it a great "controlled expansion" bullet - 1, 2, 3.)

7.62x54R (.311"-.313"):
150 gr Interlock (Hornady - 2, 3.)
174 gr Round Nose (Hornady - 1, 2, 3.)
215 gr Weldcore RN (Woodleigh - almost too tough for even Mule Deer - 1, 4.)

7.62x39mm (.310"-.311"):
123 gr Round Nose (Prvi Partizan factory ammo - 2, 3.)
154 gr Soft Point (Wolf - 1, 2, 3.)


I like the SSTs, but I've never used one in .30 caliber, just .24 and .27 calibers.

So, what's my point?
...The same as anyone else's: Pretty much anything will work.
The good ol' Core-Lokt is almost always a safe bet, and about as cheap as it gets. (But don't apply that statement to the "similar" Winchester Power Point - it's crap!)

[Nico Testosteros]

In what respect does the Power Point not work? Accuracy? Expansion? I haven't shot enough through my hunting rifle to know.

[Buzzcook]

http://www.hornady.com/store/30-Cal-.308-150-gr-SP/

They've worked fine for me.

[BIG P]

Sierra gamekings or Hornady SST both do a fine job on deer good price also.

[LSnSC]

Sierras from 150 to 168.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Originally Posted by Art Eatman

I've used 150-grain bullets pretty much to the exclusion of anything else. Sierra GameKings, both flat-based and boat-tailed. Remington Bronze Points. My father always used Hornady Spire Points.

They all work just fine.

Darn I wish Remington still sold Bronze Points as components for .270. I've even thought of buying the loading cartridges and tearing them down for the bullets. They were the most accurate thing I have ever fired out of my .270.

In .30, I like SSTs or Bronze Points, though all work fine, as many have pointed out.

[Goatwhiskers]

Well, I could probably use a lighter bullet, but in my 30/40AI I use a 180 Hornady RN screaming along at 2200 fps. Everything I shoot pretty much drops in its tracks, 30 cal hole in, little bit bigger out, and virtually no meat destruction. It just don't take that much to kill a deer if you can control your rifle. Goatwhiskers

[sjc]

Hello:
I have a couple of thousand of 150 grain Winchester Silvertips. This is the original Silvertip. Myself and my hunting partner have been using these for close to forty years. Neither one of us have ever had a problem with these in regards to accuracy or expansion.

[Doyle]

Hello:
I have a couple of thousand of 150 grain Winchester Silvertips. This is the original Silvertip. Myself and my hunting partner have been using these for close to forty years. Neither one of us have ever had a problem with these in regards to accuracy or expansion.

Absolutley nothing "wrong" with those old silvertips. New design bullets have a better BC and therefore fly a little flatter but if the old ones are killing animals for you then you have every right to be satisfied.

[elkman06]

have a couple of thousand of 150 grain Winchester Silvertips. This is the original Silvertip

Personal experience for me was that they worked very well in slower applications and not so well in an 06 pushing 2800fps.
Tended to expand too rapidly upon entry not penetrating. My personal go to bullet is Hornaday BTSP.
elkman06

[GeauxTide]

Have used, and loaded for others, 150 Hornady Interlocks for more than 40 years. I can count 10 rifles that I've either owned or provided ammo that provided the advertised performance in the 2800-2900fps range. Accurate, Deadly, and Dependable.

[ZeroJunk]

I've used Speer, Sierra, Core Locts, and Hornady in whatever they call there standard hunting bullets in both flat base and boat tails, in 165 grain and 150 grain for deer. I can't tell any difference. I've also used Nosler 165 Partitions on deer. Can't say that I see any difference on those either, but I use them exclusively on elk now because everybody says they are better. I have also killed one elk with a 150 grain Sierra BT Game King which worked fine.

The only failure to expand I have had was with the original Barnes X which would too often just punch a small hole through a deer. I understand the newer version is better. And, a factory 300 Weatherby which I think they used a Hornady and it did not expand. Probably too much velocity, but who knows. I killed several deer with ammo out of the same box that body slammed the deer right there.

In the end I like the Nosler Partitions for elk and whatever I have on the shelf for deer. But, I got a bad taste for the Barnes X and am not likely to get over it.

[brmfan]

+1 for 165 Gamekings!

[hoghunting]

I use the Hornady 165 gr Interbonds in three different .30 cals., including a 300 WSM. I get the best accuracy and performance with the IB in my rifles.