0.30 Cal Hornady BTHP National Match - any good for hunting?

[Dannyl]

Hi All,
In a month or so I am off to do some hunting. (Springbuk, Kudu and Oryx)
so far I have always used Hornady Interlocks 180Gr SP and BTSP.

At the moment there is a terrible shortage here, but I have some 0.30 Cal Hornady BTHP National Match.

Has anyone used them for hunting? How did they perform?

I will be shooting at ranges from 100 Meters to 250-300 .

If anyone of you has experience with these, please can you share it with me?

Thanks,
Danny

[Dannyl]

I forgot to mention, I use a Remington 700, 30-06

[snuffy]

I don't know about Hornady match hollowpoints, but sierra matchkings have been used for hunting for a long time. Now, I know what sierra has to say about that, but I also know that a lot of people have hunted with them with great success.

The problem with a match hollow point is that they may NOT expand at all. The opening in the HP is so small, it can get plugged with hair or fat and not open up. Then you have in effect used a FMJ with just a caliber sized hole straight through an animal.

If it were me, I'd shoot some into water filled jugs, around here, I use gallon milk jugs. If they bust a jug, like a soft point exposed lead bullet, I'd think they'd expand on a small medium sized animal.

[MuscleGarunt]

Mammals are not bullet proof. If you shoot it in the right place it's going to die.

[Slamfire]

(Springbuk, Kudu and Oryx)

We have imported Oryx in the US. These are 700 pound animals, not the 120-150 pound deer that most Americans are familiar.

Would anyone recommend using match bullets on Griz?

I would not use any thin jacketed target bullet on any African animals. I have had on one deer, the core separate from the jacket of a Norma hunting round. Likely it was a small deer, not some massive beastie, so it did not go far. That convinced me that bullet integrity was important.

Find the proper bullets.

[Dannyl]

Hi All,
thanks for replying.
In the meatime I have managed to get 100 BTSP Hornady 180Gr interlocks.

I have used these before and they are accurate & reliable.

Regards,
Danny

[darkgael]

The BTHP bullet mentioned is a match type bullet. The HP design is to improve it's flight characteristics - drag, etc. It is not designed to expand. It would (will/does) make a .30 cal hole in whatever is shot.
"Good shot placement" is, of course, the ideal but it is an expression often used to justify a marginal shooting choice. You can kill a moose with a .22 short, a poacher's trick on a swimming animal, a brain shot. You can kill a wild boar with a .177 caliber pellet gun - it's been done - with good shot placement. Does that mean that hunting with a .177 pellet gun is a good idea? The .30 cal rifle is certainly a step up from those examples but the BTHP bullet is still a marginal as opposed to optimal choice. (and then there is the solid bullet - no expansion. What about that you might ask?)
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
The BTSP is a way better choice.
Pete

[Dannyl]

Hi,
First, I need to clarify something; I am very careful in making sure that I use the right bullet for hunting. So far, the Hornady interlocks have worked perfectly on anything from Kudus to Impalas, and I was not about to experiment with the match bullets unless I had positive feedback from someone who had used them successfully.

I agree with those who say that animals are not bullet proof, but disagree with the presumption that shot placement is all that counts.

I spent too many years in the wrong neighbourhood back in the early 80's and I have seen more than one person surviving after being shot in the lungs with a non-expanding 0.30 or 0.223 bullet. An animal shot with a bullet that does not ( at least) incapacitate it immediatly may run a good distance before falling, and it will die slowly and painfully.

I am greateful to all of you who responded.

Regards,

Danny