Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Round nose bullets

I loaded Sierra 150gr RN bullets for my Savage 99. The load did a great job. Anyone else using RN bullets when they aren't required like for a tube magazine?

Funny you mention it, I use Sierra 180 grain RN for my .303 Savage 99.

I load 150gr RN sierras for my 270 and 117gr RN for my sons 257.

I use 150gr Remington CLs (round nose) in my 303 savage.

I have two boxes of older Remington .30 170 gr round nose hollow points I am going to develop a load for in a Savage 99-EG.

Doc

The 150 Rem CL at around 2300 has always performed very well for me on large body whitetail at short range. When they didn't exit, the mushroom was textbook.

Not a good picture but you can see the cannelure ring. I can seat these bullets this far out and the round cycles perfectly. I tried a dummy round with a 150gr partition seated out so the bullet wasn't into the case enough to hinder the powder amount and the round didn't want to eject.

I have used the factory Rem. load for the .257 Rbts on whitetails before, which is a 117 gr RN load. Worked great

Not for deer, but I sure like Sierra's 220 gr RN for close in elk

I used 180 grain RN Core-lokt factory loads in my 30-06 for deer before. They worked great.

I shoot a lot of Hornady 154gr RN's in my 708 Rem. They shoot great in my Montana and based on the deer I've killed with them they are equal to a premium bullet.

I really liked the Hornady 6.5mm 160gr Round Nose in my M-96 Swede. Can't seem to find them anymore.

Some time back, I found 2 boxes of 150gr Winchester bullets for reloading on GB. The then (and following) 30-30's all love them. For some reason beyond my comprehension, they are easily the best I have found.

Essere sicuro

Patty

The Hornady .25 cal 117 gr Roundnose is probably my favorite whitetail bullet. Its been accurate in every cartridge I've used it in.

Even works out of the small .223 cased 25-45 Sharps.

I have had a box of .270 Hornady 150 Gr RN for 15 yrs . I loaded them this fall but never used them . They are hard to find.

Same here , seems that load and a 760 carbine just go together.

Yeah, I use "modern" 130's in my Sako 6.5x55, but in the old Swede it's the 160 grain Hornady RN at about 2300 fps that really sings.

I use a roundnose 180gr Hornady Interlock for my as-issued M1896 Krag-Jorgensen. I've killed a nice mature whitetail doe with it. Spectacular performance.

When I first started reloading in 1973 the RN bullet was thought to have better "brush busting" capabilities. I actually took my first and biggest whitetail handload with a 180 gr. Hornady RN, it worked just fine. The buck field dressed 254# and went only 30 yds. after a front on chest shot. In recent years I have been loading spitzer bullets in my .257 Roberts and .35 Whelen. A 225gr. Sierra spitzer accounted for my most recent whitetail, a chest shot produced a complete pass thru with significant blood trail on both sides and a dead deer after going only 30 yds.. I would not be adverse to going back to RN bullets especially since most of my shooting opportunities are 100 yds. or less.

I read an article Terry Weiland wrote a while back about loadind for the savage 99 in .300. He ended up finding that the Speer 150 grn round nose stabilized best and worked best for overall length.

200 gr RN is my favorite bullet for 358 on deer.

Dave - no disrespect at all.

The last time I used a RN was in a 94, that was 1974.

Jerry

I've had great success with that bullet also, both in terms of accuracy and terminal performance.

Seems to me that John B., either in an article or a post here, took the wind out of the sails of the idea that pointy bullets were all that much ballistically superior to round nose bullets for any kind of hunting purposes.

There's no doubt that round nose bullets just look a lot cooler in many cartridges.

I use them for sub-sonic loads

I've used them in a lot of rifles. 150gr, 154gr, 117gr, 180gr, 165gr, 250gr. From .25-.358cal.

They all worked great at the -50 yards I've shot deer with them.

The only deer that took a step after being shot with them was the 117gr in .257 Roberts.

They kill hell outta elk too!

I would think that there is not a lot of difference under 200 yards or so

For my part, I have not found any great discernable difference between spitzer and round nose bullets at any range I have tried, even at 1000 yds. I find that boat tails vs flat base do show enough difference to merit some discussion, depending on velocities and distance. At my normal hunting ranges, niether are of great concern to me. Still fun to argue though!

None taken.

I'm NOT saying I don't believe you but...
past 200 yds--that's hard to believe.

NOTE - I admit I haven't used ANY R N in any CF except 30-30 SO I have not tried them.


***It seems to me that IF a minor diff in the BT makes some diff>>>>>R N vs "Spritzers" outta show up.

AGAIN, I haven't tried them.
---------------------

Dave WV - thank you.

Jerry

200 Hornady worked great in my TC Contender Carbine .35 rem.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't done any indepth studies of this either. When I lived in Walsenburg, CO, I didn't have alot of discretionary money, so I spent a lot of weekends at Whittington Center cause housing on non-competative weekends was cheap. I would reload all kinds of weird combinations of stuff to play with on the various ranges. On the 1000 yd range I really didn't see much difference. Maybe a 16" group vs a 14" group, hard to tell on a box or two of ammo at that range with poor optics to site with. Now the BT bullets vs FB did show some greater differences in grouping and amount of drop at that range, but there again this was small samples with poor optics and plain hunting rifles. Lot of variables in all that, but enough to convince me that at normal hunting ranges of 50 to 450 yds, it really doesn't matter that much as long as the combination of componets works accurately with your equipment and you have the skill to release it accurately. Just my humble opinion.

Watch out!

The rifle and ammunition companies have sold "American Sniper" to us for some time, they may see this and start a "Retro" fad to get sales moving again.

Iron sights, round nose bullets....yikes!!

I mistakenly picked up a box of 150 gr Corelokt bullets several years ago meaning to get pointed bullets. I was out of town and not worth trying to return them. I loaded them at about 2400 fps for my 308. Accuracy was acceptable, but not anything to brag about and I'm sure they'd kill a deer if I hit one. I still have a few loaded up and used them for plinking at the range.

I thought anything less slippery than a VLD bullet would not have enough energy at 100 yards to even penetrate a deer, much less kill it.

I've been using the 154 RN's in my 7mm-08 for many years and when discontinued by Hornady bought 6 boxes on closeout. At Northeast deer ranges, they work great and very accurate, never caught one in a deer. At 7mm-08 velocities I would not hesitate to take on a moose or elk. Years ago I shot the 150, 165 and 180's in 308's and 30-06's and never had a gun not shoot them accuaretly

Yeah, there's that whole "way over penetration" thing.

Have used them in several calibers and at least the Rem. Horn. & Sierras all seemed to perform really consistently.

Some of this is they were the old style Corelockt which were a little tuffer and the other companies had similar jackets. The fact that typically the bullets were mid to heavy for caliber an ran slower probably helped.

John "Pondoro" Taylor was a big fan of the "blue nose" Kynoch loads and also thought that terminal performance was more consistent with them. It should be as it is an old design that has had lots of time to perfect.

I would not feel handicapped at all out to 300 yards or so if I was limited only to round nose slugs.

That said I loaded a bunch of Horn. 160 6.5s and at least two writers have called them one of the most inconsistent bullets they have used. No idea why as ones shot in test media looked good. Not sure if I will get a chance to find out this season though. But would like to try some on my favorite test media Feral Hogs.

I use them in 257 Roberts...

Most of my shooting while hunting is 250 yds or under...

I prefer Round Nose bullets with high sectional density, when you can find them anymore...

Seems everyone wants a 'premium' bullet with a 500 yds load, capable of dropping a bull elephant at 500 yds instantly...

to take a skinny whitetail at 75 yards back home...

in a perfect world, there would be the availability of good old RNs like their was back in the 1950s...

John, maybe in a few years they will be "rediscovered".

Not likely Dave they aren't PC here on the fire they just deflect and fly off into space you know!

Here's Hornady's logo:



Half of it is round nose bullets. But for some reason they have taken leave of their senses and decided to market to zombie hunters and those pursuing rocket science, and they have dropped many fine round nose options for many calibers. I still buy them when I can find them, but Hornady lost me as a regular customer.

In the cedar swamps here in Michigan, where you don't want the buck tottering off, the quick expansion of that large frontal area is just what the doctor meat processor ordered. Red wool plaid, back tags to hold your license, and general woods savvy still appeal to me.

Round noses fit the bill for many a hunt. Wake up Hornady.

+1, just make it the hills, laurel thickets and cedar swamps of New England

Round nosed bullets put more shock on the target at point of impact than do spitzers. Consider this: a spitzer acts like a hypodermic needle at impact. A round nosed bullet acts like a broom handle. Given that, which one would you rather have jammed up your azz?

I have hunted with round nosed bullets for years, and they flat out work.

I use em whenever I can if not hunting the wide open. I like the quick initial expansion and seemingly larger entrance holes. Combine with moderate velocity for less meat damage, and normally and exit hole - just right for me.

Used a blunt bullet in 9.3x62 this year, great blood trail which started right away.

Manufactures produce what customers are willing to buy. You can lay the blame at Hornady's feet if you want, but it's the general public that's at fault. If Hornady's not producing them, it's because the general public at large isn't buying. Which is too bad as some cartridge look "just right" with a round nose on top.

My kids have killed some pretty big bucks with 6mm 100 grain round nose bullets out of a Handi- rifle.

This thread got me thinking about "the old days". I just got a box of Hornady 30 caliber 180 gr round nose interlock bullets for a Rem 760 30-06 I recently picked up.

I took 3 whitetails with round nose bullets this season; 2 were shot with 150 core-loct from a 99 featherweight in 300 savage and 1 with a 117 core-loct from a 257 Roberts. Shots were from 30-240 yards and all bullets exited. Couldn't ask for any better performance.

Lots of bullets went by the wayside after Sandyhook as manufacturers concentrated on best sellers. I wonder if they will ever return.

117gr .257" Factory 2nd RN:


https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2...rain-round-nose-box-of-100-bulk-packaged


170gr 8mm RN:


https://www.midwayusa.com/product/3...rain-round-nose-box-of-100-bulk-packaged

170gr. 8mm round nose is what i use the most in my BRNO 8x57.

I had a Sako in 270 that wouldn't shoot pointed bullets very well. I would shoot sub inch groups with 150 grain round nose bullets.

A few years back when I learned that Hornady was discontinuing the 154 gr. 7mm RN, I found two boxes in a small gun shop. The shop owner knew the rarity of this bullet - the price indicated he was quite proud of them. I bought them and have never opened either box since I had a mostly full box on hand.
I do not need them. PM me if you need them.
These bullets are awesome performers in the 7x57 & the 7mm-08.

I'm switching to Sierras for my C&C bullets because Hornady has dropped the RN and most of the spitzer C&C line up. Hornady can bite me for bullet sales.

I shoot the Hornady .25 117 gr round nose in my 250/3000, got the load from Steelhead. I also tried the Hornady .25 117 gr SST bullet which I used on a Buck and a Doe this year.

Bullet performance was stellar at 171 and 183 yards respectively. I will be using the 117 gr round nose next week for the late season.

I have 200 of Remingtons 270 150 gr round nose bullets waiting for a reasonably priced Remington 7600 in .270 to come along.

Doc

I use Hornady 117 RN sometimes in my 25-06.
I use only 160 gr RN in my 6.5X54 Mannlicher
I use 150 gr Remington RN in 2 of my 270 Winchester rifles.
I use 180 gr RN sometimes in my 308s, and I also use 220 gr RN in my 300 H&H and sometimes in my 30-06s
I use 300 grain RNs a lot in my 375H&H

So yes, I like RN bullets. Not in all my rifles, but in some.

Round nose bullets are often accurate because they engage the lands much sooner than more pointy bullets. They're a close range affair though.

I really like them in my Savage 1899s and other rifles.

I use them from time to time in my 300& 303 Savages (180 Speer Hot Cor), 117gr Hornady RN in my 257 Wetherby and 220gr Hornady RN in my 300 Weatherby. All performed well.

Doc

Would you mind sharing (even in a PM)? I'm starting to reload for my Ruger M77 and that is the bullet I have chosen.

it's interesting that i started out with RN core-lokts in 30-06. always had those choices at Wal-mart. now, they don't even carry them, just the psp.

I've always been amazed that the 117 Hornady apparently works well in everything from the 25-35 to the 257 WM.

I've killed more deer with round nose bullets than pointed. Most have been 150 or 170 grains spit out of a .30-30 but have also used 200's out of a .35 Remington and 180's out of a .30-06.

I'm not sure what would be considered long range, in my neck of the woods 2-300yds is a long shot. The RN bullets i've used in 7mm, .308 and .277 can handle those ranges with ease, especially in the right cartridge.

I'm late getting to this post,but here's why I use the 175 RN in my 7x57. Although I have a 30-06 and a 280, my 7x57 is my go-to gun for most of my hunting. This is mainly deer and pigs around 100yrs. If I know my shots I'll choose the 175s because they open well at the slower speeds and don't destroy much meat. As you might or not know a pigs 'vitals' are basically between the shoulders, unlike a deer's. I can shoot through the shoulder, the bullet will expand yet not destroy much meat. It kills just as fast as my 150 partitions, with a lot less 'shock' blood damage. Captdavid

I've used the 180 gr. Hornady RN quite a bit and like how it works. Recently I've also used the Hornady 170 gr. 8mm bullet in my 8 x 57. The rifle shoots well, but best with those. It seems to work a little better on deer than the 195 gr. SP.

8x57 - 170 Horn. RN
300 Win. Mag. - Best 100 yd. 3 shot group for me. 180 Horn. RN. 1 hole. You had to look very close to see the other 2. That was 1974, haven't done that since.

I had a Sako 270 L-61. It would not shoot spitzer bullets. Did well with round nose bullets.

Used a Hornady 200 gr RN in my .358 Win. last few seasons and I have a bunch of corlokts for my .35 Rem. Also have .30 cal RN 180s and 220s on hand but haven't loaded them yet.

Dave, I used to load some 220's for my .300.. We hunted mostly open country,strip mines, farms,etc. But on the same hunt I might spend a few hours sitting in a stand in the timber... The 220 shot to the center at 100 yards while my high speed load shot 3" high.. Worked like a charm.. I killed several with the 220's..

Where can I find .243 and .277 reloading bullets?

Good luck finding any RN bullets these days.

Lapua Naturalis 90 grain for 243 is lead free and expensive.
Hornady and Speer are not conspicuously out of stock if listed at all.

Probably never find Winchester 130 Power point in 270 again. But you can get Hawk round Nosed bullets. Again, not the cheapest and subject to a wide spectrum of opinions on them.
http://hawkbullets.com/masterList.html#/

I use Hornady's 180 grain Interlock RN in my 308 Win. when I am hunting in the thick stuff. This bullet is deadly accurate.

You have to keep an eye on sites like Gunbroker for new old stock and hope they aren't treating them like gold.

GB has some .277 150 Federal RN's pulled from cartridges listed on there right now.

They retain 100% weight?

The first 5 shot MOA group (1.05 as best I could measure) I ever shot was with the 100 gr 6mm Hornady bullet out of my 243 in about '66. I never shot a deer with one but pre-interlock bullets I think they still would have worked.