Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 125 grain 30 cal bullets on game?

Well I just came into about 1,300 125 grain 30 caliber bullets in a trade.
I have some Sierras, some Remington Core-Lokts and some Nosler BT "hunting".

In all my years of hand-loading and shooting, I have never used a 125 grain in any of my 30 cal rifles.
I have some 308s, some 30-06s and one 300 H&H.

So.............. Any insights?

Have any of you ever used any of those bullets for hunting before. If so what was your impressions of them? Do they hold together on deer sized game, or blow up?
Tell me your stories please, if you have used them yourself or seen them used by anyone else.

If you push them too fast they'll blow up.

I know guys who have used those to make light loads for their kids and they did alright.

Remington loads, or used to load, 125 grain reduced loads as well.

No on game experience, sorry.

-Jake

Maybe time to work up some coyote loads. Never used anything lighter than 150 gr in 30 caliber myself.

I really like 130 grain monos. The bullets you have need a velocity window on game of 2200-2800 FPS impact speed. I wouldn't be afraid of using the Core-Lokt bullets on deer at the speed I suggested. There used to be a chart of bullets tested at different velocity. I have one somewhere, but couldn't find it if my life depended on it now. Look on the net and you might find it. That will help you understand better what you need to stay withing for velocity to make them work well.

I really like 130 grain monos. The bullets you have need a velocity window on game of 2200-2800 FPS impact speed. I wouldn't be afraid of using the Core-Lokt bullets on deer at the speed I suggested. There used to be a chart of bullets tested at different velocity. I have one somewhere, but couldn't find it if my life depended on it now. Look on the net and you might find it. That will help you understand better what you need to stay withing for velocity to make them work well.

Sell them off and buy some 130 TTSXs. Then rock on.

That’s what I was going to say, get some TTSX 130’s

Use the ones you have for practice or sell them. Be good for pigs.

I worked up a load for my 18" 11 Twist 308 AR10 with 125gr Sierra TMK's and found a sweet spot with IMR 8208XBR. Used them on a few whitetails this season and they worked very good out to 450 yards. I got my drop dialed in out to 500 yards but my longest shot was 450 yards so it worked out good.
I have a new box of 125 Nosler BT's but havent gotten around to testing them.

A friend of mine uses the 125 Ballistic Tip out of a 308 Win. handgun and he's had great results on deer. I think he's getting about 2800 fps out of them.

My oldest son has shot all of his deer to this point in his life with the 125 CoreLokt from a 30-06 loaded to about 2700 muzzle velocity.

We have never recovered a bullet, and he has made some ridiculous shots by choice and by accident (hip, texas heart shot, liver-guts-to-lungs) as well as good broadside shots on some does and a couple of very large-bodied bucks.

We've all come to trust that combo to get it done if you hit them with it. It is what Remington loads in their Managed Recoil line also.

Not with those bullets. I use 125 grain Accubonds over Win 748 in my AR-10. Have shot Whitetails and pigs with very good results. I have a 16" barrel so not sure of the velocity.

I had good performance with the Nosler 125 BT in my 30 Herrett 14" Contender. At roughly .30-30 speeds, they perform just like heavier BTs at higher speeds - which is to say perfectly. Like the 120 BT in 7mm, they are true big-game bullets when launched at the proper speed.

Load them to right at 2400 fps and you will be pleasantly surprised in all ways.

ABSOLUTELY!!. In any 30 CAL from 308 on up they will take elk cleanly. Deer don't stand a chance. Will shoot thru two side by side. At 3250 to 3300FPS out of an 06 .Push them out of your 30 cal mag as fast as you can. Won't explode or fly apart. Won't blood shot meat like C&C bullets. Must be tried to understand.. They out penetrate heavier cup & core bullets with ease. Ever recover a Partition 150gr. It will weight 90 to 95grs. It will be rare to recover a homogeneous copper bullet.From my experience it will require a length wise body shot to recover one & not every time. They tend to retain 100% of their weight which means no loss of momentum which translate to deeper penetration. I have numerous mono's I've recovered from the dirt bank behind by 100yd target that still weigh what they weighted when shot. When it comes to elk this is the only bullet I want. It will penetrate thru heavy muscle & bone with ease. Try one on your next hog hunt. You won't want to go back to cup & core.
If you want to use C&C 125grs do you best to make rib cage hits. They will work fine here with dynamite kills. but don't hit a shoulder or a ham. It will be destroyed.

I've met a number of deer hunters around here that load 125 BTips in 308 at full velocity. They love them, and claim they never have any problems with blowups or lack of penetration.

Mu personal experience has shown the Nosler BT to be explosive. Rib cage shots only. Shoulder hits are vile, destructive. . The Sierra 125gr 30cal far tougher than the BT's. If I were to use a 125gr it would be the Sierra.. No BS I promise you.

Hesp, what era BT's were those? And what cartridge?

Planning on trying a 125 in my .308 this fall, probably Accubonds.

sz, I shot one buck with a 125 gr. Sierra out of my .300 Win.. It was a small ranch and I wanted the bullet to blow up if I missed.. It did a perfect job, but one deer doesn't mean much..
I also used 125 BTBT's in one .300 to shoot coyotes.. Wow, talk about explosions!!!! I would feel ok with the Sierras in the o6, the others might be good in a .308 or loaded down for game.. I have some 125 Rem.. But never shot any game with them, not even coyotes..

I load the 150 GameKings for my 308, because they are cost effective, accurate, and kill cshit out of deer and pigs. I was always a magnum guy, but the 308 kills just as well.

Steve, I've used the Sierras and the Core-Lokts on hogs through a .30-30, a .308, and a .30-06. Don't push them hard and they will perform like a heavier bullet. Around 2,600 - 2,700fps MV will get the job done. All of my .30 cal rifles have 1:10" twist barrels and shoot them just fine.

As with several others here, I have switched to Barnes 130gr TTSX for my .30 cal. deer & hog hunting. Barnes says the TTSX will expand down to 1,800fps, but I've never shot one at a distance where they might be traveling that slow. All I really know about them is that they are really accurate and kill stuff way out of proportion to their weight.

Someone here is probably looking for those 125's to build their new shooter a reduced recoil load. Sell them and buy 130gr TTSX's.

IIRC, ~54.0gr of IMR-4064 is the sweet spot in my .30-06 for the 130gr TTSX.

Ed

I use Nosler 125 in my daughters 308
She got her 1st deer this fall at 215 yards