Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Federal Power-Shok good for culling and doe hunting expeditions?

I guess that Federal must really be pushing their ammo loaded with premium bullets, as they are describing the lower cost Power-Shok cup & core ammunition as being "... good quality standard bullets to do the job on game. It's perfect for culling and doe hunting expeditions." I've always liked Federal ammo, even the Western Auto "Revelation" house-brand stuff. I wonder if it is a suboptimal brand of ammo to shoot trophy bucks with it, since it is advertised as being only perfect for shooting cull bucks and does.

www.federalpremium.com

Jeff

Of course they want you to spend the maximum amount of money possible - thats just good business for Federal. You know, like I know, that a 130 grain Powershok in a .270 WIN, will kill a trophy buck just as dead as a 130 grain Federal Premium with a TSX bullet will. I don't blame Federal for selling up (just like all car companies - you don't need leather seats in a Silverado to drive to Dallas, cloth will get you there just fine) and that silver box ammo works just fine too.

I have kids, so I'll never have another car with a cloth interior again, unless somebody gives 1 to me! I need leather!

Besides, I like shooting deer with 80 grain Power-Shok factory loads in my 243s and 6MMs.

Jeff

I went on a out of town hunt, and did not take my own rifle. I was carrying a .22-250 through out the hunt. On the last morning, a hunter killed a deer so I got to carry his .270. He was shooting 130 "cheap" federal soft points. This buck and bobcat stepped out and they both succombed to the "culling and do hunting" bullet.

Shot 6 deer last fall with the low price Federal power shok bullets, 150 grain .308. Four mule deer, two small, two big, and one big whitetail buck. All were quick kills, of the three bullets recovered, all were just over 100 grains and a perfect mushroom shape. I'd still use premiums for elk or moose, but not for deer.

I guess it is just marketing, but I am sure there isn't a deer around here that wants to stop one of those doe culling projectiles.....

The Power Shok 150 grain soft point fired from my .30-06 does a good job of culling any deer that I shoot with it. If you do your part, the bullet will do its part on a deer. I stocked up on these bullets last year when Wal-Mart put them on sale for $9.99 per box and here lately I have been buying up 150 and 180 grain Power Points because the local Wal-Mart has had them marked down to $9.99 per box this year. Just about any soft point bullet in an appropriate weight is good enough to kill a deer. If I was hunting larger animals, I probrably would want a more heavily constructed bullet, but for deer just about any bullet will work.

My wife's post '64 M70 in .243 will shoot (honest) under an inch with Fed blue box 100 gn at 100 yards. We tried some of the high priced spread, and it was no change or larger groups. Ya gotta love a rifle with cheap tastes :-)

Have a new rifle in .30-06 and went out with several boxes of leftover factory ammo, just to see what it would like. Low and behold, the Federal Power-shok was the best shooting of the group. 4 shots at 0.56 inches. That and as mentioned above, about $10.00 a box at Wal-Mart. Almost hard to reload for that money and accuracy. It is just me, but if I do take that rife out after game larger than deer, I will probably switch to a handload with a premium bullet of some type.

In recent years I have killed deer with Power-Shok in 300 Savage, 308 Win, and .30-'06. I shot the deer and they died, I don't know what more I could ask. In short good enough for my hunting, and I suspect good enough for yours.

It's amazing how hunters have been brainwashed into believing that they have to have the latest "magic bullet" to kill game. How the heck did hunters manage to make meat with plain old Hi-Shoks, Core-Lokts, Power Points & Silvertips? Somewhere along the line it became mandatory to use boattail bullets even when the range never exceeds 100 paces. Amazing. Regarding the formerly "Red Box"/"Silver Box" and now "Blue Box" Federals, my 700 BDL .300 Savage consistently places the 150 gr Federal load into 1/2" all day long and no other factory or handload can touch it.

Of all the ammo I have shot from my .30-06, the blue box Federals were the worst. I can't get them to group for any thing. I have a box for my .30-30, but have yet to shoot them through it. Anymore, I am all about cheap ammo. I was paying $24 a box for BT's 3 years ago, same box now $45.

I have a Remington 700 that has been rebarreled with a Remington 725 barrel in 244. Since this barrel has a 1 in 12" rate of twist rifling, I am shooting the last of my old Federal 80 grain Red/Black box 6mm ammo into 1+/- MOA groups. I have had good luck shooting 243, 6mm, 7x57, 30-30, 300 Savage, 32 Win Spl, and 8x57 into groups as good as the rifle and shooter were capable.

Jeff

The only factory ammo I fired thru my recently rebarreled 30-06 was Blue Box 150 grain and I was really impressed. 3 shots in 3/4 of an inch.

It's great ammo and it's pretty much all i use because it's super accurate in my 243 and 308's and kills game dead as a hammer.
Also as has been mentioned earlier can be bought really cheap at times.
How accurate is it??
In my little Remington 600 243 when i am on it can put three shots that can be covered with a dime and with my 308 a nickel.
How much more can one ask for????

Glad most people have had good luck with the BLue Box Federal. I'm not trying to knock it, just my .30-06 does not like it. My faher in-law gets the same results from his 30-30 with teh blue box as he does with Rem Corlockts. If I can ever find some for my .243, I'll give them a try. I was using the Fusions in it last 2 years, but they went from $16.99 a box to $19.99 a box, and when I left last month for the sandbox, I priced them at $36.99 a box.

Moose don't like that bullet. I can't imagine why deer would, either.

I shoot the federal blue box 150 gr in my savage 99 308. It will shoot 1/2" to 3/4" 3 shot groups. And I killed a large ferral
hog this last spring, DRT with a golf ball size exit hole right behind the sholder. Great ammo for the money.

Federal blue box 308 will group under 1" in my LTR.
Federal GMM will shoot 1/2" in the same rifle.
Deer don't know the difference.

Using it in both my .243's now. Great accuracy and first animal this year was a big hog at 298 lasered yards. DRT.
Should be fine for a whitetail half that size.

stumpy