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Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 864
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 864 |
As a general rule, I lean towards Nosler Ballistic Tips and Sierra Game Kings - accurate, value-priced, and effective. I do use Nosler Accubonds in one rifle and Barnes TTSX in another, both with great success. Also, I use a sprinkling of Hornady FTXs and ELD-Ms.
I'm sure to get flamed, but the only bullet to disappoint (in the last 20 years or so) was a 6.5mm 130gr Berger VLD-H.
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 8,646
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 8,646 |
Favorites-
Nosler Ballistic Tips... I have yet to catch one in a deer. Two holes every time from 270, 7-08, 280, 7 RM, 308 Win.
Nosler Accubond... Same chamberings as above. I caught my first one after it traveled thru 32” of thick hog meat.
Hornady Interlock.... Great performance on deer and hogs. I’ve caught a few that had shed the jacket. Had one to explode like a grenade on a deer shoulder. Paper plate sized wound that was one inch deep. Pretty crazy.
Sierra,...The most accurate bullets I’ve ever loaded. Great deer and hog bullets.
Factory Ammo-
Federal Fusion... Very accurate and kill great.
Remington CoreLokt.... Used them for years before I started rolling my own. No complaints..
Winchester power points.... Used factory ammo before my own loads. No complaints.
Not so good results- Copper Monos Half dozen deer with little to no blood trail. Pencil hole in and out. All critters recovered but damn!!!!
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 8,239 Likes: 19
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 8,239 Likes: 19 |
I had bad experiences on three separate occasions with the 140 Corelokt in early 260 factory loads. Huge entrance holes and very shallow penetration. One blew a 3” hole in the side of a little buck’s neck and failed to break the spine.
Shot a big buck once right beside the butthole with a 180 Silvertip in a factory 30/06. It broke his collarbone when it exited. The next day I shot a big pig square in the shoulder with one out of the same box and it flattened out and failed to even break the scapula.
After the pig incident I started hand loading early X bullets and had great luck with them.
In the last 6-8 years I’ve returned to C&C bullets for most of my hunting and have had good luck with Hornady, Nosler, Sierra, Kodiak, Barnes Originals, Speer, and Norma.
223 My current favorite is the 77 Sierra Tipped Matchking 257 Weatherby is excellent with the 85 Ballistic Tip pushed to warp speed 270 Winchester gets 130 Hornady Spire points 270 Weatherby I like the 130 Etip or Partition 7/08 we’ve had good luck with a big box of old Norma BTSP 150s that sadly I’m out of, probably switch to Ballistic Tips or Hornadys this fall 300 Savage I’ve used more old Normas, Ballistic Tips, and Hornadys all in 150gr and all have been great on deer and bears 30/06 I have a ton of 180 Normas I like but I’ve been transitioning to the 165 boat tail Hornady and the boat tail HP Sierra. The Sierras are pretty destructive but they kill well.
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 19,328 Likes: 27
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 19,328 Likes: 27 |
I had bad experiences on three separate occasions with the 140 Corelokt in early 260 factory loads. Huge entrance holes and very shallow penetration. One blew a 3” hole in the side of a little buck’s neck and failed to break the spine.
Shot a big buck once right beside the butthole with a 180 Silvertip in a factory 30/06. It broke his collarbone when it exited. The next day I shot a big pig square in the shoulder with one out of the same box and it flattened out and failed to even break the scapula.
After the pig incident I started hand loading early X bullets and had great luck with them.
In the last 6-8 years I’ve returned to C&C bullets for most of my hunting and have had good luck with Hornady, Nosler, Sierra, Kodiak, Barnes Originals, Speer, and Norma.
223 My current favorite is the 77 Sierra Tipped Matchking 257 Weatherby is excellent with the 85 Ballistic Tip pushed to warp speed 270 Winchester gets 130 Hornady Spire points 270 Weatherby I like the 130 Etip or Partition 7/08 we’ve had good luck with a big box of old Norma BTSP 150s that sadly I’m out of, probably switch to Ballistic Tips or Hornadys this fall 300 Savage I’ve used more old Normas, Ballistic Tips, and Hornadys all in 150gr and all have been great on deer and bears 30/06 I have a ton of 180 Normas I like but I’ve been transitioning to the 165 boat tail Hornady and the boat tail HP Sierra. The Sierras are pretty destructive but they kill well.
I don't recall ever seeing a deer "collar bone" before.
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,531
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,531 |
6mm Rem. or .243 Win.-100 Grain SGK .250 Savage-115 Grain Combined Technologies Ballistic Tips .257 AI-115 Grain Combined Technologies Ballistic Tips. .270 Win.-130 Grain SGK or 130 Grain Nosler BT .280 Rem.-140 Grain Combined Technologies BT Seven MM Remington Mag. 160 Grain SGK HP. 8mm Mauser-170 Grain Sierra Pro Hunter. 9.3x62-Speer 270 grain Semi Spitzer Hot Core. Kills like Thor's Hammer.
Failures: 6mm Remington-Speer 100 grain SPBT. .270 Win.-130 Grain Speer SPBT. .280 Rem.-Early Nosler BT. Blew up on deers hide causing superficial wound and he jumped a fence onto posted land. 8mm Mauser-150 Grain Hornady Interlock. I believe both Speers in the 6mm Rem., and in the .270 Win., and the Hornady Interlock in the 8mm were complete pass throughs with limited expansion.
Last edited by Filaman; 05/30/20.
What goes up must come down, what goes around comes around, there's no free lunch. Trump's comin' back, get over it!
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 3,370 Likes: 15
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 3,370 Likes: 15 |
My most hated deer bullet ever is the Sierra pro hunter. I shoot these animals to eat them, not blow them up. I think the Sierra would make for a great terrorist bullet however, given the destruction. Disclaimer: I've not used them started at less than 2700 in anything so maybe that's a problem.
I really like partitions, accubonds, and Barnes in various .277-.375 bore rifles. The consistency is addictive, and it's great being able to kill one at any angle presented if one needs to.
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,372 Likes: 7
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,372 Likes: 7 |
My favorites are:
1) Hornady .308 Interlock 165 grain 2) Remington .308 PSPCL 150 grain
These have accounted for the most kills at our camp over the last two decades in 30-06 and 308 WIN.
Before I retired it, my Rem 7600 Whelenizer had the camp record for most deer taken using Remington .358 200 grain SPCL.
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Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 369
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 369 |
The last few years all of my hunting has been done with hand loads. I have yet to shoot a deer with one that hasn’t died very quickly but I do have a favorite. The 150gr Barnes TTSX out of my 308 is definitely my pick. The TTSX is “overkill” for deer in that it’s a tougher construction and costs more than a normal soft point. But every deer I’ve shot with it has dropped in its tracks, one was running towards me and the shot went through the entire body. It’s tough enough to ensure exit and good blood trail (if needed) but I haven’t noticed excessive meat damage.
My favorite factory load is Federal Blue Box, it’s nothing special but it’s the only factory ammo that seems to shoot well in all my guns.
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 7,608 Likes: 3
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 7,608 Likes: 3 |
Yes How about putting most any current design 'medium game' bullet behind the front leg?
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 17,254 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 17,254 Likes: 1 |
Accubonds and Ballistic Tips are my favorites in .264 or above. Partitions in smaller chamberings.
Tough to beat a Fusion or Interlock for factory ammo.
Now with even more aplomb
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 6,405 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 6,405 Likes: 2 |
I load either Barnes TTSX or LRX for all our rifles so that's what I shoot deer with. I understand most bullets work great on deer, but the barnes works well for me both in accuracy and on game performance and I like having less bloodshot meat as an added bonus.
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 983
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 983 |
Used Nolser Ballastic tips 243 to 8mm and Speer 150 30cal Spitzer for years. Had problems with Hornady 150 gn out of a 30-06. They we not loaded hot but splashed twice on deer between 60 and 80 yards. Pretty much soured me. My Dad used to buy 150 30cal from Zero bullet company that did really well on deer.
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 4,426 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 4,426 Likes: 2 |
The newer Nosler Ballistic Tips,150gr in 7mm and 165 or 168gr in 30 cal are about as good as it gets for deer.
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~ As Bob Hagel would say"You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong."Good words of wisdom...............
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Joined: May 2017
Posts: 4,943 Likes: 5
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 4,943 Likes: 5 |
Never had a failure with Barnes TTSX or old Trophy Bonded Bear Claws and way back the 165 Speer Grand Slams. Happy Trails
Life Member NRA, RMEF, American Legion, MAGA. Not necessarily in that order.
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Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 996
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 996 |
I am not a Hornady SST fan. They killed every deer I shot with them. But they expand excessively and ruined more meat than I wanted to see lost.
Partitions, Barnes TSX & TSXT, Hornady Interlock, Speer HOT-COR, Remington Core-Lokt have all worked for me.
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 17,101
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 17,101 |
I've killed a ton of deer with Sierra Game kings, Nosler ballistic tips and Partitions as well whatever bullet is in federal blue box
The government plans these shootings by targeting kids from kindergarten that the government thinks they can control with drugs until the appropriate time--DerbyDude
Whatever. Tell the oompa loompa's hey for me. [/quote]. LtPPowell
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Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 29,007 Likes: 28
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 29,007 Likes: 28 |
Nosler Partitions. Used them in four calibers so far: .308 150, 6mm 100, .257 120, and .277 160s.
For those who like big burping wounds, Sierra 165gr .308 holler points.
What fresh Hell is this?
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Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 3,598 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 3,598 Likes: 2 |
My favorite is the Hornady Interlock .308 165 grain SP flat base out of a 30-06. Every deer I've shot with them has dropped either on the spot or within a few steps. When I used factory loads I pretty much stuck with Remington Core-Loct's. Good results when I did my job. The best factory loads I used were Winchester Ballistic Silver Tips, 168 grain 30-06. Same results as the Hornady's. I don't think I could blame the bullet for any deer I've lost.
Wag more, bark less.
The freedoms we surrender today will be the freedoms our grandchildren will never know existed.
The men who wrote the Second Amendment didn't just finish a hunting trip, they just finished liberating a nation.
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,431 Likes: 7
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,431 Likes: 7 |
I have killed ~ 50 animals...... so what I have to say is just a few anecdotes..
Nos Bal Tip.... the best
Nos accubond..... ok Hornady SST...... ok
Berger VLD hunting... no good
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. -Ernest Hemingway The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.-- Edward John Phelps
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 4,798 Likes: 20
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 4,798 Likes: 20 |
I had bad experiences on three separate occasions with the 140 Corelokt in early 260 factory loads. Huge entrance holes and very shallow penetration. One blew a 3” hole in the side of a little buck’s neck and failed to break the spine.
Shot a big buck once right beside the butthole with a 180 Silvertip in a factory 30/06. It broke his collarbone when it exited. The next day I shot a big pig square in the shoulder with one out of the same box and it flattened out and failed to even break the scapula.
After the pig incident I started hand loading early X bullets and had great luck with them.
In the last 6-8 years I’ve returned to C&C bullets for most of my hunting and have had good luck with Hornady, Nosler, Sierra, Kodiak, Barnes Originals, Speer, and Norma.
223 My current favorite is the 77 Sierra Tipped Matchking 257 Weatherby is excellent with the 85 Ballistic Tip pushed to warp speed 270 Winchester gets 130 Hornady Spire points 270 Weatherby I like the 130 Etip or Partition 7/08 we’ve had good luck with a big box of old Norma BTSP 150s that sadly I’m out of, probably switch to Ballistic Tips or Hornadys this fall 300 Savage I’ve used more old Normas, Ballistic Tips, and Hornadys all in 150gr and all have been great on deer and bears 30/06 I have a ton of 180 Normas I like but I’ve been transitioning to the 165 boat tail Hornady and the boat tail HP Sierra. The Sierras are pretty destructive but they kill well.
Hate to break it to you Kid but deer don't have collarbones. Not sure what animal you were shooting.
The way life should be.
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