Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles .308” RN Bullets ???

Hey to All,
Just a quick survey of those hunters that use 30 caliber ROUND NOSE bullets.....
Which weight and brand do you prefer and why?

Looking to change things up in my handloads for nostalgia reasons.

Thanks, Tom

I like Speer for cup n core bullets. I shot some of their 180 grain roundnose bullets in my .308 with reduced loads and was surprised by the accuracy. Worth a try. If Hornady still made the 270 grain roundnose .375 I'd be scooping up a few boxes. My gun likes the Federal 270 grain RN factory load.

I used to load Hornady 150 RN's at 2400 fps for my niece to shoot in her 308, until she got old enough to shoot 150's at full power.

I used Varget, got good accuracy and she knocked down a pile of deer and hogs with that combo for years.

Hornady and speer 180's, in factory ammo 180 core lokt's

Been using Hornady bullets in the 308 win.and the 30-06.

My friend has used them for years and they have always worked.

These are the 150 grain.

I used a 180gr. Hornady RN to harvest the biggest whitetail I've ever take in 1974. Back in the day most hunters I knew shooting .308's used 180gr. RN bullets, those who didn't reload shot Remington Core-lokts.

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I load 150gr RN for my Savage 99 300 Sav.

Hornady 180 GR RN Interlock and Remington 180 GR RN Core Lokt.

I’ve always felt that they were essentially the same.

I have 308 RN bullets Remington CL's, 150 grain and 170 grain. I shoot them in my 30-30 and my 30-40 Krag.

I prefer the 170's.

Back during the first really scary ammo buying mania (there have been a few).. I ordered and received a sleeve of the (much hated in print...) 150 Sierra RNs. Just to have on hand. Loaded light for two friend's first deer hunts the bullets went 4 for 4. I have 2 Krag Contender barrels my usual load of Varget produced groups of .35" at 50 yards in a 22" and the usual 3/4' out of the Super 14. Got some real 30/150s and mostly forgot about the Sierras.Two years ago I revisited the T/C s and shot a few really good 100 and 200 yard groups. A purchase of a Savage F class got me back into after a 20 year cooling off period...into the boring world of .308 Winchester. The gun shoots 165 SSTs at 2.49" at 600 yards I was going to fireform up some new brass so why not waste some Sierras? They go 5 bullets into .4" all day any day. Nothing makes one an expert like reading what the experts say about...( fill in the blank) !

The thing you have to remember is that magazine articles are written to sell magazines, not necessarily to convey the facts.

Love round nosed bullets for several applications. finding any in today's world is the issue! You may have to order from "boutique" bullet makers ( i.e Hawk Precision) or Woodleigh (they have many round nosed bullets) Good luck to you pard1

Consider the Nosler 170 gr partition. I have not used them, but they're available. I'd expect them to expand easily and penetrate well. Someone on this forum has probably tried them in a .308 or .30-06.

I have used the now extinct Winchester 180 grain Power Point round nose bullets in my 30/06 on several antelope. I HATE Remington Cor-Lok bullets after having a number of failures including one last year fired at a small doe mule deer using the older stronger round nose bullets of the 60's. The one Remington round nose I have used on several elk, antelope and deer that has not failed me YET is the older hollow point Cor-Lok bullets. These had no lead exposed and a heavy jacket. I have recovered several from elk over the years.

Those are a favorite bullets in my .30'06 and I've had more DRT results using these than any other. I have less than a 100 left.

Tom,

It's really a function of where you hunt. Back east, and down south where distances tend to be shorter, round nose, and flat nose bullets are a great option for all the reasons mentioned above.

Out here in the wide open west west distances can be a lot longer.....they typically are not the best option.

I saw 150RN hdy on the shelf last week.
200 or is it 220s on their website..

The property owner was driving, the spot light was out and the rules were simple, if it eats grass or drinks water, we were to shoot it. The Ute (an open backed car/small truck that is immensely common and popular with both rural and tradesman use in Oz) had a cage to minimize unintended shooter relocation to the ground and the driving was fast across ground the navigator knew well, which means he drove fast and stopped faster. Many thousands of culls are done this way and this particular property owner had been culling this land since 1964 and was losing ground.

On this particular occasion, I was using a Model 70 Featherweight in .30/06 and had been cleaning up odd bullets from my shelf including round nose bullets of differing weight and brand but the point is, that this guy tended to pause after I shot and called the round nose bullets when used. Never missed a call. They do sound different when they hit, but you tend to notice that more when you are killing several dozen animals over a couple, 3 hours or so, where it gets too cold to stay out much longer. Yep, Aussies get cold because of their thin blood from the hot climate.

It becomes easier to notice trends in bullet performance and RN bullets have an impressive track record as hunting bullets, particularly where the ranges are under 200 yards which means 99% of shots on game. I would still grab some old stock laying around when it is found.

I've use the Hornady 180 RN in the .30-'06 for deer and black bear. They worked well enough that I'd do it again, but I'm using other thing at the moment.

Hornady makes a 220 RN. I have Hornady 180 RN and Sierra 220s in 30 cal, and 35 cal Hornady 200s and 250s.