Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Hunting with Match Bullets

Unless there was a substantial body of evidence that showed a specific match bullet to be effective on game, I wouldn't use that match bullet on game. Why would I?

What do you plan on using the 150s out of and on what?

I use 162 Amax out of a 280, and 75 Amax in a 223 - both work just fine. I'm almost out of the 7mm Amaxes, but no doubt there will be something else to use. Accurate, work well on animals, what is not to like?

As with so-called "hunting" bullets, there's a wide variation in the construction of "match" bullets.

Some of the worst results I've had on big game have been with bullets supposedly "designed" for big game. Some of the best have been with match bullets.

This has implied (to me, anyway) that a lot of so-called hunting bullets haven't been tested much on big game.

Brilliant paps !!!!!!!!

I’ve used 22, 7mm, and 30 cal match bullets to take deer. Hit em in the goodie and the expire very quickly.

When i lay my hands on a Garand, i can promise you i'll have zero concerns punching a buck in the shoulder with a 168gr Nosler Custom Competition bullet over 47gr IMR-4064, he will die, and i'll cook him on the grill.

It doesn't matter what it says on the box, it matters what it does in the animal.

Has anybody shot a big game animal with one of those? Interested.

Who has used the Hornady eld-m?

I grabbed a couple of boxes of those when they were briefly available in 123gr for my 6.5x55, but I'm not sure what to expect when I use them on antelope and deer.

Those Scenars? Mostly paper, but sometimes a metal plate hanging about 300 yards behind our hunting camp. I’m pretty much committed to 140-Gr Partitions, 154 and 175-Gr Interlocks, and the old Speer Deep Curl bullet (160 and 175-Gr) for hunting loads, all launched from a 7x57 case.

I only started this thread since I keep seeing Snow’s article, and I was wondering what other people’s experience has been.

Using only premium bullets on big game here for last 12-15 years now. So just basically all Berger 6.5 140 VLD. Could not be happier.

Gotcha. Yes Sir, thought that (the Scenars) may have generated the question. I’d use them in a heartbeat in your 7x57...but I’m firmly in the camp that uses “match” bullets on game. MD’s above experiences mirror mine and “match” bullets offer more of what I want than their counterparts.

Have you used these Scenars on game? How did they hold up? I believe you said you pulled some from a 7-08 (peas in a pod).

Son used 180 Scenars at around 2900 fps to take several bull elk, mule deer and bears out to 700 yards. They were classic mushrooms, at least the ones recovered were.

I used one this last season out of a grendel at point blank range, ~2500 fps. Heart shot exited and he ran about 75 yards before expiring. Caliber sized entrance, max wound diameter was 3-3.5 inches with a 1.5 inch exit wound. Plenty of damage and free bleeding trail to follow.

Used 152 gr Sierra Match Kings in my 7mm Rem Mag for years on elk until someone said I should not do that. They always went exactly where I pointed and no elk complained. I acquired a new rifle (30-378) and switched to 180 gr Nosler Combined Technology slugs leaving at 3,385 fps. I've get entry wounds in the kill zone and not found a mark on the far side body cavity of the last 3 bulls. None of those elk complained either. Neither have caribou or moose.

I think a lug nut in the kill zone traveling in excess of 1,200 fps will more than suffice. Placement is the key.

Why would you do that? Would you use a hunting bullet at a match?

Irrelevant.

I have hundreds of hunting bullets, in several calibers, on my shelf. If I should run out of these (unlikely since I'm 72 years old and might shoot ten a year; mostly at paper) I might use some match bullets to shoot at deer but i seriously doubt I'll feel the need. GD