Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada Do you use a premium bullet for deer?

Steve

May I inject my reasons for using premium bullets?
I want to.
I love testing out the "new", it is fun for me. The newest turkey premium loads, TTSX, on deer, Accubonds, and the list goes on. Exploring, experimenting, new horizons, hunting new territory, testing new powders, are all a joy to me. I even own and shoot a 300WSM. (Works great with 180 TSX an Newfoundland Moose) I have shot nearly every weight premium I know of through it.

I don't need premiums. In fact it was a plain ole lead 40 grain .22 long rifle that took my first whitetail. Shot a pile of them with a model 64 Win. 32 Spl. with round nose 170 factory stuff and I know the tired old 30-06 will do it all, but I like the new.

I can say that having the same great wife for the past 50 years has been a new adventure every day. So has been following Jesus around this state. (NY) They are about the only two constants in my life.

I love variety and My Lord has promised an abundant life. Neither of which I could experience sticking with the old, tired and reliable unchanged of this world.

Amazing as it may be I even have a computer.

Hunt deer with premiums? Sure do. 'Cause I want to and can.

The best to you Steve.

Dwayne,

I have also toted the monsters a quarter at a time across portages on a stretcher made out of a couple small spruce trees . . . . ask medicman . . .. . he was on the other end of the stretcher! Earned every bite of the meat we got from that one, and he fell in waste deep ice cold water. (Think high pitched descant little girl screams as the gonads disappear somewhere warmer. )

One poster said it well: "I tend to work up a hunting load with one great bullet and use it for everything, deer included."

I agree, I have shot more moose than I care to try to remember, most all with 150gn Cor'locs or Interlocks out of a .280
I use the same combo for quite a bit of my whitetail hunting.
A shot thru the boiler of any animal from moose down works fine with standard bullets.
Not saying there's not a place for premiums, if I was to go chasing moose with a 250sav, Partitions would def be in the chamber or if I were to hunt where game might be hunting me

I am shocked. It is shocking that you confess to shooting cor'locs or Interlocks which (as the names imply) are modifications to improve cup & core bullets. How could you!!! You have betrayed the purity of using 19th century unimproved cup & core technology!! The point of this thread is to satirize anyone who uses bullet improvements developed since about 1920. But even more shocking is that you shoot these improved bullets in a .280! At least I was a purist and shot 150 Corlocks (sp?) out of a 30-30. (Incidentally, that is a superb deer killing combo.)

I hope you realize this is all tongue in cheek funning. 150 cor�locs in a .280 is a classy combo. Good for you!

My journey started with cor'locs in a 30-30. I went to Sierras in a 30-06 after I started hand loading. After a LOT of game killed I had noticed obvious shortcomings and inconsistencies in terminal bullet performance in both cor-locs and Sierras. I went to Nosler Partitions, and then to Swift A-frames for everything for many years.

My fairly extensive observation is that better constructed bullets perform better inside game --- and of much more importance to me--- they do it FAR more consistently than cup and core. I cheerfully concede that anyone may use whatever he chooses and hold any opinion he wants as to why others may choose a different bullet. One of my confident opinions is that there are bullets constructed to perform significantly better than cup and core designs � and so I use them for large critters with deer thrown in.

There have been some great responses - even from people that admit to using jacketed bullets!

On another thread I said that there was a fellow going through the checkout at Epps today who paid $47.99 ($54.23 with taxes. 13% GST here in Onterrible) for 20 Federal 30-30 cartridges. They were loaded with Barnes TSX bullets.

Part four or five of this discussion: We've talked about using premium bullets on deer. Consensus was that it was convenient to develop one load to cover different species of game. Good so far?

I know that many of you reload, and I'm thinking that if you're reloading for a 30-30, the overwhelming majority would be using it for deer. I'm guessing that fewer people would stuff Barnes bullets into their 30-30 cases, based on the cartridge and its probable target. But what about factory stuff?

So, my question. Would you pay $54 for a box of 30-30 factory ammunition with the Barnes bullets, or go for a 150/170 C&C from Win or Rem?

Steve, Thank you for your graciousness to my clumsy humour.

As to your question: for deer with 30-30 for me it would be 150 grain c&c purchased at the cheapest hunting season sale I could find. Remington cor-locts would be my first choice if I could find them on sale. $50 for 30-30 deer ammo!!?? No way.

I have a bolt action 30-30 (stacked magazine) and have been tempted to hand load some pointed bullets for it, but never have.

I keep thinking that I met you at an Outdoor Canada get together at the publisher's in Toronto way back probably in the 80's. Possible?

That's what I'd do too. Buy something on sale or at least cheap. I did own a NEF Handi in 30-30 and tried pointy bullets, but things didn't pan out.



This is very possible. After I came home from Europe and was posted Quebec, I was trying (unsuccessfully) to flog some of my work in magazines like OOOD, OC and Western Sportsman. I spent time making the rounds.


Bob Jones

My old military instructor, Robert H. Jones, (Sgt Bob, Capt Nemo) used to write for OOOD, BC Outdoors and some others. He'd drag me to the odd event. The last one before he moved to Vancouver Island was a hunting and fishing show at the International Centre in Mississauga. He was working the OOOD fishing pond where you could hook a plastic fish and win a prize - a lure, 1 yr subscriptions, etc. Good for the kids. Cheesy for the grown ups.

Anyway, it was bad timing on my part as the anti-gun rhetoric was at full tilt. Unless you were on staff at a magazine, you weren't going to get much published. I was still in the military and was not going to chance pulling the plug for two or three published articles a year!

It is shocking that you confess to shooting cor'locs or Interlocks which (as the names imply) are modifications to improve cup & core bullets.


Ya Whoo...I just discovered I have been useing premium bullets all along (insert dancing smiley here).

I now officially suggest no game should ever be shot with anything but premiums

For killin deer no.I use siera gk's For the purpose of killin deer the c&c bullet gets the job done quite nicely in the ought six,if I was shootin one of them explosive death machienes like a .270 I might go with a less frangible bullet just to save meat

I use a premium bullet , mainly because my hunting ethics require a premium result . Not to say others don't require that , but why should I chance it for the animals sake.

You gotta use premium bullets for deer and moose that cost at least $100 per box of 50 to make absolutely sure that the stump on the other side of the animal is dead.
Too many hunters being attacked by wounded tree stumps to take a chance on a cheap Hornady Interlock or a Remy Core-Lokt that just kills the animal you are shooting at.
Another advantage in using premium bullets is your much lighter wallet will be less of a drag when walking through the bush hunting.

Bob Jones

Nice picture of Edward G. Robinson.

I have a few 30-30 rifles and those that I shoot are generally loaded with which ever bullet weight, either 150 or 170 grains, shoots best in that particular rifle. In those rifles, I shoot whatever brand of 30-30 factory ammo is on sale, with Federal blue box almost always the least expensive, at about $16 per box of 20 rounds.

I have some of the more expensive Hornady LeverEvolution 160 grain 30-30 ammo around, but haven't shot any in the Marlin 336, Mossberg 472, or Savage 340 rifles that were scoped and in the rack.

As a side note, I have shot more deer with Federal 80 grain factory ammo in 243 and 6mm than any other single bullet, but I always load my 243 and 6mm ammo with premium bullets, usually Partitions. Why? 'Cause they shoot good groups and always penetrate through/through. The Federal 80 grain ammo is pretty accurate, but I don't recall a single through/through, just quick kills on lung shots.

Jeff

good post pricedo

Please don't encourage him.

I bought 16 boxes of Remington 150 grain 30-30 ammo 'cause it was on sale for $9 per box. Also bought a few boxes of Wincheser 270 WSM 150 grain ammo 'cause it was on sale for $15 per box. Might not need it now, but might somewhere down the line.

Jeff

A good source of cheap brass if nothing else.

You conveniently missed the reason that multiple people gave for using premium bullets when deer hunting: They like to use ONE BULLET for everything. I can load up a 150 Partition in my 280 Ackley or 7mm Rem and use it for deer, elk, moose, kudu, etc.

If you like cup and core bullets, fine. But to suggest that using a premium is nothing more than "snob appeal" comes across as some sort of weird insecurity. Don't try so hard.

+1

Oh Richard, I didn't conveniently leave anything out.That's what was posted to that point.



This next thing is called a question. It's what you ask when you're not sure or would like clarification/more info.



I never suggested snob appeal. I asked if this could be a reason.

This weird insecurity you suggested I might be suffering from - nope, I am not plagued by that. Do I like cup and core bullets? Yes. Do I use them exclusively? Nope. I have been known to use other types.

This last thing - trying too hard - that had me puzzled. Then I thought you were just posting something silly to lighten the mood.

At any rate, it's my thread. I can try hard if I want. Or I can just continue to ask questions.