Sellier&Bellot ammo for hunting?

chuckAA

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Hi
Has anyone had any experience with Sellier&Bellot ammunition for hunting deer?
Is this a low or high end ammo?

Thanks
 
I had never used S&B ammo until we had to use the PH's rifle in Africa. (I have typically used Federal, Winchester and Nosler ammo over the years.)

Between my wife and I, we took 7 animals with the 300 Win Mag 180 SPCE ammo. 6 heart shot animals at ranges from 77-235 yards, and all one shot kills. We only recovered 3 bullets from nyala, kudu and warthog, as the other 4 (springbok, sable, impala, and bushbuck) were complete penetrations. The nyala and kudu were shot at 234 yards, where the warthog was shot at 77. These animals weighed between 100 pounds (springbok) to 700 pounds (kudu) on the hoof. The sable and kudu went the furthest after the hit at about 100 yards and 200 yards respectively, with the kudu being the only animal not heart shot (single lung hit due to angle).

The 3 recovered bullets expanded an average of 2 times the original diameter, and average weight retention on this controlled expansion bullet was 47% with nice mushrooms.
While the weight retention may not have been as high as what you would find with other bonded bullets, the end results were quick, clean kills.

I wouldn't hesitate to hunt with this ammo again, should it shoot well in the particular rifle being used.
 
I've shot a few critters with the SPCE bullets in 7mm. Worked just fine. S&B ammo is accurate, loaded to full velocity, and of decent quality over all in my experience. Their standard soft point bullets are nothing special, just decent cup and core bullets that are a fine choice for deer and similar sized game. Not my choice for elk or tougher animals. They have some loads with all-copper bullets, some loaded with Nosler Partitions, etc, but those are not necessary for good results on deer.
 
We have shot many deer and bears with S&B 173 grain SPCE bullets out of 7X57 and 7X64 rifles... they have been very accurate and do a great job on game, I have not recovered many, but the ones I did were mushroomed and seemed to have retain a high amount of the original weight (although I did not weigh any).
 
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