125 grain Sierra prohunters too small for deer?

mikeystew

mikeystew

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Sorry I know it's a cliche question but I can't seem to find much info about my load being used on deer.
I'm hopefully going to get a deer this year, my first since I was a kid. My question is about my ammo selection. My only deer rifle at the moment is a .303 Brit and the only load I ever use in it is a 125 grain Sierra prohunter over 42g of R15 for about 2700fps @ the muzzle because it is absolutely ridiculously accurate. I mean with the original battle sights it's no trouble for me to hit pop cans at 100m with this combo.
But I'm still a little less than confident that the Sierra will do it's job. I know I can make a good clean shot, I don't mean to brag but I'm an evil shot. But do you think a 125g prohunter is up to the task? The deer around my hunting grounds are all Columbia blacktail, so it's not as though I'm shooting at a large mule buck or anything. They are more like the size of a huge dog if I had to guesstimate. I'm just concerned they might be too frangible. Could I get around it by loading them down a bit? Or is that necessary? I'd rather not mess with what I know gives me awesome accuracy.
 
You might want to ask this in the hunting forum. Ultimately shot placement is more critical than bullet weight, in my opinion you should be fine.
 
You should be absolutely good to go. Prohunters are a decent cup and core bullet, and work exceptionally well at modest velocities (.303)
You most certainly won't be taking 500 yard shots around your neck of the woods, and that .311 120gr ProHunter will drop a blacktail buck like the hammer of Thor inside of 200.

BTW I sure wish I could get my SMLE's to shoot that accurate. Maybe time to pick-up one of Gairlochians' scope mounts off the EE!
 
Thanks, I'm feeling more confident about it. My Enfield is a Churchill sporter and has an amazing bore that is bang on .311 which Is what I think makes it such a good shooter. I also bedded the action and installed a forend shim that delivers a perfect 7 lbs of upward pressure on the barrel.
It's just a silly accurate gun with this load. Now I just need to re-learn how to hunt effectively!
 
Sierra recommends them as a deer bullet at 7.62x39mm velocities and for varmints out of a .303:

http://www.sierrabullets.com/index.cfm?section=techservice&page=xring&volume=3&issue=1

You may get overly violent expansion/fragmentation at the expense of penetration using these bullets at .303 velocities. I would err on the side of caution and use a 150 grain bullet instead.

The other bullet sizes mentioned (95 grain .243, 130 grain .270, 100 and 117 grain .25) all have greater sectional densities than a 125 grain .311 bullet, which is why they would be better suited for deer-sized game.
 
tjhaile said:
Sierra recommends them as a deer bullet at 7.62x39mm velocities and for varmints out of a .303:

http://www.sierrabullets.com/index.cfm?section=techservice&page=xring&volume=3&issue=1

You may get overly violent expansion/fragmentation at the expense of penetration using these bullets at .303 velocities. I would err on the side of caution and use a 150 grain bullet instead.

The other bullet sizes mentioned (95 grain .243, 130 grain .270, 100 and 117 grain .25) all have greater sectional densities than a 125 grain .311 bullet, which is why they would be better suited for deer-sized game.
Click to expand...

that is unless you were shooting over 100yds. At 100yds velocities are similar to factory load muzzle velocities. Therefore this bullet combination of the OP would be suitable for shots over 100yds out to 350yds. Terminal energies at 300yds are almost 1000ftlbs and at 400 are above 700ftlbs. 700ftlbs is my minimal terminal energy level for deer, but easily at 350yds. Handloads for this bullet typically exceed 2300fps MV in a 762x39mm and no ill effects have been noticed, therefore since velocities drop to that after 150yds, you have a fairly decent mid-range round.
OP, you should be able to use this round with confidence at shorter range by downloading to a reduced velocity and at longer ranges by leaving it as a standard loading. Good luck.
 
Having two different loads with the same bullet seems like unnecessary complication compared to having one that will do it all. Stick to either 7.62x39mm velocities with the 125 grain bullet or use a heavier bullet for full-velocity loads. Depending on what sort of maximum range you expect, 7.62x39mm ballistics may be good enough for your purposes.
 
Where I live (just north of BCboy) the deer are varmints... Bloody bush rats. Again they are pretty small and I'm fairly certain if I planted one in the vitals I would get a violent expansion, granted, followed by a quick death. I highly doubt it's going to explode on the hide and not penetrate into the vitals. These columbias are small.

If I were any less confident with my shooting ability I would develop a different load or just buy factory rounds to hunt with. But I know I could put one up Bambis' left nostril if I wanted to, so I'm not worried about it blowing up on the shoulder or the like. And really it can't be much more explosive than a 243 95g ballistic tip can it? I don't think so, that is a varmint round. I'm using it and I'll let you know how it goes.
 
If i can kill a 14 foot beluga whale with my 303 british I'm sure you can kill a wee deer with yours! ;) Good luck and happy hunter partner!

Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA
 
Hunting and real estate have something in common - location, location, location.

A 125 gr in the right spot will be far more effective than a 180 gr in the wrong spot.

Take along the ketchup.
 
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