168gr BTHP?

[jarret]

Hi y'all.
For lack of other options, I picked up some hornady 168gr BTHPs with amp jackets. Ill be reloading for my m305, and bringing it hunting as my backup gun. I'd assume because it is a hollow point, it would be acceptable for hunting????

Thoughts?

 

[supernova]

Nope. Some guys use match bullets for long range hunting but you're much better off with a bullet meant for hunting rather than paper. However, try 41.5gr IMR4895 and seat to 2.800" with a Lee factory crimp. I bet it shoots better than any factory ammo

 

[Ganderite]

Is that a match bullet? If so, not a good choice for hunting. Buy a 165 to 170 soft point for back up.

 

[freedomintheskies]

165 gr. Hornady SST's are great hunting rounds and super accurate too.

 

[Bile]

in .30 cal?

I would not consider them a top choice for hunting. The 168gr BTHPs have generally performed more like a FMJ. Generally deep penetrating and slow to expanding with a good possibility of fragmenting. My experience with the AMP jackets is they are slightly softer then say what you find on Sierra or berger J4 jackets, so that may or may not help them expand. But I do believe they will perform nearly the exact same.

http://www.ar15.com/ammo/project/Self_Defense_Ammo_FAQ/index.htm#RifleManufacturers
an old article on some traditional info on 168gr .308. Select the 308 info for some general info.

There's probably more info on 168gr type rounds on the web elsewhere.

Unless you're in a pickle, I would try to stay to some regular soft point or other hunting round.

 

[jarret]

30 cal, match bullet. I'll be shooting paper with it, but thought it might be OK for hunting, due to it being a hollow point. I'll stick to paper-hunting
. thanks you guys

 

[purple]

If you are intrigued with the idea of a 165gr HP style hunting bullet try the 165gr Sierra BTHP. It is a hunting bullet and shows match bullet accuracy.

 

[LUTNIT]

The reason for the hollow point in this case is not for expansion but just a result of the bullet making process. Jackets start as cups of copper and a piece of lead wire is inserted; then the entire thing is swaged (pressed) into a die with several tons of force. The hollow point that results is the remnant of the open top of the cup. A full metal jacket bullet has exposed lead at the base as the cups are turned the other way. Polymer tipped bullets just fill the opening with a polymer tip. If the tip could be closed easily and cheaply, I'm sure they would be, but they can't.
The reason the tip is left open instead of the base for match bullets is because a very consistent base helps prevent gas escaping unevenly as the base of the bullet leaves the muzzle. This is more important for accuracy than having a closed tip.

As mentioned there are some HP .30cal bullets that are designed for hunting and the main difference is the jacket and core will be bonded somehow (chemically, often called "welded", or mechanically, like with interlocking rings). Check the manufacturers website for details on the intended purpose of the bullet. Even then some bullets advertised as meant for hunting still don't perform well at all. There are many reports of the Berger VLD (very low drag) hunting bullets not performing well at all. Incredible match-like accuracy but not great terminal ballistics.

There are various reports of BTHP bullets punching through like a FMJ with no expansion, and some reports of them on occasion just fracturing into tiny fragments and causing severe but very shallow damage (often not even making it to the vital organs). Not all polymer tipped bullets are meant for hunting as well. The Hornady AMAX looks almost identical to the SST (the AMAX lacks the cannalure) but they are not bonded in any way (chemically or mechanically) so they fragment quite easily. Many people hunt with AMAX bullets and they will kill an animal but not in the most consistent, humane, or predictable way.

 

[saskcop]

Match bullets can be dynamic on game and sometimes they poke right through like fmj's. The consistency isn't there.

 

[scott585]

Match bullets can be dynamic on game and sometimes they poke right through like fmj's. The consistency isn't there.

i seem to be unable to find it now, but i saw a test of 12 sierra 168g matchkings fired into ballistic gel, about 3 of them broke into 3 pieces and had a good hunting bullet like trail, 2 blew up almost at the surface would have destroyed alot of meat while not hitting organs, and the rest stayed together with the tip kinda folding and leaving a curved .30 path in the gel.