bullet options

Evanguy

Evanguy

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
101   0   0
Location
Gambier Island B.C.
I'm wondering about bullets this hunting season. last 2 years did well with the 150gr Hornady SST at 2500fps in a 303 British but i did notice the bullets really came apart, holding less then half their original weight.

so the SST may be the best option for a slower round but i do have a few options.

this year I'm running a 6.5x53R, ballistically similar to a 6.5 Grendel but runs bigger bullets. 6.5x53r is 10 more gr case capacity but 10k lower pressure.
the options are

Hornady 129 gr SST at 2500 fps muzzle
Sierra 140 gr STB GameKings at 2400 fps at the muzzle
Hornady 160 gr interlock at 2200 fps muzzle

i have limited time to shoot, only 100 of each bullet and would like a good bullet try and develop a load for in one range session. then be able to load 20 more for a big trip i have planned.

i believe the rifling is 1:8" or 1:9". reading mixed results
 
Last edited:
For deer only? I don’t mind an explosive bullet for deer since they’re so narrow. Even on quartering shots the bullet gets to where it needs to be, and the deer never go far. If it’s a do all bullet and bears, moose come into play i want a tougher bullet for extra insurance.
 
It will be for goat, sheep and deer and I'll be well into grizzly country.

So I'm thinking about the interlocks but I like the speed of the sst. The gameking may be the best middle ground.

I've just never really looked into hunting bullets or paid much attention to them and just used factory ammo or reload with whatever soft points bullets I had on hand.
 
That 160 Hornady may surprise you at it's effectiveness. Many moons ago, I hunted big muleys
with a 6.5x54 M/S The load I used was the old Dominion 160 grain SP. They were listed at 2160
FPS.
I never ran any over a chronograph, since it was rare to see one in those days.

This load killed very well, and I did not ever recover a bullet, even at quite a bit of angle. One
muley I shot with it dressed 276 lbs, so a very heavy deer.

Shot entered at the second last rib and exited from the offside shoulder, breaking bone there.
Exit hole was about 1-¾" lungs were toast.

He went about 35 yards and piled up, dead within seconds. Dave.
 
I suspect that you are planning the hunt to use iron sights, so likely you will limit your shots to 250-300 yards max? If so, nothing wrong with heavy for calibre bullets - you will have about nothing to loose over light, fast bullets. For the really long "hail mary" type shots, you will need extra "kentucky elevation" over the lighter ones, but those 160's should work just fine for you. I hope to get out for deer with an aperture sighted 6.5x55 this fall - I have a collection of 156 round nose PPU bullets that I hope will produce hunting accuracy shooting. As you know, group size does not mean a whole lot - is the first (only?) shot from a clean cold barrel that will matter. Is nice to know where the second and third shots after that first one will go, though.
 
My experience with interlock has been very positive, factory ammo mind you. The 4 or so wt/mule bucks I’ve shot with 165gr .308 interlock’s have not gone very far, great exit hole and blood trails. The one bullet I recovered performed perfectly with good weight retention, I shot it at 60-70m iirc and it took 3-4 steps and went down. Great accuracy in 3 different rifles, I was looking at some in town today and a box is $40. So still not as expensive as most factory hunting ammo, easy to find them just as projectiles as well.
 
your first and second choice are great, if 140's enter the equation the 140 eld-m would fast make my list if they go 2400 fps, that would be my top pick

I've used the 123gr eld-m at 2386 fps up to 2605 fps for 6 seasons and 20 animals zero complaints, the 140 is going to keep lots of it's tail so will penetrate much deeper. I've gone through quartering deer and DRT at 420 yards or 1820 fps impact with the 123 launched from 2386 fps. Have seen a recovered 123gr eld-m from a 1700 fps impact whitetail buck offside hide, it was a textbook perfect mushroom peeled back top 30-35% of tip. Even a 192 yard large body muley buck at 192 yards from a 2605 fps launch was still a core exist but jacket under hide, it peeled back about 75% of it's original length, also a drt.

Stay with that softer bullet formula. I don't know enough about the Sierra game king to say anything? If it's tougher like a thicker jacket etc. I'm sure it will work but may be a deeper penetrator doing less work over the thinner animals and leaving some in the hillside? I feel like the 140 eldm would be ideal. At those 2400 fps launch velocities I get easy 20" reliable penetration from about any angle from muzzle to over 400 with the 123 eld-m so I'd add an easy 10" to that with the 140 launched at those speeds.

The 2200 fps 160 I would steer clear of, be a great 0-100 maybe 200 tops for deepest penetration needs. You launch that 140 eldm at 2400 and it's a very slippery bullet that holds what you give it for a long ways out and will fight the wind to a long way out. That 129 sst will not let you down either.

Lets us know what you chose and what you ended up killing after the hunts.
 
Never liked the SSTs - seen too many fragment and ruin a bunch of meat. Then again, we hunt at relatively close ranges (under 100m) I've always had best results with Pro Hunters, Game Kings or Partitions

Partitions and Barnes Coppers are my favs
 
Of those 3 I'd go with the Gamekings as thats the only one I know works fine

I'd also pick the one I could find another box of, no sense in working up a load with half a box then be left feeling short
 
Canuck65 said:
Never liked the SSTs - seen too many fragment and ruin a bunch of meat. Then again, we hunt at relatively close ranges (under 100m) I've always had best results with Pro Hunters, Game Kings or Partitions

Partitions and Barnes Coppers are my favs
Click to expand...

did these sst's you seen run at the slower speeds the OP is talking about? or from regular cartridges from 2700-3100? because that lighter construction works very well at 2600 on down
 
Ok perfect so I'm back to square one lol

I'll be using iron sights and shooting 200m max

Of the 3 options people have reasons to use any of the 3.

The velocities will be low compared to the magnums.

@200m the bullet velocities are
129sst - 2150fps
140gk - 2070fps
160rn - 1700fps

Maybe I'll just have to make up a few loads of each and take them to the range.

And the reason I compared it to the Grendel is because they both use the same bullets (.264") and they both shoot 123-140 gr bullets at the same speed
 
For being in grizzly country I'd pick a bigger gun personally. But with what you've listed, 140 game king. SSTs are too soft/explosive for defensive use IMO.
 
Evanguy said:
Ok perfect so I'm back to square one lol

I'll be using iron sights and shooting 200m max

Of the 3 options people have reasons to use any of the 3.

The velocities will be low compared to the magnums.

@200m the bullet velocities are
129sst - 2150fps
140gk - 2070fps
160rn - 1700fps

Maybe I'll just have to make up a few loads of each and take them to the range.

And the reason I compared it to the Grendel is because they both use the same bullets (.264") and they both shoot 123-140 gr bullets at the same speed
Click to expand...

the 129 will likely lead to the least amount of steps you have to take to your downed sheep/goat/deer by dumping the most work over the shortest distance, it. will also have the best max point blank range....but the hypothetical grizzly defence it may look to be the least favourable option although in the face it will make the brain no problem and you have to weigh out the odds of having to use it this way or not as compared to all the wins for your class 2 game advantages...this is top pick for me for what you asked for sheep/goat/deer - shortest recoveries and best mpbr (this will still dump eld/moose in the ribs no problem)

you won't likely find a 140 light construction cup/core match style or game king etc. in a sheep/goat/deer unless you shoot them end to end, expect easy 25-30" penetration through everything from most any angle, including elk/moose, this will be the best blend for all the game you might draw a tag for if you can get elk/moose tags also, and grizzly defence imo...still respectable short recoveries and drt's due to good front half of bullet work through the game although lots of that work is still going to end up in offside hill on most of your broadside shots on the class 2 size game, you'll see more 50 yard runners than drt's as compared to the sst option, your mpbr will be a little shorter here also

the 160 isn't going to open much, you're going to be trailing most game further to its final resting place imo...I see no benefit to choosing this option at all
 
ok, good answers from all, I'm really leaning towards the 129gr for the hunting load and maybe carrying some 160gr loads for when hiking in the woods to get above the tree line and while around camp.

but i have realized those velocities are based off the 6.5x53R pressures 41kpsi and i plan to load it the max pressure of my rifle 49k psi

so even in theory i can get the 160gr's to 2400 and the others even higher.

i plan to load 100 rounds of different bullet weights, powders and OAL's and go to a range for the day with my chrony and just see what's up

now i need to find a range in the lower mainland i can setup the chrony and shoot for an afternoon
 
I've had mixed results with 140gr Sierra's spbt. Broadside lung shots it did great, shoulder shots not so much. Modest velocity of 2650 out of a swede. Had a couple bullets come apart on shoulder without penetration. One large mule buck at 50 yards and another at 200+ yards. Both occasions needed follow ups to finish the deer. I will give it the benefit of doubt that I had a bad batch of bullets but a couple times is to many so I switched to better bullets. 140 Accubond and 160gr Hornady RN is my go to.

I have the accubonds shooting 2.5" high at 100 and the 160gr RN land right under for bullseye.
 
I had similar many years go - but was Sierra 165 SPBT in 308 Win - hit a doe whitetail at angle on spine - tore out a LOT of the backstop - did not penetrate the vertebrae, but pieces of bullet and jacket for a foot or more along the spine - very decent groups on targets though. An acquaintance had similar experience with same brand and weight on a pronghorn antelope from his 300 H&H - so I switched then, to Speer HotCor - I have never since duplicated that exact impact - was "one" shot's experience for me and the story from the acquaintance - caused me to change bullets - have been through many hundreds, if not thousands of the Speer HotCor - so far, I am perfectly satisfied with them for hunting with 308 Win. They are flat base, not boat tail - is alleged that the "HotCor" process might result in better bullet performance compared to traditional cup and core bullets. About only bullet used in quantity that I can compare to is 150 grain Partition from 7x57 cartridge - they worked fine on many dozens of deer. In the end, that whitetail doe was dead as doornail by the time that I got to it - so one might say that the Sierra 165 SPBT "worked" - is my opinion today that the Speer HotCor work "Better" - but "dead" is "dead" - can't really be "more dead" from different bullet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom