Ever shoot a deer with a HPBT Match Bullet?

[22to45]

I have some 105 gr 243's and am wondering if any of you have used a match bullet hunting, and how they worked if you did.
Thanks

 

[Wookie316]

Yup. Mulie at 70 yards. HUGE exit hole through the rib cage.

Neck shot a Mulie & a Whitetail buck both in the 200-250 range. No real difference than any other bullet. They worked very well at that range.

These were from a 338 with a 250gr HPBT Match with a muzzle velocity of 3070 FPS.

 

[Johnny G1]

Shot a few deer with a 165 gr. in a 308 BLR and they did the job instantly, but have not tried them since I went to 25 calibre, They are a very good bullet in what ever calibre you got. Just my thoughts.

 

[Silverado]

 

[Longwalker]

Deer are very tiny. You must use match bullets or you will certainly miss. And don't pay any attention to the manufacturer's directions, match bullets are just fine for all kinds of hunting situations. And I'm sure I read on the internet once, that plenty of deer have been killed with .22 rimfires so why use a big game bullet anyway?

 

[sunray]

"...Deer are very tiny..." You ever seen one? 70 kilos isn't exactly tiny. And that's a small whitetail.
"...have some 105 gr..." You sure they're match bullets? Mine(Speer SP's) are not. In any case, match bullets are not designed to expand. Not good for hunting anything but varmints.

 

[Survival Bill]

111

 

[22to45]

"...Deer are very tiny..." You ever seen one? 70 kilos isn't exactly tiny. And that's a small whitetail.
"...have some 105 gr..." You sure they're match bullets? Mine(Speer SP's) are not. In any case, match bullets are not designed to expand. Not good for hunting anything but varmints.

I bought these along time ago on Ebay, back when you could buy bullets on ebay, and they were sold as being being made by the fellow who sold them. These were not made by a major bullet manufacturer. No one wanted them, and I bought 400 for 12 bucks. He sold them as match bullets.

 

[Throttle_monkey1]

If it's an open tip match or hollowpoint you can bet your ass it will expand, probably violently.

I don't know if it will penetrate deep enough, they might completely fragment.

 

[sealhunter]

I have seen some big wounds, and little penetration,... basically an onjured animal...that's just what I saw.

 

[Dogleg]

Berger now rates their target bullets for biggame. Hornady A Maxes are a hollowpoint with some plastic shoved in the hole, they are rated for biggame. There's probably others.

 

[Spot-n-Stalk]

Your responsibility to a game animal is a clean kill. You should use ammo that can deliver on that.

 

[chappy]

must be a shortage of tsx, interbonds, partions etc. why usea bullet that may work when you can find lots that will work for hunting. not may bench shooters load up partions just cause they have them. hunters should use bullets approriate for the job at hand.

 

[22to45]

OK OK, I have lots of bullets, partitions etc for the 243, I was just wondering if anyone had tried these.

 

[BigUglyMan]

Timmins uses the 300 grainers in his 338 Lapua. The seem to work out well for him.

 

[laughingfool]

Your responsibility to a game animal is a clean kill. You should use ammo that can deliver on that.

And thats been my experience with sierras hpbt's match in the 300 weath on caribou shoots(I dont call it a hunt) I used em cause they buck wind so well. Guys werent getting as good a kill at under 200 with 06's and hunting bullets as I was play shooting some at over 7-800 yds. Shot moose and whitetail to. Every animal a bang flop for the couple decades I've been using em

 

[22to45]

And thats been my experience with sierras hpbt's match in the 300 weath on caribou shoots(I dont call it a hunt) I used em cause they buck wind so well. Guys werent getting as good a kill at under 200 with 06's and hunting bullets as I was play shooting some at over 7-800 yds. Shot moose and whitetail to. Every animal a bang flop for the couple decades I've been using em

Thank you, I knew there would be another opinion.. I have been hunting for a long time, and know all about the "debt to the animal" for a clean kill. Actually, I like to wound a moose, then herd it closer to the truck before I finish it off. Sure beats all that heavy packing.

 

[carbonrod]

Shot a few deer with a 165 gr. in a 308 BLR and they did the job instantly, but have not tried them since I went to 25 calibre, They are a very good bullet in what ever calibre you got. Just my thoughts.

Who makes a 308 165gr HPBT match bullet? Are you sure you are not talking about one of Sierra's hunting derivatives, like the game king hollowpoint?

22to45: If you really feel the need to use a match bullet for hunting from a lower energy cartridge like a 243, 308, etc, please use an Amax.

Many match bullets like the matchking, or the hornady hpbt do not expand reliably. Often they will simply pencil through the animal with minimal damage. Othertimes they will fragment, and not penetrate reliably. I base this on manufacture statements, and myself shooting a number of them into stacks of wet pressed phonebooks with a layer of denim on the front.

Why do you want to use a HPBT Match bullet for hunting BTW? With little work on the bench, you can probably find similar accuracy hunting loads that use an actual hunting tip.

 

[carbonrod]

Yup. Mulie at 70 yards. HUGE exit hole through the rib cage.

Neck shot a Mulie & a Whitetail buck both in the 200-250 range. No real difference than any other bullet. They worked very well at that range.

These were from a 338 with a 250gr HPBT Match with a muzzle velocity of 3070 FPS.

Sure, but your 338 load is hardly in the same energy class as a 243. You could probably load a 250gr guilded tungsten tip and put it into a deer at 3070fps, and it would do the trick. Would not be ideal obviously, but I am sure it would work.

 

[M12shooter]

I have shot dozens of whitetail with Hornady 25 cal. 120 grain hollow points.