Match bullets for hunting?

[eltorro]

On the long range hunting forum.... the guys mentioned (every time) using match bullets for hunting. While this is relatively practical in the 50 BMG configuration, I'd like to find out more from the guys who hunt with a "precision rig" and consequently choose to hunt with their best loads - usually not "hunting" bullets.
Any experiences in the 30 cal. rifles?

Are any of the match ones sturdy enough to not come apart @200 yds impact?

 

[Jay]

eltorro... I've done some looking into this and my experience has been with the 168 Grain HPBT Sierra bullet and my 308 Savage 12FV...

I have found that the performance on water bottles and buckets of mud, yes, buckets of mud give VERY different results... Super accuracy, but sometimes there is a controlled entrance, expansion and exit, sometimes there is just a pin hole in and out... I've actually thought I've missed and drove up to see the water leaking out through the holes and the bottle sitting up like it wasn't hit... Seemingly no expansion, or so it appeared... It's a crude method to say the least, but I sortof consider a 2 liter bottle like lungs, they are full of blood and should react the same way when shot.

So, I asked one of the old guys I know around here that does LOTS of shooting and he said that he shot several deer with the same load I used and that the results were mixed... A couple of the deer were taken cleanly and several others the bullet totally DIDN'T do it's job of expanding predictably...

After getting that advice from him, I bought some 165 grain HPBT GameKing Sierra bullets and have been using them with the same load data and accuracy for hunting. I took my 7pt buck this fall with one of my handloads and the round performed VERY well...

In all, I think that there are "hunting" bullets for hunting and bullets that I would consider target or paper punching bullets...

Hope that helps...

 

[tiriaq]

Match bullets are not designed for predictable expansion. Some have been observed to fragment badly. Best not to use them - as Jay suggests, use a similar bullet designed for hunting. A friend has used the 300gr SMK from a .338LM on caribou. He reported they acted like varmint bullets. Killed the caribou stone dead, but really messed them up. Another friend has reported on the 80gr SMK from a .22-.250AI on caribou. Same sort of blowup. Hornady AMAX might be very bad. There is a large hollowpoint under the plastic tip.

 

[todbartell]

I've put two Sierra Matchkings into game, both 107 gr. 6.5mm HPBT

first was a coyote, frontal at 80 yards. he dropped to the shot, but got up biting at himself, spinning around. I put another in him as he turned to run away, knocked him down, but he was up again in an instant and the bush swallowed him up. I followed the blood trail, which started out good, for half a kilometer before I followed his bloodless tracks into a brush pile, where he crawled in and still lays I assume, two years later.

two days later I hit a wolf at 150 yards, again a frontal shot. at the shot, the wolf began to spin and bite at itself before gaining its footing and taking off on a run across the field. I hit her again on my 4th shot, running broadside at approx 350 yards. This tumbled her and she skidded to a stop, only to get back up seconds later and run into the bush with one last 6.5mm bullet ripping past her. Fifteen yards into the bush I found her laying under a spruce tree, still mighty alive. I shot her one last time in the head from 10 feet.

The post-mortum on the wolf showed zero expansion. 6.5mm hole in, 6.5mm hole out.

Do not use match bullets for hunting. Learn from my mistake.
​

 

[Silverback]

Most bullet manufacturers advise you not to use match bullets for hunting as they are not designed to expand, the best you can hope for is fragmentation if the bullet becomes unstable and breaks apart in the animal.

 

[Gatehouse]

Match bullets are not designed for predictable expansion. .

I think that is the best statement about Match bullets.

They may expand and kill perfectly. They may not expand at all. They may fragment.

They may do alot of things, but why not use abullet that that is designed for hunting? There are many, many accurate hunting bullets out there.

 

[Mauser98]

IMHO, using a match-type bullet on game is unethical.

Here's what Sierra has to say about using their MatchKings for hunting.

Question
Can I use a MatchKing bullet for deer hunting? They shoot just great in my rifle, so they should be just super for hunting use, right?
Answer
No, it's not recommended. The MatchKing bullets are designed for pinpoint accuracy; with no consideration given to what might happen after impact. If the bullet has arrived on target accurately, its job is done at that point. Hunting bullets must perform in a certain manner after impact. Penetrating ability, expansion characteristics, and even profile must be considered when designing a hunting bullet. Use MatchKings for matches, and game bullets for hunting.

 

[BigUglyMan]

Learn from my mistake.
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Not the only one we can learn from, eh?

I've been lucky in that A-Max's work very well out of my 308 and are, or at least claimed to be, sturdy enough for deer sized game.

 

[Why not?]

I used Norma 139 gr Hollow Point Boat-Tail Match bullets in my 6.5-06 one time for caribou. I shot two bulls with two shots at very long range and they went down, but it took a few seconds.

Bot shots were in the lungs at more than 400 yd. One bullet blew up and the other penciled right through. Never used them again.

Ted