Sierra Match King .308 168 BTHP on deer or not?

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I was in a local store the other day and I was browsing the ammo section. A clerk recommended me to use BTHP on deer. I have never thought about it, and made me wondering. Lots of people had good experience by using .308 168 BTHP for long distance target shoot, what about using that for deer hunting at long distance? I had never done it, just wondering if anyone had experience of using it on deer at mid to long distance? Did you get clean shot? What kind of result did you get? Thanks. :sniper:
 
Whoever you were talking to has rocks in their head. If you wanna blow away a bunch of meat, then go ahead.

Those HPs are not designed for hunting deer and were never intended to be used as such. Not something I would ever think of doing, but that's me. 150-180gr SP or BTSP of most reputable brands work very well and gitem every time. Stay away from the Cabelas brand stuff, though - whatever pills they have in there are crap - might as well be FMJs.

Just my 2c.
 
MatchKings are target bullets and are not suitable for any game other than varmints. Target bullets do not expand upon impact.
Sierra makes a 165 grain HPBT GameKing bullet that will do nicely though.
A lot depends on what you call 'long distance' and if you can hit that 9" pie plate every time at whatever distance you think is long. How you sighted in matters too. A 165 grain .308 sighted in about 3.5 inches high at 100 will be on target out to roughly 300 yards and still have lots of energy to spare. All that energy drops off quickly past 300 though. A target bullet doesn't need killing energy.
 
That's what I though too BTHP is designed for target shoot, not for hunting. I was surprised someone from gun store would recommend it for deer hunting. After I googled a bit, seems majority of the people against using it for hunting, but still there are quite a few using it for both target shoot and hunting. As far as for long distance, I think over 400 yards would consider long distance.
 
I find there are two general crowds when it comes to hunters:
-The first has the philosophy of "dead is dead" and don't really care about lost meat, good shots, suitable cartridge for the job, and sometimes even whether it's a humane kill or not. If they get to put something in their freezer, nothing else matters.
-The second prefer good, clean shots, minimal lost meat, using the proper bullet and suitable cartridge for the job, and a quick death for the animal. These are the kind of people who would rather go home empty handed than make a bad shot and cause an animal to suffer unduly.

As en extreme example I once ran into a group of 4 older men who where looking for larger capacity mags for their Lee Enfields. They said it's just a fact that sometimes you need more than 40 rounds to kill a deer if it's running. I believe they where hunting with FMJ surplus from decades ago to boot. I just pictured 4 men kneeling in a line blasting away at a running animal as fast as they could. Made me shake my head and walk away.

I saw pictures from a white tail killed with a Hornady A-MAX which is essentially a BTHP with a polymer tip. It's a target bullet where the lead is not bonded to the copper jacket so separates and causes a lot of collateral damage. The entry hole was as expected but you could almost fit a basketball into the exit wound. The kill was made with a .300WSM from under 50yds (so hugely overkill even with the right bullet). The bullet just disintegrated and almost cut the deer in half. A BTHP in a .308 wouldn't do quite the same damage due to less energy but the results would be similar but on a smaller scale.

I've also heard of cases where a BTHP has its tip bend over when it hits and punches through like a FMJ causing almost no damage. Simply put they are accurate but not reliable in how they respond to impacts.

A non-bonded target bullet (like a BTHP) will kill a deer; no question about that. But for reliable response on impact and reduced damage to the animal I would always go with a hunting-designed bullet if I can (which today is pretty much always).
 
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I've read that target bullets will work good for hunting purposes at extended ranges where the velocities fall below the threshold for reliable expansion on a heavier jacketed hunting bullet.
Take it for what its worth....I read it on the internet! :)
 
When one sees the long range hunting shows they are effectively using high frangible target bullets that open up and fragment at low velocities at extreme distance such as Bergers and Amax. Even a super magnum launching at 3200+ would be subsonic at 1000-1200 yards.

That same bullet at close range going 3200+ hitting a major bone is going to result in a big wide shallow splat on the animal and potentially a lingering unethical kill. The same projectile in a standard caliber going 26-2800 would probably work fine. A example of these could be the 162 Amax from a 7 Wea or Rum, or the same projectile from a 7x57 or 7-08. Where the supermagnum is lacking at close range it would of course excel over the standard caliber at long range say 6-800 yards plus.

Matching the hatch so to speak. Stoutness of projectile, size and toughness of the animal, and expected distance of the shot. Usual formula of smaller stout or larger frangible for a particular bore. Fro example 165 partition/barnes and 208 Amax in 300 mags.
 
What would be a good all around bullet then? I currently target shoot with .308 178 bthp superformance and have been told those are not what I should be using for hunting. My rifle is kinda for both target shooting and hunting, but I would like to use the same bullet for both. Would the Superformance AMAX be better? And maybe even a lighter grain?
 
With no hunting experience using them (only target), the Hornady 165 SST seem like a decent option. They shoot decent at targets, maybe not as good as AMAX or BTHP. They cost about the same as an 168 AMAX, worth a try.
 
I have the test data of match bullets shot into gelatin. The Sierra bullets usually drilled through, much like a FMJ.

The Amax often mushroomed.

Buy any hunting bullet. Some are similar in shape to match bullets.
 
Would think a 308 Win pushing a 178 would be traveling at 2600 or maybe even less. A stout bullet like a Woodleigh or Partition may not have enough velocity to really open properly. If one was a good enough shot to avoid major bones, a more frangible bullet like a Amax would be fine. Look up a site called Terminal Ballistics Research. Guy in New Zealand who is a game culler and gunsmith(?) does autopsy of animals shot with different bullets.

Rather sure he has done a free write up about 308 Win.
 
Saw an acquaintance shoot a deer with a Berger match bullet in a 300 WSM. I was not impressed and can't say I'd recommend it, though the deer did indeed expire fairly quickly and painlessly. Helluva mess.....

Match bullets for match, varmint bullets for varmint, and big game bullets for big game. Most makers (Hornady for example) make a hunting bullet with a very similar profile to their match rounds and a heavier jacket if you're looking for that tiny extra bit of ballistic coefficient or whatever.
 
168 Game King on a Deer at 75 Yards

worked great, not much damage. the bullet hole in the leg is where I found the projectile.

300659_10150438281673552_216277178_n.jpg

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A stout bullet like a Woodleigh or Partition may not have enough velocity to really open properly.
Click to expand...

It is hard to completely blow up either bullet, but both expand at very low velocities. The wide range of working velocity is part of what makes them among the truly great hunting bullets.
 
If U wish to use a precision boat tail bullet for hunting get yourself a box of 168grain 30 caliber Hunting VLD or Hybrid hunter. The Berger bullets are deadly on game and shoot like the dickens. Their hunter line of bullets are nearly identical to their target line. The only difference is the thickness of the jackets the hunter jackets are thinner so the bullet fragments after it enters the first 3 inches of the animal. This creates a massive wound channel that puts the animal in immediate shock from the energy dump of the bullet. It is almost impossible to find the entrance wound as it looks similar to a needle mark from a large gauge hypo injection. Berger bullets are deadly on game.
 
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