Hunting Projectiles for 300 BLK

You might look at some of the round-nose bullets intended for the 30-30 or even the M1 carbine. Sierra and Hornady make 110 gr RN JSP's for the M1.

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Don't base your choice on cost, the animal deserves better. Besides, the cost difference for a box (or two) of ammo means nothing in the long run. Pick a proper hunting bullet...find the proper load, that works well enough with that bullet, and then go hunting. A V-Max is not made for deer, neither is a TNT...they are both varmint bullets. Speer makes a 110gr SP, and Hornady makes a 110gr and a 130gr SP. Cup and Core is all you need at 300BLK velocities.

While I don't hunt deer or hogs presently, everything I read is that Nosler 125 gr. Ballistic Tips make good game loads. Nosler's information on the .308 125 BT shows recommended velocity from 1800 to 3200 FPS. Pictures of the 125 Ballistic Tip at 1800 fps shows a decent mushroom. The jackets of the 125 BT is designed for hunting with a tapered jacket getting thicker at the base and a tip to aid in expansion. Easy to get 1800 fps especially in 16" Carbines. My loads with 125 BT and not maximum level get about 2150 fps. 110 V-Max around 2360 fps, both in 16" barrels. I'd try Ballistic Tips for a hunting load and stay with other bullets for plinking. Some have used the 110 V-Max for hunting but I'd limit it to target-varmint shooting. The 125 BT shoots very good in my 300 BLK's. Hornady says in the 9th Edition manual best velocity for medium game with the 125 gr. SST is from 2400-3200 fps. Load data for the 125 gr. Ballistic Tip with H 110 powder is 17.8-18.0 grains Maximum. My load with LC brass, RP 7 1/2 primers, oal 2.060" is 17.5 grains for 2155 fps. You mentioned 19.5 which is too much for 125 grain bullets. Start lower than 17.5 grains. Nosler starts at 16.0 and goes to 18.0 but in my rifle seemed a little hot at 17.8-18.0 grains.

I talked to a Hornady rep a few years ago about the 125 sst in 300 blk. I was told that they are fine for deer and such as long as the impact velocity is at least 1700 fps. Grafs and Sons did have the 500 count 125 grain speer tnt bullets on sale two weeks ago.

I have shot MN Whitetail with the 7.62x39, 6.5 Grendel and the 300 BO using Nosler Balistic Tips, never again, never.

I have switched to the Barnes TTSX in all three of these cartridges.

They work and they work well as long as "impact" velocity is kept at a minimum of 1600fps.

It is a problem, finding a medium game hunting bullet for these AR type rifles with anemic velocities. IMO, Barnes has done a good job in giving us what we seek.

You're correct, but I also need to be able to shoot a bunch of them, and develop a good load without breaking the bank. It's hard to swallow 75 cents each just for the Barnes bullets.

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I'm going to suggest what most people would do. Shoot only enough of the expensive bullets to develop your load and sight in. Then practice with cheaper ammo that has a similar point of impact. 75 cents a round does not break the bank when you only shoot a couple every year.

A couple of observations.
1) You probably won't come close to 2,300 fps with the 125gr bullet. Out of my Ruger American bolt action with 16" barrel, I get 2,180 fps and that is slightly over max published data using H110.
2) Both the 125gr SST and Nosler BT are rated down to 1,800 fps.
3) With a muzzle velocity of 2,150 fps, you don't drop below 1,800 fps until 160 yards.
I'd suggest using one of those two bullets, with the SST being a bit more affordable. I've got mine ready for this season.

Note: out of my 8.5" AR, the same load chronos 1,998 fps which is good for 90 yards.

4) The Sierra 125gr ProHunter is a very accurate bullet but is built very tough and shows zero signs of expansion in the limited testing I did. It went clear thru 36" of water. I do not recommend it.
5) I haven't done any testing of the Speer TNT, but I do use them as my everyday shooter since they are the cheapest I've found.

MrGiggles said:

You're correct, but I also need to be able to shoot a bunch of them, and develop a good load without breaking the bank. It's hard to swallow 75 cents each just for the Barnes bullets.

The more I read, it looks like the Hornady 110 gr SP will work well, and they should be easy to acquire. Thanks for that recommendation.

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I also don't usually use Barnes bullets for load workup. What you can do is workup a load with cup and core bullets of the same weight and use that with the same weight bullet of Barnes manufucture. I have done that quite a few times.

That said, the Hornady Spire Points should work well.

Hornady 125gr SST's for deer sized critters. Will get you out to 150 yards, 200 is pushing it. Holds 3/4" groups from my rifle, 16" BHW barrel.

The Barnes are nice bullets, but in my experience are not as accurate as the Hornady's.

Information presented at http://thebulletterminal.weebly.com/ may be useful for this discussion, navigate to .308" 125 grain, the Nosler BT and Hornady SST are tested, links below (note that other bullets such as 110 grain v-max are also on the site):
http://thebulletterminal.weebly.com/125gn-hornady-sst.html
http://thebulletterminal.weebly.com/125gn-nosler-ballistic-tip.html
If interested, also take a look at http://thebulletterminal.weebly.com/the-blackout--the-boar.html for a real world result using the 300 BLK with 125 grain Hornady SST including comparison to a tested bullet at a similar velocity.
I prefer the SST to the BT in the 300 BLK as it is a flat base design thus allowing more powder space for the likes of H4227, otherwise terminal performance and accuracy are similar.
In the interest of full disclosure the website referred to presents my own work which is absolutely for the love of it - I have collected the data for my own curiosity and thought it should be shared in case anybody else is interested. Use it your own discretion. So much more to do - so little time!!
Good luck, Sako Mac

I tend to favor the 30 30 designed bullets for this application as the velocity of the 2 cartridges is similar, and I assume you will get better expansion.

I believe speer still makes a 130 designed for the 30 30 that will fit the bill. I have shot them and they did well enough to be worth a look to see if they are what you are after!

125 grain nosler ballistic tip should work superb on big game. A couple weeks ago I tested them for expansion out of a 14" thompson center contender pistol at a modest 1900 fps and they mushroomed perfectly when shot into water jugs at 50 yards. In fact you can see it in my profile picture loaded into a 30 herrett. Polymer tip bullets have a wider range of velocity that they will expand at than a soft point does. My second choice would be a barnes. Killing a deer is not much of a problem but ideally you want a full pass through to get it to bleed out enough so you can find it. They often go 200-300 yards even after being lung shot and if you don't get an exit wound they just bleed internally. Where we hunt in the sloughs the cover is very very thick and even tracking a deer 100 yards can be a challenge sometimes with no blood, and we are good at it.

I can't see much difference in the 300 BO and the 7mm TCU as far as bullet performance. I shot several deer with the TCU and 120gr Ballistic Tips in a 14" Contender pistol. No problem with failure to expand. In fact, I had to rake a yearling doe up close and personal. I hit her on the point of the shoulder and it was a mess inside. All shots after that were taken broadside or not at all. It was good out to 150 yards..