.30-06 Bullet expansion for hunting deer

[Newtosavage]

Yup. .5 MOA is .5 MOA, regardless of the distance.

 

[Morrey]

I'm trying to figure out why you would need "one hole accuracy" to put a bullet in the kill zone of a deer at 200 yards???

I've made 29 one shot kills in a row, on big game with my Krieghoff Semper, and it won't shoot them all in the same hole!

Load to the velocity you want, with reasonable accuracy and go shoot a deer!

DM

Hunting is my primary goal, especially this time of year. I will shoot year round, however, and enjoy bench shooting during the non-hunting months. So when I considered a gun (ie Cooper) that guarantees .5 MOA accuracy, I strive to take advantage of what the gun offers.

Nothing is quite as disheartening as putting a gun on a bench and the holes are 3 to 4 inches apart. You may think this is absurd, but gun makers will tell you that is "acceptable" for a hunting gun and will do the job on large game. Hummm....I don't buy this answer. Large wild boar hogs are short, low to the ground and compact. They can take a hit and make it deep into the swamp before they die if the shot is not VERY accurate in a kill zone right behind the ear. This gives me about 2" or even a tad less to place a shot to break the spine and cause the hog to drop in his tracks. Also know, my area of SC is very dense and swampy. Accuracy counts. If I was shooting large plains animals, or game in more open terrain, I could track them if they made it out of my immediate area. I don't have this luxury.

 

[Newtosavage]

Morrey, I understand and agree with you, and my primary use for my rifle is hunting. If you can have an accurate hunting rifle, why wouldn't you, right?

I demand more than 3" groups from my hunting rifles. Even my pre-64 Win. 30-30 gives me 1.5" groups at 100, which is why I've owned it for 30 years now.

I'm getting sub MOA results from my Savage model 10 .308, and if I wasn't, I'd get rid of it and get one that did. 300 yard accuracy should be a reasonable goal for a modern bolt-action rifle, but if someone is shooting 2" groups at 100 yards, that is 6" or more at 300 and IMO that's just not acceptable or responsible.

Good for you for demanding accuracy in your hunting gun. To me, that just shows you are a responsible hunter.

 

[sirgilligan]

I contacted Cooper last June. I corresponded with Glenn D. May.

Sir,
Our accuracy guarantee is .5 MOA at 100 yards for 3 shots & applies to handloads & Factory MATCH ammunition. I hope this helps.


Glenn D. May…

I then asked if someone has accuracy issues, what is the process. He responded:

If a customer is saying that they have an accuracy issue, the first thing we ask them is questions about ammunition. If they are shooting handloads or Match ammo, we give them the benefit of the doubt. We'll make arrangements to get the rifle into the shop & go through it with a fine toothed comb. We'll also test fire it more thoroughly to ensure that the test target groups weren't a fluke or an exception. We'll make any repairs that are needed & send the rifle home for the customer to try out. This usually resolves any accuracy issues. If the customer still believes that there is an accuracy issue, we'll get the rifle back & due something drastic like rebarrel or what have you just to ensure that we have done all that is possible. At the end of the day we want to be able to say that we did all that could possibly be done for the customer

That response leads me to believe that Cooper is an excellent company that stands behind their product and supports their customer.

I was researching expected accuracy when I contacted Cooper. I also found out that 3" groups at 100 yards is considered "with in specifications" for Browning, and it is rumored that most "common" quality hunting rifles have that expectation. That means that if you call customer service and you tell them you are getting 3" groups they will say, "That's great."

 

[Gtscotty]

Morrey, I understand and agree with you, and my primary use for my rifle is hunting. If you can have an accurate hunting rifle, why wouldn't you, right?

I demand more than 3" groups from my hunting rifles. Even my pre-64 Win. 30-30 gives me 1.5" groups at 100, which is why I've owned it for 30 years now.

I'm getting sub MOA results from my Savage model 10 .308, and if I wasn't, I'd get rid of it and get one that did. 300 yard accuracy should be a reasonable goal for a modern bolt-action rifle, but if someone is shooting 2" groups at 100 yards, that is 6" or more at 300 and IMO that's just not acceptable or responsible.

Good for you for demanding accuracy in your hunting gun. To me, that just shows you are a responsible hunter.

Nice straw man you've set up there. No one here has advocated that the OP accept 3 in groups, that's preposterous, especially given what he paid for a premium rifle. All most of us are saying is that he doesn't have to stick with the one target load that the manufacturer provided, and it doesn't sound like he intends to when he gets time this spring to work up loads. Additionally, many of us are very familiar with what it takes to kill deer/hogs, and 0.5in groups isn't on the list.

I also reject your earlier assertion that 2,500 fps is all anyone should want with with a 165 gr SBT for hunting. Will your load kill deer? Sure it will, but so would a .308 in diameter stick jammed in the right spot. The real question is whether it kills deer/hogs as quickly and humanely. The same bullet with an impact velocity of 2700 fps is going to upset more, mushroom larger and cause more hydrostatic shock and associated damage than the same bullet at 2300 fps. In my hunting experience, the same bullet going faster, when put into the heart/lung area of medium sized game will kill faster and result in less tracking. This is especially relevant because the OP is concerned about bringing hogs down quick fast and in a hurry, so he doesn't have to track them through a swap, having done that I can sympathize. All of this, if course, assumes adequate penetration, but I've never had penetration problems on deer or even hogs with that bullet.

It seems the OP is on the sensible track, using what he has to this year for expediency's sake, and working up a load with better velocity and still excellent accuracy when he has time this spring.

 

[Newtosavage]

GT, no need to make it personal.

 

[DM~]

No one here has advocated that the OP accept 3 in groups, that's preposterous, especially given what he paid for a premium rifle. All most of us are saying is that he doesn't have to stick with the one target load that the manufacturer provided, and it doesn't sound like he intends to when he gets time this spring to work up loads. Additionally, many of us are very familiar with what it takes to kill deer/hogs, and 0.5in groups isn't on the list.

EXACTLY, and "that" was my point... You can use a faster load for hunting and the slower for what ever else...

1-1/2" groups are MORE than good enough for hunting...

Some how I don't think everyone who kills game in SC has to have "Cooper 1/2" accuracy" to get a hog or deer...

DM

 

[R.W.Dale]

I will make it easy for you.

Load a cup n core flat base soft point bullet between 125 and 150 grains over a case full of varget and if the factory test load accuracy can be matched you will. Then let er rip tator chip and you'll see some spectacular DRT kills.