Hornady 150gn Soft Point (#3031) ???

[MWC1974]

I’m shooting 150gn SPs out of my 308 at 2700fps and it just seems to me that I’m not getting the expansion that I should expect. 2 deer in the last week. One was right through the boiler room, only went 40-50 yards, very little blood trail and the exit wound didn’t seem to be any larger than the entrance. Second deer, neck shot. Exit was nearly the same as entrance. Both deer were less than 100 yards.

Anyone else shoot these bullets at a comparable velocity and feel they weren’t expanding?

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

Two dead deer and both bullets exited and didn't blow apart...where's the problem?

 

[MWC1974]

Two dead deer and both bullets exited and didn't blow apart...where's the problem?

they are designed to mushroom at the velocity I am shooting and I don’t think they are. When I say minimal blood trail, like a dime sized drop every 10 feet or so. Pretty sure the 30 cal exit wound didn’t allow for a decent blood trail despite being a heart shot.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

they are designed to mushroom at the velocity I am shooting and I don’t think they are. When I say minimal blood trail, like a dime sized drop every 10 feet or so. Pretty sure the 30 cal exit wound didn’t allow for a decent blood trail despite being a heart shot.

You might want to call Hornady AFTER confirming your bullet is still travelling at the required velocity at the 100-yard mark. There might be a problem with the lot #.

 

[TEXASJD]

Berger VLD hunt 155s there will be blood

 

[Jonny2guns]

Was the 2700fps over a chronograph, or listed velocity?
And what is (#3031) is that the lot number, or the powder you were using?

I have purchased a good supply of that bullet, it seems to shoot good, but I hope there isn't a problem with performance.

 

[MWC1974]

Was the 2700fps over a chronograph, or listed velocity?
And what is (#3031) is that the lot number, or the powder you were using?

I have purchased a good supply of that bullet, it seems to shoot good, but I hope there isn't a problem with performance.

2700fps is over a Cardwell chronograph, 10 feet in front of the bench. #3031 is the Hornady bullet number. Didn’t want to confuse anyone with 150gn SP, SST, SPBT, etc. I agree, it’s damn accurate but I’m starting to question terminal performance. That’s why I came here to see if anyone else has observed the same results, or concerns, with that particular bullet.

 

[Jonny2guns]

Well crap...
Guess I'll wait to see the experts thoughts on them.

 

[jmr40]

Those should expand at speeds as slow as 1800 fps, maybe 1600 fps. Generally, you want to avoid impact speeds over 2800 fps with traditional cup and core bullets or they over expand.

If anything you may be shooting them too fast and they may be breaking up inside the deer. The exit holes you are finding could be just part of the bullet base.

 

[TEXASJD]

That’s about the performance I have seen for that bullet at that speed it’s perfect for hogs but they are much denser. They will do much better on whitetail at about 3200

 

[Bfh_auto]

Welcome to interlocks. If you want guaranteed expansion in deer. You need to step on them harder. Or you can switch to an SST or ballistic tip.
A cheaper bullet that gets good reviews in 308 is the Speer Hotcore. I have a pile but haven't used them on game.

 

[Howa 9700]

I currently have some load ladders ready with same bullet in 308. A parameter I use for target velocity is comparable factory round speed. In the case of these, Hornady American Whitetail factory velocity is 2820. But as for the bullet, that is what comes in factory ammo intended for hunting.

Never paid any attention to this before, but best bullet choice may depend on hunting conditions and aim point philosophy. Lung shots through ribs vs. shoulder.....and close range or distance.

We go for heart/lung shots (ribs) at close range (90% 100 yards or less). If the Interlocks won't get it done, will switch to SST's. Have heard a lot of complaints about damaged meat from those, but they may be taking shoulder shots.

 

[Howa 9700]

Those should expand at speeds as slow as 1800 fps, maybe 1600 fps. Generally, you want to avoid impact speeds over 2800 fps with traditional cup and core bullets or they over expand.

If anything you may be shooting them too fast and they may be breaking up inside the deer. The exit holes you are finding could be just part of the bullet base.

Have seen numerous references to this same issue......but generally from faster bullets, say a 270 Win. Bullets blowing apart at close range when still running hot. Implication was they were best when shooting game at a distance......where bullet had slowed down enough they would still expand and hold together.

Would assume each bullet was designed for typical factory speed for the caliber.

 

[Laphroaig]

Some time ago I settled on 30 Cal. Hornady bullets for deer hunting, but 165 gr. both #3040 and #3045. My reasoning was that they held together better than Sierras and destroyed less meat. They have performed well for me.

I can't speak to your experiences, other than you ended up with 2 kills. Animals sometimes run on adrenalin with a fatal hit and I don't think 40 or 50 yards is anything to be alarmed about.

The problem with evaluating bullet performance on game is that most hunters only have opportunity to kill a few animals each year and every shot is different so it takes a while to form an valid opinion. My advice would be to keep hunting with the #3031's until you finish the box. If you still don't like them, try something else. I've only heard bad things about SST's and would recommend moving up to 165's if that is the route that you choose.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Welcome to interlocks. If you want guaranteed expansion in deer. You need to step on them harder. Or you can switch to an SST or ballistic tip.
A cheaper bullet that gets good reviews in 308 is the Speer Hotcore. I have a pile but haven't used them on game.

I second the Hot Cor but I prefer the 165 and 180gr bullets in .30-06 and .300 Savage. At 30¢/bullet (from the warehouse to my door, typically) they're kind of pricey but still a few pennies less than the Hornady's.

We go for heart/lung shots (ribs) at close range (90% 100 yards or less).

I'm one of them, too. I prefer a quartering-away shot so I can get past the ribs and into the pump house without hitting bone but that's not always possible. Some folks who run in the faster-smaller-lighter bullet crowd like to take neck shots - disconnect the brain box from the running gears - but that's not always possible, either.

Animals sometimes run on adrenalin with a fatal hit and I don't think 40 or 50 yards is anything to be alarmed about.

Whether you take out the brain box or the pump house, either way you got venison in the freezer.
Now... a sloppy gut shot, on the other hand... No bueno, amigo!

 

[GooseGestapo]

The recent Hornady 150’s have a rather pointed profile and doesn’t expand like they did 15-20yrs ago.
I’d suggest it’s the bullet.
If you want a quicker expansion go with the Sierra ProHunter 150’s.
Speer’s are good too, and currently available at a much better price than either Hornady or Sierra’s,
MidwayUSA has them in stock.

 

[MWC1974]

Thank you for all of the responses. Upon further research, the bullet (#3031) is designed to expand at my velocity. Yes, 2 dead deer and yes 40-50 yards is not far at all. After all, the hooves do what the brain says and until the brain is starved of oxygen, the hooves obey the signals from brain. The boiler room shot was at 60 yards and I managed to miss ribs on both entrance and exit. The neck shot (40 yards) also had minimal expansion, if any, spine shot just in front of the shoulder and i hit the jugular… but it was not a pretty moment for 30-45 seconds after I pulled the trigger.

Anyhow, small sample size with these two deer and me judging the terminal performance of the Hornady #3031 bullets. Back at it tomorrow. I have 2 more of these loaded up and some SSTs on the back burner. Again, thanks for everyone’s insight and input.

 

[Keyfer 55]

I use old school speer 180 RN .

 

[Random 8]

I've killed a fair number of deer with this specific bullet, including 2 this season 2021 production bullets with a .300 Savage and a slightly lower (estimated) velocity than yours. Expansion was as I would have expected from any generic soft point. "Good" damage and a pass through without any long quartering angle or heavy bone.

I have had exactly one failure with a Hornady bullet over the years, and it was on a shot similar to your boiler room shot. Bullet passed through high lung area without hitting any ribs, and didn't appear to expand. The lungs were also barely impacted. As best as I can figure, the bullet hit just as the lungs were at minimum inflation and simply didn't impact enough tissue to expand fully. Exit hole was slightly larger than entrance. This was with a 174 RN in 7,62x54R caliber.

Try putting them through some plastic jugs full of water and see what happens.

I typically don't see a lot of exit hole on neck shots. The bullet seems to shed petals in the heavy muscle and bone there, expending most of it's energy inside and driving a relatively narrow core out the back. I get this effect with everything from NP to Speer GS, Hornady IL, Hornady SST, and Win PP and Speer Hot Core from .300Sav to .280 Rem including some relatively light for caliber bullets in the .280. I favor the neck shot when practical, and the majority of the deer I've killed have been with this shot placement.

 

[sugarmaker]

I used those in an 06 about 45 years ago at an estimated 3000 FPS. I stopped using it as I thought it was a meat wrecker at close distances. The deer were all dead, jello in the boiler room, hitting bone would ruin a quarter. I switched to a much slower and stouter Seirra 165 bthp at 2500, its still the “hammer of Thor” with a reasonable shot, I’ve never recovered one.

 

[Steve S.]

I have shot deer with the 150 SP and now I shoot the 150 SST - both rounds did about the same thing but the SST is more consistent in both of my .308’s. As with your experience, both rounds plow thur deer like they are not even there - small entrance and small exit - but they all die quickly. Sometimes I think that a .308 is too much gun for deer size game but it certainly does the job. I never really thought about expansion as a killing problem as all I have shot travel little - most hunch up and fall right where shot. In my experience which mirrors yours, I never looked at it as a problem.

 

[Bandit67]

I've only been hunting deer for 42 years, but if I'm confident I made a good shot and I get dime sized drops of blood every 10 feet and a dead deer 40-50 yards away, I call that a huge success.
Depending on how high in the boiler room you hit them they sometimes bleed mostly into the chest cavity. I don't have much experience with neck shots so I don't know how much they bleed from a shot like that.

 

[Thomasss]

I've been shooting #3031 150 grain in my .30-06 at 2750 fps for over 10 years and never had a problem. They expand faster and better than Rem. Core-Loks and Speer Hot-Core. The only factors I can think of is that you may not have connected on a bone with your thru and thru shots. Cold temperatures can also affect powder ignition. Lately, I've been using temperature insensitive powders in order maintain my velocity.

 

[lordpaxman]

Try putting them through some plastic jugs full of water and see what happens.

^^This^^
Congratulations on the two recoveries. While the performance of the bullet is in question, that’s a 100% recovery rate, I’d take that any year. If you’re looking to switch bullets, I prefer the Nosler 150 Ballistic Tip for whitetail. Good luck.

 

[Random 8]

Nice day out and I had a few with dinged tips left over from firearms season. Shot 5 in the backyard. One to confirm zero, 4 through various targets as follows.

Frozen can of diet pop (soda for the rest of the country). POOF! Turned it into shrapnel.
Liquid can of diet pop. Ditto.
5 gallon pail ice block (out of bucket). Nice ice cube dispersion across aprox 20 yards and a satisfying hollow "whump!" There was a frozen and broken stock tank heater in the block, but only the cord appeared to take a direct impact.
8" thick aspen log. Knocked it over solidly and drove some good wood chips out the back side, leaving aprox 45-50 caliber sized hole.
Also shot the same log with 7,62X54R LPS ~148grain military ball (FMJ steel core). 5 shots, 5 X 30ish caliber holes through and through, block still standing.

Fired from a .300 Savage M760 with IMR 4064 at max book loading Lyman 47th. Estimated velocity 2600FPS. All targets at 50 paces, good enough for govt work at 50 yards.
Unless you got a bad batch, these absolutely do expand as I would consider perfectly appropriate for whitetail deer on normal shot angles at similar velocity.