Speer Match .30 168gr BT for deer?

[Delmar]

RaySendero-thanks for the tip! What I love about this board is the free exchange of info.

Trapper-we know you really want to get into reloading

Reloading and shooting......who would have thought that the one hobby would be just as addictive as the other????

 

[trapperjohn]

just what i need
another addiction :banghead: :banghead:

 

[Delmar]

Well, hey Trapperjohn, whats not to like? Properly constructed reloads make average firearms shoot good, and good firearms shoot gooder!

Too bad they don't help grammar.............

If you like 10ths of a grain and thousandths of an inch, you are a goner!

 

[Delmar]

Trapperjohn-one thing to try is maybe to contact Speer and see if they have a hunting load close in dimensions to the load you are getting the accuracy from.

A friend of mine with a Remington 700 in 270 Winchester just could not get a factory 130 grain to group very well, so he went up in grain weight to a Hornady Custom 140 grain. Group size went from 2 to 1 inch at 100 yards with no other changes.

Of course, I had to give him a reloading fix-we got the 140's down to a half inch with the same bullet and case by making the overall length of the cartridge a bit longer. We also got the 130's to group about as well using the same method. I noticed the factory seating length was way too short for his chamber, so I set the dies accordingly.

Now, he shoots nothing but roll your owns. He came over to the house a few times, I showed him what he needed to start up, and I loaded some up while he watched, showed him what to look for, and he does his own now. Happy as a clam.....

 

[Matt G]

I've got to say-- there's immense satisfaction to be derived from stalking and putting down an animal with a load you manufactured yourself.

I went elk hunting a few years ago, and carried my Sendero (which has never, in its ~1000 rounds, fired a single round of factory ammo!) with my special 180g GameKing load in it. After a couple of days of realizing that we were in the black timber and I was NEVER going to get a shot of over 100 yards, I switched to the backup rifle, a handy little SMLE #5 with some 180g ProHunter spitzers loaded up in nickle cases over a goodly dose of 4350 (or was it 4064?), and was excited about the prospect of trying one of those out on an elk in the timber. All the while, for coup de grace purposes, I carried a .45 auto loaded with some hot XTP 230g handloads.

I couldn't WAIT to use one of my handloads to take one of the noble beasts. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. I went back the next year, and again got skunked. Oh well. Time spent in the mountains looking for elk --even unsuccessfully-- is NOT time wasted! But the thrill of hunting was spiced just that much more by carrying loads that I had put together myself. Only a couple of 4-legged critters have I even shot at with factory loads. (I have to admit that the 3 javelina I shot, I used factory handgun loads, but that was in the interests of research for carry loads.)






Uh... what were we talking about, again?

 

[RaySendero]

Uh... what were we talking about, again?

LOL - Good one!

 

[duckslayer]

You might try looking for loads that have a Hornady SXT bullet, or a Nosler Ballistic Tip. Both of these I have found to be very accurate, and the terminal performance on deer is excellent. Do not use the Hornady in a 25 caliber though, because they don't make those a boat tail for some odd reason, and I have found them to not be as accurate as the nosler in that caliber.

 

[Art Eatman]

For those who don't reload but want good expansion, I am favorable to the Federal Premium High Energy loads.

They're very accurate in my '06, with the 165-grain Sierra GameKing BTSPs. I was in some email backing-and-forthing with a guy in Australia who chronographed some of them through a 26" barrel. He said the claim of 3,000 ft/sec muzzle velocity is true.

The loads are also available with the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, Nosler Partition and Woodleigh Weldcore bullets.

As far as other Sierra bullets, I loaded some 165-grain BTHPs and got two four-shot, four-inch groups at 500 yards with them. (Used the other dozen from that box for sight-in. Getting the scope dialed in for 500 wasn't all that easy. )

FWIW, Art

 

[haynhogdogger]

Hey Art have you shot any game with the 165 sierra BTHP's yet? What Caliber? Some nice groups at 500. Just loaded up some for my girlfriends 300 WSM and she shot a couple of 2" groups at 500 yds man she's starting to get the hang of it LOL!!! I use these bullets exclusively in my 300 mags and they have provided very good accuracy and outstanding terminal perfomance on many different game animals.

Happy Huntin' N Shootin'

HA Y N

 

[Art Eatman]

HA Y N, '06.

I used to use the Sierra 165 BTHP on deer. At close range it was immensely destructive, which is okay for neck or center heart/lung shots but would have been definitely un-good if one's aim is off.

In a discussion over at TFL, a few years ago, a Sierra person said their lighter boat-tail bullets have thinner jackets than the flat-base. The 180s don't have that "problem".

If you know your Bambi shots are likely going to be at 200 yards or more, use the 150- or 165-grain boat-tails. Closer in, use the flat-base.

From all reports, the Sierra BT hunting bullets are almost the accuracy-equal of their Match bullets.

Art