What bullet weight are you looking for? I’ve got A BUNCH of 6.5 hunting bullets.
I should’ve prefaced with, I have a few gift cards for Bass Pro/Cabela’s, so I’m trying to find bullets there since my fundage is extremely slight, and the gift cards were earned at work. Of what I am familiar with, other than Hornady SSTs, I am having a tougher time without a .30. For my 6.5, I have 3 I really like, Hornady ELD-X (seemingly harder to find), Berger Hybrid VLD (higher than I can afford right now), Nosler AB LR (same reason with the VLDs). My rifle, at least to now, chosen the Nosler, my son’s likes the Hybrid VLD.
The heavier ones, 140-147…ish
PM me your address, and I’ll send you some. I’ve got 140 gr SST’s and Remington Corelokts.
Corelokts would be my choice, but I’ll send you both.
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The difference in hunting bullets vs competition bullets comes down to the controlled expansion in hunting bullets they all like to compete with as well as retained weight in hunting bullets vs the BC of the match bullets which are thin skinned with no control over expansion.
Competition bullets are designed to be sleeker with flying through the air as the top priority.
The manufacturers produce lots of bullets for varmints designed to expand quickly, cause lots of damage internally and have no exit wound to preserve hides.
In reality, a match bullet will perform very well in thin skinned animals including deer. I've killed a lot of deer with a .55 grain Nosler varmint bullet.
Well over 8 million souls have succumbed to the 5.56 FMJ because of its propensity by design to yaw and cause much damage.
I've killed many deer with a .55 grain hunting bullet and larger, close to 300 total along with other calibers/bullets as well as elk sized animals,10 in total, doing an autopsy on each personally to field dress and see how that bullet performed.
No speculation on my part, firsthand observation with the guts in hand.
Varmint bullets will work better than controlled expansion bullets in the lighter calibers. They explode internally causing multiple wound channels internally.
Varmint bullets will not work on elk sized game.
Match bullets will work fine on deer sized game, not so on thicker skinned game.
Those are my personal observations from what really happens in the field.
The manufacturers are interested in selling their product, always looking for a way to get $$ from the customers.
There will always be the new magic bullet, magic caliber coming out every year to sell firearms and ammo.
Customers will fall in line to buy them.
Competition bullets are designed to be sleeker with flying through the air as the top priority.
The manufacturers produce lots of bullets for varmints designed to expand quickly, cause lots of damage internally and have no exit wound to preserve hides.
In reality, a match bullet will perform very well in thin skinned animals including deer. I've killed a lot of deer with a .55 grain Nosler varmint bullet.
Well over 8 million souls have succumbed to the 5.56 FMJ because of its propensity by design to yaw and cause much damage.
I've killed many deer with a .55 grain hunting bullet and larger, close to 300 total along with other calibers/bullets as well as elk sized animals,10 in total, doing an autopsy on each personally to field dress and see how that bullet performed.
No speculation on my part, firsthand observation with the guts in hand.
Varmint bullets will work better than controlled expansion bullets in the lighter calibers. They explode internally causing multiple wound channels internally.
Varmint bullets will not work on elk sized game.
Match bullets will work fine on deer sized game, not so on thicker skinned game.
Those are my personal observations from what really happens in the field.
The manufacturers are interested in selling their product, always looking for a way to get $$ from the customers.
There will always be the new magic bullet, magic caliber coming out every year to sell firearms and ammo.
Customers will fall in line to buy them.
Match bullets CAN do very well in the terminal ballistics department. They definitely typically allow for a very precise placement of the shot, which is one of the most important aspects of humanely harvesting game.
The only problem is that match bullets were not designed for this role, therefore the terminal ballistics results are less predictable than with a good hunting bullet. You may get perfect expansion, you may get a shallow explosion, you may even end up with a pencil through.
With something like a headshot on a cull or nuisance animal, it Isn't as big of a deal. However, I wouldn't risk a $$$ hunt on a bullet that wasn't being used for the purpose it was designed.
Having shot quite a few coyotes with the 69gr SMK out of a 20" .223, I can attest that there were a couple instances where the animal took a perfect boiler room shot and ran off...I don't think I ever had one survive...but they were definitely found (or what was left) weeks later, hundreds of yards from the shot. I switched to the Mk 318 Mod 0, and then the 64gr Gold Dot. The terminal results have been much more positive.
Adding to the problem are the internet forums...you know, the places where guys get together and share fishing stories. How many guys get 5' behind the deer they shot in order to make it twice as big? The same guys are just as prone to double the shot distance for the audience, or they somehow kill everything DRT in spectacular fashion.
Again, I'm not saying that a match bullet won't provide a quick kill. I'm just stating that your chances of it always providing a quick kill are less than a good hunting bullet.
The only problem is that match bullets were not designed for this role, therefore the terminal ballistics results are less predictable than with a good hunting bullet. You may get perfect expansion, you may get a shallow explosion, you may even end up with a pencil through.
With something like a headshot on a cull or nuisance animal, it Isn't as big of a deal. However, I wouldn't risk a $$$ hunt on a bullet that wasn't being used for the purpose it was designed.
Having shot quite a few coyotes with the 69gr SMK out of a 20" .223, I can attest that there were a couple instances where the animal took a perfect boiler room shot and ran off...I don't think I ever had one survive...but they were definitely found (or what was left) weeks later, hundreds of yards from the shot. I switched to the Mk 318 Mod 0, and then the 64gr Gold Dot. The terminal results have been much more positive.
Adding to the problem are the internet forums...you know, the places where guys get together and share fishing stories. How many guys get 5' behind the deer they shot in order to make it twice as big? The same guys are just as prone to double the shot distance for the audience, or they somehow kill everything DRT in spectacular fashion.
Again, I'm not saying that a match bullet won't provide a quick kill. I'm just stating that your chances of it always providing a quick kill are less than a good hunting bullet.
I refer to the bullet manufacturers reloading manuals.
The better ones have tables explaining what velocity each bullet is expected to perform at on what type of target.
If you put a 125 HP for a 30/30 velocity in a 300 win mag, and bust something at point blank range the projectile will fragment and not perform well.
If you put a 150 grain soft point intended for magnum velocities in a subsonic round and hit a target at 400 yards, it will behave like a FMJ.
The calibers to think about are limited to the guns you own, so start with those.
Look at the tables for velocity over the range you expect to take shots.
Know what your projectile is intended to do and what the velocity range is.
Be realistic about the ranges and conditions. No point picking combination that works at 600 yards but won't enter the sweet spot until its 200 yards down range if you're in brushy country.
Pick a load and projectile that is appropriate for the application or buy factory ammo where someone has done it for you.
Compared to the cost of your rifle, a few reloading books are cheap.
You will spend more time hunting for a cripped an animal than it will take you do your homework.
Also, test your rounds and verify they hit the target as expected before hunting.
Changes in components do change point of impact and group size.
Sometimes it's not enough to care in a hunting scenario, sometimes it is.
The better ones have tables explaining what velocity each bullet is expected to perform at on what type of target.
If you put a 125 HP for a 30/30 velocity in a 300 win mag, and bust something at point blank range the projectile will fragment and not perform well.
If you put a 150 grain soft point intended for magnum velocities in a subsonic round and hit a target at 400 yards, it will behave like a FMJ.
The calibers to think about are limited to the guns you own, so start with those.
Look at the tables for velocity over the range you expect to take shots.
Know what your projectile is intended to do and what the velocity range is.
Be realistic about the ranges and conditions. No point picking combination that works at 600 yards but won't enter the sweet spot until its 200 yards down range if you're in brushy country.
Pick a load and projectile that is appropriate for the application or buy factory ammo where someone has done it for you.
Compared to the cost of your rifle, a few reloading books are cheap.
You will spend more time hunting for a cripped an animal than it will take you do your homework.
Also, test your rounds and verify they hit the target as expected before hunting.
Changes in components do change point of impact and group size.
Sometimes it's not enough to care in a hunting scenario, sometimes it is.
I use them along with Sierra Game Kings. Prefer 175gr-185gr Berger VLD Hunting in 30 cal, but I'll use 178gr ELD-X in 30 cal if I can't get the Bergers. I use 140gr SST, 130gr Berger Hybrid AR, and even 136gr Scenars in 6.5 in both a Man Bun and a 260. They're all HP so they are legal and every deer I shot with one drops where it stands. The only time I've had an animal run off was with a soft point.
OTM aren't FMJ like people think and they don't burn through like an icepick the way FMJ might do or like people might think. The tip deforms and the bullet will yaw and if they exit, the hole is the size of my fist.
OTM aren't FMJ like people think and they don't burn through like an icepick the way FMJ might do or like people might think. The tip deforms and the bullet will yaw and if they exit, the hole is the size of my fist.
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I've noticed in recent times that more and more bullet manufactures are stating a minimum impact velocity for expansion, especially the solid copper/bronze/brass bullets, I've used match bullets for varmint hunting and as long as I can get a hit at the minimum velocity that generates the minimum energy for big game (1000 fp for deer) and (1500 fp for elk & black bear) and these bullets will open up I figure they would open up even wider on larger animals. I never have hunted big game with match bullets but with the prices and spotty availablilty of things these days, I keep this in mind. Another thing that has stuck with me since I read about it when I was a kid, William "Karamoja" Bell, one of the greatest elephant hunters of all time, quite often used the 7mm Mouser with military FMJ bullets to slay hundreds of elephants, he would run alongside of them and shoot them in the head and usually drop them with one shot thru the brain, but he was in excellent shape and a deadly accurate marksman, this brings us back to the old wise saying about bullet placement, accuracy first, bullet type 2nd but the bullet needs to be strong enough to penetrate to the vitals, them two things will get the job done.
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I’m exuberantly (is that a word?) grateful. This actually helps me more than you know, it just makes sense!
I will make 2 loads now, since it’s a crap shoot as to what type terrain I am hunting every year, at least until (if) I ever find a lease.
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