Match Ammo for Hunting?

13839 Views 11 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Lycoming, Oct 21, 2004

Lycoming

Discussion Starter · Oct 19, 2004

I have been shooting 168 grain Federal Gold Medal Match .308 ammo with my Savage FP10-LE2A. Many of you here are familiar with the round. Of course it is accurate. How does the round perform on whitetailed deer? I make shots where I hunt (in central Texas) out to 250 yards. Does the bullet stay together? Can I expect to get good penetration? Thanks

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Jeff_850

· #2 · Oct 19, 2004

sorry i have bad news
the 168 gr SMK is NOT made for hunting deer
it might be a hollow point boat tail, but this BTHP is NOT made to expand, id reccomend you try out some hunting ammo, 150 gr failsafes, core-lokt ultra, maybe 168 gr Sierra Game King BTSP just to name a few loads

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mele

· #3 · Oct 19, 2004

This is true, the bullet does not perform well in terms of terminal ballistics on animals. The cases tend to fragment and break away from the lead core, and there is generally little expansion.

MEL

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Lycoming

Discussion Starter · #4 · Oct 19, 2004

Match ammo for hunting

Not good news at all

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Spoon

· #5 · Oct 20, 2004

Anything with nosler will be just about the best in my opinion. They probably have the most accurate and deadly hunting bullets. I know winchester makes a 150 and 168 grain 308 balistic tip load. They also make a 150 grain partition load. I have experimented with nosler, speer, sierra, and a few others I cant remember a long way back. Nosler by far wins. I have yet to shoot a more accurate bullet at a hundred yards than a nosler ballistic tip. Its not long range but neither is 250. While a bthp load is not recommended for killing deer, if you are a good shot, it will probably work. Just have to hit the vitals and a white tail deer is not that big of an animal, although I would still find a better alternative. With a 300wsm and 300 mag, I have shot .5 to 1.5 moa groups with winchester's ammo. Thats plenty accurate for 250 yards. If you handload you can put them all in the same hole with a good rifle.

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muzzleblast

· #6 · Oct 20, 2004

I'm with Spoon on this one, since I like my Noslers.

What I've seen with match ammo I've shot is just what everyone says. It doesn't penetrate all that far, and the jacket separates. I've only recovered my rounds from sand though, but hunting bullets still go much farther in, and ballistic silvertips have some pretty high BC's too.

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Lycoming

Discussion Starter · #7 · Oct 20, 2004

Hunting

I have seen the results on paper and on deer what a nosler ballistic tip can do. Yes very accurate and deadly. I have been shooting a 300 win mag. using remington cor-lokt bullets with excellent results. This is the first year for me to hunt with the .308 I was hoping to get some favorable reports from those of you that have used the match ammo on deer. The opinion is in favor of shooting bullets made for hunting. I can put the bullet where it needs to go (in the vitals) but of course actual hunting conditions are much different than the nice and comfortable sand bags at the range. Missing the mark with an unforgiving bullet when pulling the trigger on a trophy deer could have serious negative results. Losing the animal being number one. Thanks for the input so far.

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mele

· #8 · Oct 20, 2004

Of course, having said all that, one of the SWAT snipers here in Missoula whom I have trained with, shoots his deer every year with his issued 700 and federal GMM. With proper shot placement, it works fine, but again, I do not recommend using the ammo.

Hum, I wonder how many agencies out there let their snipers hunt with their sniper rifles.... gee, I love montana

MEL

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muzzleblast

· #9 · Oct 21, 2004

No kidding lycoming, you said it...Some hunting situations are definately not the place for your tactical setup. I found it hard to use the hunter's bread and butter, a fast offhand shot, with my rig. While its sweet for long shots in fields, that 10 power scope was a curse in this situation. So was the length of the rifle. BTW, I use the silvertip in 300 win mag for deer myself, doesn't it have some great terminal ballistics though? Match ammo is actually a little more expensive here anyway (GMM).

I guess on deer, well, their chest doesn't really offer anything a .308 cal match round couldn't handle, and neither do the shoulders. Plenty of poachers make a living with the 22LR after all...Shot placement. Hey, I would rather see someone chasing deer with the GMM than that. It's just not what either bullet was designed for. Wouldn't wanna see a shot stray a lil and hit a shoulder. Buh-bye, meat!

Dang Mel, I've never heard of anyone hunting with their duty rifle before...Thats great! At least it gives great training for shooting moving targets in fast situations, no?

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APK

· #10 · Oct 21, 2004

it doesn't have to be made for killing if you hit the dear in the eye

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Lycoming

Discussion Starter · #11 · Oct 21, 2004

Yeah, but that makes a big mess. For me, I guess its a respect thing. Respect for the animal. Bringing in a deer with half its head gone and/or its eyes bulging out and jaw hanging by the skin just does not work for me. No hard feelings toward those out there that do make head shots.

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Lycoming

Discussion Starter · #12 · Oct 21, 2004

Hunting Bullets

I have a couple of boxes of Hornady ammo ordered from Natchez Shooters Supplies(www.natchezss.com) Not the hot "Light Magnum" or "Heavy Magnum" stuff. Their lighter powder charge with their SST(super shock tip) bullet. Hornady's version of the nosler ballistic tip. Got a good deal on the ammo, $13.96 per 20 round box. Shipping was nearly 12 bucks though. I figured if I went to the gun show in Houston this weekend I would spend $7 to get in,,, not to mention burning that expensive gasoline to get there,,,then there is no guarantee that I will find the ammo at a good price once I get there. Plus I have a ton of other things to do this weekend,,,,like watching the Astros whoop up on Boston in the world series...grin.....that is if they get past St. Louis. Oh well any way you look at it I got a good deal on the ammo without having to search near and far for it.

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