They shoot the same?

[CuseHunter]

I shoot hornady 150gr .308 custom ammo. It shoots great out of my rifle but have not had the best results on the ballistics on taking deer. Debating shooting the same ammo just a ballistic tip or somthing tipped differntly. You think changing the tip of the bullet will make it shoot differently? I don't want to change bullets mid season if it would force me to re-sight in the rifle.

[cdmckane]

Which Hornady rounds? As long as they're not fmj, you should be ok. I love their SST and American Whitetail ammo loaded with Interlock bullets.

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[CuseHunter]

I'll look when I get home, they are the 150gr "custom match" ammo

[cdmckane]

If it's match ammo, it's not hunting ammo. I used to shoot matches in the army and I'd never consider match ammo for game animals.

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[ants]

"custom match" doesn't sound like a hunting bullet. Sounds more like a bullet that is made for long range accuracy & competition shooting rather than one that expands well, delivers a lot of shock  and is designed for taking deer.

Standard 150gr  .308 Remington core- lokt or Winchester power points (hunting rounds) should do just fine.

 

Look into the bullet design.

 

[MACHINIST]

I shoot a 308 and I will tell you that for a hunting bullet the Core-lokt bullets from Remington are absolute bad azz killers.Try them.I have shot core Lokts out of every rifle I own and with the exception of one they were the top 2 most accurate bullets that shot and will leave a blood trail from a deer that will look like someone sprayed the woods with a weed sprayer.

Edited December 3, 2013 by MACHINIST

[CuseHunter]

Just looked at the box. The tips are "BTSP" on the box it just says hornady custom ammo

[CuseHunter]

I shoot a 308 and I will tell you that for a hunting bullet the Core-lokt bullets from Remington are absolute bad azz killers.Try them.I have shot core Lokts out of every rifle I own and with the exception of one they were the top 2 most accurate bullets that shot and will leave a blood trail from a deer that will look like someone sprayed the woods with a weed sprayer.

I'll have to get a box and go to the range after the season is over. I always like trying somthing new.

[shawnhu]

Just looked at the box. The tips are "BTSP" on the box it just says hornady custom ammo

Ballistic tip soft point? Sounds good enough for deer to me.

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[Ford]

Boat Tail Soft Point. Should do the job...Not really familiar with Hornady offerings. Federal 165 BTSP is a good choice in 30/06. I would imagine that they have a similar load in 308? Maybe 150 gr?

[Hock3y24]

Hornaday American whitetail 308 150's interlock bullet

[ADK Tank]

I wouldn't switch your bullets mid season, my Ruger M77 Ultralight will not shoot the ballistic tip Hornady's accurately. I could only get about a 6" group at 100yds. I went back to the boat tail soft points and it came into a 1/2" group at 100yds. You may be fine but it definately depends on the gun and how it's going to react.

[phade]

Plenty of people use BTSP to hunt with.

 

Price wise the new "deer" specific loads out there have been getting great reviews...Hornady Whitetail, Federal Fusion, and the Winchester variant. They're more price conscious. That said, when you sight in next season, I'd include the Corelokt in the testing.

 

 

[Early]

Here's another vote for Corelokt !!   Interesting that when they came out many years ago they were regarded as  "super hi-tech, new and improved bullets".....Well, in a way, they still are!  For the price, nothing out there can beat them!

[bluecoupe]

If you change bullets, go to the range and shoot them before hitting the woods.  The last thing you want is an unexpected result when aimed at that bruiser or mrs bruiser.

[Doewhacker]

Just research bullet construction and find out what you want yours to do on impact, kinda like picking a broad head. Personaly I prefer bonded bullets over corelokt style. I would stay away from match bullets.

[Pygmy]

Why were you unhappy with the Hornady boat tail soft points?

 

They should perform fine on deer size game, as long as they are accurate in your rifle. 

[CuseHunter]

Thanks for the great advice guys. I will keep the set up I have now till after the season then I will go to the range. I had shot many deer over the past 2 years with this rifle and bullet. I've been happy with it until I had one deer this year I shot right through the pump station and it ran like a bastard, with blood for first 10 feet then none. Finally found the deer like 200 yards away because of the crows I heard. Next doe I got this year I lost with a good shot and once again poor blood trail, added to the mix, I had 2 out of four bullets not fire in my clip which was a not-so nice feeling when I had the whole herd looking at me and no more bullets to send as they stood there. My doe tags would have liked to be filled.

[Pygmy]

To answer your original  question, in MY rifles,  similar shaped bullets of equal weight do tend to group the same with equal powder charges. Group size may differ, but group  LOCATION is similar. However, every rifle is an individual, and to be sure you should certainly  check any different load on the bench before you take it hunting.

 

As for poor blood trails, btsp bullets of standard cup/core design sometimes DO tend to shed thier jackets easier than other designs. This can result in a lack of exit hole, which can result in a poor blood trail.

 

As for the rounds that did not fire..Was the primer dented ?

[CuseHunter]

To answer your original question, in MY rifles, similar shaped bullets of equal weight do tend to group the same with equal powder charges. Group size may differ, but group LOCATION is similar. However, every rifle is an individual, and to be sure you should certainly check any different load on the bench before you take it hunting.

As for poor blood trails, btsp bullets of standard cup/core design sometimes DO tend to shed thier jackets easier than other designs. This can result in a lack of exit hole, which can result in a poor blood trail.

As for the rounds that did not fire..Was the primer dented ?

I wish I could have found the spend shell but in the heat of the moment, I was more concerned .with tracking down the doe that ran off. I looked in the snow around me for like 1 minute and couldn't find where it fell as I was in 8 inch deep snow.

I did go back to camp though and take apart the bolt and cleaned it hoping maybe the firing pin was slowed down and caused the misfire due to it being extremely cold (0 degrees) and the rem oil with Teflon I use on the exterior of the bolt could have seeped into the firing pin area and slowed down the pin due to low temps/ gobing up

[Pygmy]

I wish I could have found the spend shell but in the heat of the moment, I was more concerned .with tracking down the doe that ran off. I looked in the snow around me for like 1 minute and couldn't find where it fell as I was in 8 inch deep snow.

I did go back to camp though and take apart the bolt and cleaned it hoping maybe the firing pin was slowed down and caused the misfire due to it being extremely cold (0 degrees) and the rem oil with Teflon I use on the exterior of the bolt could have seeped into the firing pin area and slowed down the pin due to low temps/ gobing up

 

Ok..Too bad you couldn't find the cartridge to examine the primer...Although it certainly happens sometimes, modern day primers SELDOM fail to fire if struck with sufficient  force from the firing pin.

 

MUCH more often, it is a gun problem rather than an ammo problem. Personally, the only time I have seen rifle primers fail was with VERY old loaded ammo ( both military and commercial) which very well might have been stored under inproper conditions.  I  once had a box of 7 x 57 Super X that was bought at a gun show..It was probably manufactured during the 1920s.  About half of the rounds were either misfires or hangfires. I have seen some duds in military surplus ammo also, usually very old, corroded stuff.

 

The cold weather may  well have been an issue...

 

Sometimes firing spring springs weaken with time and use..I had a Ruger 25-06 that started misfiring with my reloads after firing a few hundred rounds. I tried it with factory ammo and it did the same thing, so I knew it was not an ammo problem..Took the rifle to a gunsmith and he installed a heavy duty firing pin spring...End of problem..It never misfired again.

 

Some guns are very sensitive to primer seating depth..Get a primer that is seated a little too deep and they misfire..TC  Contenders were noted for that.

[CuseHunter]

Ok..Too bad you couldn't find the cartridge to examine the primer...Although it certainly happens sometimes, modern day primers SELDOM fail to fire if struck with sufficient force from the firing pin.

MUCH more often, it is a gun problem rather than an ammo problem. Personally, the only time I have seen rifle primers fail was with VERY old loaded ammo ( both military and commercial) which very well might have been stored under inproper conditions. I once had a box of 7 x 57 Super X that was bought at a gun show..It was probably manufactured during the 1920s. About half of the rounds were either misfires or hangfires. I have seen some duds in military surplus ammo also, usually very old, corroded stuff.

The cold weather may well have been an issue...

Sometimes firing spring springs weaken with time and use..I had a Ruger 25-06 that started misfiring with my reloads after firing a few hundred rounds. I tried it with factory ammo and it did the same thing, so I knew it was not an ammo problem..Took the rifle to a gunsmith and he installed a heavy duty firing pin spring...End of problem..It never misfired again.

Some guns are very sensitive to primer seating depth..Get a primer that is seated a little too deep and they misfire..TC Contenders were noted for that.

appreciate the insight. My buddy uses a h&r single shot .308 and was unlucky enough to have two misfires with the pin striking the ammo during hunting too, seriously a hindrance when shooting a single shot. We looked at the Ammo, and the primers were seriously low seated in all of the bullets. Not the issue with my hornady's. I'll just have to hope my set up works when it needs to this week and then after the season play around.

Who knows I might treat myself to the new Weatherby vanguard S2 in .270 or .300WSM

[ADK Tank]

Thanks for the great advice guys. I will keep the set up I have now till after the season then I will go to the range. I had shot many deer over the past 2 years with this rifle and bullet. I've been happy with it until I had one deer this year I shot right through the pump station and it ran like a bastard, with blood for first 10 feet then none. Finally found the deer like 200 yards away because of the crows I heard. Next doe I got this year I lost with a good shot and once again poor blood trail, added to the mix, I had 2 out of four bullets not fire in my clip which was a not-so nice feeling when I had the whole herd looking at me and no more bullets to send as they stood there. My doe tags would have liked to be filled.

 

I also had a Hornady Custom not go off for me about 10 years ago on a nice buck standing broadside 40' away. He didn't hang out too long after he heard my gun go click and I never got him. It was not a rifle problem either becuase we tried it in about 6 other guns and it wouldn't go off.  I only had the bullets at most 2 years and if they weren't on me while hunting they were stored in my gun cabinet drawer next to a bag of silica to keep moisture away. That was the last year I used Hornady's.

[CuseHunter]

I just looked down in my cabinet. I actually ended up buying and trying out last year the Remington corelokts and the federal fusions (180gr) and they both did not group very well out of my rifle. I think I'll try the whitetail hornady round, and also grab a box of some kind of Winchester round. I don't want to try and test a super expensive round like nosler. I can't see myself dropping 40+ dollars on a box of ammo.

[Pygmy]

I just looked down in my cabinet. I actually ended up buying and trying out last year the Remington corelokts and the federal fusions (180gr) and they both did not group very well out of my rifle. I think I'll try the whitetail hornady round, and also grab a box of some kind of Winchester round. I don't want to try and test a super expensive round like nosler. I can't see myself dropping 40+ dollars on a box of ammo.

I don't blame you for not wanting to spend $40 a box for ammo..

 

One thing in your favor...Nearly every  ammo manufacturer offers .308 hunting loads..

 

There are other choices out there ( Privi Partisan comes to mind)  that are reasonably priced..

 

Good luck...

 

One other thought... A load does not need to produce benchrest accuracy to be an effective hunting load...No need for 1" groups at 100 yards for deer hunting..  If your rifle produces  2" groups at 100, that's only a 6 inch group at 300, which is still well within "minute of whitetail"...