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Looking for a new bullet.

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JimFromTN View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JimFromTN Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Looking for a new bullet.
    Posted: December/06/2014 at 08:30

I am planning a trip to AK in the fall and I am taking my rem 700 in 300 win mag.  There is a possibility of moose, black bear, and caribou.  Ranges could be anywhere from 10 yards to 400 yards (this is the critical part).  I don't want a bullet that is going to fail if the shot is under 50 yards.  The reason I say this is I went pig hunting once and loaded up some 180gr sierra gamekings pushing at about 2900fps and they exploded on impact when I shot a pig at 70yds.  I am looking for something that could handle an impact at 2700fps and yet be accurate out to 400 yds.

My rifle likes the heavier bullets so I am thinking something in the 190 to 210 gr range.

 

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Bigdaddy0381 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bigdaddy0381 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/06/2014 at 09:18
200gr nosler accubonds, there great all around bullets. I shot them in my 300wm from up close to 1000 yards and they do great.
 
This was recovered from a 300 yards quartering away shot. it entered  just in front of back left hip and bullet was recovered just under the skin in its chest. another 1/2inch would have been a complete pass thru.


Edited by Bigdaddy0381 - December/06/2014 at 09:45
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Alan Robertson View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Alan Robertson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/06/2014 at 12:30
Howdy JimFromTN,

Many hunters (me, too) have discovered similar bullet failures from boattail bullets from any mfg.- it isn't just a GameKing issue. Boattail high- velocity impacts at close range almost guarantee jacket separation and lack of penetration.
Several other bullet smiths also make bonded core bullets which work well, but all such offerings are expensive. A-Frames and Partitions are options, but also pricey, as are bullets constructed with heavier jackets, etc. such as the Speer Grand Slam. The downside of heavily constructed bullets is less expansion at low velocities. 
Standard cup and core bullets, like Sierra Pro Hunter, are much less likely to shed their jacket and disintegrate on short distance, high velocity shots, such as you described. Cup and core (flat base) bullets are also the least expensive.
I've never had a failure with Speer Hot-Cors on deer or hogs and have had complete pass-throughs within 20 yards at velocities above 2900 fps with 150 Gr Hot-Cors, through shoulders, or whatever.

Comparing 180 Gr. GameKing and ProHunter @2900 fps, the boattail retains 120 fps and 200 ft-lbs at 400 yds, increasing max point blank range from 344 yds with the flat- based ProHunter to 352 yds with the GameKing.

My Uncle is a proficient long- range elk hunter and made annual trips to his favorite Colorado canyon, where minimum shots are 400 yds. He uses the 160 Gr. (.284) GameKing.
Would his hunts have been so successful with those GameKings at 75 yds? Who knows... you pays yer money and you takes yer chances.


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JGRaider View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JGRaider Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/06/2014 at 12:43
Partitions are always a great choice, and work as designed every time.  After all, for the past 60 years it's the standard by which all other bullets are judged.  
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Bitterroot Bulls View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bitterroot Bulls Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/06/2014 at 19:47
I like Bigdaddy's suggestion.  That is a great bullet.  The 180 grain version would work just as well.  I have also had great luck with Barnes.  I like Bergers for an all around bullet too, but they do cause more damage at high impact velocities.


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Alan Robertson View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Alan Robertson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/08/2014 at 08:58
Originally posted by Bitterroot Bulls Bitterroot Bulls wrote:

I like Bigdaddy's suggestion.  That is a great bullet.  The 180 grain version would work just as well.  I have also had great luck with Barnes.  I like Bergers for an all around bullet too, but they do cause more damage at high impact velocities.


Agreed, that 200 Gr. Nosler is a great bullet.
 I went through a phase of using heavy bullets for everything and that 200 Gr Accubond was very accurate for me at all ranges in several rifles.
Hornady Interbonds have also worked very well for me and I've found them on sale (see a "thrift" factor at play here?)

Upthread, I did talk down boattails up close at high velocity, but they likely work well more often than not.  165 Gr. SSTs have passed through everything I've hit with a .30-06, near and far.
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Rancid Coolaid View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rancid Coolaid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/08/2014 at 09:15
My go-to caliber is 300WM, and my go-to bullet is Barnes 180-gr TTSX.  I have hunted them in Africa and all across the US with great effect on target.  My guns don't like them quite as much as 208 A-max, but they stay intact better and mushroom perfectly at your stated velocities.

REMF, with whom I hunted in S Africa, took pro hunters for his 300WM. He was on a trophy waterbuck, took a 70 yard shot, the bullet hit a tree branch (not quite a twig, as I hear it, but not large either) and exploded, nothing touched the animal.  In general, I avoid soft tip, thin jacket bullets for hunting anything I care to recover.

My 308 loves the 150 gr SST, but my 300WMs don't care for them much.  In general, I have found my 300WMs like heavy bullets pushed as fast as safely possible.
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