125 grn Balistic Tip too light for whitetail?

plains scout

So I am cheating. I posted this on ask the experts but it seems like a slow night over there.

Yep. As per usual as my times to play with my reloading bench seem to get shorter and shorter I have a question that I will not be able to get worked out in time before deer gun season opens.

I have been working up a load for my .308 with 125 grn balistic tips which most accurate load so far is 3010 fps. I have not had time to work up a load with my favorite deer bullet .308 Partition with this new rifle

So 125 gr Balistic Tip at 3000 fps according to the book has the following ftlbs energy at the following yardage:

Yards:
100 2086
200 1731
300 1424
400 1163

and 180 Partition at 2500 fps is:
100 2052
200 1671
300 1347
400 1080

I feel the 125 grn Balistic Tip is not my bullet of choice but I think it will work okay on a whitetail out to max 300 yards. Thoughts and opinions. I really rather be shooting the 180 grn partition, but accuracy over ftlbs is usually my motto.

Just want to be sure my reading of the balistic charts has not went the same way as my mind: wandering and confused



"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
~Abraham Lincoln

CS8161

That will be fine for whitetail. Just place your shot in the right spot and don't take any long shots!

Chris8161
Admit nothing, deny everything, demand proof!

Raoul

I haven't used Ballistic Silvertips in .308, but I have used them a lot in .243 WSSM, .270 WSM, and .300 WSM. I wouldn't recommend them for deer hunting at all. They make great varmint or target loads, and are generally very accurate, but they're designed for rapid expansion. If you humped up a deer at fairly close range and shot it with a BST, you would probably have a very large surface wound, and not much penetration, with a badly wounded animal running off somewhere.

I think you'd be much further ahead to try to find a soft-point or boat tail soft-point in the 150-155 or 165-168 grain weight ranges that shoot well in your rifle. These weight ranges generally work much better in the .308 than loads with heavier weight hunting bullets.

FrancF

150 BT's work very nice in my .308 mite try it around 2800+ or -

Varget @ 45.1 or .2 It works very well in my M1A and my bolt gun.
Seems if I start pushing it (speed) my accuracy drops off a little.

But Thats MY gun.

Highball

1000 ft. lbs. is the generally accepted threshhold necessary to cleanly take deer.

AT 400 yards that load is still showing 1100 ft.lbs...looks good to me.

Naturally,I would be more comfortable with the 180 gr...but I hunted for years with a 32-20..and did very well....shoot straight..!!

JustC

see my post on the experts forum.

why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?

cletus85

It'll work fine, I used that bullet several years ago in a .30-30 (yes it was a lever action, but I loaded one in the chamber and one in the mag) Results were very good at a muzzle velocity of 2600fps. I'd expect it to be a little explosive up close, so watch those areas you want to eat[:D]

MVP

quote:Originally posted by cletus85
It'll work fine, I used that bullet several years ago in a .30-30 (yes it was a lever action, but I loaded one in the chamber and one in the mag) Results were very good at a muzzle velocity of 2600fps. I'd expect it to be a little explosive up close, so watch those areas you want to eat[:D]

n/a

That's plenty of bullet for whitetail...

Eric

All American Arms Company

www.galleryofguns.com
VIP Code: AAAC

Veteran Owned and Operated

plains scout

I have had such excellent performance and accurracy with the 180 grn partition that I get a little uneasy with out my security blanket.

I have known people that hunt whitetail with a .223 only and do wonders (shot placement, shot placement, shot placement!)

I just am not realistically going to have time to get that 180 or 150 grn bullet worked into a load before season opens in two weeks.

I hate the thought of shooting already rolleds. I like to roll my own[:D]

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
~Abraham Lincoln

kiwibird1

100 grain .234 works fine for me.

Greg.

Takeoffs are optional, landings are mandatory.

Big Sky Redneck

I have used the 125G Balistic Tip in a 30-06 on deer, I do not reccomend it. That bullet will come unglued when it hits the deer and will ruin meat in a big hurry. Here is a pic of a bad shot on a deer, dang thing was running and this is why I do not like running shots, also I have hit them in the neck with the same bullet and the head dangled by strings of meat, have hit deer in the heart/lung areas with it as well and turned everything from the throat to the * to mush, don't use it!! Also in the .223 the 55G Balistic Tips turns that gun into a killing machine, when hit it looks like the deer was shot with a heavier gun[:D]



____________________________________________________
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hughbetcha

A bullet that light in a .30 caliber gun is asking for trouble. I dont have any direct experience shooting that particular bullet, but I'd bet the thing will disintegrate in the deer before penetrating very far. Hit a bone and you'll definitely have a wounded deer on your hands. Same bullet in a .270 or 6.5mm would be devastating on deer. If you're going to .30 caliber, go to a 150gr. or heavier bullet and you'll get better accuracy, better performance on game.

plains scout

Well, I made it to the range tonight and took some off the shelf .308 150 grn Remington Core-loc and three into one hole at 25 yds and smacked up an acceptable but no bragging rights with 12 shots at 200 yds. So I guess I will shoot the 150's. I just like taking game with my homebrew as they usually are tighter and no flyers.

I would not be afraid of using the 125 BT but at tight range could be a disaster. I went out last night with my .44 Mag lever action and smacked killing shots from 25 to 100 yards with open sights. So that will be my "brush" gun this year.

Thanks for the imput guys.

.280 freak

Plains Scout -

Do you ever go after mulies or do you stick with the whitetail? What unit do you usually hunt? We used to do some mulie hunting a number of years ago in your general area. We had access to some private land (stayed in an old log cabin on the ranch) down south of Arnegard 20, 25 miles or so. Beautiful country.

Lost the access when the owner's son came of age and started to take over the place. Money talks and, apparently, he decided that he could make some more money leasing out the hunting rights instead of letting old family friends hunt the place in exchange for coming down every summer and taking care of the old cabin, re-chinking the walls, doing whatever repairs were needed, etc.

Oh well, at least I have some fond memories to look back on; cozy cabin, being serenaded to sleep by the coyotes howling at night, fantastic hunting with good friends.

BlueTic

I used the 140 grn Nos. Ballistic Tip in my .280 this year. Bullet performed great - between 2 ribs just behind the shoulder - split one lung and decimated the liver - lodged next to the skin on the other side. The bullet was all together and had split 4 ways into razor sharp blades and a lead mushroom in the center. Very affective on the 150+ yrd shot. The 125 grns should do well out to 200...

IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY RIGHTS - GET OUT OF MY COUNTRY (this includes politicians)

plains scout

280 Freak -- could be the ranch we own now. We own what some people call the Cable Car Ranch it is now called the River Ghost Ranch. Was the place N or S of the little missouri? Know the name of the people?

I love to hunt Mule Deer, but with the lottery system I have went as long as 8 years with no Mule Deer tag. So I end up with whitetail tags. The Lottery system drove me to bow hunt.

Blue Tic
I think the 125 is in danger of blowing apart at close range with high velocity but would be okay beyond 100 yards. I am smoking that bullet out of my .308 at 3010 fps muz vel at max load which just happens to be the most accurate.



"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
~Abraham Lincoln

alaskanman

hey plains scout, have you tried the hornady spire points? the spire points 150gr with a max load of IMR 4064 should shoot good in your 308, they work very good on the caribou even at longer ranges and are pretty accurate. must be lota fun getting those 125 gr pills that fast, i'll have to pick some up and work up a load, what kinda powder are you using?

www.alaskancampfire.com

.280 freak

Plains Scout -

I doubt that we are talking about the same place, never heard it referred to by those names..

This ranch had property on both sides of the river (units 4B and 4C) with the cabin on the West (North?) side and the main residence on the other side of the Little M. The owner was an old rodeo star.

Don't want to give out any more info than that on the open forum, sure you understand.

plains scout

280 freak you got mail

alaskanman -- I am using good old 4895 Dupont. They come smoking out of there and I have pretty decent accuracy. I am due to try some long range shooting with it. My goal is to use that rifle for all applications that call for a scoped gun, and maybe get the same or similar in 338 for big game.

I went to the range last night and took some plain jane over the counter store bought Remington 150grn Core-loc and at 200 yards after sighting in I was able to put two on the bulleye edge and the other about 3" away (operator error). Not bad for store bought.. I need to roll my own and refine and fine tune it. Like the 180 grn as it will (despite reports to the contrary) take elk and moose.

I called Nosler today and talked to their customer service. His insight is the 125 grn BT is "okay" for deer, but lower limit and shot the lungs or heart; no shoulder shots or as he said "you will be disappointed". Since I have not shot a deer with a center fire anyplace but lungs and heart in the last 20 years I would be okay, but allowing for margin of error -- the 150grn core-loc store bought will have to suffice this year.



"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
~Abraham Lincoln

.280 freak

Plains Scout -

Got yer e-mail and you are correct! Kinda figured that you would know who I was talking about with the clues I gave you. That deal left us with a pretty bad taste in our mouths for a couple of years.

The people that I used to go down there with were the real friends of the owner, and would go down there every year, regardless of what tags they drew. If they drew mulie tags, they would hunt west, up in the rugged stuff, and if they just had whitetail tags they would stick closer to the cabin, down by the river.

I normally only went along when I drew a mulie tag, preferring to hunt whitetails closer to home.