300 Blackout for deer

[omicron1792]

I always want to bring the small frame ARs but the deer I've hit with intermediate calibers always live a lot longer than I want even on good shots. These days I stick with an AR-10 in 308 even though it's heavy because I want them to drop and suffer as little as possible.

But I think the discussion really should require disclosure of the size of whitetail you're hunting. You can definitely get away with more on little southern whitetails or does/yearlings but some of the older deer by me in WI get huge and I've seen them survive some insane situations.

What bullet?

 

[StupidLightweight]

If you want quick kills, I'd bring the .308 or 6.5 Creed. Supersonic and suppressed, they will all sound the same. With subs, the .300 makes sense if you're going that route.

The .300 BLK is a unique round in that it straddles the fence between pistol and rifle caliber. It works great from short barrels and is one of the main options for subsonic hunting, but I was not enamored with the one supersonic whitetail kill I used it on.

It obviously does work, but I would much prefer a .223 for supersonic hunting or a .338 ARC or 8.6 BLK for subsonic hunting.

 

[Genophoenix]

What bullet?

The one that really stood out in my mind was a 75 gr Speer gold dot. It definitely dumps all its energy immediately on impact and I'm quite happy with it as home defense ammo, but I won't be using it on deer anymore as it damaged way more meat than necessary and didn't get a pass through.

Meanwhile I've used the same type of bullets in 308 with almost the same shot angles and they are dead almost immediately.

I've since moved to coppers anyway because I want to know for sure I'm getting through that shoulder bone and getting a pass through.

 

[Genophoenix]

Worth noting that the shot angle I'm talking about is extremely close range (10-15 yards) from a tree stand. So it's a steep angle where you're aiming upper third and expecting the bullet to exit low on the opposite shoulder. That's really where you can't seem to get away with a fragmenting bullet in an intermediate caliber. Maybe you could get away with solid coppers or bonded bullets in 223 or 300 blk but I'm not sure I'm willing to risk it.

Definitely don't use the varmint-style supers in 300 blk that people always seem to recommend if you're going to take shots like that because those perform the same where they dump all their energy and fragment on entry.

 

[netexashunter]

300blk will work but after having my wife and daughters all having used it for a season or so, I wouldnt recommend it unless it is for someone super recoil shy. Best results were with Sig Sauer 120gr copper bullets and I was happy with how they worked, but not always going to leave an exit. Wife double lunged one with some 150gr soft points that lived longer than id like. Definitely would NOT recommend subsonics for deer or any animals you care about recovering.