What is the most devastating .30 cal bullet you are aware of?

[robtattoo]

I reckon a 125gr Speer TNT or Hornady SST, ripping along at north of 4K in a .300 magnum would make a pretty obnoxious mess. Clip the ass to save the horns......

 

[bubba580]

155, 168gr and 178gr AMAX and ELD-M; 155gr, 168gr, and 175gr TMK- all at higher impact velocities.

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175gr, 190gr, and 220gr SMK’s when they yaw (tumble).

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What cartridge/s were you using?

 

[Mike D Texas]

Pretty much any of the target style bullets; TMK, ELDM, Berger Hybrids…..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Formidilosus]

What cartridge/s were you using?

It’s not “cartridge”, it’s impact velocity that matters. In those photos there are 308win, 300Win mag, 300 RUM, and 300 RUM IMP.
The impact velocities in those photos were between 2,800fps and below 2,000fps; with most between 2,800 and 2,400fps.

 

[06 SB]

I hunt in areas similar to most. In PA, the hunting pressure is high and mountains are generally steep, At my lease in GA, we have a big swamp, a deep creek and thick briars that can make recovery tricky but never needed to have those sized holes in deer. I like venison too much! I rarely have long range shots though and is one of the reasons my 338Fed with 200gr Fusions gets used the most. I literally have never had a deer take a single step after being hit with the Fed.

 

[Mustard Tiger]

Another vote for the 215 Bergers…had one “fail” and pencil through a pair of moose lungs but the rest have resulted in some incredibly short blood trails.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Nosler ballistic tips have have been the most damaging bullet I have seen.

I like hunting with the 215 Berger but I have not experienced it causing massive damage personally. The 140 Berger Hunting VLD out of a fast 6.5 has caused more damage on the animals I've shot with them.

 

[Taudisio]

155, 168gr and 178gr AMAX and ELD-M; 155gr, 168gr, and 175gr TMK- all at higher impact velocities.

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175gr, 190gr, and 220gr SMK’s when they yaw (tumble).

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Got dayym! Talk about not wanting to track them far!!! I’ve only seen devastation like that on coyotes. Makes me want to rip those 175tmks at 3200 to see it in person! I hit a coyote at about 2900 with a 210ablr. It did not have the same effect on elk or deer last year.

 

[KenLee]

I hunt in areas similar to most. In PA, the hunting pressure is high and mountains are generally steep, At my lease in GA, we have a big swamp, a deep creek and thick briars that can make recovery tricky but never needed to have those sized holes in deer. I like venison too much! I rarely have long range shots though and is one of the reasons my 338Fed with 200gr Fusions gets used the most. I literally have never had a deer take a single step after being hit with the Fed.

You need to shoot more deer. It'll happen

 

[SloppyJ]

You need to shoot more deer. It'll happen

Agreed. If you haven't had a deer run on you then you haven't shot that many. I've had some that blew out their entire side and they made it out of sight some how.

One of the most consistenly devastating bullet I've used are partitions. Most of my experience has been from a 160gr 7mm out of my 280ai but I wouldn't hesitate to use them in anything if you can spare the BC.

This is from about 40yds with a 168gr classic hunter out of a 308 with a case full of varget. Pretty nasty and it still ran out of sight.

 

[Vern400]

Bunch of bad shot placements in these pics.

I quit using Remington Core Lokt bullets because they were too explosive on deer 30 years ago. I shot a doe, went over to it laying on its side, and the far shoulder and leg was laying on the ground, like pointing straight up relative to the deer's body.

I switched over to Speer 150 sbt and then migrated to sierra game Kings in 308. Have shot about a hundred deer with them. Lost 1 hit deer.

 

[Macintosh]

This seems like a solution looking for its problem. i cannot wrap my head around actually choosing to waste that much meat. In almost 40 years of hunting Ive never seen a rifle-hunting situation where a deer running a few extra yards was such a big deal that Id waste 30+% of the meat to save myself a little time dragging. 95% of the time its a total non-issue anyway, we’re talking about whitetails at close range, even a mono from a standard cartridge will impact at 2600-2900fps in those conditions and ime even with those bullets that create a narrow wound, deer drop like a rock virtually every time when hit at 200 yards and less, and when they dont they dont go far at all. Obviously there are exceptions…maybe literally exploding your deer guarantees a drt…but it seems such a rare exception, with the cost of wasted meat so important to me, that its not something I would choose to do even if the alternative was to not pull the trigger at all.
This is coming from a guy who lives and hunts in exactly the types of situations described, as well. You do you, but not a chance in hell you’d catch me using a bullet that does even half the damage pictured in this thread.

 

[06 SB]

You need to shoot more deer. It'll happen

It is funny the assumptions that are made. I shoot 5-13 deer per year and have for decades. Federal Fusion, Hornady Interlock/Interbond or Barnes TSX/TTSX have never failed me. I just do not see a reason to waste that much meat.

 

[KenLee]

It is funny the assumptions that are made. I shoot 5-13 deer per year and have for decades. Federal Fusion, Hornady Interlock/Interbond or Barnes TSX/TTSX have never failed me. I just do not see a reason to waste that much meat.

and how many with the magic rifle and bullets where the deer never take a step?

 

[JGRaider]

and how many with the magic rifle and bullets where the deer never take a step?

If you hunted and killed enough animals, you'll know that you can shoot the same animals such as whitetail deer with the same bullet, same load, and often enough in the same POI and you'll get different reactions from the deer. Sometimes they drop quickly, sometimes they run bit, sometimes they surprise you and run more than you think they should. Only surefire, 100% effective DRT shot is CNS.

 

[KenLee]

If you hunted and killed enough animals, you'll know that you can shoot the same animals such as whitetail deer with the same bullet, same load, and often enough in the same POI and you'll get different reactions from the deer. Sometimes they drop quickly, sometimes they run bit, sometimes they surprise you and run more than you think they should. Only surefire, 100% effective DRT shot is CNS.

You're are making my point when I responded
"You need to shoot more deer. It'll happen." to the fellow's post that he uses a rifle and bullets where the deer "never take a step".

 

[06 SB]

and how many with the magic rifle and bullets where the deer never take a step?

Since my first “338Fed” was actually a 338-08 I had built before Federal claimed it, kills with the round is several dozen. Most of them were shot with the 200gr Interlock but that bullet was discontinued then I switched to the Federal Fusion. I normally try to take out a shoulder to limit mobility if they do run but they just drop. I use a max load IMR4895 with the Hornady and a max load of H322 with the Fusion. Federal cases of course. I know it is not a magic round or rifle but it just might have some unicorn pixie dust mixed in with the stock finish.

 

[06 SB]

I have had plenty of deer run off after being shot with a 243, 6mmRem, 7mm-08, 280 and a 30-06 but not a single one from my 338Fed.

 

[JGRaider]

You either need better bullets or make better shots.

 

[Macintosh]

I just dont think any bullet is going to provide so much “margin of error” that it makes such a major difference in taking bad shoots, that its worth wasting a high% of the deer to do so. Will it help take the deer to some small degree? Maybe. But it seems a lame excuse to take low-% shots and waste a bunch of the meat on the ones you hit. If it truly improves your odds of recovery vs total non-recovery maybe its worth it for specific situations? If its just a convenience to avoid an hour of dragging that seems wasteful to me.