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Thread: Best longrange hunting bullet for medium sized game.

  1. #11
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    Oct 2013
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    Re: Best longrange hunting billet for medium sized game.

    Quote Originally Posted by hawk-i View Post
    The higher the BC the less the wind drift at a given velocity...if you are shooting 500 yards and under it doesn't make a huge difference.

    To be fair to the intended target, any long range shot should be measured with a range finder and calculated with a Kestrel, then only attempted if you are very confident in both your and your guns ability...IMHO though
    This is what I was thinking with higher bc. A little more wiggle room. It’s easy to shoot at a known distance from the bench and even easier if you get a warmup shot, but higher elevation, more than likely a good breeze and some kind of angle it would be nice to give yourself the best available chances.
    If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're mis-informed.

  2. #12
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    Re: Best longrange hunting billet for medium sized game.

    Hard to beat a Nosler Ballistic Tip or Hornady SST for expansion at long range & high BC + accuracy.

    The slower velocities at longer ranges don’t really require a bonded core or a mono bullet, often they don’t expand much out past 3-400 yards unless you hit bone on the entrance wound. Obviously that is dependant on the cartridge and velocity it can produce.

    Accubonds are not finicky in my experience and don’t change POI, that is generally from temperature and powders that are more temp sensitive. Altitude will affect any bullets trajectory to a small degree.

  3. #13
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    Re: Best longrange hunting billet for medium sized game.

    Quote Originally Posted by VLD43 View Post
    Bustercluck. Now your talking. 300 WSM is my favorite caliber. Have been loading for 300 since it was first introduced back 2000. I wouldn't get to focused on BC unless your going to be shooting out past 600 yds. A friend who is shooting a Christensen Arms in 300 WSM wanted to do load development for his rifle. I offered to help him and he is now shooting sub MOA all the way out to 1000 yds. He's deadly with that rifle, but he practices a lot. He is running 212 Gr ELD X with H 4831. We started with H4350 but could not get the velocity he was looking for, so changed to H4831.

    As mentioned I have shot this caliber for a long time and taken many game animals from deer to moose. I initially tried a number of different bullets in the 150 - 168 Gr class, as common knowledge suggested that the 300 WSM preformed at its best with that bullet weight. I have not been disappointed. I presently have a number of pet loads I can pass on if interested. My favorite bullets bar none are Banes TTSX. I have loads for 150 -165 and 168 GR bullets. I started with winchester brass, and am now using Norma. I am amazed at how accurate and deadly Barnes are. Nothing I have ever shot at walked away. They flatten game and the wound channel is not extensive as some other thin skinned bullets. I have only ever recovered 2 bullets from game as most all pass right through at ranges out to 500 yds.
    Maybe I’ll have to give the h4831 another go. I’ve tried it in my 300 wsm with 165 grain bullets and my 338 win mag. It seemed like my velocities were all under spec and they didn’t group worth a shit. Ttsx is all I use in my 338 win mag. I’ve only shot moose with them, but they don’t go more than a few steps after being hammered with those. It gets expensive doing target practice with them though.
    Last edited by Bustercluck; 02-28-2021 at 11:04 PM.
    If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're mis-informed.

  4. #14
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    Re: Best longrange hunting billet for medium sized game.

    I too use the ELD-X bullet in my 300wsm. I use the 200g for moose with 62.0g of IMR 4350, it shoots .75 MOA.
    I use the 178g for deer with 63g of RL-17, it shoots .5 MOA

  5. #15
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    Sep 2011
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    Re: Best longrange hunting billet for medium sized game.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bustercluck View Post
    Maybe I’ll have to give the h4831 another go. I’ve tried it in my 300 wsm with 165 grain bullets and my 338 win mag. It seemed like my velocities were all under spec and they didn’t group worth a shit. Ttsx is all I use in my 338 win mag. I’ve only shot moose with them, but they don’t go more than a few steps after being hammered with those. It gets expensive doing target practice with them though.
    Sounds like a good plan. Either H4350 or H4831 should get you where you want to be. I have never shot the 168 Gr TTSX past 500 yds, but would be interesting to see how they do. Only concern would be expansion at distance, Maybe the 178 gr LRX. Let us know how it turns out. The latest Hornady manual is also suggesting R17 for top velocities with both the 178 & 200 gr ELD X
    Last edited by VLD43; 03-01-2021 at 04:02 PM.

  6. #16
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    Re: Best longrange hunting billet for medium sized game.

    It would be nice if bullet manufactures would give an honest specs on terminal ballistics.

  7. #17
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    Re: Best longrange hunting billet for medium sized game.

    Quote Originally Posted by Downwindtracker2 View Post
    It would be nice if bullet manufactures would give an honest specs on terminal ballistics.
    Too many variables to do that. The best way to get as close as possible for your rifle and application is using quickloads and a lab radar or other good chrony.

  8. #18
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    Re: Best longrange hunting billet for medium sized game.

    500 yards is a long shot at game in my mind.I shoot at tie plates that swing when hit at 500 yards at my range.Some days I have no problem wacking those plates.Other days it is a different story.Light conditions,temperature and wind are significant factors.
    Better to get closer if you can.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
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    373

    Re: Best longrange hunting billet for medium sized game.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bustercluck View Post
    There’s been plenty of threads on best bullet for terminal performance, but I haven’t heard it discussed on the long range end of things. Obviously heavy for caliber bullets will be a huge factor, but which bullet has the best balance of bc, terminal performance at varying speeds and ease of tuning.

    I’ve been reading a few articles and I think I’m going to try out the hornady eldx. 178 grain in my 300wsm with h4350, maybe even the next size up(I think it was 200 grain)

    I don’t trust a Berger bullet for hunting as they don’t seem to stay together or penetrate at all. The accubonds seem popular, but I’ve been reading they’re hard to tune and the last thing I want is to tune a load at my local gun club and then drastically change the environment and expect the load to still be on point. Barnes would probably be my second pick, but they can be hard to tune as well.

    My longest hunting shot to date is around 250 yards on a moose with a Barnes ttsx which performed flawlessly, but I’d like to push out to 4-500 yards comfortably.
    I find accubonds easy to tune, they are my go to in all 3 medium-big game rifles. 243,7-08 and 270WSM. I love them.

  10. #20
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    Re: Best longrange hunting billet for medium sized game.

    Just to give you some food for thought.......

    If you think about your own experiences, ask around, or can search up the old poll that was done on here, you will find that the vast majority of animals are shot at under 150 yds....and the farther out you go, the less often those shots happen. Because of that, I start with a group of bullets that I know will perform up close at top velocities.....these would be your Barnes, accubonds, partitions etc. From there I look for ones that have the lowest minimum velocity needed to function, as that will get me the longest useable distance.

    Usually these days, that ends up being the Barnes LRX......realistically no upper limit on speed, they will smash through and hold together at the highest velocities. they also have a reasonable bottom end....for your 300WSM that would be about 1600 fps and 1000 ft/lbs for the 175 and 190 LRX. On your 300 WSM that would put the 175's operating range approximately 0-700 yds comfortably. Ive been loading barnes for 20 years and have never found them to be difficult to tune.
    There are softer bullets out there that will get you more distance, but you will have to sacrifice performance up close for the very rare occasion that you may need to go long. Not worth it in my books, set up for your most common shot, and make the compromise on your least common shot

    JMO
    Chris
    "Do not go where the path may lead,
    go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
    Emerson

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