"Match" bullets for hunting?

[Michael Eichele]

I used 168gr SMK for my deer hunt last Oct. I ranged my deer at 340 yrds. I held on his lungs and fired. I thought I missed. He looked around and walked 15 yards or so. I put a shot in the side of his neck. I thought I missed. He trotted over the hill. When I came over the hill there was no deer in sight. No blood. I tracked him a few yards before I heard him kicking in the brush. A minute or two later he was dead. Both rounds hit their mark. Entry and exit wounds were the same size. Inside the deer there was hardly any blood in the body cavity at all. The round in the neck did nothing in my opinion, a clean pass. The round in the lungs did no more than collapse them and he simply ran out of air. I feel confident with this round and the accuracy of my weapon and I. However, the failure of the round to effectively knock down the animal leads to follow up shots and uncertainty. You just don't know. That being said, the 168 gr SMK .308 gives me sub .25moa and I have yet to find a round as accurate through my platform. Do any of you have a suggestion for a comparable round?

Try the 168 amax. You may have to adjust the powder a wee bit and maybe seating depth but I've found the amax to be every bit as accurate as the SMK and often times better. The amax will blow a hole out the other side of your deer. Unlike the SMK.

 

[FromSA]

I've just returned from a hunt and actually thought of starting a thread on this topic. My experience using match bullets for hunting has been very good in terms of the terminal performance of these bullets. I've hunted small size antelope in South Africa (springbok and blesbok - 150-200lbs) and larger ones (kudu and wildebeest - 400lbs +) with these bullets. One thing that has been noticeable is the experience that on the smaller animals these bullets cause more bruising on the meat than on the large animals. On the smaller game I've found the bullet to make very large exit wounds while on the larger ones the exit wounds are not excessive. Initially I thought the distances would have an impact but I've now seen this at hunting distances that range from 200-600yds. I will definitely continue to use match bullets (in this case Bergers) because of their excellent terminal performance but I was just wondering if someone could offer and explanation for the difference in bruising they cause on smaller game than on larger animals.

For the record, I shoot 155gr Bergers at 2790fps.

 

[idaho elk hunter]

have had horrible experiences with MATCH bullets in hunting applications. I cannot get the Berger to shoot worth a sh!t in my favorite 7mm nor in my favorite 338 cals. I PUSH them vey hard. At over 3100 with a 300 gr pill, no signs of over pressure and the 7mm 175 over 3150 with no sign of pressure. Maybe this is the problem. I shot a elk 2 yrs ago eth the 162 amax at over 3240fps. Hit twice and she did not show any signs of a hit on retrieval. She was finished off with another 7mm with a factory loaded 175. I thought my shots missed! She was only 540 yds. Amaxs went in 4 inches and disintegrated. I bought another lot of 162 amax thinking the lot was bad and loaded them up and shot a little antelope at 700 yds. Dropped and got back up. Shot again. Dropped and got back up.. NEVER RETRIEVED. We even used the Jack Russel to find it. GONE! SMK I have never tried. And like I stated the Bergers are not performing. I bought the OTM Bergers and am loading them now to see if this bullet slump issue goes away. I doubt it. If it does I am fear full that this internet talk might have sent me the wrong way again! I now am selling the amax bullets' Two people have sent me PMs. I hope they are being used for hunting applications. If I wasn't so dam old I would post these a max pics of the recovered bullets. If my wife knows how I will do it later today.

 

[bigngreen]

have had horrible experiences with MATCH bullets in hunting applications. I cannot get the Berger to shoot worth a sh!t in my favorite 7mm nor in my favorite 338 cals. I PUSH them vey hard. At over 3100 with a 300 gr pill, no signs of over pressure and the 7mm 175 over 3150 with no sign of pressure. Maybe this is the problem. I shot a elk 2 yrs ago eth the 162 amax at over 3240fps. Hit twice and she did not show any signs of a hit on retrieval. She was finished off with another 7mm with a factory loaded 175. I thought my shots missed! She was only 540 yds. Amaxs went in 4 inches and disintegrated. I bought another lot of 162 amax thinking the lot was bad and loaded them up and shot a little antelope at 700 yds. Dropped and got back up. Shot again. Dropped and got back up.. NEVER RETRIEVED. We even used the Jack Russel to find it. GONE! SMK I have never tried. And like I stated the Bergers are not performing. I bought the OTM Bergers and am loading them now to see if this bullet slump issue goes away. I doubt it. If it does I am fear full that this internet talk might have sent me the wrong way again! I now am selling the amax bullets' Two people have sent me PMs. I hope they are being used for hunting applications. If I wasn't so dam old I would post these a max pics of the recovered bullets. If my wife knows how I will do it later today.

You can put any bullet into a position to fail, I can take an all copper bullet and by changing shot placement and velocity on an elk and they will not make it into the chest cavity, I don't think that is a bullet problem but operator putting that bullet out of it's design capability.
Same for the Berger, I've pushed them to the edge and have to be extremely careful about shot placement because the bullet was on the edge of dusting but again this is something I was causing.

An OTM at 3100 fps, many people do it every day or faster and have zero issues so if you do it's has ZERO to do with the bullet.