Big game rifles

[brookiebuster 117]

A guy I hunt with uses 180 grain rounds in his 308 with good success on moose at ranges of 200 yards or less. If you're going to be shooting longer ranges 165 grains would be a better choice in my opinion.

[Guest DartonRage2]

You should try the hornady sst. Theyre 165gr but great at all distances. You dont need heavy gr ammo to bust toonie sized holes thru a moose rib cage you just need hornady ammo. A friend of mine uses a .270 win with hornady sst for everything. Ive seen two moose that he has shot with them one at over 300yards and the damage those things did was just incredible. Ive seen their aftermath on some deer as well from his .270. Ive shot hornady since he introduced me to the sst and theyre very accurate and they hit very hard although I have heard once that the ammo doesnt like all guns. Definately worth a try. Oh and at first I thought he was messing with me on the first moose when I saw the toonie sized holes and broken ribs from that bull...I thought he shot it with a .300 win mag but it was his .270 win...140 gr.

[Guest DartonRage2]

When I said theyre 165gr I meant for the .308 btw. You can find them at D&R.

[NorthwestHunter 27]

1. Thompson-Centre Encore Pro Hunter, 270 WIN - 140 gr Hornady Superformance SST - Leupold VXII 3-9x40mm

2. Marlin 336c, 30-30 WIN - 140 gr Hornady LeverEvolution FTX - Open sights

3. Browning BBR, 308 WIN - 150 gr Hornady Superformance SST - Burris Fullfield II 3-9x40mm

My "go-to" rifle is my TC Pro Hunter. With that Hornady Superformance ammo I am pushing speeds similar to that of a 270 WSM.

Groupings have been as good as <1" @ 100 yds.

Dont let anyone tell you that you "need a short mag."

Hornady makes incredible ammunition...if you havent shot it yet - do it.

Paul

[nwodeerhunter 9]

Thanks for the advice boys, I will put some serious thought into the Hornady ammunition.

Living in Sioux Lookout offers limmited choices for ammunition.

[dano 8]

Hornady sst's wouldn't be my first choice for a bullet for use on moose. They have very thin jackets on them. They may be ok at longer ranges and if they don't hit heavy bone but there are much better choices out there. That being said the plain jane hornady interlock is a great bullet and I would use them before the sst's.

[Guest DartonRage2]

Theres also the hornady superformance gmx its a step up from the sst but ive never seen them anywhere in town. Pretty sure theyre designed for bigger game animals.

[TroutHunter 39]

Theres also the hornady superformance gmx its a step up from the sst but ive never seen them anywhere in town. Pretty sure theyre designed for bigger game animals.

I picked up 2 boxes of the gmx at GMK a few weeks ago... .30-06 in 165gr. its a new, upgraded round for me so im looking forward to see how they fair out this season

[NorthwestHunter 27]

Hornady sst's wouldn't be my first choice for a bullet for use on moose. They have very thin jackets on them. They may be ok at longer ranges and if they don't hit heavy bone but there are much better choices out there. That being said the plain jane hornady interlock is a great bullet and I would use them before the sst's.

The SST is a standard lead-core, copper jacketed premium hunting bullet. It isnt intended for incredibly heavy applications. With that being said, I shot a moose last year at well over 200 yards with my 270 WIN and put a toonie sized hole through his shoulder. I got a complete pass-through and SHATTERED bone mass. Did not find any bullet fragments either.

The GMX is designed for long range applications and high weight retention downrange. With a bullet like that you will not get desired bullet expansion at closer ranges (<200 yds) or on thinner skinned game like deer or bear. In such applications a lead-core like the SST would be much more effective.

The SST has a lot more pros than it does cons for pretty much any big game hunting application in our region. With the same 270 WIN Hornady Superformance 140gr SST bullets Ive killed deer, moose and bear. Very versatile load.

Paul

[NorthwestHunter 27]

I picked up 2 boxes of the gmx at GMK a few weeks ago... .30-06 in 165gr. its a new, upgraded round for me so im looking forward to see how they fair out this season

Ive always been tempted to try these out. Let us know how they shoot, and how they work on game!

Paul

[dano 8]

Northwesthunter

No doubt they work in some applications but that's the problem with the sst's sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. Like I said there are way better choices of bullets available. You said it yourself, they are not designed for heavy applications and if moose aren't considered "heavy application" let me know what is.

[NorthwestHunter 27]

Dano,

If you read the entire post you would see that I noted that the GMX is designed for heavy applications in excess of 200 yards etc., as a long range bullet. Although the SST isn't designed for applications as such, I've had success on moose in excess of 200 yards. If you are hunting in a region like ours where your average shot it fairly close range, than the SST would be the better choice (as far as I'm concerned). The reason being is you wouldn't achieved desired bullet expansion at a closer range with a solid copper bullet (GMX). If you were hunting in the plains or Rockies where shots often exceed 200-300 yards then the GMX may be a better choice.

The SST has worked well for me. You'll find them chambered in my gun.

That's just my $0.02, take it as you will.

Paul

[dano 8]

Agree to disagree I guess. But I'm thinking a frangible bullet such as the sst or nosler ballistic tip would be better as a long range bullet because the velocity at impact would be less. The frontal area of the "mushroom" is the primary factor in penetration. So a frangible bullet that opens fast and wide when it hits something at close range won't penetrate very far. But use the same frangible bullet at longer ranges and at lower impact velocities the bullet should penetrate and have more reliable expansion due to a smaller mushroom. The monolithic bullets such as Barnes or the gmx would actually be a better bullet for closer range. At long range monolithics act like solids and dont expand due to lower impact velocities. Check it out for yourself on the long range hunting forums and see what type of bullet those guys are running.

[Iron Ranger 125]

I have a very nice collection of Savage 99's. All but two do not see the woods. I use a Savage 99 in 300 Savage and my wife uses a 99 in .250-3000 for Whitetail. With quality ammo they do a nice job. For Elk (Montana) and Moose (Ont.) I have used everything from a .270 up to .300 mag. When we hunt WY and MT for Antelope and Deer I have done very well with a Winchester mod 70 chambered for .25-06. Regardless, you still got to put the bullet in the right place.

[Bottom Bouncer 22]

Am I old school? Did I miss something? When did someone make a better bullet than the Nosler Partition?

[Pro fisherman-Stud Muffin 420]

not better just different.

if you like killing things take the partitions,

if you like shooting far take a boat tail sst

99% of the shooters out there dont have the knowledge optics or practice to make something dead past 300

[TroutHunter 39]

Took down my first moose on Monday, a 2-3yr old bull... Tikka T3 Lite .30-06, Vortex Diamondback 3-9x40, Hornady GMX 165gr

I mentioned these are a new round for me, and i'd get back to how they fired...

I was grouping within 1.5-2" at 150yds (limited distance in the pit i sighted in at), shot the moose at 50yds slightly quartering away. round entered, hit a rib creating quite a large entry hole (3-4"), then passing through and lodging into the hide on the back side... Unsure why it did not completely pass through at such a short distance. As indicated, the top half of the bullet mushroomed with the back half retaining its shape/weight.

Regardless, it was an exciting hunt and a great experience in less than ideal conditions (snow storm up in WMU 15A), one that i'll remember for a long time.

Cheers,

Adam

[Guest DartonRage2]

Congrats! Nobody forgets their first moose glad it all worked out for ya. Assuming youre happy with the gmx then? Would ya use them again?

[NorthwestHunter 27]

Took down my first moose on Monday, a 2-3yr old bull... Tikka T3 Lite .30-06, Vortex Diamondback 3-9x40, Hornady GMX 165gr

I mentioned these are a new round for me, and i'd get back to how they fired...

I was grouping within 1.5-2" at 150yds (limited distance in the pit i sighted in at), shot the moose at 50yds slightly quartering away. round entered, hit a rib creating quite a large entry hole (3-4"), then passing through and lodging into the hide on the back side... Unsure why it did not completely pass through at such a short distance. As indicated, the top half of the bullet mushroomed with the back half retaining its shape/weight.

Regardless, it was an exciting hunt and a great experience in less than ideal conditions (snow storm up in WMU 15A), one that i'll remember for a long time.

Cheers,

Adam

The fact that the round made it pretty much all the way through (sitting on opposite hide) and didnt rip through full speed means all kinetic energy from the bullet was transferred to the animal. Thats what you want!

Nice job, and congrats!

Post a pic!

Paul

[brookiebuster 117]

Congrats!

[TroutHunter 39]

Thanks everyone,

Yea i'll definitely be using the GMX again, I'm interested to see how it will fair out with a longer shot... say +150yds.... here's a pic, we didnt take too many... (i took off my blaze jacket as it was soaked from the snow... this was taken just as we started dressing it, if anyone was curious).

Cheers,

Adam

[Buck 120 32]

Nice job!

[Foozer 194]

Congrats on your first moose.

That's still something I'm chasing.

[brookiebuster 117]

Nice bull! I still have a unfilled tag burning a hole in my pocket..

[dano 8]

Nice job on the moose.

Don't get hung up on why the bullet didn't go all the way through. It did it's job. Remember that the size of the mushroom of the bullet is the main factor in how far a bullet penetrates. And also don't let anyone fool you into believing kinetic energy or foot pounds of energy kill animals, because it doesn't .