300 blk Subsonic Hunting Primer

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tallburnedmidget
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Re: 300 blk Subsonic Hunting Primer

Post by tallburnedmidget »

SJP wrote:
Rich Coyle wrote:Larry Kelly, who invented Magna-port, hunted all over the world with a hand gun. He discovered expanding bullets were definitely better killers than non-expanding bullets. There are some fantastic sub-sonic expanding bullets available now.
I'm new to the community, and to having a .300BLK. I've read most of the posts in this forum (but not all.) Am wondering which "fantastic sub-sonic expanding bullets" are available now. Been looking at the assortment on offer from the major suppliers but don't know what to believe. Thx!
Hi there and welcome!

The Lehigh Defense bullets 174gr Controlled Fracture (CF) and 194gr Maximum Expansion (ME) are probably two of your best options.
I personally will look to use the 174gr CF if I ever get a chance to really sub hunt again.
I have killed 3 deer and lost 1 with the 194gr ME. The ME expands liek crazy so avoid mid shoulder shots as the shoulder blade will stop the bullet as it is already expanding too much to penetrate.

Others have used the 220gr Outlaw State Bullets option but I had horrible customer service/communication with them years ago when I was trying so I went with Lehigh who was the only other player in the expanding subsonic game at the time and Lehigh's service is outstanding.

There are a few other options out there but I think they suffer from poor availability, customer service, and maybe even accuracy issues.

Another option to consider is a power coated lead bullet like the following
203gr http://palmettoprojectiles.com/products ... rojectiles
220gr http://leatherheadbullets.com/30-cal-22 ... ut-100-ct/
215gr and 245gr http://missouribullet.com/results.php?p ... condary=36

Just to clarify these are bullets and not loaded ammo. If you want loaded ammo then Lehigh Defense is the only one I know that consistently has loaded sub ammo available but it is a pretty penny.

I hope this info helps :)
BlogSarge
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Re: 300 blk Subsonic Hunting Primer

Post by BlogSarge »

I've had good luck with Gorilla subsonic non-expanding ammo for precision and reliability. I haven't tried their expanding subs yet, but they look promising.

Look here... http://www.gorillaammo.com/silverback-300BLK
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SwampDog_13
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Re: 300 blk Subsonic Hunting Primer

Post by SwampDog_13 »

You can't leave maker bullets out. Some of the best customer service in the business and Paul is striving to help us have the best expanding subs on the market. He also offers loaded ammunition now as well.

This is the 200gr Rex rev1,after water jug testing. I threw the Barnes black tip in just for size comparison.
Image

http://www.makerbullets.com
Last I checked he has the 220gr Rex in the loaded ammo.
dohalysh425
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Re: 300 blk Subsonic Hunting Primer

Post by dohalysh425 »

Hello all,

I have shot between 300 & 400 deer and witnessed, first person, over 3000 deer being shot. I have gutted about 800 deer. This was at work and all the venison was donated to food banks. I have shot 6 deer on my time. Almost all were shot with high velocity light weight v-max type bullets from a 22-250. Mostly head & neck shots, some vital shots. Vital shots tended to be with lehigh defense bullets in .243. All I know is that a hit to the brain or spine in the neck will reliably render deer unconscious and they do not regain consciousness. Thrashing & kicking is common.

Vital shots are all across the map. Sometimes they drop, sometimes they jump, sometimes they spin, sometimes they stumble run and crash, other times they run like heck for a long time. These reactions happen with all kinds of vital shot placement and all degrees of damage to vitals. But for the most part, the more damage to the vitals, the shorter the period of time is until the deer looses consciousness.

If I was going to shoot a deer in the vitals with a subsonic bullet, I'd do some testing to ensure reliable expansion or tumbling to get more damage to the vitals and hopefully get a short period of time for the deer to loose consciousness.

If I was going to shoot deer in the head or neck with a subsonic bullet, I'd work a load up for maximum accuracy and not worry about expansion as much. I also would lean towards a head shot. The spine inside the neck can be a elusive thing to know where to aim at with infinite combinations of viewpoints & angles. The head provides some good reference points for aiming for that are clearly visible. Also the brain cavity/stem is a slightly bigger target than a spine inside the neck.

I am working on a subsonic hunting load and will most likely go the head shot route if I even encounter a situation where I don't want to use supersonic ammo, but I have never done it on deer. Has anyone tried subsonic head shots on deer yet?

Best of luck out there and be safe!
tikkablk
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Re: 300 blk Subsonic Hunting Primer

Post by tikkablk »

dohalysh425 wrote:Hello all,

I have shot between 300 & 400 deer and witnessed, first person, over 3000 deer being shot. I have gutted about 800 deer. This was at work and all the venison was donated to food banks. I have shot 6 deer on my time. Almost all were shot with high velocity light weight v-max type bullets from a 22-250. Mostly head & neck shots, some vital shots. Vital shots tended to be with lehigh defense bullets in .243. All I know is that a hit to the brain or spine in the neck will reliably render deer unconscious and they do not regain consciousness. Thrashing & kicking is common.

Vital shots are all across the map. Sometimes they drop, sometimes they jump, sometimes they spin, sometimes they stumble run and crash, other times they run like heck for a long time. These reactions happen with all kinds of vital shot placement and all degrees of damage to vitals. But for the most part, the more damage to the vitals, the shorter the period of time is until the deer looses consciousness.

If I was going to shoot a deer in the vitals with a subsonic bullet, I'd do some testing to ensure reliable expansion or tumbling to get more damage to the vitals and hopefully get a short period of time for the deer to loose consciousness.

If I was going to shoot deer in the head or neck with a subsonic bullet, I'd work a load up for maximum accuracy and not worry about expansion as much. I also would lean towards a head shot. The spine inside the neck can be a elusive thing to know where to aim at with infinite combinations of viewpoints & angles. The head provides some good reference points for aiming for that are clearly visible. Also the brain cavity/stem is a slightly bigger target than a spine inside the neck.

I am working on a subsonic hunting load and will most likely go the head shot route if I even encounter a situation where I don't want to use supersonic ammo, but I have never done it on deer. Has anyone tried subsonic head shots on deer yet?

Best of luck out there and be safe!
Hello and welcome to the forum.
90% of the hunting I do is with subsonics and a few head shots when the situation allows. You are right about having the most accurate load to head shot and just about any 30cal bullet will do. I use handloads 208gr Amax and has a good BC and weight to punch through a skull of a deer out to 251m from personal experience. For body shots and the odd head shot because I can't change magazines as I'm to close to deer I use the Lehigh 194gr ME.

There is a great wealth of knowledge from the guys on this forum and some good reading in past posts.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
dohalysh425
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Re: 300 blk Subsonic Hunting Primer

Post by dohalysh425 »

251m, that's a lot of hold over!
tikkablk
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Re: 300 blk Subsonic Hunting Primer

Post by tikkablk »

dohalysh425 wrote:251m, that's a lot of hold over!
A good dail up scope sorts the holdovers out, angle of shot plays a big part too.
Shooting beyond max point blank range on the 300 blackout I treat it like long range shooting all the variables have to be taken into account. Before I got into the 300 blackout I did a lot of long range hunting/shooting so I already had the fundamentals of shooting at distance.

Here's a couple of my old post on subs at range.
viewtopic.php?f=145&t=96514

viewtopic.php?f=145&t=100012


80m running shot Lehigh 194gr ME to back of head

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50m Lehigh 194gr ME between the eyes

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17m between the eyes with another Lehigh ME 194gr

Image

12m ear shot

Image

251m ear shot exit hole from a 208gr Amax

Image


Berger 230gr OTM in the eye

Image

Berger 230gr OTM between the eyes

Image

I must stress here that head shots are not for everyone it can still go horribly wrong and if I thought that the shot wasn't 100% right I would have passed it up or gone for a body lung shot instead.

I am lucky to live in a country where we hunt all year round, I've shot thousands deer and goats and have many bad shots and situations wounding animals. Now years latter I know better of what shot will work and one that involves a lot of tracking from bad shot placement and pushing beyond my shooting ability and equipment.
tallburnedmidget
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Re: 300 blk Subsonic Hunting Primer

Post by tallburnedmidget »

Wow Tikka that is some impressive subsonic hunting. I know it is challenging and you are putting shots dead on at all kinds of distances. Great job!
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bangbangping
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Re: 300 blk Subsonic Hunting Primer

Post by bangbangping »

tallburnedmidget wrote:Wow Tikka that is some impressive subsonic hunting. I know it is challenging and you are putting shots dead on at all kinds of distances. Great job!
+1
I especially like the 230 Berger to the eye. :lol: You don't have to worry much about expansion when you hit 'em in the eye.
DICKERA
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Re: 300 blk Subsonic Hunting Primer

Post by DICKERA »

Hey guys I'm a newbie here. I just wanted to say that this is a great thread just what I was looking for. My primary use for this weapon will be for suppressed whitetail hunting in MI. So some of you may have seen my premature post asking about expanding subsonic factory loaded ammunition.

I have purchased some of the Alexander 180g HP and also 180g TMJ. They said on the website that ballistics of the TMJ will be the same as the HP, that is why I purchased both. I plan to test to confirm that ballistics do match and I hope they do, so that I can sight and range shoot with the TMJ. I hope the ammo is as good as they say it is, it would be nice since it is the cheapest factory loads that offer expansion that I have found.

I will post my finding as to if ballistics match and how well I think the bullet expands in case anyone is interested in A.A. 180gHP.
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