200yd and in, 300BLK ammo choice for deer

Tim

Tim

Checked Out
Staff member
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
2A Bourbon Hound OG
Charter Life Member
Benefactor
Vendor
Multi-Factor Enabled
Joined
Dec 17, 2016
Messages
16,499
Location
A Glass Cage of Emotion
Rating - 100%
85   0   0
I'm going to hunt with my 10.5" suppressed 300BLK this year just for giggles. I'm looking for 1st hand accounts/recommendations for ammo choice.

  1. Subsonic is not a requirement.
  2. All Shots will be 200 yards and closer, mostly 100 and closer
  3. 10.5" suppressed AR platform w/4x optic
  4. Either commercial or handloads with readily available components OK

Whaddya have experience with?
 
Last edited:
@Tim

http://www.cavitybackbullets.com/category-s/126.htm

His 195gr projectiles open and act like a broad head. And has an opening speed down to 600fps

His 125 gr stuff is also good on game for what you wanting to do.

He doesn’t have commercial ammo yet but his projectiles are highly praised on 68forums. A guy that goes by xman has done testing on them and shot game with that stuff.

That’s just what I would use if I was taking a 300blk out. Which I wouldn’t be anyways but that’s another story
 
Last edited:
I'm using PNW 187gr poly tipped subs, but I don't necessarily recommend them. I took two deer with them last year, but boy howdy did they run and almost no blood trail to mention.

A friend's Uncle uses Lehigh Defense bullets and loads his own. He's not shooting suppressed, so I imagine they are hotter than subs. He has been very successful taking wild hogs with his.
 
I've had successful results with the following loads:

110gr. Barnes TacTX. All copper bullet, polymer tip. 2 deer in the freezer with this, dead within a couple of bounds, no tracking involved.
110gr. Hornady Black Vmax. While this is a varmint bullet, it absolutely hammers deer. No exit wound but neither of the two I've shot seemed to mind that. DRT without taking a step.

All of that was with a 16" carbine. The good think about the BLK though is you don't lose much in velocity going from 16-10"....
 
Upon further review, I'm going to limit this application to stands where shots will be less than 125yds.

The TacTX bullet that @rantingredneck mentioned keeps coming up as one of the better choices.
 
backwoodsshooter said:
@Tim

http://www.cavitybackbullets.com/category-s/126.htm

His 195gr projectiles open and act like a broad head. And has an opening speed down to 600fps

His 125 gr stuff is also good on game for what you wanting to do.

He doesn’t have commercial ammo yet but his projectiles are highly praised on 68forums. A guy that goes by xman has done testing on them and shot game with that stuff.

That’s just what I would use if I was taking a 300blk out. Which I wouldn’t be anyways but that’s another story
Click to expand...


Interesting, but I think for this application I'll be looking to well-established brands and loads.
 
That's what I found when I was looking as well Tim. I've got a bunch of the Vmax load on hand because it's what I load my BLK pistol with for social use. I woudn't hesitate to use it on deer, but if I were buying factory ammo specifically for deer hunting I'd go with the Barnes load.

I've also read a lot about the 125 gr. Nosler BT being a good choice. I've loaded some and have a good recipe that my guns like, but I've never shot a deer with one.
 
My one gripe with the TacTX is I've had a couple of the polymer tips break off. Noticed this when loading/unloading. Top round in the magazine has the tip broken off. I've just pulled those from the mag and cycled the next one into the chamber. Haven't really investigated the whys, just relegated those rounds to range ammo.
 
Tim said:
Upon further review, I'm going to limit this application to stands where shots will be less than 125yds.

The TacTX bullet that @rantingredneck mentioned keeps coming up as one of the better choices.
Click to expand...

The longest shot for me would be about 110yds.

My two deer last year were at 30 to 35yds.
 
I'm getting great accuracy out to 200 yards with the Hornady SST 180 gr in my reloads. And most likely what I'll be hunting with this season. Last year I used Nosler Match Grade 125 gr off the shelf because it was what I had laying around. Dropped an old buck and a young deer, both went down fast with a single shot.

I do not recommend lead round nose. I was using 220 gr Hornady's for a while. The first deer went down fine. The next 2 not so much. Didn't loose any but had to take follow up shots. The bullets were just exploding with no real penetration or shock to the animal.
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
Barnes Vor-TX 110gr (TacTX bullet). Arguably the best terminal round for .300blk.
 
Using the heavy Subsonic from Gorilla this year. Have used the Lehigh and Barnes with great results


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Screenshot_20181015-181507_Messages.jpg Shot my 10.5" blackout today for the first time. Got it close at 25 yards and moved back. Top right was first shot @ 75 yards. Made adjustment and shot next 3. I left it where it was. I was shooting the 120gr Federal Power Shok all copper hollow points. Hopefully I'll get pics this weekend of how they do on a fat doe for the freezer.20181017_101302.jpg
 
Last edited:
Update...... We've killed two so far with the Federal Power Shok 120gr rounds and neither deer have taken a step. Both deer were high shoulder shot with minimal meat loss. Even though they both dropped neither deer was dead and both required a follow up shot to speed up the process. Complete pass through on a broadside shot on a 90lb doe, the 150lb buck was slightly quartered to us and the bullet entered high on the front part of shoulder and was under the hide midway the ribcage. No major hemorrhaging on either deer. Both shots were 50-60 yards.
 
Had my first bullet 'failure' with the .300 blk, but I figured out what I did wrong. I got the boxes for the 168gr and 125gr .308 Noslers mixed up........and I sent one into a cull buck on Friday morning, it didn't expand out of my 8.5" barrel, and we never found the deer. There's going to be a thread on what I did wrong in the reloading section in a few minutes. Let's just say I'm glad the only thing that went wrong is I lost a deer.
https://www.carolinafirearmsforum.c...ns-when-youre-2-5gr-over-max-in-300blk.35304/

So my hypothesis is when I sent the projectile at a slower than expanding velocity into his shoulder, it poked a nice .308 size hole, hit bone, and didn't do anything but kill him slow. He literally picked up his front leg and ran 400yds to the woods on 3 legs.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: RR
In the last week my nephew has shot 4 deer with my rifle and 110 grain Barnes TacTx. The only one that didn't drop immediately ran about 30-40 yards and left a blood trail Ray Charles could follow.
 
rantingredneck said:
In the last week my nephew has shot 4 deer with my rifle and 110 grain Barnes TacTx. The only one that didn't drop immediately ran about 30-40 yards and left a blood trail Ray Charles could follow.
Click to expand...

Your load or commercial?

details....
 
Last edited:
Commercial.

The Barnes Vortex Tac TX 110 load.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tim
Catalog number 21548.

His 4 plus the 2 I've shot with it equals 5 dropped where they stood and one that ran 30ish yards spraying blood everywhere.
 
rantingredneck said:
Catalog number 21548.

His 4 plus the 2 I've shot with it equals 5 dropped where they stood and one that ran 30ish yards spraying blood everywhere.
Click to expand...
What shot placement? The .300 blackout is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
 
BBD280 said:
What shot placement? The .300 blackout is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
Click to expand...

I really don't have the courage to shoot anywhere but the heart/lungs. Well, except for pigs. They get it behind the ear.

I'm always fascinated by the DRT tales.
 
kcult said:
I really don't have the courage to shoot anywhere but the heart/lungs. Well, except for pigs. They get it behind the ear.

I'm always fascinated by the DRT tales.
Click to expand...
Both the ones we've shot were hit high shoulder and neither took a step.
 
BBD280 said:
What shot placement? The .300 blackout is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
Click to expand...


Both of mine and all but one of his were vitals shots missing the shoulders. Not high, but quartering. One of his he destroyed both shoulders. The one that ran, he hit ribs/lung on the on side and it exited in her paunch on the offside. Not an optimal shot angle at all and she was down quickly.
 
Last edited:
Shot placement is key.

If you can’t hit the broadside of the barn from the inside, stay out of the woods.

Loosing deer is unacceptable.

Bad shots are unacceptable.

Wounding deer is unacceptable.

And horse power doesn’t always make up for a bad shot.

These are the things I was taught as a young kid.
 
Not a deer hunter and only shot my 300BL (16" barrel) a few times but asking it to reach out to 200 yards, I question that call.
 
Tailhunter said:
Shot placement is key.

If you can’t hit the broadside of the barn from the inside, stay out of the woods.

Loosing deer is unacceptable.

Bad shots are unacceptable.

Wounding deer is unacceptable.

And horse power doesn’t always make up for a bad shot.

These are the things I was taught as a young kid.
Click to expand...

You hunt long enough, you'll lose deer. If you ever hunt with archery equipment, you'll loose even more. They won't go to waste, nature uses every animal carcass that hits the ground, whether it be by a
bad shot, bad luck, or a Honda Accord. We put in the work to find one that runs up to and including using a tracking dog. But everyone loses an animal that has sheer will to live.
 
Grits said:
I can take you to two that were hit last week. Let it warm up and the buzzards will have a feast.

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Yep. Or 'yotes, or worms or anything in between. I used to worry and fret over a lost deer, but I put in what I feel like is the necessary effort to find them and if I can't, then their instinct did it's job.
 
Grits said:
I can take you to two that were hit last week. Let it warm up and the buzzards will have a feast.

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

This buzzard has picked up a roadkill or three.
 
Nothing wrong with fresh roadkill. I just hate being the one to hit 'em. They tear a car all to pieces. Just happens both deer I hit were with Honda Accords.

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk
 
I took a buck a couple years ago that dressed out over 200 lbs at 75 yards with standard 220 grain Remington subsonic suppressed.

It bucked, took one leap and then fell over backwards DRT. Shot went all the way through and liquefied the heart and lungs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom