Light weight big game bullet options?

[taylorce1]

I know my request sounds funny, but I have my reasons. I'm looking for a .30 caliber light weight bullet that will work well with a MV speed at 2800 fps or below. I just bought a M700 Classic in .300 Savage for my daughter. She is a little recoil sensitive and only ten, by the time she is ready to handle full power loads in a few years she'll be able to shoot heavier bullets if she wants to chase elk. However once my daughter shoots something and she feels the recoil is too severe, it's hard to convince her to ever shoot it again.

Right now I'm thinking of something suitable for deer sized game or smaller, and have been looking at the 125 grain BT. However I never rely on just one bullet, I like to try several different ones to see which shoot the best. I've never really shot anything below 150 grain in any .30 caliber rifle I've owned so I'm going into uncharted territory as far as my reloading experience go.

 

[SJB358]

The 125 BT sounds tailor made for that combo.

I think a decent load of 4895 with that bullet around 2200-2500 would be very gentle on your young lady. Plus, that little BT should open up just fine down to around 1800FPS so it'll give you a couple hundred yards of usefulness. They are pretty tough at the upper end as well from all I've seen from the guys here.

I ran a little more oomph'ed load of Varget and the 125 Sierra Pro Hunter for my wife in a 308. Recoil was still pretty mild at 2800 but it killed deer just fine.

 

[243win]

The 130 grain TSX might work. I don't know how well it would open up at slower speeds.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

The 125 BT sounds tailor made for that combo.

I think a decent load of 4895 with that bullet around 2200-2500 would be very gentle on your young lady. Plus, that little BT should open up just fine down to around 1800FPS so it'll give you a couple hundred yards of usefulness. They are pretty tough at the upper end as well from all I've seen from the guys here.

I ran a little more oomph'ed load of Varget and the 125 Sierra Pro Hunter for my wife in a 308. Recoil was still pretty mild at 2800 but it killed deer just fine.

This is your answer.....with standard primers it should be easy to get this load to shoot.

 

[Guest]

As an alternate, Speer makes a 130gr Flat Point that's designed for 30-30WCF velocities that would be ideal for the scenario with your daughter, if the BT won't shoot. They also make a 110gr Spire Point in their Hot-Cor line, and a 110gr Deep Curl round-nose. Any of these would be good. I'm not sure if the Hot-Cor is still in production in that weight, but it's listed on Speer's site. Worth looking into, at least. A 110gr bullet at reasonable velocity should have minimal recoil and be suitable out to 150-200yds, which is likely the limit for her as a new hunter anyway, I'd imagine.

 

[taylorce1]

As an alternate, Speer makes a 130gr Flat Point that's designed for 30-30WCF velocities that would be ideal for the scenario with your daughter, if the BT won't shoot. They also make a 110gr Spire Point in their Hot-Cor line, and a 110gr Deep Curl round-nose. Any of these would be good. I'm not sure if the Hot-Cor is still in production in that weight, but it's listed on Speer's site. Worth looking into, at least. A 110gr bullet at reasonable velocity should have minimal recoil and be suitable out to 150-200yds, which is likely the limit for her as a new hunter anyway, I'd imagine.

Thanks for the bullet suggestions, I know about the 130 Barnes but am hesitant because of the low speed that I'll be using to start. I've been looking as well at the 130 grain Hornady bullet.

I wouldn't hesitate to let my daughter shoot past 200 yards. She has proven herself out to 300 on prairie dogs from a bi-pod with her .223. Last year she took a white tail doe in OK at 140 yards with her .223 using 55 grain Barnes Vortex ammunition. Of course that shot was taken from a blind off of a shooting rest, which she'll have a similar set up this year again.

It is still two years until she can hunt big game in Colorado, at that time she'll need a 6mm or larger caliber rifle to shoot. I'm working with her on a .250 Savage, but she has expressed an interest in wanting to hunt an elk. I'd just like her to shoot something a little larger than a .250 for elk when that time comes.

 

[AzDak42]

I may be way off base here, but my thoughts...

You get only a limited window to let your kids in on the joys of hunting. If she has a bad experience or is turned off by the recoil, you may loser her as a blind buddy. That risk, to me, is worth a little investment to make sure she has a good time.

I'd look long and hard at a normal weight .243. With a 95g bullet, recoil is non-existent and she can still take down whitetails with aplomb out to 200. Given that there are a lot of nice rifles available for under $400.. It's the route I'd take.

 

[Dr. Vette]

Nosler ballistic tip 125
Sierra 125 spitzer
Barnes 110 TTSX
Hornady 130 spire point
Speer HotCor 110
Rem 125 PSP

All would work well.

 

[taylorce1]

I may be way off base here, but my thoughts...

You get only a limited window to let your kids in on the joys of hunting. If she has a bad experience or is turned off by the recoil, you may loser her as a blind buddy. That risk, to me, is worth a little investment to make sure she has a good time.

I'd look long and hard at a normal weight .243. With a 95g bullet, recoil is non-existent and she can still take down whitetails with aplomb out to 200. Given that there are a lot of nice rifles available for under $400.. It's the route I'd take.

I have her shooting a .250 Savage with an 87 grain Hornady bullets at 2800-3000 fps right now. Not a whole lot of difference between that and what you suggested. I'm not forcing her to shoot anything she doesn't want too at all. I'm just prepping her for the next step, progressing her into larger rifles.

I got a great deal on the .300 Savage and figured it is a great .30 caliber to start her on, although I do have a M788 in .30-30 that I could do the same with. However I've not found a spritzer bullet that shoots well in that rifle except the 160 FTX from Hornady. However, when the time comes for her to hunt elk I'd be more comfortable with her using a .300 Savage vs. the .243 or .250.

 

[Guest]

Energy is going to limit you to about 200-225yds on deer-sized game with just about any of these bullets at their start charges. That's the bad news. The good news is, if you can get 2MOA or better out of a starting load, she'll have no problem with the recoil, I suspect, as a 110 at 2700 or a 130gr at 2350 will be in line with full power 243Win 100gr recoil, at just under 10lbs. Get her a good recoil pad to wear (like the PAST recoil shield) and also a good pad on the butt of the gun, and she should be fine. For reference, her 250Sav load is giving her something like 7lbs recoil, so this should be a slight bump but nothing extreme. Perhaps you should tell her it's "2lbs" more recoil. It may be that she cannot differentiate between the two at all, as most likely could not, but with her recoil sensitivity, she may notice it.

I love the 243Win, and think it's a great round, but since you handload, you have the flexibility to make this 300Sav recoil equal to the 243Win, but with the added benefit of additional flexibility later on.

 

[1Shot]

For your 788 in 30-30Win. give the 125 Nosler ballistic tip a try with 34.7 grs IMR 4064 for 2400 fps. This is the suggested accuracy load in the 4th Edition Sierra manual.

For the 300 Savage give 43.3 grs IMR 4320 or 42.5 grs IMR 4895 with the 125 Ballistic tip a try. It will do around 2700 fps.

I use the 125 Nosler ballistic tip in all my 30 cal. rifles for deer. As long as you keep the impact velocity below 3000 fps it is a real deer killer. The 125 ballistic tip is a GAME bullet not a VARMINT bullet.

 

[ccoker]

110 Barnes 30 cal designed for the 300 Blackout would work

I did a project a few years ago with a 308 youth reduced loads and used 130 TTSX
Killed a few pigs and they worked fine.

Assuming she won't be shooting under 300 yards any of them should be fine really.

 

[JD338]

You also have the 125 gr AB.

JD338

 

[gerry]

Nosler ballistic tip 125
Sierra 125 spitzer
Barnes 110 TTSX
Hornady 130 spire point
Speer HotCor 110
Rem 125 PSP

All would work well.

I like this list the only change that I would make would be to leave out the 110 gr Speer HC and substitute the 130 gr Speer FN in it's place.

 

[1Shot]

The only real problem you have right now is finding any of these bullets. One bullet that has been left out of the mix would be the 125 Hornady SST that Hornady just started making. It is supposed to be the standard SST with the interlock ring in the bullet and should work well on deer size game. I saw that Powder Valley and Midway had them listed as, shock, faint and fall over, IN STOCK.

 

[Guy Miner]

A buddy's wife is getting into hunting this year, for the first time. She's got a sweet little .308 Sako. I've been handloading her ammo, using the 125 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip.

Good grief, she is accurate with that load & rifle! :shock: A pair of one-hole, three-shot groups at 100 yards the first time out with it...

Taking her for whitetail in November. I think the little 125 Ballistic Tip is going to do just fine. Particularly after what I saw Steven & Storm do with the lightweight 7mm, 120 gr Ballistic Tips Wyoming last fall. Two mulies & two pronghorns, one shot drops on each. I believe each bullet gave complete penetration too. The lightweight Ballistic Tips are accurate & lethal.

Guy

 

[SJB358]

A buddy's wife is getting into hunting this year, for the first time. She's got a sweet little .308 Sako. I've been handloading her ammo, using the 125 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip.

Good grief, she is accurate with that load & rifle! :shock: A pair of one-hole, three-shot groups at 100 yards the first time out with it...

Taking her for whitetail in November. I think the little 125 Ballistic Tip is going to do just fine. Particularly after what I saw Steven & Storm do with the lightweight 7mm, 120 gr Ballistic Tips Wyoming last fall. Two mulies & two pronghorns, one shot drops on each. I believe each bullet gave complete penetration too. The lightweight Ballistic Tips are accurate & lethal.

Guy

I'm with you Guy. I'm almost thinking about loading up some 120 BTs for my sons 7x57 so maybe he can give them a try this Fall.

 

[Sas874runner]

The other thing to considet would be a muzzle break. Granted ear protection would be an absolute must. But being that you are in the springs. Rich riley does a fantastic break for cheap and you can always cap it.all of these guys have given sound advice. Obly thing you may try to find is the 95 or 100 grain accelerators in 30 cal. Have not loaded any in quite some time so I'm not sure if they are even available anymore

 

[Oldtrader3]

I made up some loads for my .338 Federal (I don't have a .308) with 180 grain BT and TiteGroup powder. I got about 1600 fps with little noise and no recoil. You should be able to do the same for a .308 or a .300 Savage? I used TiteGroup because you get the same pressure and velocity with small loads that are laying in different places in the case. It burns very consistently.

 

[Thebear_78]

Load up a bunch of trail boss loads to practice with. Minimal recoil and muzzle blast. Then work in some mild full power loads down the road.

Some 125 ballistic tips at 2350 should do nicely.

Make sure you cut it down to fit her!