300 Win Mag Ammo for GA Whitetail

[TurkeyH90]

Looking at buying some factory ammo for deer hunting. Not looking for a critique of the cartridge. If you have a good brand that you successfully shoot through your 300 please let me know. This rifle shoots Hornady SSTs very well but they don't usually expand at all on a normal shot (50-75 yds). I have considered Federal 180 gr. Nosler Partitions. Ideas?

 

[Gator89]

My daddy killed elk with 150 grain soft points in a 300 mag, they would work on GA deer too.

what empirical data says SST's don't expand at 50 to 75 yards?

i shot a buck at 40 yard with 139 grain 280 Superperformance SST square in the front shoulder, recovered the bullet just under the hide on the opposite shoulder and it mushroomed perfectly.

 

[model88_308]

Looking at buying some factory ammo for deer hunting. Not looking for a critique of the cartridge. If you have a good brand that you successfully shoot through your 300 please let me know. This rifle shoots Hornady SSTs very well but they don't usually expand at all on a normal shot (50-75 yds). I have considered Federal 180 gr. Nosler Partitions. Ideas?

The .300WM is a great cartridge, perhaps the most versatile in North America. My personal choice is a .300SM, but there's no ballistic difference really. I'd prefer a 165gr Accubond over a Partition. The Partition is designed to shed weight, but push through the rear section. The Accubond actually retains more weight. That's not important on a whitetail necessarily, but it keeps the lead from migrating in the deer's body.

I'd also consider a 150gr mono (Barnes type) like a TTSX. You will certainly have pass-throughs from the Partition, Accubond or a good mono.

Best of luck!

 

[TurkeyH90]

My daddy killed elk with 150 grain soft points in a 300 mag, they would work on GA deer too.

what empirical data says SST's don't expand at 50 to 75 yards?

i shot a buck at 40 yard with 139 grain 280 Superperformance SST square in the front shoulder, recovered the bullet just under the hide one opposite shoulder and it mushroomed perfectly.

As far as data, that was actually from personal experience. When I bought the rifle it came with 2 boxes of handloads from a buddy of mine. It shot great just like he said but my guess is the bullet was traveling too fast to expand on a lung shot. I killed about 5 deer with the SSTs but wasn't happy with the expansion. Pretty much a pencil hole on both sides.

 

[delacroix]

Killed a truckload with a 300 slinging 165gr SSTs. Its a soft bullet and expands reliably, yet is still long enough to always exit.

 

[delacroix]

I got a dollar says those weren't SSTs. Probably GMX.

 

[TurkeyH90]

As far as data, that was actually from personal experience. When I bought the rifle it came with 2 boxes of handloads from a buddy of mine. It shot great just like he said but my guess is the bullet was traveling too fast to expand on a lung shot. I killed about 5 deer with the SSTs but wasn't happy with the expansion. Pretty much a pencil hole on both sides.

Well, the box says SST on it so that's what I'm goin with anyways.

I got a dollar says those weren't SSTs. Probably GMX.

Send me that dollar I will need it the Federal Noslers are 51$ and some change.

 

[NCHillbilly]

I love my .300. I think cheap softpoints do better than "premium" bullets in this caliber. I've had Barnes bullets pencil through deer without expanding. I am currently shooting 180 gr Speer Hot-Cors in mine.

 

[Jester896]

yeah...Winchester silver box 180s...that's what I run in mine when I use it.

 

[Buckman18]

If expansion is what you are after look at the Winchester deer season xp. They are cheap and glorious.

 

[hunter 85]

I would find something in a standard soft point like corloks or PowerPoints as stuff like partions accubonds in the heavier weights are meant for larger type game like elk and moose something with a softer design is probably better for deer sized game

 

[dirtnap]

If expansion is what you are after look at the Winchester deer season xp. They are cheap and glorious.

This. Just don’t hit shoulder blade of it will wreck him

 

[SC Hunter]

When I shot a 300 and 300 wsm my win mag did great with 165 grain soft points I don't recall the brand. My 300 wsm came with 100 hand loaded 180 grain ballistic tips that were devastating. I miss that short mag every deer season.

 

[TurkeyH90]

Thank y'all for the responses. I found about half a box of Winchester PP in my ammo pile today that I used to shoot in another rifle. I'm gonna see how it does with them as far as accuracy. From what I recall they do expand well enough for me. NCH I was shooting Speers but for whatever reason my Weatherby/Howa does not like them. From what I've read the twist in that barrel tends to like a heavier bullet. Thus my reason for sticking with 180 grain. Thank yall for not telling me a 300 Win Mag is overkill for a deer a thousand times and addressing the subject matter at hand.

 

[GregoryB.]

For deer I shoot plain old 180gr Remington Core-Lokt in my 300 Win Mag.

 

[SC Hunter]

Thank y'all for the responses. I found about half a box of Winchester PP in my ammo pile today that I used to shoot in another rifle. I'm gonna see how it does with them as far as accuracy. From what I recall they do expand well enough for me. NCH I was shooting Speers but for whatever reason my Weatherby/Howa does not like them. From what I've read the twist in that barrel tends to like a heavier bullet. Thus my reason for sticking with 180 grain. Thank yall for not telling me a 300 Win Mag is overkill for a deer a thousand times and addressing the subject matter at hand.

In my opinion even though it is just that, my opinion, the 300 win mag/wsm is the most versatile cartridge for North America. Possibly the world. You can kill anything with it minus the big 5 and I'd rather have more for a grizzly but none the less it's an awesome cartridge. My favorite for deer around home is the 7mm-08 but if I had to choose one cartridge to hunt with forever it would probably be a 300 wsm. I had deer run when shot with my 300's but not very far and good blood trails.

 

[Darkhorse]

I bought my 300 WM to hunt elk with, and did, but the rifle just fit me so well I decided to hunt deer with it that year. Mainly because I had a couple of huge clearcuts and I could see hundreds of yards. I shot my best scoring buck at over 400 yds. that year. I ended up hunting deer 15 years with that 300 WM and managed to chalk up some long shots for a Georgia boy in Oklahoma, Colorado and Georgia.
For deer, anywhere, I loaded Hornady Interlock 165 grain spire points pushed by IMR 4350 at book listed maximum velocity. These are a semi tough bullet designed for deer sized game and I had more DRT kills on bucks than with any other caliber I've used. Notice I said Bucks. The Does were something else. A shot through the heart/lung area would send some running for several hundred yards at times. I think the does were to thin in width to offer enough resistance to really expand the bullets.
I think there are bullets made today that would better match a white tail deer. The Winchester XP, Nosler Ballistic tip, and even the Nosler partition are a few that comes to mind. I have shot several deer with Partitions at 7 mag. velocities, they blow a big hole going in and a small one going out. Meat damage was a lot less than expected.
Today that 300 WM spends it's days in the gun safe waiting to be called on if the situation arises, but for woods hunting my .308 is now my main caliber.

 

[furtaker]

As far as data, that was actually from personal experience. When I bought the rifle it came with 2 boxes of handloads from a buddy of mine. It shot great just like he said but my guess is the bullet was traveling too fast to expand on a lung shot. I killed about 5 deer with the SSTs but wasn't happy with the expansion. Pretty much a pencil hole on both sides.

Speed=expansion every time. Fast bullets expand more violently than slow ones. The SSTs are a very thin jacketed bullet, too thin for my liking. The tiny exit hole you saw was likely just a fragment of the bullet that exited.

 

[lonewolf247]

A lot has to do with, where you plan your point of impact to be. If you target the lungs, as I do, soft points, like core Lokts, hornady interlocks, power points, blue box federal, and etc, do and excellent job. If that’s your plan, find one that groups well, and carry on.

If you plan to hit shoulder blades and hard bone, you may need to step it up into a bullet that is better constructed. Partition, Accubond, Barnes Tsx, etc.

Shot placement is the ultimate king, but also the basis to pick the appropriate bullet.

.300 win mag, is never undergunned on whitetailed deer, even those tough Georgia bucks! ?

 

[Super Snooper]

Always had good luck with Federal Fusions.