308 bullet for deer

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Remington core-lokt will work just fine. Countless deer have been taken with them. Granted, there are better bullets but a fararri is not needed when a good old chevy or ford will do.
 
Not every SP is the same. Some are designed to expand on deer, some have thin jackets to blow up on varmints, some are bonded for use on larger animals... depends.

Which SP are you referring to?
 
Core-Lokts

Very good killer of whitetails or muleys. Old round for sure but have killed many deer with them over the yrs., 270, 308 or 30-06 (150 gr pills) Only complaint is they blow one huge hole on the backside with any of these rds in various cals. I remember one deer in particular 180lb 6 pt. round went in at an angle hit opposite shoulder and their was no shoulder or leg left,all that held it on was a patch of fur. Huge ugly crater where it exited. rifle was an 30-06. Round has probably killed millions of deer across this country though. Today there are better bullets but you sure pay thru the nose for them but dead deer cant tell the difference. Same with Winchester power points or
Federal Powershoks once sighted in. Core-Lokts are here to stay.





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150 grain Ballistic tip, put's them down quickly, so would the Accubond, the partition is probably on the too much side unless your hunting three hundred pounders, like in Canada.
 
Do I need a really expensive/high tech bullet for deer or will softpoint ammo work fine?
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No. Remington Core-Lokt will do every thing that the expensive / high tech stuff will do and really, a dead deer is a dead deer. Hard to explain how some bullets are "better" when the end result is the same.
 
Core lokts work great I been using them for a while on deer most are bang flops!! I've recently switched to the accubond cause I get better accuracy (for long range shots and such) and I like the idea of a bonded bullet In case I run into a huge hog. Not that core lokts wouldn't work on them too... Like I said my main reason for switching is accuracy. both bullets perform wonderfult in my experiences. ( I hunt with a .30& win.)
 
Kreyzhorse said:
No. Remington Core-Lokt will do every thing that the expensive / high tech stuff will do and really, a dead deer is a dead deer. Hard to explain how some bullets are "better" when the end result is the same.
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Kreyzhorse, my friend, you know better than that. Dead is dead, but what about accuracy, fragmentation, meat damage from said fragmentation, consistency in expansion, etc...,

Core-Lokt will work, no doubt. They kill deer. Lots of them, and have for years. Entirely ADEQUATE.

That doesn't mean there isn't something better.

Personally, if I wasn't shooting beyond 300 yards, I like light, fast bullets that will stay together.

In 308 or 30-06, I'd shoot 110gr Barnes TTSX. 3,300+ fps.
 
I've killed two deer with the .308 (doe and small buck). I used to load 150gr pointed CoreLoks and on the bottom of the magazine 180 gr (round nose) CoreLoks. The 150 gr did NOT put the deer down, even two shots in the lungs. When I got the 180 round nose bullet in 'em they dropped instantly. I don't know why, I'm just relating my experience with shooting deer with a .308 (both at less then 100 yards). A slower expanding bullet would do much worse. A faster expanding bullet might do better.

:)
 
You can't in all reality expect a deer shot with any bullet to just drop dead. They almost always run some. I've seen bucks run 75 yrds with no heart left. My take is that you want a bullet that leaves a good sized exit wound so the blood trail is easy to follow. Personally I use Nosler Ballistic Tips, 150g or better. I have used good old Core Loks in the past and have found them to be perfectly suited to the job. Also have had good results from Barnes X, although they are pretty pricey.
 
checkmyswag said:
Do I need a really expensive/high tech bullet for deer or will softpoint ammo work fine?
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No. I've taken two deer this year with a 175gr Berger BT LR and a 77gr Sierra matchking. Both match target bullets. Both deer didn't move. I'm not recommending doing that, as i just did that to say that i finally made a kill with my .308 and my SPR. Reload for find some ammunition with sierra 165gr spitzers, they're deadly accurate, cheap, and absolutely stomp deer.
 
I guess you need to define expensive / high tech. I shoot Hornady SST 150's in my .308. Are they expensive / high tech by your definition?

I want a bullet that will maximize my chances of a humane and clean kill and reduce my chances of having to track. A lot of shots are taken in the evening and tracking an animal in the dark can be a royal pain.

All that being said, relatively inexpensive Remington / Winchester soft points have been killing game for a very long time. Not sure I would call them cheap though as most rifle ammunition tends to be expensive.

I've killed two deer with the .308 (doe and small buck). I used to load 150gr pointed CoreLoks and on the bottom of the magazine 180 gr (round nose) CoreLoks. The 150 gr did NOT put the deer down, even two shots in the lungs. When I got the 180 round nose bullet in 'em they dropped instantly. I don't know why, I'm just relating my experience with shooting deer with a .308 (both at less then 100 yards). A slower expanding bullet would do much worse. A faster expanding bullet might do better.
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No offense Warbirdlover, but this is exactly what "not" to do......Sight your rifle in with the bullet you are planning to hunt with and use it. If your rifle is sighted in at 200 yards with 150's the 180's will have a very different POI, especially at distance.

Even different brands of the same bullet weight can shoot dramatically differently, depending on the rifle. I missed a deer at 45 yards two years ago because I grabbed the wrong brand of ammo when I left home for my hunt.

I blamed myself, my scope, my boots. After the hunt, I took both boxes to the range and it was dead on with the ammo I sighted in with.....Quite different with the ammo I took the shot with, POI was a lot higher with the other ammo and I shot over the deer's back and likely scared the droppings out of it........case closed, blaming myself was the answer.
 
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I'm a fan of the SST's also. Accurate, terminal performance is amazing, and they are priced right. When the lungs turn to Jello, they don't go far.
 
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