Previously I've only hunted with my dad's .35 Rem Marlin and used Rem CoreLokt that Kmart sold. Honestly I never even looked at the bullet weight. There were just a few boxes in the safe with it so that's what I used.
Now I started to load for my own guns and would like to try a few of them out in the field, but I dont know exactly how to choose the proper weight or bullet style to get the best results. Currently what I've been target shooting with is 165gr CoreLokt soft points in .308 and 220gr hard cast RFN in .41 magnum.
For the rifle, I wouldnt think I'd need anything heavier than 165 since I've also been playing with some M2 ball projectiles @ 150gr and they seem to have killed "deer sized game" quite well for many years. Do I want to go any lighter though to dump more energy on impact or for tiny lil deers wont it matter? Also should I stick to a softpoint or go to a hollowpoint? What about something less pointy with more bore contact like the bullets for the lever rifles? Most shots will be in medium thickness forrest at about 50-75 yds.
Pretty much the same questions for the pistol. Should I be using cast or switch to a jacketed bullet? Hollow/soft/flat point? Anything special about using a pistol than a rifle other than knowing my effective range and more critical shot placement?
Randy
Now I started to load for my own guns and would like to try a few of them out in the field, but I dont know exactly how to choose the proper weight or bullet style to get the best results. Currently what I've been target shooting with is 165gr CoreLokt soft points in .308 and 220gr hard cast RFN in .41 magnum.
For the rifle, I wouldnt think I'd need anything heavier than 165 since I've also been playing with some M2 ball projectiles @ 150gr and they seem to have killed "deer sized game" quite well for many years. Do I want to go any lighter though to dump more energy on impact or for tiny lil deers wont it matter? Also should I stick to a softpoint or go to a hollowpoint? What about something less pointy with more bore contact like the bullets for the lever rifles? Most shots will be in medium thickness forrest at about 50-75 yds.
Pretty much the same questions for the pistol. Should I be using cast or switch to a jacketed bullet? Hollow/soft/flat point? Anything special about using a pistol than a rifle other than knowing my effective range and more critical shot placement?
Randy