300 grain Sierra MK on deer sized game

[Mike375]

I have just placed order via the Australian Wby agent for a pair of upgraded 338/378 Accumarks. Should arrive in about 6 months and I want to assemble some components dies etc before they get here.

I won't be shooting any deer but rather kangaroos, goats and pigs but I figure what works on deer will be OK on these animals.

My main concern about using 300 grain MK would be lack of expansion. I am not worried about how the bullet would perform out 600 yards as from my experience animals at real long range go down easy.

But how would you expect the 300 MKs to go at close ranges, say out to 250 yards or so.

As a by the way a mate of mine just shot several roos with the 107 MK in a 264. He said these appeared to be going straight through. I suspect on the small 264 size the hollow point might to be small and is closing. We use to get this years ago when the 110 grain Hornady 270 needle nose hollow point was introduced.

Thanks in advance.

Mike

 

[chris matthews]

Dude, I wouldn't worry about lack of expansion with that setup. The shock wave from the bullet will still blow them to pieces!

 

[weaverism]

EXPANSION? Lets just say I hope your not a meat hunter, because there won't be much left. Probably just a puddle of red goo.

 

[Mark_in_utah]

It's good to remember that mushrooming bullets are made to be create the effect of a larger bullet during impact. If the bullet starts out at 7mm and "grows" into a 9mm at impact, then the effects would be the same if you used a 9mm that did not mushroom at all.

Another thing to keep in mind is that ALL bullets tend to turn and fly backwards when traveling though flesh. After traveling approximately 10" (25 cm) through flesh the trypical 7.62 NATO will be traveling backwards through the target. At one point that FMJ bullet is traveling sideways through the target. Imagine the damage that a 300 grain MK flying sideways through the last half of a roo would do?

Finally, a MK has a thinner jacket. It may not be all that good at holding together during a high-velocity impact. Lets say that 50% of it "disappears", you STILL have a 150 grain bullet going out the other end of the roo!

I'd say looking at it three different ways, that the poor roo is toast!

Mark in Utah

 

[Varmint Hunter]

If you expect to have good performance at 600 yards, why would you anticipate a lack of expansion at 250 yards?
If anything, I would expect the higher impact velocity to result in MORE expansion, not less.
Either way, that cannon should knock em over with the muzzle blast.

VH

 

[Brent]

My brother just shot a Mountain Goat at about 300yds with his 338/378 using the 300 SMK this fall. I doubt you'll ever recover one to see what the expansion is at that range. All mushroomed bullets I've ever found under the hide were all still headed the way they went in, although I have heard some wild stories about them turning from something hit inside the animal, Jerry T. just told me one using the SST recently that's quite amazing!
I would fully expect "much" more expansion at 200yds than 600. You've got nothing but "backstop" to worry about at either range tho.

 

[Dave King]

I've shot a few crop damage deer with the 300's outta the 338 RUM I had and did not recover any bullets. Ranges varied from 100 yards or so to 400-450.

Brent's correct about having a good backstop, they don't like to stop and the deer can't seem to tell the difference between a 100 yard hit and a 400 yard hit.

Only one a recall recovering was from a moose shot at 439, still facing the proper direction and mushroomed nicely.

It's a pretty big bullet, might be easier for the deer to swap ends as the bullet passes through than for the bullet to swap ends

.

[ 12-24-2003: Message edited by: Dave King ]

 

[Mike375]

VH

In my experience animals hit at very long range are easy to put down. Thus, I was not worried about what the bullet did way out there. This seems to be especially the case with kangaroos.

Mike

[ 12-24-2003: Message edited by: Mike375 ]

 

[ewallace]

Deer exit from a 300g smk 1225 yards

Crow Mag

 

[Mike375]

It sounds as though the 300 Sierras will work well.

I have seen them and they look as though they would be travelling faster at 300 yards than what they were doing when they left the muzzle

You American long range shooters would enjoy it down it with the roos.

Mike