Favorite Bullet for 300 Whisper Subsonic Deer hunting

[A62Rambler]

Someone asked for a new poll and I for one am tired of seeing my old poll. :eek: So here goes. What is your favorite 300 Whisper bullet for subsonic deer hunting? Please post a reply with approximate size of deer, shot location, performance results and pictures if you have them. I tried to list all the bullets that were heavier and boat tailed. I didn't list FMJ because those are illegal for hunting in most states. Please feel free to mention other bullets but 10 is the max number of poll categories so I ran out.

[HUNTER2]

It has been the Speer 180 btsp backwards. Will be testing some new Diamondback bonded core bullets, and the new Lehigh subsonic control fracture next week...Along with Berry, we just might get something moving here with expansion!

[Rikky Lee]

That was me - well done for creating the poll.

I'm quite impressed by the 240 grain SMK (and have posted elsewhere on it) but am eager to hear more experiences.

[Spook]

Hornady 220 Round nose.

[Fritzcat]

I like the Horn 220 RN for deer and hogs.

[A62Rambler]

Dang. I started to put the hornady 220gr on the list but decided that since it wasn't boat tail that it probably wasn't used. Oh well too late to change it.

[A62Rambler]

Give me a list of the bullets you want included and I'll make a new poll with the Hornady 220gr listed of course.

[Rikky Lee]

The 220, 240 SMK and the 200 Lapua subsonic (if you haven't tried it you should). The 220 RN.

I have used the 180 grain plastic tips and they open up at low velocity.

[gary0529]

Anyone out there try the Lehigh 150 gr. 308 Subsonic on deer.
Appears to be very devastating on gallon jugs and phone books but would love to hear or see reports on deer.
I have loaded up a few with 8.0 gr. Lil Gun and will try out as soon as I get the chance- our anterlerless season goes until end of March, that should offer me an opportunity to give it a real world try.

Gary

[Garrett]

You needed to include an "other" category.

I haven't had a chance to try these out yet, so I can't say anything for sure yet. But if these expand as they are supposed to (and looking at them, I have no reason to expect they won't) they should be great. They are a 225 gr. expanding hollow point, shown next to a 220 gr. SMK for comparison.

These came from Outlaw State Bullets in Missouri.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/GarrettJ/102_1301.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/GarrettJ/102_1300.jpg

[ATLRoach]

Have a contact or site for those Outlaw State Bullets?

[fasttwist]

Have a contact or site for those Outlaw State Bullets?

OUTLAW STATE BULLETS L.L.C. 636-375-5294 fasttwist@yahoo.com

[Spook]

OUTLAW STATE BULLETS L.L.C. 636-375-5294 fasttwist@yahoo.com

Outlaw appears to know more than most when it comes to subsonic projectiles.... any like these in .338 X 300gr by chance?

[fasttwist]

Yes, we are working on a .338 - 300 grain bullet. Check us out at outlawstatebullets.com:welcome:

[Garrett]

I got a chance to try out the Outlaw State Bullets today. It was a balmy 23 degrees F. but it was mostly sunny and there was just a gentle breeze (unlike yesterday).

I set up a pair of sawhorses with a piece of plywood on top. I had collected four milk jugs and filled them with water. This typically shows what "ideal" expansion will look like. With most pistol-caliber hollowpoints, you will sometimes get penetration through the first water jug with the bullet stopping in the second jug. I was hoping the four jugs would be more than adequate for these bullets when they are at subsonic velocities.

The first water jug was approximately 18 feet away and the chronograph was set at approximately 10 feet.

Since these were the first shots fired with these bullets, I did not have a silencer installed. The gun is a T/C Contender with a 1:8 twist 10.5" barrel from SSK. Later shots were fired through a Triple-X Warrior from American Manufacturing.

Here is a cell-phone picture of the setup.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/GarrettJ/102_1329.jpg

The average of 15 shots was 971.4 fps., and the shot into the water jugs was 995 fps. The bullet penetrated all four milk jugs showing good energy transfer into the first two (both jugs split at the seams, with the first jug jumping off of the board). The third jug had good-sized entry and exit holes, and the last jug just has some small tears at the entrance and exit. I had hoped to catch the bullet in one of the jugs, but it continued downrange.

I walked downrange in the path of the bullet and found it at around 40 yards from where it had been shot. After throwing away the milk jugs, I also found one chunk of lead remaining on the plywood stand. I didn't think until after leaving that I should have checked inside the milk jugs for any other fragments.

Here is what the bullet looks like.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/GarrettJ/102_1328.jpg

It appears the nose section broke up into multiple parts (as designed, per OSB's website). The front of the bullet opened up to .510" at the widest point. Discounting the single jacket petal, the face of the bullet opened to around .420".
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/GarrettJ/Misc%20NFA/102_1329.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/GarrettJ/Misc%20NFA/102_1330.jpg

The bullets weighed 226.0 gr. when loaded, and retained bullet weight was 181.1 gr. with the one recovered fragment at 8.6 gr.

Overall, I'm thinking this bullet has great potential for subsonic hunting. I'm kind of wishing I had found these bullets a month before deer season rather than a month after. :frown:

Accuracy potential is good too. At 50 yds. I fired a 5-shot group of 1.195". While this is certainly not benchrest accuracy, it should do fine for deer-sized game at Whisper distances.

Actually, I expect the accuracy potential is much better. I have fired groups with a 220 gr. SMK of under 1" at 100 yds. Today, my 50yd. SMK groups were 1.189" and 0.990". I'm thinking my blood-caffeine levels were either too high or too low. :grin: I haven't had nearly enough trigger time this winter.