velocity survey

[oobray]

I have been doing a lot of searching for load data for the 300/221. I'm really considering getting in to this cartridge if...
What are my chances of getting a 240gr Sierra HPBT to move at 1200 to 1300 fps muzzle velocity? At the very least I'm looking to move it at about 1,100 fps out of the muzzle. What are my chances?

[Rikky Lee]

Do it far too easy with a 30BR - but I shall defer to the smaller case users...

[dksd39]

well its not the most practical use of a 240gr bullet in a 300/221- the concept is for that bullet to be subsonic. You will be far better off pushing a 125gr at around 2400fps then trying to push the 240- 1200.

just curious why would you want to do that with the 240?

Personally I use the 220 SMK. I go thru several thousand a year and save about $80 per 1K with the 220's over the 240's.

[oobray]

Well, here's the background. I have been using the "HITS" calculator on hornady's website. THis is supposed to take bullet characteristics and give reccomendations on size of animals these bullets would be good for. According to that the 240 moving at 1200 fps would be good for animals up to 1200 pounds, which the 125 at 2400 fps would only be good for animals weighing up to 500 lbs. I don't know if I'm every going to get the chance to shoot at something over 500 lbs, but I'm just trying to get a feel for the versatility of the 300/221.
However, recently I have started looking at some other "formulas" for predicting terminal ballistics and those are indicating that the 165 at 2000 fps would be better performing.

[dksd39]

I would not put too much stock in what that program has to say when it comes to a 300/221 or much else for that matter. There are much better programs out there that take into account far more factors and do a better job of predicting perfomance. The hits program shows a 240 at 1050fps good for large game with a 910 rating. That said you can kill large game using a 22lr with proper shot placement and maybe a little luck.....and thats exactly what you would need if using a 300/221 with a 240. When using a slow moving 240 bullet (any subsonic) there is no expansion on impact. The bullet is simply going to pass right thru the animal. So unless you hit the spine or brain a fast kill is not going to happen. A heart lung shot can result in a lost animal due to the limited damge done. On the other hand a 125 will work considerably well and is a far better choice if not hunting suppressed.

[oobray]

That seems to be what I'm learning. Thanks for the input. I happen to have a whole bunch of 165 gr sierra HPBT that I was using for my 308. What do you guys think about those?