Ammo

[jtowery]

I am new to Deer Hunting @ 51. My cousin hooked me up with a .243 loaner for 09 season. I have been able to save a little and buy a Mossberg Maverk in .308. I have been looking at ammo and am getting confused. I was able to knock two (2) deer down with a single shot each. However I feel that they were lucky shots. The deer were walking right to left, crossing the T and starting to walk away from me. I have told that the range was 110 yards. I have been looking at ammo from Remington, Winchester, & Black Hills. Any suggestions. I would really like to continue with the one (1) shot, one (1) kill thing dropping it where it stands but that is wishful thinking. Thanks for advice.

[berudd]

So you have already bought the 308? A little info, the 243 and 308 use the same case, they just have different sized bullets. The 243 might be on the lighter side of what most people use but I think both are fine with the 308 probably being one of the best rounds for deer unless you need extreme range; well beyound 200 yards. I am guessing that you are asking for recommendations for what ammo to use. I'd say what you have been using sounds pretty good. For deer 100g bullets for the 243 and 150 gr for the 308 would be my choice. You can spend much more but I have been using Remington Core-lokt ammo with pointed soft point bullets with my 270 with good results. I would think they would work well in either of the calibers you mentioned.

[jtowery]

Berudd,
The gun that was loaned to me used Remington Scirocco 90 Gr. I have been reading several magazines and the ammo used has been Black Hills, & Winchester. I don't remember the articles mentioning Remington. I was thinking of getting a box of Black Hills Gold 180Gr. NAB, Winchester Power-Max 150 Gr., & the Remington Core-lokt 180 Gr. SP when I fire to zero the rife (I say that awaiting my tax refund). Which do you think would work better the Core-Lokt or the Scirocco? Thanks for the quick responce. Joe

[MSHunter]

I'd suggest buying several different types (Winchester, Remington, Hornady, etc.) of ammo and heading to the range. Fire a box of each type and stick with the ammo that gives you the best groups in for that particular rifle. Personally, I'm a fan of Hornady Ammunition.

[berudd]

Deer, right? Not someting larger?  IMHO I think the 180 is unneccessarily large for deer.  I'd go with the 150s.  I have never used the Scirocco so I have no opinion on performace but again just my opinion but I think all the "advanced" features that it seems to have are just no neccessary for deer.  A well placed shot with a bullet designed for deer will do the job just fine.  I'm not saying don't get them I am just saying do be talked into thinking you have to have them.  A box of plain old 150 gr Core-Lokt is about 18 bucks while a box of Remington loaded with 165 gr Sciroccos is 44.  That is about 2.5x as much.  Since you mention waiting on the tax check to show up maybe this is an important consideration.  You can by 2 boxes of the less expensive stuff and shoot twice as much to get ready.  I don't care how fancy they bullet is, a miss with it has the same results as a miss with anything else.  Practice prevents the miss.  Practice also helps prevent a hit in the wrong location which leads to a wounded animal which noone wants.  A well placed hit from both the expensive and inexpensive ammo will produce results that are identical.  So, I guess I'd have what leads you to choosing the more expensive ammo?
 
The advice about trying many different types in your rifle is good if you are seeking the ultimate accuracy.  But, my opinon is again, with all due respect, that this is unneccessary as well.  You could easily spend 100+ bucks to find out that your 'best' choice is only fractions of an inch off of what the other are.  So you will find the most accurate round this way but unless you are shooting at long distances you likely will not need it.  Many agree that if you can put all your shots in a pie-plate you are accurate enough to cleanly kill deer.  So 2" groups at 100 yards are going to be completely adequate for the job.  I would buy a box of something and try it out.  I know noting about your rifle but I will assume it is of good quality and you will likely find that you can fire 3 shot groups well within 2".  Ofcourse I am assuming you can shoot.    Unless you are pushing distances to 300 yards or so you just don't need to be concerned with squeezing every last ounce of accuracy.  And no offense here becuase I think Mossberg is a fine brand but that is a budget priced rifle so it may not be capable of groups down around the 1" size.  And you should not be concerned about that.
 
There is probably no need to spend the extra time and money on high priced bullets and testing many different loads.  A quality run of the mill bullet that you can put into 2" at 100 yards will kill deer just as effecively and a high priced bullet you can put into 1.25" at 100 yards.  If the more affordable ammo means you shoot it more and become a better shot the ultimate effect may be that the less expensive stuff is more effective.

[berudd]

One thought to clarify.  My opinions about plain jane bullets being sufficient apply to calibers that a completely sufficient for the job.  If I was going to pursue deer with a caliber that I thought was marginal for the job I would probably be more concerned with using a more advanced bullet.

[jtowery]

berudd,
Thanks for advise. I am going to have to change my thinking of overkill of the target to steady and sure. You have been a great help. I'll let you know how the zero goes as well as the oncoming system. Thanks, Joe

[MountainCatt]

An interesting article by Chuck Hawks on the topic of using standard factory ammo (such as Remington Core-Lokt) vs the premium brands.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/standard_bullets.htm

[berudd]

Yeah, there is alot of interesting reading on his website but he does seem to sprinkle it with a heavy dose of fairly emotionally motivated bias.

[MountainCatt]

That he does. Overall, I tend to agree with allot of his views, but not ALL of them. [;)]