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Handloading for the moment is no go for me. I spent my extra money on the rifle and scope. Next year is reloading gear.
That being said I am having trouble figuring out good hunting ammo. I did a search and hear conflicting reports. SST, no SST etc.
It is coming out of a 16" AR. Looking at Hog and Deer.
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I dont believe you can go wrong with the SST. Nosler ballistic tips and 129 Accu Bond Long Range is another good choice. All of these are factory offerings.
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grendelnubi Wrote:https://www.precisionfirearms.com/48m8/a...-ammo.html
Saw that, was interested but in some cases it being almost $5/rnd, I'd have to pass, though the NOsler prices were not THAT bad ($2.60/rnd).
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SSTs tend to come apart and if you are meat hunting, you may be polluting more meat than you would like. So for deer, you might try some place like Druid Hill Armory. Unfortunately, they seem to do small ammo runs, but I picked up 100 rounds of Maker Rex 110 gr. all copper for $1.60 after shipping. You have to watch their website like a hawk to beat the others, however.
You can look on Ammoseek.com to see other options. People hunt with Hornady ELD-M 123 gr. ammo. It is not my favorite at all, but some people really like it. There, some Federal Fusion softpoint ammo shows up occasionally. That might be more ideal for deer. They currently have some SST listed. SSTs are one of my favorite rounds for hogs. At lower velocity impacts (shorter barrels and/or longer distances), SST performance looks more like a softpoint than a traditional expanded petal bullet and it still will have shed a good bit of weight.
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Double Naught Spy Wrote:SSTs tend to come apart and if you are meat hunting, you may be polluting more meat than you would like. So for deer, you might try some place like Druid Hill Armory. Unfortunately, they seem to do small ammo runs, but I picked up 100 rounds of Maker Rex 110 gr. all copper for $1.60 after shipping. You have to watch their website like a hawk to beat the others, however.
You can look on Ammoseek.com to see other options. People hunt with Hornady ELD-M 123 gr. ammo. It is not my favorite at all, but some people really like it. There, some Federal Fusion softpoint ammo shows up occasionally. That might be more ideal for deer. They currently have some SST listed. SSTs are one of my favorite rounds for hogs. At lower velocity impacts (shorter barrels and/or longer distances), SST performance looks more like a softpoint than a traditional expanded petal bullet and it still will have shed a good bit of weight.
Thanks so much for weighting in. I am going to be limited at what I get at first. I checked my 'big' gun shop in the area that stocks ammo, nothing in 6.5, but one of the smaller places has like 5 boxes of Hornady Black (I know its target, but got something to at least shoot). I am tempted to drop some $$$ on a single stage press and reload what I can, but first would want to have some materials in my possession.
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Ive shot a couple whitetail deer with factory Hornady Black 123 ELDM. Not at any great ranges (about 100yds) but both were DRT. Complete pass through of both shoulders. Small entrance with golf ball size exits.
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Contact Druid Hill Armory, tell Hume what youre looking for and sit back. He will contact you when hes got it finished up.
peak98
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In my experience don't worry about SST's on deer. I have used SST's in various calibers on several dozen deer since the year they came out and never experienced a failure with usually complete pass throughs. The 123s in my Grendel have taken 6 deer in the last two years, all quick kills with massive internal damage. The ranges varied from 20 yards to 150. Like many bullets if you hit a large bone you will get massive splintering but I've never experienced a failure to penetrate. Now they might very well come apart on tough hogs, I'll bow to the experience of DNS on this. Unfortunately I might get to try this out as hogs have been seen on my lease for the first time in 30 years, drat!
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Hornady SST has been very accurate out of my Grendel rifles. I have also shot underhill 110gr copper bullets well. Those are fast. No matter the commercial cartridge, you will want to chrono a few of those while sighting to get an idea of what the ballistics would be for your rifle. I have shot AMAX but I don't believe those are for hunting (for meat animals).
Good luck out there
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I want to thank everyone for the information. So much to take in.
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06-26-2021, 05:19 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-26-2021, 07:45 PM by BVickery1974.)
peak98 Wrote:Contact Druid Hill Armory, tell Hume what youre looking for and sit back. He will contact you when hes got it finished up.
peak98
I just dropped them a line. Stated looking for about 50 hunting rounds. Not sure which bullet so hoping they could help. Figure will hear back in a few weeks. Which is fine.
Wow. Got 100 rnds. on the way already.
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BVickery1974 Wrote:I just dropped them a line. Stated looking for about 50 hunting rounds. Not sure which bullet so hoping they could help. Figure will hear back in a few weeks. Which is fine.
Wow. Got 100 rnds. on the way already.
What kind/grain bullets did you go with?
peak98
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peak98 Wrote:What kind/grain bullets did you go with?
peak98 He had 100 rnds of 120 gr. Speer Gold Dot. Considering todays prices,I think I got a steal.
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BVickery1974 Wrote:He had 100 rnds of 120 gr. Speer Gold Dot. Considering todays prices,I think I got a steal.
Good deal, keep us up to date with how you new rifle shoots these please.
peak98
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I took 2 fat juicy whitetails last year using 123 gr. (Hornady) SST, they dropped in their tracks, was about 130/140 yards away.
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07-16-2021, 01:58 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-16-2021, 02:01 AM by EastTNHunter.)
Resurrecting a thread a bit
Im getting into the Grendel movement. Ive setup my little Howa with 100gr NPTs at around 2775fps for deer hunting loads, and 85gr Sierra Varminters at around 2750fps for practice and varminting. Very similar POI. Its pretty well set.
My BCA 20 AR will be used mainly as an adjustable kids deer hunting gun for 3-5 different kids. have loaded several loads for my 20 BCA that have given good accuracy (consistent 1 to 1.5 MOA). See below:
123 Amax at around 2430fps (Ive read that they make great hunting bullets at Grendel velocities)
120 SMK at around 2430fps (target only, minimal expansion in target media)
129 NABLR at around 2290fps
129 Hornady Interlocks at around 2350fps (Im still developing this load, as Ive only done a ladder and loaded up two nodes to test for groups)
Ive also picked up some 123SSTs that I hoped to use as an all-purpose shooting and deer hunting load when I shot up the Amaxes and SMKs listed above. Had considered 120 Sierra PHs, 120 NBTs, and 120 Speer GDs, but they all seemed to be unobtanium and/or have their own quirks. Thats why I settled on the SSTs.
But Im beginning to second-guess myself based on some reports that Im reading of it fragmenting on deer-sized game. Is this a legitimate concern on SSTs or Amaxes? I want good blood trails, which typically means pass through in my book, but I also want a substantial wound channel and shock value, so Ive ruled out TTSXs. 250yd max shots, but typically 150yd and under.
Or will I just be better off developing and hunting with the 129gr interlock? Ive been a bit hesitant to use 129s due to reduced velocity and higher recoil, which kids can be very sensitive to. But that Hornady Interlock load looks pretty potent.
My history with ARs for hunting has been with 5.56, which has been sufficient for 4 or 5 kills by kids using my hand loads, but blood trail has been non-existent. Im assuming any Grendel load will be better.
Sorry for the ramble.
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I have 7 drt Texas whitetails in last 2 years using federal fusion rounds
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This is something I've been working on too. I'm going on a fallow deer hunt in December and would like to use my 6.5 grendel. All I have is the hornady black with the eldm. I have found some with the sst or the nosler ballistic tip from Alexander arms, but with either of those I'm afraid of meat damage.
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MISportsman Wrote:This is something I've been working on too. I'm going on a fallow deer hunt in December and would like to use my 6.5 grendel. All I have is the hornady black with the eldm. I have found some with the sst or the nosler ballistic tip from Alexander arms, but with either of those I'm afraid of meat damage.
If the SST from AA is 129 gr., then you might really like the bullet and its results.
[video=youtube_share;DdcSJnuDPMk]https://youtu.be/DdcSJnuDPMk[/video]
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