What one type of bullet have you killed the most game with?

It's awfully quiet in here, so I thought I'd try to stir up a conversation. What one bullet have you used to take more game with? For me, it's a virtual tie between the Hornady 6.5mm 129 grain SP and the Nosler 7mm 120 grain Ballistic Tip. For a number of years, I used the 129 grain Hornady in a 26" 6.5x30-30 AI (aka 6.5 Bullberry IMP) and took quite a few hogs along with deer and coyotes with it. Moving along at just over 2600 fps, it always performed exceptionally well. I even used it in a 26" Rem 700 .260 at 2850 fps and a little M94 Swede carbine at barely 2400. Just a couple years ago, I used it in a 24" 6.5 Bullberry to take a doe and a couple hogs. If memory serves, the MV on the 6.5 BB load was 2449 fps.

I even loaded that Hornady 129 grain bullet down to around 2100 fps in the 6.5x55 for our oldest kiddo, who at the age of six took his very first hog with it from about 30 or 35 yards.

In the 7mm Bullberry, the 120 grain Ballistic Tip saw lots of action, and it even carried over to loads in a couple 7-30 barrels. WAY back when, I used it in a few different 7mm TCUs ranging from factory-standard 10" offerings (1950-2000 fps) to Super 14s and a 15" Van Horn that churned over 2400 fps with the Nosler when loaded with H335.

Between those two bullets, the kill count is well into three figures. And not once has either of those disappointed me. No, I didn't use them exclusively as I have always liked to change things up a bit with new loads, etc. Bottom line: at moderate velocities, the 129 grain Hornady SP and the 120 grain Ballistic Tip are as reliable as they come. And yes, plenty of other bullets will do the job. But with me, these two have an enviable track record.


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https://i.postimg.cc/3Rf7qXdx/hdy-129-200yds-2449MV.jpg

.308 150 GMX, But where I live not to may other choices, a close second .277 110 TTSX

I'd say that 3 bullets have been responsible for pretty much every scrap of meat that's gone in the freezer for over a decade:

- That trusty Hornady 6.5 129 gr SP Interlock was my go-to for pigs or deer if I felt like a body shot was likely rather than a neck shot.
- Nosler 6.5 100 gr Ballistic Tip for deer out to about as far as I figured I could hit anything.
- Sierra 30 cal 125 gr Pro Hunter once I switched over to 30-30 AI

Before that, I took a number of deer with 22 Hornet, 223 and 22-250 but went with a little more power after a hog ran on me and helped me gain a half a day of very intense tracking experience. :)

Mostly Nosler BT in various calibers.

Since I use a wide range of calibers and guns I can’t really nail a single bullet down. In the past I was 70% Nosler, however as my supplies got low and were difficult to replace , I have gravitated to Hornady.

Since I started handloading I have used more Nosler offerings than anything with Sierra coming in a distant second. In my specialty pistols Nosler Ballistic Tips have been the choice, the 125 grain .30 caliber is the one I have used on most of the game I have taken. I have a great load worked up for my 7-30 Waters with the 120 grain Ballistic Tip but I have only a few loaded rounds left and then I'm out of bullets so I guess I'll look for something else. I'm open for recommendations if anybody has any!
Lately I have been gravitating toward calibers that I can use cast bullets for so I'm not at the mercy of the manufacturers.

6MM Sierra GameKing 85gr HPBT.

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Originally Posted by BobT

Since I started handloading I have used more Nosler offerings than anything with Sierra coming in a distant second. In my specialty pistols Nosler Ballistic Tips have been the choice, the 125 grain .30 caliber is the one I have used on most of the game I have taken. I have a great load worked up for my 7-30 Waters with the 120 grain Ballistic Tip but I have only a few loaded rounds left and then I'm out of bullets so I guess I'll look for something else. I'm open for recommendations if anybody has any!
Lately I have been gravitating toward calibers that I can use cast bullets for so I'm not at the mercy of the manufacturers.

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I hate when I work up a good load and then can't find one of the components. But it's fairly common the past few years. As to your situation: Now that Hornady has tweaked the 120 grain V-Max (early one were very brittle), it's a decent substitute for the 120 grain BT in the Waters as long as impact speed is 1900 fps or above (and no more than 2600). The Speer 130 grainers (both the flat-based Hot Core and BTSP) do well at Waters speeds, too. These are fine down to around 1850 fps. I wish there was a soft monolithic bullet for it that performs like the Barnes TacTx 110 and 120 grainers in .30 caliber. They'd not only be popular among Waters/TCU shooters but would be dynamite in rounds like the 7-08 as well.

The 120 grain Single Shot Pistol bullet from Hornady and 130 grain SSP from Sierra were fantastic but are long out of production. Once in a great while, though, a few boxes surface. A friend of mine works in the oil field industry and travels quite a bit. On his time off, he checks out all the gun and pawn shops that he can. While in west Texas recently, he found four boxes of the original Hornady 120 grain SSP, the bullet he used to use in a 7mm International Rimmed. He said they had yellowed price tags of $22.99 each, but the guy let him have them for $18 a box since they "sat here forever." I told him with luck like that, he should go out and buy a lotto ticket as well ha ha.

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Originally Posted by wbm

6MM Sierra GameKing 85gr HPBT.

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I haven't used that one in many years, but it certainly proved to be lethal on deer from a .243 WCF back in the 80s. Was extremely accurate in a 14" 6mm-.223 as well.

What are you running it in?

Hornady Vmax's in multiple calibers. Nasty bullets.

​200 gr Hammer sledge hammer.
8mmRM 3200 fps.
I have never had anything walk away, ever.

I used the Hornady 129 gr. SP’s in an MGM 15” 6.5 Rem Mag. Darn thing shot those really great! One of the few barrels I’ve gotten rid of that I regret.

I’d easily say in the last decade, the 120 NBT in 7mm and the 30 caliber 125 NBT’s have been used the most for my hunting, and always performed very well. I’ve grabbed the Encore in 7/08 or the Contender in 30/30 AI, both with 15” barrels, more than any other, as they are super accurate and just a pure joy to shoot.

I have a 7 TCU and a 7/30 Waters that’ll I’ll start load development for after the first of the year and in both I’ll use the 120 NBT. I certainly like the Nosler. I load them for my 7/08 Striker and sis’s 7/08 Encore as well.

36gr Remington .22lr. By far.

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Originally Posted by gbflyer

36gr Remington .22lr. By far.

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I didn't stop to think of rimfires when I made the post. But in that vein, for me it would definitely be the .22 Short/CB Short, which I used during many years of running traplines. Kills with that little 29 grain bullet for me far outnumber everything else I've taken with centerfires.

I miss the days of having a trapline in December and January. It was hard work but very rewarding as well -- and I don't mean the $$.

https://i.postimg.cc/85qQ8hQ6/peltsbw.jpg

one heck of a lot of work there

I'd also have to go with CCI .22 LR as the most game killed. Lord knows how many rabbits and squirrels. Though I seldom hunt small game anymore. Just enjoy the walk. For medium critters: just took whitetail deer #50. For me the most successful would be a shotgun slug (latest were the Hornady SST sabot .50 cal FTX bullets in a Hastings rifled barrel). This region only opened up to rifle hunting in 2018. Second for me would be a patched round ball and blackpowder (.490, .530 & .650"). For 15 years that was the only firearm I hunted with, regular & muzzleloading season. Still use them in M/L season after regular. Third would be a two-edged broadhead.

I really don't know how many varmints I have killed with a Sierra #1410 .223" bullet out of a .223 Rem. Been my farm varmint rifle for 40 years and it has ended a bunch.

I like threads like this. So I’ll add my .02.

Rimfire would have to go to the .22 Stinger and the Velociter. Even took a couple of gators with the Velociter round.

Handgun would have to be the 155 grain Hornady XTP in 10mm and the 210 grain XTP in .41 mag.

For the rifle, I would have to give the nod to the 150 grain Nosler BT in my .308.


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Good topic, Bobby. :cool:For me, the single most productive hunting bullet regardless of caliber has been various Nosler Ballistic Tips. I've killed the single most deer w/ the 120 gr NBT in my 6.5 JDJ. I've also killed other other NBT's, including: 100 gr 25 BR, 100 gr 6.5, 140 gr 270 Win (rifle, before "I saw the light"), 120 gr 7mm 140 gr 7MM, 125 gr 308 Win and 180 gr 338 JDJ #2. In varmints it'd be various Hornady V-Maxes in 22 BR, 223 Improved, 22 Nosler and 6 BR. In the 22LR, it'd probably be the Remington 38 gr HP "Golden Bullet."

Sierra Game Kings
Sierra Pro hunter
Nosler Ballistic Tip

In that order

Hands down the 22 Rimfire!
From the 22 Colibrei and Super Colibri to the high speed plus the deadly 60 gr Aquila.

Center fire 222/223 . I have to give honorable mention to the 12" Encore 44 mag which has really seen a lot of action.

120gr Barnes X bullet @ about 3350, 7mm Remington Magnum since about 1990. Caribou, Black Bear, Elk, Mule Deer and Coues Deer. I used the last of them I handloaded a few years ago and no longer reload. Last year I shot an Elk at 400 yards using factory Barnes 160gr TSX and it worked very well.
I was shooting HSM with 168gr Bergers which were extremely accurate but after shooting a Coues Deer in Mexico a few years I found it to be too explosive. I have some ADG Brass and am going to have a friend work up a load with some Nosler 160gr Accubonds. That ought to last me a couple of more decades if I live to be 91.

I've always been partial to Nosler partitions ... get it?
Seriously tho, they have proved to really bring them down!

I’m a Nosler Ballistic Tip guy!
257 JDJ Nosler 100
6.5 JDJ Nosler 120
309 JDJ Nosler 165

Encore 307AI with 150/165gr Nosler Ballistic Tips

Contender 35 Rem with Hornady 180gr SSPB (blast from the past)

.38 Speer hollow based wadcutter, loaded in a .357 case & 3 grains of bullseye in a 10 Contender bbl. This combo would agg an inch & a half at 50 yards. Perfect for squirrels, less meat damage than a .22 HP. Just pokes a hole right through the body & they drop like a sack of potatos. Also worked well on large feral dogs.