(Continued from Part 1.)
Every year I see lots of hunters hunting from their vehicles. This is more like drive-by shooting than hunting. Most modern hunters are seasonal hunters who mostly shoot off-hand and are lousy shots. Haste makes waste. It is best to use a rest or shooting stick if possible, and it helps to use a cartridge that is perhaps more than needed to help compensate for a poorly placed shot. I would rather risk losing meat than risk losing the entire animal.
Standard “cup and core” soft point ammunition is plenty for deer, yet some cartridges could use a premium bullet to ensure that they have adequate killing power. For deer, any cartridge with less power than 7×57 Mauser might need a tad more killing power. And that can be had if a premium bullet is used. In my opinion, it is better to have a tad too much power, than too little and potentially lose the animal. And not all commercial ammunition is up to the job. And if we can do better, then we should. There are other considerations to be made about particular cartridges that might be of interest to this audience.
The “Thuddy-Thuddy” (.30-30)
The Winchester Model 1894 .30-30 is one the most popular and proven hunting rifles ever, and there is something very American about a lever action. Winchester, Marlin, Browning, Henry, and more still make lever action rifles and carbines. These rifles are out there in great numbers still so they should not be forgotten. This is a significant number of deer hunting rifles. If I had one, then I would like to have many boxes of Hornady’s 160-grain FTX ammunition that greatly improves the performance of the cartridge over that of the standard round nose ammunition that loses much of its killing power within its useful point blank range of about 235 yards when zeroed at 200 yards. See the charts in Part 6 of this article and compare the traditional 150 grain RN load with 160-grain FTX load. It is a much-needed improvement. And while the .30-30 has been more than adequate because it’s just enough gun within its range where it happens that most deer are taken. But I’d like to have the option of hitting deer reliably at longer distances and the Hornady 160 grain FTX can do this. I’ll make my argument for this in just a bit.
An Important Safety Note: Though most traditional lever action rifles use tubular magazines, many modern ones (such as the Browning BLR and Winchester Model 88) use box magazines. With a tubular magazine, only round-nose bullets should be used. Full metal jacket or spire point lead (pointed)bullet tips impacting primers under recoil can cause a chain-reaction explosion in a tubular magazine!
Round-nosed bullets have a very low ballistic coefficient and a decreased ability to slip through the air and the trajectory is more parabolic relative to spire point bullets. It also happens that the retained energy has diminished to 880 foot pounds at about the same point of its practical or point-blank range. Of course, the sights can be adjusted prior to the hunt and one can become adept at compensating for wind and elevation with of practice as game may present itself at shorter range, and we can simply hold a tad lower. However, it may not take deer reliably much past 185 yards. To greatly improve the odds of taking deer at all ranges put a scope on your rifle to get out to 235 yards using Hornady’s FTX ammunition found here. Note that side-ejecting lever guns such as the Marlin or Henry are much easier to scope than a Winchester Model 1894.
If you are on a tight budget, the traditional .30-30 ammunition is adequate and has to date taken by some accounts around 94 million deer. The aforementioned Hornady FTX ammunition is a big improvement over round-nosed .30-30 ammunition and would give the hunter much-needed increased range, especially if the rifle has a scope and just for a small additional expense. With this bullet, the .30-30 can be used to maximum of 235 yards when zeroed at 200 yards. Its retained energy at its maximum point blank range is 1,186 foot-pounds. It packs 40% more energy and the additional mass in its 160-grain bullet that will kill deer more quickly. The additional expense for this premium ammunition is well justified, and it is very accurate stuff too.
I did a search using Ammoseek.com to find the lowest-cost ammunition for .30-30 and the difference in price between the traditional round-nosed bullet ammunition and the Hornady FTX ammunition. Roughly, the cost is about 80 cents per round for the cheap stuff and $1.10 for the best stuff. You decide. Consider trying both and see what works best for you.
6.5×55, 8×57, and 7×57
6.5×55 is roughly the equivalent to 6.5CM in terms of performance. However, some American manufacturers at the introduction of the European surplus rifles that flooded the market beginning in the 1950s tended to err on the safe side and download their ammunition. Some American manufacturers of 6.5×55 ammunition on account of the old Krag Jorgensen rifles were loaded down to 2,400 fps and used a bullet that is not necessarily the best choice for lower velocities. The result when they loaded the cartridge on the light side, it lacked killing power. This occurred with other European cartridges as well. With the proliferation of chronographs this may no longer be the case yet there are old stocks of ammo out there. To this day there is 8x57JS ammunition that is good enough for deer hunting, but too weak for larger game.
If using a small ring Model 93/94/95/96 action, then standard American 6.5×5 softnose is the ammunition for you. But not so much if have a K98 large-ring Mauser action. As for 7×57, using 139 or 140-grain soft points at approximately 2,650 fps is fine for deer inside of 100 yards, but beyond they may be able to run to cover never to be found.
For these cartridges, I would be inclined to buy my hunting ammunition from a European manufacturer such as Privi Partisan, or Sellier & Bellot. They may offer ammunition with round-nosed bullets that are ideal for low velocities and will kill more swiftly than spire-pointed soft point both inside and outside of 100 yards. Or use bullets that are known for rapid expansion such as Hornady’s SST. Or go for the premium ammunition from Lapua or Norma. The latter manufacturers produce the finest ammunition on the planet as they know how to make the most effective hunting ammunition for these European cartridges.
6.5×55 is still very popular in Europe, and the 6.5CM is referred to by some Swedes as the 6.5 ‘Cost More’. Modern rifles in 6.5×55 can use 6.5x55SKAN ammunition that is loaded to modern pressures for modern actions and it is available from European sources. This round-out performs 6.5CM by at least 100 fps. Read the advertised velocity on the box to ensure that you are purchasing ammunition with adequate killing power that you would expect from your rifle. Tried and true is great, yet there are modern versions that are better if it is suitable and safe for your vintage or modern rifle chambered in these cartridges that can handle modern cartridges.
Also beware that there is some modern 7mm Mauser ammunition that is too hot for antique small ring 7×57 Mauser rifles. If you experience a heavy bolt lift sensation in any rifle, then do not fire that ammunition in that rifle again. Read the information provided on the box and find out more about these issues, or contact the manufacturer of the ammunition to verify that it would be safe in your antique rifle, or consult a gunsmith.
I would consider this round-nosed ammunition for hunting inside of 200 yards that is designed for the lower velocities and cartridge pressures of Mausers with antique actions:
7×57 Mauser, a 139 grain round nose
and,
8x57JS Mauser. This should be safe to shoot in Turkish 1893 Mausers that were returned to Germany and re-heat treated. It is a 170-grain round nose at 2,250 fps. Its effect on deer would be about like the .32-30, and a bit more powerful than .30-30 170-grain round-nosed ammunition.
Mixed Bag Hunting, Cartridge Selection
There are now many premium game bullets, yet none as well time tested as the Nosler Partition. That is suitable for the widest of variety of big game and for most cartridges. End of story, but they aren’t cheap! For reloaders, I use inexpensive Speer Hotcor’s that are a flat-based bullet as a substitute for the 200 grain Nosler Partitions — that is also a flat-based bullet. I’ll develop a load using the Speer Hotcor and then see how the Partition work using the same load. They are expensive, but they are ideal as an all-around hunting bullet for any cartridge and especially suitable for the lower pressure and lower velocities of antique small ring Mauser actions. The Hornady Amax/ELD and Speer BTSP and round-nosed bullets in general are good choices for lower velocities.
Hornady Amax/ELD-X and Speer SPBT (not to be confused with their Hotcor) are examples of exceptions to the rule as these bullets have very high ballistic coefficients and since they do work well at extended ranges if one is able to hit the animal in the vitals. But it might blow up under 100 yards if a shoulder is hit. Inexpensive Barnes Match bullets would also be good enough at those ranges, yet I will not take a shot at over 300 yards on big game, however good the bullet may work. I would likely miss the vitals.
The reason to cover the waterfront on the topic of various hunting scenarios and the best tools for the job, is that the overview provides the context we might use to assess our needs during TEOTWAWKI where when we are starving and need food. To take full advantage of any hunting opportunity we should be on a mixed bag hunt and be able to hunt at all practical ranges anything that moves. What would be the ideal cartridge and bullet choice? IMHO, .308 Winchester using 180-grain Nosler Partition/ And best yet in my part of the country that is loaded with all the big game possible in North America, .30-06 using 200-grain Nosler Partitions.
For reloaders, the .308 Winchester has a slower barrel twist rate of 1:12, whereas the .30-06 comes standard with a 1:10 twist. But the .308 Winchester can still stabilize the 200-grain Nosler Partitions. The 180-grain Nosler Partition is more likely the commercial offering. Even if the 200-grain Partition is launched at muzzle velocities of 2,400 fps, and it is still more than adequate. If using lower-pressure cartridges of any caliber, then I would choose the next lowest-weight bullet to maintain a minimum muzzle velocity of no less than 2,400fps. The 180-grain Speer SPBT is an excellent budget choice for .30 caliber cartridges and would be suitable for 300-yard shots even at the lower velocities of antique actions, because of its very high ballistic coefficient of 0.540.
For other cartridges, a heavy-for-caliber Speer SPBT of a mass or weight that maintains a minimum velocity of 2,400fps would also be a good budget choice. If you can afford a few boxes of heavy-for-caliber commercial cartridges that use the Nosler Partition bullets then you’ll have most of the capability needed for a mix bag hunt where big game is encountered.
For areas where Grizzlies roam, the .30-06 is my minimum and I will load it with a stout charge using the 200-grain bullets that I mentioned.
While I do certainly appreciate 6.5mm cartridges for their inherent accuracy, for the purpose of hunting, not paper punching, I would recommend a modern and accurate rifle in .308 Winchester for most parts of the U.S. If you live in flat country or where lighter bodied deer and antelope roam…. and where the wind blows, then cartridges like the 6.5CM or .270 Winchester would be good choices.
Where there is an abundance of big game and dangerous game (like there is around here in northweestern Montana), I would prefer the .30-06 hands down and especially if it came with a controlled feed action, or was a semi-auto such as the Browning Safari in .30-06. My favorite “Ought 6” in possession is a sporterized and accurized Springfield M1903A3, the apropos nickname for the 03A3 is The American Mauser. Basically, it is an improved Mauser action that has a controlled feed where the extractor firmly grips the cartridge during cycling and jamming is not likely to occur. Unlike the M1 Garand, the Springfield 03A3 was designed for accuracy at long range.
If you can find a pre-1964 or post-1995 Winchester Model 70, then you will have found one of the finest hunting rifles ever made in America for Americans that would also be considered as a good grizzly-getter because it has a controlled feed action. Of course, you gotta love walnut and blued steel. Modern commercial loads specifically from Hornady make handloading mostly unnecessary to get the most out of the old Ought 6. The preponderance of the facts make it the most versatile and practical cartridges on the planet as with modern commercial ammunition as it can shoot almost flat as a .270 Winchester and buck the wind like a 6.5CM while providing the substantial killing power needed to ensure a swift and sure killing of game of all shapes and sizes at short or long range. It is the overall best choice if you can shoot it accurately given its heavy recoil. However, in the final analysis, where big game is hunted, particular .30 caliber cartridges are also in good supply. To take advantage of that fact, if the .308 Winchester is the most popular in your area, then get a .308 Winchester. But if .30-06 is the most popular locally, then get one in .30-06. If it is .30-30 or a 12 gauge shotgun, then get that for hunting.
There are good reasons that particular cartridges are popular in certain parts of the country, and then there is the “Ford Versus Chevy” kind of reasons for its popularity. Regardless, it boils down to cartridge availability in a region. Where a cartridge has been popular over the decades, versus the latest and greatest recent discovery that is currently being discussed.
(To be continued in Part 3.)