Hornady 100g Spirepoint

[TnTnTn]

I just registered and like the 6.5 bore and the AR. Has anyone used this bullet for deer? I am having a 6.5/6.8 upper built and was looking at this bullet as a possible good deer bullet. I also have some 100g Nosler Partitions and Bal Tips to try. For coyotes I have some 85g Sierras and 90g TNTs. Don't have my upper yet but I am assembling the components to start testing. TTT

[warped]

IMHO it is too light for deer, try the 120 BT, the 123 AMAX, or the 129SST.

I have been hunting all my life and with the exception of time deployed I have always deer hunted.

The 120-155 grain class of bullet is best suited for deer sized game.

[Hoot]

I hunt deer with folks from two schools of thought. Some of the better shots are head shot hunters. They want the meat undamaged. They don't take a shot unless its a "gimme". They get deer every year. The other group which I'm among, go for the "boiler room". We get deer also. There are a lot of deer where we hunt in northern Minnesota. Too many for their own good. In the first case, 100s are fine. One of the guys uses a .22-250 with 55gr spire points. He's patient and waits for the high percentage head shot. No running. No trotting. No bounding. For the latter group, I would agree with warped. 120 at a minimum. Neither would be my first choice for brushy shots, but the 120 will have a better chance of penetrating light cover and stay on course. A lot depends upon the terrain you hunt in. How far you are from your quarry. Are you a stealthy, stand sitter, a walk around, or a little of both depending upon conditions? If the only deer you see are moving on to a better location, possibly in a hurry and you can't snort stop them, stay with heavier rounds. Think it through, plan accordingly and stick with your plan. I take two calibers with me and switch depending upon my mode. They don't run away from a 450 Bushmaster hit. Great brush gun. For more open parts, I'll either take my .300 OSSM pushing 150gr or the Grendel with 120gr. You catch 'em sneaking around and they're pretty easy to get the drop on.

Hoot

[Bigfoot]

We're just talking 150 lb deer here right?

The Hornady falls between the BT and Partition in construction. It's the 100 gr of choice for 260 Rem shooters at speeds 400 fps or so faster than the 65G. At 65G speeds and on smallish southern deer you probably won't recover one unless you try an end to end shot.

In fact the 100 Ballistic Tip might be the better choice if you don't like tracking.

[TnTnTn]

Thanks for the replies. If I were going to head shoot them I would just continue to use the .223. We(my young son and I) have killed several deer with a Win 64g PP out of a .223 AR and bolt rifle with no issues. All have been through the chest with complete pass throughs-couple of bam flops and a few short runs with poor blood trail. I use a .260 bolt rifle a lot and have settled on the 129g Hornady as an effective inexpensive bullet. Going to the 6.5/6.8 in the AR to get more punch and better blood trail for runners-plus it will be a pretty much do anything rifle for TN coyote and deer. Don't know if I will have room for the 129 in my case/magazine and was thinking on something in the 100g range. Haven't looked at the Barnes offerings yet but reckon they have some sort of tsx in that weight range for the Grendel-trying to find an effective inexpensive bullet. Range is typical woods ranges with occasional 200-250 yard shots in cow pasture situations. I would expect a 100g 6.5 hunting bullet(non varmint) to punch through deer readily on broadside shots out to 200 yards. Thanks again for your experiences. TTT

[JASmith]

The 129 gr Interlock should work fine. You could also try the 120 gr Speer HotCor -- it appears to be even less expensive!

[warped]

123 AMAX is one of the most inexpensive bullets out there and considering the performance you cannot go wrong, its price on 100 is near equal to 50 of the other types.

[Whelenon]

Good information fellas, I too will be using the 65G for whitetail. One reason for going to the 65G is accuracy. I just hate it when they run away so I'm looking for a neck shot. I think any of the 100g hunting bullets and up will do the job be it a neck shot or in the boiler maker. I plan on starting with the Hornady 129 SST. If the SST doesn't fly right my next choice would be the Nosler 120. If that doesn't work I'll try something else. Another good reason for the 65G is its great selection of bullets.

[skyfish]

The Hornady book lists it for varmint or medium game. At 65Grendel velocities I would think it would perform fine. I may shy away from a quartering shoulder shot, but if your meat hunting you probably will anyway.

[CoolBarrelBill]

You may want to consider the Barnes 100gr Tipped Triple Shock.

[speederx7]

i cant believe it took 10 posts for some barnes bullets to get mentioned! I am switching to barnes for this next hunting season. Not sure if i am gonna go 100 or 120's

I shot a buck my buck this last year with the grendel. Speer 120 hotcor. Double lung hit and took out the far shoulder on the way out. 11 yard shot... buck ran 60 yds before collapse. No tracking was really required, but i would prefer a DRT especially because i hunt on public land

[warped]

Hmmm, I shot my buck last fall with an AMAX and it only went a few steps, it was a 465yd shot.

However I did take out the heart and both lungs were turned into jelly, that makes a difference.

I always try for a shot that will kill them ASAP.

Neck shots are good if you are close or they are standing still, CNS hits stop them instantly.

Without the high probability of a CNS hit, I go for heart/lungs, the aim point for that is actually lower than many people would think, if you take out a shoulder with that type of shot you hit too high by more than 4".

The best part of that shot is it ruins no meat unless you planned on eating the heart (will lose some tissue) but I have high cholesterol, so I can't.

[TnTnTn]

Yeah I see the 100g Hornady is listed as a varmint bullet-however at 65G velocities I am hoping it will hold together enough to get pass throughs on lung shots. Anyway I will try some this fall if they are accurate enough. And for deer they don't have to be sub moa capable. If they work well they will be good at .25 per bullet-of course most are used for sight in and practice. Some times deer will run a long way with good solid hits to the heart and lungs with any caliber/bullet-seen it many a time. Yeah for public land a neck shot would be the ticket on a standing deer. TTT

[6.5 Man]

I use the 100 gr. Nosler B.T. for deer. Velocity runs 2710 fps out of my 20" barrel. I have never had a problem with it. Deer aren't hard to kill. You should be fine with a decent 100 gr. bullet at Grendel velocities.

6.5 Man

[JASmith]

If you're looking to save a few coins in reloading, take a close look at the Speer HotCor. This bullet is made by pouring lead into the copper cup. In effect, this more or less solders the lead to the jacket. Should hang together pretty good.

...and they are a nickel per bullet less expensive than the Hornady 100 gr!!!