Or were they never out of style? I confess, I have preferred heavy bullets so far.... 147gr in 9mm and 175gr in .308Win just as an example.

But very recently, and I'm probably late to that (I usually are), I found 9mm ammo with a 185gr bullet and .308Win with a 260gr bullet. Never seen this before.

Products | Seismic Ammunition

308 Heavyweight Hunting

Anyone has used heavy bullets like?

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Jorge

Always been a fan of the 148 and 158 gr bullets.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

I got over light bullets at scalding velocities long years ago and gravitate toward the bullets on the heavy end of weight ranges for any given cartridge.

A notable exception is the Sierra 125 grain in the .300 Savage, .308 Winchester, and .30-06. It's like a pet "secret weapon" accuracy load for 100 yard bench rest groups.

I have never gone one way or the other, It all depends on what the purpose of the loaded cartridge is that determins the projectile weight.

For use in suppressed handguns and SMGs I have always used heavy for caliber projectiles. The 158 grain or 165 grain 9MM projectiles work great.

We have been using a Remington 180 grain SJHP in the suppressed lever action rifles.

In the integrally supressde 10MM SMGs we have been using a 240 grain JHP

For the 300 Blackout we have been running 220 and 240 grain projectiles.

When it comes to the lighter projectiles, in the 357 Magnum I still love the 125 grain JHPs but I have been working with some 102 grain total copper HPs.

We have been running some 90 grain JHPs in the 357SIGs, they shoot like lasers maintaining POA/POI convergence over a much larger distance.

In the 17s I am loading a 20 grain JHP at 4000 FPS.

We have a AP 162 grain 30 caliber M2 sabot round for the 50BMG that has a muzzle velocity of 1 mile per second. Yes 5,280per second with a 30 caliber bullet. The 180 grain JSP is just a little bit slower

It is fun stuff to tinker with.

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"Acta non verba"

I’m going by optimum weight for cal x vel. and I like plenty of bearing surface. HV varmit guns I’ve always went with 55gr at less velocity than barn burners. 30cal I like 150gr, magnum rifles 15 to 20gr heavier than standard for the bore. Handguns same way except same weight for magnums. I do fool with 130gr HP Speer in 30cal rifles for accuracy at 100yds. This was a noted target bullet in the original M1a in 308. It was listed as accuracy load in manual that came with rifle.

My ammo interest is self defense, so I can't say anything about other purposes, like hunting.

When I first got into handguns in the early-to-mid 90s, light-and-fast was the top choice. I had CorBon 115gr JHP +P, which were supposed to rate at 1,350fps. I liked them, and they worked quite well in my gun. Similar loads, like Federal's 9BPLE, had established a good reputation in the field.

This was also a time when the subsonic 147gr 9mm JHP had a reputation for non-expansion and overpenetration.

After learning more about terminal ballistics and with the improvements in JHP design, I now prefer medium-to-heavy-for-caliber bullet weights in a well-designed JHP, like HST, Gold Dot, etc., as they seem to do a better job at balancing expansion and penetration than the lighter weight bullets.

But if I were limited to Federal's 115gr 9BPLE load, or something similar, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

Just my opinion.

Not sure how I feel about bullets that heavy. Similarly, I'm not sure how I feel about bullets that are significantly lighter than established, common minimums, i.e. 115gr in 9mm.

With an ultra-heavy bullet, I'd be concerned about functioning and reliability in guns.

With an ultra-light bullet, I'd be concerned about a lack of effectiveness with regard to terminal ballistics.

Like with so many things, going to one extreme or another will likely lead to not-so-good results.

Just my opinion.

A large 206 gr. bullet in a little 308 case ? ! (typo , sorry: 260 )

I thought that a 200 gr. bullet in a 30-06 case was filling things up, pretty good.

The 158 and larger has been tried in the 9mm by a bunch of us, on this site.

Big bullets have their place, in the right weapon and place.

More POPCORN !!

They are actually 260gr.

I've seen 200gr and I think they are too heavy for that little case, but I learn something new every day....

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Jorge

Thanks for the 206/260 heads up and by the way...

With a 260 gr bullet in the 308 case, one would think that this load would have to be.....................

Sub-Sonic !!

I would hope it is just a target load and not for Dangerous game !

They actually advertise it for hunting use...

308 Heavyweight Hunting

It says:

But no tables that actually show measured energy. Whatever, I won't buy it.

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Jorge

Just speculation, but the very heavy .30 caliber bullets in a .308 case may be more of a marketing stunt than a useful product. The gadget-oriented are always looking for something new to try and whether or not it serves a real purpose is secondary. It seems any .30 caliber bullet that weighs more than about 220 grains would require a special fast twist bore if accuracy was an important consideration.

c/o post #4;

a 162gr .30, 50 Cal doing 5,280fps with a lead tip bullet !! ??

That tip has to melt at that speed.............. ?
I might think the Hornady red poly tip might give a little better accuracy down range.

Does the bullet vaporize or does it hold together to kick up dust?

...can hardly wait to fire some 400 grainers out of my .416 Rigby...

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A Country Boy Can Survive

Ed, M2, 162 grain, AP projectiles are not lead tip. There is no posted picture of these projectiles

The rest of that line comments on the 180 grain JSP projectiles which are lead tipped and are pictured right after being mentioned. Infact the post mentions that these 180 JSPs do not go that fast.

I have not played with these for over a decade, but they did not vaporize

If you want accuracy, the 30 caliber projectiles need to be around 300+ grains to stabilize for long distance. Those heavyweights work quite well for several hundred yards

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"Acta non verba"

...I had a American Rifleman magazine from the 1970s which had loads using 158 gr swaged lead SWC’s in 9mm cases. I loaded them and my long departed S&W Model 39-2 shot them perfectly without any failures. Regardless, the 124 gr Gold Dots in 9mm +P is hard to beat and I would put my money on that load as opposed to a slower, heavier bullet.

Groo here
A lot depends on if pistol or rifle.
The heavy long rifle bullets were to allow for the grinding down of the bullet after hitting game.
The longer bullet could loose more and still go deeply..
the heavy pistol bullets drive deeper [ but expand less due to lower speed] or reduce the speed [helping lead cast or supressers]
but keeping pressure and function.
Modern bullets hold their weight better so lighter [faster] will work the same.
I did the heavy revolver bullet bit,,,,, but unless you are after a Mac truck are often too much of a good thing.
My formula is,,,,
A load that feeds smooth, an impact speed over 1000fps if a hollow point
a medium flat nose if not, in the middle of the powder weight range.
Powder matched to pressure.[target, Bullseye normal, Unique , magnum,H110/296 or 2400.
There are some special loads [like 10mm, heavy hunting magnums or
super lights] but most as above.
Ps .shelved my scale years ago.
As J.D. Jones said to me [SSK] years ago: " If you need to weight the
load to group well or not blow up the gun ,you are using the wrong load and / or powder.

Much as yourself......they never went out of style with me. 265’s in my .44, 230’s in my 45 ACP, 147’s in wife’s 9 mm, 400’s in my 460 S&W, 225’s in my wife’s .338 WM and .270’s in my .375 AI. For “plinking” stuff, I use lighter bullets. memtb

...the medium to heavy bullets.

In rifles I prefer the light to medium bullets. (I do a lot of reduced loads)

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

This is wrong headed. You need the 5 grain armor piercing sewing needle in a sabot moving out at 6,896 fps or you could use the heavy for caliber 900 grain BT HBWC at 400 fps. Get out of the past and join us here in in the present!

I like my different rifles from 22-250 to the 30 cal. Krag and 30-06 or M94 as well
as all my revolvers and pistols but my 9mm's just drive me CRAZY.....

since they shoot the 115 to 147 gr loads so well, that it is really hard to pick a winner.

I do stop with the Berry 147 plated RN for my heavy weight bullets, do to the amount of case that it takes up
and that pressures can get dangerous if I seat it too deep with the wrong powder. One reason it is used just for light target work.

Killing paper is an easy chore but when it comes to shooting game animals.......
a balance of fps , bullet weight, BC and distance of impact takes a lot of understanding, for a quick kill.

Years back I used "Fac Dup" ammo speeds for my hunting loads but as I get older
I have found that a slower load will work and also save more meat for the table.
If I get a deer tag this year I will be trying the lightest 270 and 30-06 loads that will work to 300 yards for Nevada type hunting.
I have my doubts on a 180 gr. BT/SP but will have a 150gr back up load.

I prefer not to use my 60 or 70gr 22-250 for deer, unless the larger rifles get damaged.