I have a chance to scoop up a 300BO bolt gun for very cheap and I already have a 5" thunder beast in jail. Has anyone gone after Midwest Whitetail deer with one? I have a farm to hunt on with the longest shot being 350 yards. It would probably end up being used for yotes as well.
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Hunting & Fishing 300 BO subsonic for medium sized game?
- Thread starter Adb1228
- Start date
9mm handguns are illegal to hunt with pretty much everywhere, and are larger caliber and higher velocity than 300 Blackout. What makes you think you have a 300 yard gun? It's a terrible idea.
This might work
https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/subsonic#!/
Any of the tipped or expanding supers would work fine. 300 would be pushing the outer limits of effectiveness. Especially if they have much size to them.
https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/subsonic#!/
Any of the tipped or expanding supers would work fine. 300 would be pushing the outer limits of effectiveness. Especially if they have much size to them.
I never said it would make 300 yards, that's why I'm asking if anyone has taken Whitetail deer sized game with one. The only thing I did not clarify is what range did you take the deer at.
And in Michigan, where I hunt, I can legally hunt with any centerfire round larger than .22.
Cull permits and killing as many as possible at one time?
Sure wouldn't be my first choice for a deer hunt
300 BO subsonic are not very accurate, even out of a bolt gun. I played around with different powders and bullets, but could not get consistant enough velocities to shoot a good group. 3-4 moa at a 100 yards will get your deer, but not at 300 yards.
I have personally witnessd deer that were killd with 22LR. But, that does not make them a good deer round. Have also witnessd deer that were killd with 2 3/4” #6 squirrel shot but that does not make it a good deer round also. I own suppressors and have never wanted or had a desire to hunt with subsonic ammo.
Subsonic hunting has changed. Choose the right projectile, shot placement, and know your distance limitations.
It’s like bow hunting on steroids..
It’s like bow hunting on steroids..
When I have a limited window to rifle hunt and crop damage permits I'd like to bag as many deer as possible in single setting. Breaking a shot with my 308 sends one deer to the ground and the rest of the herd in to the next county.
Everyone that posted useful info, I appreciate it.
You need friends and semi autos. More shooters more dead right away. Get to practice your leads when they run. Deer are quick learners. Don't expect those subs to work forever.
I say that you just load some subs of your own or buy a good factory offering and try it and see for yourself. Of course it will work fine if you can put it right through the boiler maker. Honestly if you wanted to be real quiet you could get a scorpyd crossbow and slayum. Mine is stupid accurate and is very accurate at 100 yards. It will go through a deer lengthwise no problem.
A buddy tried it out this season after I gave him the same reasons I'll give you below. 1 really nice buck lost and 2-3 misses and he's finally seen the light and moved back to supersonic for hunting. Buy a crossbow and some good broad heads instead....you're welcome! Subsonic sounds cool, but in reality you are asking for trouble and severely pushing limits of hunter ethics. They're generally temp sensitive, have a serious arc so ranging is key, they don't expand reliably (and I've shot and recovered enough of the high dollar subsonic expanding rounds to know), and at those velocities there is no or very little hydraulic shock if it fails to expand. You are basically hunting with an archery field point (illegal everywhere I'm aware of) minus the rest of the arrow. Like I said, severely pushing limits of hunter ethics. This isn't the movies and that's a live animal on the other end. The crossbow is a much better tool and more sensible choice for your stated intent. YMMV
For the sake of discussion. I personally don’t advocate for or against using sub sonic rounds for hunting. I have done it very successfully and it meets the requirements I’m looking for.
I have only used Lehigh 194gr max expansion Bullets. I only recovered one and the rest were complete pass through on deer. All bled out massively and none went more than 20 yards. The one I recovered looked like a broadhead and had edges sharp enough that it made me think twice about pulling it with my hands. Max range was 100 yards to date which is my personal limit of how far I will take it even though it is spec’d to expand beyond 400 yards with my rifle and load combination. So far 7 deer have been successfully placed in the freezer with this projectile. All were shot through the lungs.
990fps at the muzzle, Rifle is zeroed at 30 yards which translates to
.6” low at 15 yards
.4” low at 50 yards
3.1” low at 75 yards
8” low at 100 yards
Both myself and my hunting partner can hold 4” groups at 200 yards with the same subsonic loads and projectile.
Still to my knowledge it is superior to crossbow or compound bow as far as trajectory goes.
If we’re going to compare it to crossbow hunting and say keeping shots inside 50 yards, the blackout even at subsonic speeds still has more room for error than a crossbow which would have close to 10” of drop at 40 yards and traveling 500 FPS slower.
If your buddy is missing at 50 yards with a blackout then there is even more likelyhood he will miss with a crossbow.
Bottom line, I’ve known plenty of bow hunters and rifle hunters who have unrecovered game. Well placed shots and poor shots. Sometimes the cards are just not in your favor. Sometimes you just made a bad shot.
That being said, nothing replaces proper projectile choice, shot placement, knowing your equipment, being proficient with what weapon you choose, and knowing your limits.
I have only used Lehigh 194gr max expansion Bullets. I only recovered one and the rest were complete pass through on deer. All bled out massively and none went more than 20 yards. The one I recovered looked like a broadhead and had edges sharp enough that it made me think twice about pulling it with my hands. Max range was 100 yards to date which is my personal limit of how far I will take it even though it is spec’d to expand beyond 400 yards with my rifle and load combination. So far 7 deer have been successfully placed in the freezer with this projectile. All were shot through the lungs.
990fps at the muzzle, Rifle is zeroed at 30 yards which translates to
.6” low at 15 yards
.4” low at 50 yards
3.1” low at 75 yards
8” low at 100 yards
Both myself and my hunting partner can hold 4” groups at 200 yards with the same subsonic loads and projectile.
Still to my knowledge it is superior to crossbow or compound bow as far as trajectory goes.
If we’re going to compare it to crossbow hunting and say keeping shots inside 50 yards, the blackout even at subsonic speeds still has more room for error than a crossbow which would have close to 10” of drop at 40 yards and traveling 500 FPS slower.
If your buddy is missing at 50 yards with a blackout then there is even more likelyhood he will miss with a crossbow.
Bottom line, I’ve known plenty of bow hunters and rifle hunters who have unrecovered game. Well placed shots and poor shots. Sometimes the cards are just not in your favor. Sometimes you just made a bad shot.
That being said, nothing replaces proper projectile choice, shot placement, knowing your equipment, being proficient with what weapon you choose, and knowing your limits.
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10 year old grandson killed 3 hogs and 1 doe using 194 grain Lehigh Defence. Max range was 70 yards.
Maybe in theory, but not in application. It hasn't worked that way for us on hogs so I seriously doubt a whitetail will just stand around either....
What happens to all of these deer you kill with your crop damage permits, and what kind of crop are we talking about?
Some states you have to pick them up and consume or donate them. Other states you have to let them lay so people don't use crop damage permits if they don't really need them.
Crops for permits include beans or all kinds, vegetables, corn, sweet corn, pine and other trees , etc.
People that say letting a deer lay is a waste are mistaken. It's a waste when you have billions of dollars of crop damage. It's a waste when a harvester gets to a field and leaves because the deer ate 10 semi loads of corn and nothing is left to harvest. It's a waste to soil sample/lime/fertilize/plant/spray twice and have nothing to harvest because some dumbass hunters want every acre to look like something out of nat geo with 100 deer running around.
Not to mention all the Eagles/foxes/buzzards etc that get fed in states that require you to leave them.
It's a waste when you have people dead or paralyzed due to Lymes/Rocky Mountain fever/etc from ticks deer carry.
Did the same this year, 2 within about 5 minutes of each other. They aren't THAT smart.
Great post. I have alot of the Lehigh 194 and was hoping to get these kind of results within 100 yards. I want a clean kill, no need for the animal to suffer. I am currently at a 50 yard zero but still not too sure as I am new to the platform.
9.5" aac upper and saker 7.62 .
It’s going to depend a lot on how accurate your rifle/loads are. The 208 eldm are noticeably more accurate at 100 -200 yards. This is out of my 10.5” sbr. I turned off the gas block and essentially made it a single shot rifle until my barrel for TL3 is done.
Every bullet is going to have a failure story. Supersonic or subsonic. I’m fortunate so far not to have any for the 194s. They’ve worked well enough that I’ll keep using them.
Just write your dope every 5 yards out to 100 yards, use a laser and pick the right shot. Think of them as broadheads and choose accordingly.
I’ve had plenty of experience with the 300 blackout subs shooting 200+ deer and 1000+ goats. My main deer hunting hand loads are Lehigh 168gr CF and 194gr ME. Once you do all your homework on the Ballistics and practice on longer range angle shots it a easy caliber to use if your skills can match the rifle, ammo performance. Farthest sub head shots 245m and 251m in three seconds using a semi custom Tikka T3 12” barrel. Shot placement is critical or follow up shots required for runners and bad shots before the animal disappears. I mainly stalk the deer shooting free hand or snipe them off in the prone position at longer range. Shot three deer in the last three weeks. I’ve only lost two deer from bad shot placement my fault. The biggest stag I have shot with subs is 450 lb. For goat culling am using 208gr ELD subs and 125gr SST supers.
The scope is a Nightforce NXS 2.5-10x42 MOAR zerostop, the supers are zeroed in at 60m zero stop 9 MOA high on the scope turret.
Subs is zeroed in at 60m because that is the average shot distance and on the turret dail it matches zero, so it’s just a matter of ranging, dialing and shooting, a real easy process and the best of both worlds shooting subsonics and supersonics.
Here’s a red stag I shot two days ago from 18m away with the Lehigh 168gr CF.
The scope is a Nightforce NXS 2.5-10x42 MOAR zerostop, the supers are zeroed in at 60m zero stop 9 MOA high on the scope turret.
Subs is zeroed in at 60m because that is the average shot distance and on the turret dail it matches zero, so it’s just a matter of ranging, dialing and shooting, a real easy process and the best of both worlds shooting subsonics and supersonics.
Here’s a red stag I shot two days ago from 18m away with the Lehigh 168gr CF.
Nice setup. Seems you have had great success with the subs. To me it seems alot like shooting a compound bow with the subsonic loads. About twice the distance but the arc of the bullet reminds my of shooting my bow past 35 yards. What zero do you have on your setup?I’ve had plenty of experience with the 300 blackout subs shooting 200+ deer and 1000+ goats. My main deer hunting hand loads are Lehigh 168gr CF and 194gr ME. Once you do all your homework on the Ballistics and practice on longer range angle shots it a easy caliber to use if your skills can match the rifle, ammo performance. Farthest sub head shots 245m and 251m in three seconds using a semi custom Tikka T3 12” barrel. Shot placement is critical or follow up shots required for runners and bad shots before the animal disappears. I mainly stalk the deer shooting free hand or snipe them off in the prone position at longer range. Shot three deer in the last three weeks. I’ve only lost two deer from bad shot placement my fault. The biggest stag I have shot with subs is 450 lb. For goat culling am using 208gr ELD subs and 125gr SST supers.
The scope is a Nightforce NXS 2.5-10x42 MOAR zerostop, the supers are zeroed in at 60m zero stop 9 MOA high on the scope turret.
Subs is zeroed in at 60m because that is the average shot distance and on the turret dail it matches zero, so it’s just a matter of ranging, dialing and shooting, a real easy process and the best of both worlds shooting subsonics and supersonics.
Here’s a red stag I shot two days ago from 18m away with the Lehigh 168gr CF.
Yes much like bow hunting.
Running a NXS compact 2.5-10x42 zero stop MOAR, 60m zero with subs set on turret zero and super set on the zero stop +9 MOA above the subs zero, it just a matter of range, dail and shoot really easy. 300m is the farthest I’ve shot a deer with this rig.
Very underrated and versatile caliber especially with high BC Lehigh subsonic projectiles.
Running a NXS compact 2.5-10x42 zero stop MOAR, 60m zero with subs set on turret zero and super set on the zero stop +9 MOA above the subs zero, it just a matter of range, dail and shoot really easy. 300m is the farthest I’ve shot a deer with this rig.
Very underrated and versatile caliber especially with high BC Lehigh subsonic projectiles.
