Hunting & Fishing Looking for ammo with 175 SMK's

J

jackh

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Dec 18, 2008
683
1
College Station, TX
#1
I don't reload, and I would like to try 175 SMK's in my .308. I found the following:

Ammo To Go : 20rds - .308 Win Australian Outback 168gr. Sierra MatchKing HPBT Ammo [AOB308SMK] - $28.95

Federal Premium Gold Medal Ammo 308 Winchester 175 Grain Sierra

Black Hills Ammo 308 Winchester 175 Grain Match Hollow Point Boat Tail

Fiocchi Exacta Ammo 308 Winchester 175 Grain Sierra MatchKing Hollow

I've never heard of Australian Outback, has anyone used it with success? Does anyone have thoughts on the links or other suggestions for a source for this ammo? I will be hunting whitetail and hogs. Thanks.
 
#2
Why would you want to hunt with SMK?

Can you get a kill with it? Yes
Is it unethical and not wise unless you are in a survival situation? Yes

There are too many good bullets out there that will expand and are made for hunting. All a SMK will do is a punch a hole in the deer, and reduce the chance of enough trama to drop it. So now not only are you increasing the likleyhood of having to chase it, your putting the animal through unnessisary pain and suffering. It also narrows your margin for error on shot placement. Be responsible and use a quality hunting ammo. Sierra even makes the Gamke king which supposably Mimics SMK ballistics. Barnes TSX are the tits.

Most states make it illegal to hunt with FMJ or HP for this reason. A well constructed bullet with expand and normal shooting velocities and will result in a cleaner and easier kill.

Ive had good luck with Federal Fusion 165GR. Shot a Doe at 70 yards last season and it dropped like a sack of shit where it was standing.. It was dead in less than 30 seconds.

If you are dead set on 175SMK, these are the best factory loaded rounds you will find: Southwest 308 Match-20rds. Save the brass and take advantage of their reloading service.... it will save you a ton.
 
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#3
Because hunting ammunition sucks haha.

If you want a good "match" bullet that will expand on game look at the Hornady Amaxs. Though they expand rather quick, out of my 308 last year a 178 grain amaxs entered right behind the shoulder, never left bullet was recovered during processing buck ran 100 yards and toppled.

This year I'm gonna try Bergers but I don't think you can find them in factory loaded ammunition. I'm really excited about Noslers new Accubond long rang, which is not only a bonded hunting bullet, but is suppose to open down to 1300 for, and the advertised bc is high, the field reports are coming back true bc is lower however, not a uncommon thing.
 
#4
Cobracutter said:
Is it unethical and not wise unless you are in a survival situation? Yes

. All a SMK will do is a punch a hole in the deer, and reduce the chance of enough trama to drop it. So now not only are you increasing the likleyhood of having to chase it, your putting the animal through unnessisary pain and suffering. It also narrows your margin for error on shot placement. Be responsible and use a quality hunting ammo. Sierra even makes the Gamke king which supposably Mimics SMK ballistics. Barnes TSX are the tits.
Click to expand...

The above information is bullshit, and has been proven bullshit over and over in this forum.
 
#6
jackh,

Respectfully, my experience is quite opposite of cobra's. SMK 175's work quite well, and are my favorite. I've shot over 100 deer and pigs in a row with them, most DRT.

Last year, I tried the new 135 SMK in 308 to test them for my wife and nephews. They too drop pigs where they stand.

The longest shot with a 175 SMK was 475 yards, which dropped the deer where it stood (high shoulder placement).

Game Kings and Pro Hunters work fine also. In 308 weights, most anything will work with good placement.

As Rhyno correctly points out, Amaxes expand quicker, and often do not exit on deer, and definitely not so on pigs if placement is to the body.

The 175's SMK's usually exit, and tend to tumble through causing significant impact. I prefer either base of the ear for cull deer, or base of neck where it meets the shoulder or diagonally through/between the shoulders for deer to be mounted.

Mid-neck is not a good choice as the deer can be paralyzed by impact with any bullet, but not necessarily die.

Go for the brain, or base of the neck/high shoulder, which is the cervical/thoracic spinal junction which is equivalent to the breaker box.

Heart/lung placement is fatal, but they will run for 7 - 8, which on an open field is ok, but with brush or woods is best avoided.

My one time to use Barnes convinced me never to use them again. Easily the worst performance of any bullet I have tried. The entry and exit wounds were not visible externally, and only could be found after skinning the deer.

Pick whatever works best in your rifle.

For pigs, placement at the base of the ear is optimal. In the ear works well also if you can comfortably make the shot.

Shot placement matters. The "best" bullet will fail without good placement, the "worst" will succeed with good placement.

As for your ammo question, if you want match ammo, Black Hills, Hornady, and Federal all make good ammo. Hornady TAP also uses the Amax and works well.

Depending on which your rifle shoots best, try most any of them and you should be fine.

Good luck this season.

 
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#7
coldboremiracle said:
The above information is bullshit, and has been proven bullshit over and over in this forum.
Click to expand...

Oh really? Please elaborate..

Some bullets not designed for hunting work well, Such as the AMAX, which is devistating to flesh. Others like the SMK, will kill, but its a poor choice. How is a non expanding and non fragmenting bullet just as good as one that expands and transfers all of its energy into the animal? Over Penetration is a real issue, and Unless you get a perfect shot or are lucky.... than there is a good chance you will be tracking game and/or lose the animal. Thin skinned jacketed ammo will shred the shell and the lead could also not penetrate enough on animals with heavy hide/lots of fat.

How much does hunting cost? Factor in guns, ammo, gear, licencing, time ect..... And then you want to skimp on good ammo. You are probally the same type who has no problem taking 800 yard shots with a .308.... and think that is ethical as well. You can get good Bonded, well constructed ammo for less than a tank of gas. I don't know about you... but my time is worth enough that I'm not going to waste it spending more time doing stupid shit in the field, freezing my ass off in the middle of december.
 
#9
jeffbird said:
jackh,

Respectfully, my experience is quite opposite of cobra's. SMK 175's work quite well, and are my favorite. I've shot over 100 deer and pigs in a row with them, most DRT.

Last year, I tried the new 135 SMK in 308 to test them for my wife and nephews. They too drop pigs where they stand.

The longest shot with a 175 SMK was 475 yards, which dropped the deer where it stood.

Game Kings and Pro Hunters work fine also. In 308 weights, most anything will work with good placement.

As Rhyno correctly points out, Amaxes expand quicker, and often do not exit on deer, and definitely not so on pigs if placement is to the body. The 175's SMK's usually exit, and tend to tumble through causing significant impact.

My one time to use Barnes convinced me never to use them again. Easily the worst performance of any bullet I have tried. The entry and exit wounds were not visible externally, and only could be found after skinning the deer.

Pick whatever works best in your rifle.

For pigs, placement at the base of the ear is optimal. In the ear works well also if you can comfortably make the shot.

Shot placement matters. The "best" bullet will fail without good placement, the "worst" will succeed with good placement.

Good luck this season.

Click to expand...

Thanks. We know they will kill fine, but your experince does is taken in.

Also, Most states forbid the use of non Hunting/SP ammo for taking large game. I assume they do this for a reason.
 
#10
As did jeffbird:

my experience is quite opposite of cobra's. SMK 175's work quite well, and are my favorite. I've shot over 100 deer and pigs in a row with them, most DRT.

Last year, I tried the new 135 SMK in 308 to test them for my wife and nephews. They too drop pigs where they stand.

The longest shot with a 175 SMK was 475 yards, which dropped the deer where it stood.

Game Kings and Pro Hunters work fine also. In 308 weights, most anything will work with good placement.

As Rhyno correctly points out, Amaxes expand quicker, and often do not exit on deer, and definitely not so on pigs if placement is to the body. The 175's SMK's usually exit, and tend to tumble through causing significant impact.

My one time to use Barnes convinced me never to use them again. Easily the worst performance of any bullet I have tried. The entry and exit wounds were not visible externally, and only could be found after skinning the deer.

Pick whatever works best in your rifle.

For pigs, placement at the base of the ear is optimal. In the ear works well also if you can comfortably make the shot.

Shot placement matters. The "best" bullet will fail without good placement, the "worst" will succeed with good placement.
 
#11
I have had on the other hand good experience with Barnes bullets, Barnes Match Burners to be exact. A hollow point Match bullet.

Put a window through this guys neck a few nights ago (620yds):


And my Dad dropped this guy at 264yds, both shot with the 140 match burner:



Neither of them ran...


Not to take away from the 175SMK, it is still a great bullet. And will always be my first choice in my .308.





.
 
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#12
Cobra,

Having the opportunity to cull lots of deer and pigs over the last several years, and watch and help other hunters, one thing became very clear to me - shot placement is BY FAR the most important factor in killing an animal. And reliable shot placement comes foremost through lots of hard earned practice.

Power is pretty low on the list, and in a larger and heavier bullet, most all of them will work fine with good placement. None of them, even when fired from 300 WM/Weatherby's, work well without good placement.

People seem to focus too much in these discussions on bullets and numbers, and far too little on practice and placement.

And yes, there are some people who can very reliably make first round hits at 800 yards with a 308, (elkhuntingguide and PatS/scenarshooter come to mind) and some that are chronic failures at 100 yards with uber-magnums.

I'll put up some photos for you tonight which might be interesting.
 
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#13
jeffbird said:
shot placement is BY FAR the most important factor in killing an animal. And reliable shot placement comes foremost through lots of hard earned practice.

Power is pretty low on the list, and in a larger and heavier bullet, most all of them will work fine with good placement. None of them, even when fired from 300 WM/Weatherby's, work well without good placement.

People seem to focus too much in these discussions on bullets and numbers, and far too little on practice and placement.

And yes, there are some people who can very reliably make first round hits at 800 yards with a 308, and some that are chronic failures at 100 yards with uber-magnums at 100 yards.
Click to expand...
Exactly, and worth repeating.
 
#14
Yeah, I've seen more lost deer to poor shots then any other factor.

Course, I'm not one who is an advocate of head or neck shots either, most hunters in my experience don't shoot near well enough for that. I still remember the biggest buck I've ever seen, I couldn't shoot because I took a deer earlier that day with its lower jaw missing cause some jackass made a poor shot.

Aim at the front leg favoring the top half of the deer and it will die. With most factory hinting rifles, and factory hunting ammunition, aiming for any other part of the animal is unethical.
 
#15
Rhyno said:
Yeah, I've seen more lost deer to poor shots then any other factor.

Course, I'm not one who is an advocate of head or neck shots either, most hunters in my experience don't shoot near well enough for that. I still remember the biggest buck I've ever seen, I couldn't shoot because I took a deer earlier that day with its lower jaw missing cause some jackass made a poor shot.
Click to expand...
Funny you should mention that, the first deer pictured above had been hit moments before by some jackass shooting hunting bullets, and managed to hit him in the front right foot. And he had the balls to be mad at me for killing it, after he had lost sight of it.
 
#17
No one said that it won't kill. It goes without saying that shot placement is everything.

What I am saying is, there are better choices out there with less margin for error. You also said nothing of what you intend to hunt with. Try that shit with a Moose or Large Bear, and you may have wasted thousands or tens of thousands of dollars plus the tag. Deer are light skinned, small animals.



You can kill them with a .22, and reliability with a .223. That does not make it the best option, and not every hunter is that competent with shot placement and shooting at distance.
 
#18
Cobracutter said:
You also said nothing of what you intend to hunt with. Try that shit with a Moose or Large Bear,
Click to expand...

OP stated deer and pigs. That is the issue at hand, responses hopefully were in response to deer and pigs, and not moose or bears.

jackh said:
I will be hunting whitetail and hogs. Thanks.
Click to expand...


Cobracutter said:
It goes without saying that shot placement is everything.
Click to expand...
<<<<-------- That is the answer that matters.

Cobracutter said:
No one said that it won't kill.
Click to expand...

????
Cobracutter said:
All a SMK will do is a punch a hole in the deer, and reduce the chance of enough trama to drop it. So now not only are you increasing the likleyhood of having to chase it, your putting the animal through unnessisary pain and suffering.
Click to expand...

Videos seem to show otherwise. Maybe as you stated, shot placement is everything? (And I agree with you 100% on that too.)

Cobracutter said:
... and not every hunter is that competent with shot placement and shooting at distance.
Click to expand...

Definitely true, and shooting with a magnum with Barnes, Accubond, Partition, or Kynoch solid they will still make bad, or worse, shots and have poor results.
 
#19
jeffbird said:
OP stated deer and pigs. That is the issue at hand, responses hopefully were in response to deer and pigs, and not moose or bears.




<<<<-------- That is the answer that matters.



????

Videos seem to show otherwise. Maybe as you stated, shot placement is everything? (And I agree with you 100% on that too.)



Definitely true, and shooting with a magnum with Barnes, Accubond, Partition, or Kynoch solid they will still make bad, or worse, shots and have poor results.
Click to expand...


^^all key points to the argument. Like I've said before, there are probably just as many if not more animals lost by the STW,RUM,TSX,Accubond,crowd than the .308/SMK crowd, simply because the latter shoot so much and so often, thats its just another shot. Whereas the tuff guy packing the latest gun store magnum offering, because he read about it having the best "knock down power", cant flinch hard enough to hit a five gallon bucket if it was hanging off his barrel. Not that theres anything particularly wrong with Ultra mags, or Accubonds, its just that shooting a super mag, or a whimsical bullet forged in the fiery pits of hell by Gandalf the grey will never make up for your inadequacy as a marksman. I would put my .260 up against 75% of the average hunters out there, and likely hand them their asses at almost any given hunting range. A heart shot from a .260 beats a double hammed magnum six days a week and twice on opening day.
 
#20
Looking for ammo with 175 SMK's

Cobracutter said:
Why would you want to hunt with SMK?

Can you get a kill with it? Yes
Is it unethical and not wise unless you are in a survival situation? Yes
Click to expand...
You're way off base here.

And you clearly have no idea what those bullets do or how they perform. Don't believe everything you read in gun magazines. Those magazines are designed to sell you things you don't need.

For all North American game there's nothing wrong with the SMK as a hunting bullet. Bullet placement is everything. If you are relying on a specific type of bullet performance you are doing it wrong.
 
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#21
Its all about shot placement, a miss is a miss, large horsepower or premium killing bullet will not make up for a miss.

If they are legal to use in your state they will kill just fine but I also say, there are better designed bullets for hunting. I would not use SMK but that is not to say other will, I prefer Nosler Partition mostly because I have used them forever and never had a single bullet fail.

No use with OUtback but just because the ammo uses a SMK does not mean it is any more accurate. Buffalo Bore 175 SMK match ammo was poor at best in my rifles.


good luck
 
#22
Try the Remington 150gr Core-Lokt Express. It's a bonded softpoint hunting bullet with a long proven record on deer and deer sized animals. I'd want a bullet like that simply because I don't ever want to deal with a pissed-off wounded boar. If it won't kill a hog with a good shot placement, that hog is immortal. I don't need to join in any controversy.

Personally, I've always felt that trying to make shots where only match ammo will perform with sufficient accuracy generally means the shot distance may be ethically extreme. The lighter 150gr bullet should shoot flatter, making range estimation somewhat less of an issue.

I use the 150gr Core-Lokt Express in my .30-'06 and have lasered a single shot DRT deer kill at 320yd. While I do recognize the round's considerable and relatively reliable (no bullet is ideal) terminal performance; I also believe that A) the shot was longer than I should consider ethical in the future, and B) the lighter 150gr's higher MV and consequently flatter shooting performance probably played a key role in the hit. Basically, luck was on my side; and in the future, I should refrain from counting on luck as a significant part of any strategy in taking animals ethically.

I shoot to 250yd at my club range, and honestly believe that's pretty much the reasonable limit to my own capability. Taking chances doesn't sit well with me when I'm planning on shooting in the field; there's a lot of stuff out there that I don't want to hit unintentionally.

Greg
 
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#24
The post your SMK kills thread is what got me wanting to try the SMK. I have good success with federal fusions on game inside 200 yds, haven't tried it further than that. I would like to start shooting long range like I built my rifle for, and eventually do some long range hunting once I am confident in my skills. The SMK seems to be a great bullet for shooting both steel and game.

I guess I will buy a box of all the ones I linked and see what shoots the best for me. Southwest ammunition is pricey, but I would definitely take advantage of their reloading if I went that route. Does anyone know the turnaround time with them?
 
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