Best Calibre for Deer with Copper Bullets

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Tris88

Well-Known Member
I am researching a new calibre for my main deer rifle. I have a .303 SMLE which is great for woodland but I can’t make it accurate enough (for my personal standards), 6.5 CM which I bought and enjoyed using with 143gr ELD-X bullets.

I am now shifting to non-toxic and finding the 6.5CM lacking. It won’t shoot the 100gr accurately, the heavier pills shoot nicely but I’m struggling to get the speed on them. Ideally I’d like a terminal velocity of 2300-2400 at a max range of 300yards.

I am deep down a one rifle man, being that I reload I’d be happy to have different loads for species but I don’t really want different guns for deer.

I have been looking mainly at .270 vs .308 vs .30-06. Reading countless forum posts and magazine articles. I’d be keen to hear about peoples experiences with these calibres (and any others) used with copper. I’m not interested in lead performances, I’d like to get ahead of the ban and be ready for it.

The rifle will be used (at one time or another) with all 6 species.
 
I got rid of my 243 last year when I saw the lead ban coming. I’m just using my 270 now with Winchester extreme point copper. They’re 130 grain and a bit of a bonus is they’re pretty much exactly the same POI as the lead rounds I used to use so if it’s not going to the dealer I can still use some of them up as well
 
It’s a cartridge question more than a calibre question. Calibre is pretty much a given, 7mm or .30 cal.

Our experience of copper bullets of the standard Barnes type design is that once they drop below about 2,400fps then shot placement is critical and runner percentages increase dramatically. Get it behind the shoulder, broadside, and it’ll pass through and your deer will run away. So it was good to see you’ve reached that conclusion already.

It’s a relatively simple exercise - use a ballistics calculator to test various bullet weight / BC / muzzle velocity combinations to determine which cartridges will send a copper bullet at the optimal speed to deliver 2,400fps at 300m. Use something like the Barnes reloading data for guidelines. Pay close attention to the barrel length and twist rates of standard rifles, and work with the mid point of their velocity range.

Clue: if you want reliable copper expansion and clout for big red deer at 300m, you’ll need a magnum cartridge. The standard cartridges like .308 Win run out of puff for copper when you are shooting at medium range. .308 Win will struggle to make 2,400fps at 300m, but even if you do achieve it you will still only have 60-70% of the energy. FWIW I picked up a .300 WSM which has been, er, interesting to use with Barnes bullets.

Another potentially significant consideration is you might want to select a cartridge that you can easily source components for, as the current shortages are not going to go away any time soon.
 
270, 7mm, 308 all with a 120 to 140gn copper bullet designed for smaller UK / European deer.

Some of the of the US monolithics are designed to allow full penetration on large Elk and African Antelope which at 300kg plus are significantly bigger than any UK deer.
 
I've been shooting Federal Copper 130gn in .270 for the last year - off the shelf ammunition. I have had no problem at all shooting roe, fallow, red hinds and stags. I;m honestly very impressed with it and find no reason to complain about lack of expansion, effectiveness at longer range shots.

The copper does work! Hope you find something that suits your needs.
 
I'd worry more about the bullet design than the size & speed of the projectile. Personally the 6.5x55 with nielsen bullets for larger species and .243 yew tree for head shooting in parks.
308 with 110gr Nielsen performs exceptionally well and with very little recoil but some people don't like those light low bc bullets on the open hill at extended range because they get pushed about a bid by the wind.
The yew tree bullets fragment very well so if you shoot in thick woodland they can save your bacon looking for things, I had a client graze the brisket / chest on a MJD at close range and if it'd been a barnes it'd have gone a long, long way regrades of calibre.
I'd advise almost any new stalker looking for a 1st rifle to buy either 308 or 6.5x55. Best ammo & component choice and good availability across Europe.
 
dodgyknees said:
It’s a cartridge question more than a calibre question. Calibre is pretty much a given, 7mm or .30 cal.

Our experience of copper bullets of the standard Barnes type design is that once they drop below about 2,400fps then shot placement is critical and runner percentages increase dramatically. Get it behind the shoulder, broadside, and it’ll pass through and your deer will run away. So it was good to see you’ve reached that conclusion already.

It’s a relatively simple exercise - use a ballistics calculator to test various bullet weight / BC / muzzle velocity combinations to determine which cartridges will send a copper bullet at the optimal speed to deliver 2,400fps at 300m. Use something like the Barnes reloading data for guidelines. Pay close attention to the barrel length and twist rates of standard rifles, and work with the mid point of their velocity range.

Clue: if you want reliable copper expansion and clout for big red deer at 300m, you’ll need a magnum cartridge. The standard cartridges like .308 Win run out of puff for copper when you are shooting at medium range. .308 Win will struggle to make 2,400fps at 300m, but even if you do achieve it you will still only have 60-70% of the energy. FWIW I picked up a .300 WSM which has been, er, interesting to use with Barnes bullets.

Another potentially significant consideration is you might want to select a cartridge that you can easily source components for, as the current shortages are not going to go away any time soon.
Click to expand...
Sorry yes cartridge, as well as calibre.

I’ve done a fair bit of research with the physics side, I am interested to know how people have done with them in practice.

What was interesting about the Barnes in 300WM?
 
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