Looking at loading up some 150s and curious what the forum community believes is the most accurate, highest BC and lethal 150 grain hunting bullet is.

I am a fan of the 150 Grain Nosler Ballistic Tip.

Excellent terminal performance, .435 G1 Ballistic Coefficient, excellent accuracy. About the only bullets more accurate in my rifles are Sierra Matchkings.

Just my 02,
LeonCarr

I find the NBT to be very accurate and are sold as a hunting round but have had bad luck with them in a .260 with 120 grain. That doesn’t speak to the .308 but it was enough to keep me from using them anymore. The Hornady SST is what I replaced it with.

If you are shooting inside of about 300 yards, BC won't come into play hardly at all. There's not enough difference in bullet drop or velocity loss inside of 300 yards to show hardly any difference between a lower BC soft point flat base bullet compared to a higher BC boat tail bullet. So, if it's inside of 300, I don't even really look at the BC. I look at what the bullet will be doing for terminal performance.

Most accurate is up to your rifle. The same bullet can shoot great in your rifle and not shoot good in your buddies 308.

Knowing all that, it's hard to beat a good Hornady SST, 155 ELD-M or BTSP, Sierra Game King or Pro Hunter, or Nosler Accubond. All good choices. I tune all my hunting ammo to my rifle, so I know it shoots good. All these bullets can be made to shoot VERY well.

I'm going to shoot 155 Lapua Scenars. I'll let ya know in a few months but I've heard too much about how devastating they are on animals.

I was going to suggest 150 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips, but LeonCarr beat me to it. As for the 120’s in the 260, that’s what I shoot and have had no issues at all, though they won’t exit a good sized pig (kills em though).

155 gr Sierra Tipped Match King. Hogs 20 to 500 yards.

If you find a .30 cal that weight, with a higher BC, please let me know.

I actually had one fail to penetrate the shoulder on a buck. Fortunately it went up and hit the spinal cord for an instant kill. That was at 50 yards.

Did the hogs care that it was only a target bullet?

wp75169, i’ve heard the occasional failure statement about BTs, but 200 or 250 deer killed with BTs in my 270 and 260 have given me plenty of confidence. I’ve been using them since they came available and have never lost a deer to poor bullet performance. I consider them to be the gold standard for hunting bullet accuracy.

I do believe that the 130’s in my 270 are more effective than the 120’s in the 260, but the 260 is fine for these little central Texas deer. If I went back to where I grew up in Louisiana, to much larger deer, I might go back to the 270. Maybe.

All that said, I’d do fine with SST or Gameking bullets too. I won’t use Match type bullets for hunting when I can get all the accuracy I need from actual hunting bullets.

I’m sure my incident with the BT is a rare occurrence but it was a first time out with that bullet so it made a big impression on me. My favorite bullet, the discontinued A-Max, is of no better construction than the NBT but I’ve never had an issue with it. It’s just how the chips fell that day.

In all fairness, you might have hit a bone. I take care to not shoot where anything other than ribs are. Hit a bone at just the wrong angle and most any bullet can be deflected, which is why I’m a heart/lung shooter. My grandson is an SST guy (150’s in his 308), and I switched from 55 gr BTs to 55 gr Sierra GK’s in my 220 Swift, looking for a tougher bullet for pigs.

Sure as heck would if they got wounded badly but still alive. I'm sure if they were to hypothetically assume then can have human thoughts, then they would choose to be shot with the appropriate bullet that does more killing than wounding.

I don't know, they died rapidly.

What are you hunting, and at what distances do you expect to shoot?

For me, hunting hogs at ranges of no more than 150 yards, any old soft point bullet works fine.

Deer, hogs and coyotes at ranges from 100-300 yards is my normal shooting ranges.

X2

I purchased a box of the 150 BTs and will work on load development the next week of so. I’m going to use Varget and will be shooting out of an 18” Remny 700 Varmint with a suppressor. I’ll be curious to see what type of muzzle velocity I’ll make with an 18” barrel. Any guesses on MV?

I am getting between 2650 and 2750 out of my 18" Encore barrel using 150s. I am not anywhere near max on any of my loads. I go for whichever ones are the most accurate and I am not using that particular firearm for anything past 300 yards.

A couple questions:

1. What's people's powder of choice if it were open selection? I asking for a 16", 1:10 home built ar10. If it matters, wanna silence it once I get my stamp.
2. I do have a bunch of ramshot tac and varget.. same set up for a 150gr bullet, which is a better powder to start from?

I would use TAC in semi auto. I like TAC with 150s for semi and bolt actions. I go 45-46 grains with 150s.

I agree, it's a little faster than Varget that will help with the shorter barrel.

Scott, Judd,
thanks. My general thought about my semi setup was getting the most reasonable balance of accuracy and velocity without having to go too light in weight. I figure this only gonna be mostly a fun gun for shorter shots at game, couple hundred or less, when hunting.