Originally Posted By: springerThe 30-30 has killed a lot of deer, but it's kind of on the weaker side, and the 300 Blackout is even weaker.
Yep the 30/30 bounce off most deer, yet millions that have actually shot deer with them at sane ranges find them to be very effective.
I have killed well over 300 deer with about any combination handgun, mzldr, rifle, shotgun whatever. Deer are not that hard to kill. Poke a hole in the vitals and they fall over a very short time later (how long that time is, is more of a derivative of shot placement & tissue damage than caliber).
If your looking to shoot deer beyond 200-300 yards there are way better options out there than the 30/30 or the 300BO. However, inside 150 yards a 30/30 or 300BO is every bit as lethal as a 300WM. The 125gr nosler, 110 vmax, kill deer very efficiently in the 300BO out to ranges it is intended for. I would REALLY like to hear actual experience from people who have actually tried it and think otherwise... I'm not talking one time a bad shot was made, a collective experience (there have been MANY deer lost with 300 wizm, 7mag, 338Win etc so we all know anything CAN go wrong).
Now loaded subsonic: the 300BO, or 50BMG (yes you can load one of them or even 300 Weatherby down below the sound barrier too just like the BO), most bullets lack the make-up to expand and kill very poorly without the energy & shock from speed. So yes, here it is a diminutive cartridge that lacks power. However, with very good shot placement and/or some of the projectiles designed to expand sown to 900fps (lehigh, maker, outlaw,etc) they can work. Not sure why anyone would want to do this without a suppressor though... If your going to make noise, the 125 nosler @ 2100 does way better job. A 180 gr Nosler at 3000 form a magnum works too but not linear as some would think.
Personally, I only use my 300BO with subs and a can & that's about it. It's a niche at best. (Almost like bow or handgun hunting during rifle season...) Even with supers/full power loads, there are better options out there to deer hunt with (as stated bluntly) if you can see farther than you can hit a pitching wedge. But to say that the 300BO is worthless to deer hunt at any range, is rather ill-informed.