6mm hunting bullets, if you had to choose one

brusso89

brusso89

New member
i have a decent amount of 90 grain nosler ballistic tip hunting(BC-.365) and 100 grain Hornady soft point interlock(BC-.405) bullets on hand. I have a load worked up for each that im going to try to fine tune for hunting out to 400 yards. my tests at 200 yards show the 90 grain ballistic tip to be slightly more accurate but not by much (shooting a ruger m77 mark II 6mm rem). would guys pick the 100 gain for the heavier/ higher bc or the 90 grain for the better tip/ slightly and I mean slightly more accurate out of my gun? just a would you rather question mainly for javelina, deer and the rare time that I might get drawn for antelope.
 
Hard to argue w accuracy - though you make it sound like both loads are nearly as accurate. Personally I would favor the 100-grain option if accuracy was .75 MOA or better looking at your intend range. I expect the javelina may call for a tougher bullet.

No personal experience with Hogs though I have taken a lot of deer with 100 grain spire points.
 
IMO the 90g NHBT. I run the 95g NHBT and that's the heaviest I will ever run in any of my 6mms just due to the fact they do the job every time from 100-600 yards.
 
In the case you describe bullet construction for the intended game to be hunted would be the deciding factor in my opinion. I don't know much about the 90 gr. Nosler, but have killed quite a few deer with the Hornady 100 gr. Interlock. The 100 gr. Hornady just flat works.
 
Just not a fan a most tipped hunting bullets. They shoot fine but frag up a bit much for me.
Nosler Partitions are my first choice. Sierra Game Kings next. The Hornady line is great also.

Accuracy demand for a deer or goat is much less than say a PD or target shooting. If hunting bullets will hold close to MOA your good. No need to worry about pin point accuracy.

Having said that, most of the quality lead tip bullets shoot just as well as the tipped ones. They shoot pretty pin point in my guns. They penetrate better and hold together better. They just work better and are more dependable for me.
 
One of my favorite (but don't think they are available now) is a 100 gr. Nosler solid base SP bullet which I got from Pro Shop before the fire. Think they have discontinued now. Have shot a number of hogs/deer with that bullet.

Javelina aren't all that tough; most weigh in around 30-maybe 40# and are not nearly as tough as feral hogs. I shot one many years ago and think everyone should shoot one.
That'll probably do ya, as they stink and most in my area are covered with fleas which tend to vacate the animal as it cools and look for the nearest warm body.....guess who that is?
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They do make decent tamales, barely.
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Regards,
hm
 
As I usually am, I am going to be the outlier and suggest you try some Speer 100-grain Grand Slams in that rifle. You won't need them for the javelinas (they can be killed with a 22 LR), but my experience with GS is they always stay together and shoot to the same POI as the 100-grain Sierras.

I cannot abide a bullet that comes apart, and the NBTs are notorious for over-exuberant expansion...

Just my honest $.02...
 
Of those two I would hunt with the Hornady soft point. BUT, you know everybody's gotta throw in their opinion too and my hunting rifles all shoot Nosler Partitions. 85, 95 and 100 gr available in 6mm. Bet your rifle likes one of those. But the deer will hate it.
 
Given the question at hand..

I would go with the Soft point, versus the Balistic tip ammo for the animals you are saying that you are going to hunt.

I wouldn't want to try and eat something shot with a balistic tip, and if i was stuck and that is all i had, i would get in close for a headshot, or behind the ear neck/spine shot, where i won't ruin the meat.

Balistic tip ammo becomes so fine that you have to use a metal detector to find it, and then i usually only find the base of it. (usually on the far side against the hide) Not sure i would want to risk my kid eating a piece of jacket or something.
For my own use, in amimals that i am going to eat.. Weight retention is important to me.
 
The .243 95 gr. Hunting Ballistic Tip actually has an excellent reputation as a pretty tough medium game bullet. I don't know about the 90 gr. but over the years Nosler has tweaked the bullets designated for hunting game animals (not varmints) considerably. Certain calibers and weights have been toughened up a bunch and have gained a very good reputation for terminal performance. The story is that one of the Nosler BT engineers is a devoted .243 user and committed a lot of energy to get that particular bullet right.
 
I have a couple hundred on the loading bench. My wife is going to be slapping one through a whitetail or two in November. My son just bought a new .243 and he might set aside the trusty .30-30 and try it on also. I've shot quite a few deer with the .243/6mm with various bullets and quite frankly have yet to be disappointed.
 
I am a big fan of the hornady 95 gr SST bullets. They have a better BC than the nosler and they hold together better. And they do a great job.
 
I use the hornady 100 btsp for mine and couldn't ask for a better bullet, 5 shot strings all holes touching. great for deer but sure does make a mess out of a ground hog.
 
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