Thread: 30 cal Hornady 180 RN anyone using them ?

I'm using them in my 30-40 and thought they would be ideal for red stags.
Drop one on the shoulder and job done.

I've shot a handful of deer with them.
But last night I dropped one on a stags shoulder at 250m and about half of it is gone and it didn't exit.

It did nail him on the spot and he couldn't move at all but was still alive when I got over there.

I'm thinking they are a bit softer than I was expecting.
It was a pretty solid test medium though



I'm walking out now and will weigh it when I get home.
But looks half gone

I use them in a 7.62x54r (308 Russian) with a short barrel it's a close range 200 meter gun mostly. I've recovered the odd bullet from animals some have shed all the core. I guess it depends on what it hits and at what angle. It's never really concerned me but then again the rifle in question does have a magazine.

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

I use them in a 7.62x54r (308 Russian) with a short barrel it's a close range 200 meter gun mostly. I've recovered the odd bullet from animals some have shed all the core. I guess it depends on what it hits and at what angle. It's never really concerned me but then again the rifle in question does have a magazine.

So you cheat !

It's worse than that, I went and looked im using the last of the speer 180s, haven't started on the Hornady ones yet. No I don't cheat, I consider it a "manually operated single barrelled double" and that soothes my conscience.

116 grains retained weight

I do have two boxes of Woodleigh 30 cal 220 grain weld cores
I'm sure they would hold together and penetrate
But they might not be going fast enough in a 30-40

Before and after

It must have hit every big bone on both shoulders.

Loved them in the .308 funny thing is I used them BECAUSE they are a very soft projectiles.

I use them in the .30/06 (and .308 too) and they go fine for me, this is at 2700 fps. Yep you dont want too hard a bullet

So your projectiles hit major shoulder bones on both sides,killed said stag and recovered projectiles more than half original weight.....where is problem??? Seriously what more could you ask it to do???

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

So your projectiles hit major shoulder bones on both sides,killed said stag and recovered projectiles more than half original weight.....where is problem??? Seriously what more could you ask it to do???

Well if someone made a projectile that also gutted, skinned and bagged up animals that would be helpful I guess

And knock out a nice cup of coffee, that would be nice...

@timattalon uses 220gr woodleighs in his 303.
From memory he said it had a pretty curved trajectory but smashed them like the hammer of Thor.
I would imagine a similar if not identical performance from a 30-40

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

Well if someone made a projectile that also gutted, skinned and bagged up animals that would be helpful I guess

They do
But I haven't shot anything with it yet

The saying used to be: Where in the death of this deer, did this bullet fail?