Thread: Subsonic projectiles, where are we at these days?

So, it's been a while...

Where are people at these days with their subsonic hunting rifles? Have there been any dramatic improvements in the last 10 years that make these perform better?

I shelved mine after much tinkering and experimentation, I just couldn't find a great load to use for hunting. My expectations where far to high and the performance the projectiles delivered in real life situations was pretty lackluster. So I just went back to bowhunting as it delivered better results and was more fun.

Anyways...I'm keen to try it again if there's a magic bullet that's come out and is the "new best thing" that everyone is now using?

Keen to hear what people are using???

Lehigh, apparently

Subx, lehigh for 300blk when it arrives shortly
Roberts 151gr in my 308 big fan of these
In my 44/77 I'm using 44 special fiocchi

Robert's cast lead 151gr hollow points in .308 work very well. I have found that they are much more effective on lightly built goat sized game than the heavier 280gr flat nose bullets in pistol calibres like 44 Magnum, because they are carrying less mass and slow down and open up more readily.

For body shots on small to medium pigs, the heavy .44 bullets have just gone straight through with minimal wounding, it knocks them over but they don't stay down unless you break the shoulders. You've got to get the placement well forward on the pig to drop it on the spot. I have only used it on captive pigs in a large pen so far, in one instance I actually thought I'd missed, the animal seemed like it hadn't even be hit. It bled out in the corner, took me a few moments to realise it was properly hit. For head shots on bailed pigs at close range, they work perfectly as you would expect. So I've concluded that I need a hollow point or something like the Hornady XTP for this cartridge, for use on goats etc. Working on that one this Xmas holiday, as its not accurate enough with Trail Boss.

Regarding poor performance and your expectations, I assume you meant the wounding was insufficient (small calibre sized wounds) and animals were running. I've found on large and small goats with the .308, the angle of the shot is pretty critical, the longer the path through the body the better. Front on, angled across the chest, and out around the liver, or from behind, in through the rear lung / liver and out through the top of the brisket. On a couple of good sized goats, the bullet hasn't exited which I think it a good outcome, as all the energy is captured where it counts.

A side on shot in the rear lung above the heart and the animal will take off for sure.

On deer, which I haven't shot with the .308 subsonic yet, I'll be going for CNS with a high shoulder / spine shot. I'm very happy with the accuracy of the .308 subs since I got the crimping right, they are giving 5 shot MOA groups at 100m, no question in my mind it will knock over deer cleanly judging by its goat performance.

Yes definitely Lehigh Defence 168gr CF and 198gr ME for deer but too expensive for goats.

Thanks.

Yes, poor experience related to straight through shots. The animals run a long way before dying. I mainly used 240gr smk's and a few different versions of this. I did a thread on it about 8 years ago on here.

Head shots are excuse the pun "a no brainer" its bang-flop...dead!

But all other shots were mostly unspectacular. I was hoping for at least .223 performance out of the much larger 240gr/.30cal projectiles. But it was pretty lame.

I came to the conclusion that velocity is king! And went back to the .223 for hunting when I needed to get results and a bow for fucking around.

I’ve had plenty of deer bang flop hilar shots broadside, quartering on and off with the Lehigh’s. Most of them down within 50m.

Only used mine in .308 on small game so far but accuracy and killing power is pretty good with the cast 151g hollow points and 8.5g trail boss.

Originally Posted by The bomb

Only used mine in .308 on small game so far but accuracy and killing power is pretty good with the cast 151g hollow points and 8.5g trail boss.

Is it still sub sonic with 8.5 g of Trailboss?

I’ve got a load of 4.6g with 150gr in 7.62x39 that’s sub sonic but maybe I could use a faster load and still be silent?

With hornady releasing their 190 sub x this coming year as a reloading component it might be a game changer. Nosler also released some 220 grain subsonic projectiles , but I did not have the opportunity to test them on game. Winchester ,I think, got also a subsonic ammo that expends at those low speeds, but not available here...yet.

Dam, Friwi, beat me to it. Look at the new specaliy designed 30 bullets for the 30 blackout etc.

I have had limited success on goats. 243 trailboss, with 105gr, subsonic, did not open but tumbled the length of the goat.
Varmint 58gr or heavier bullets leave a nice 1" exit hole and put the goat down however they are still supersonic.

In my 358 win I run 158gr XTP, these work well in goats and as finishing shots but are still about 1500 fps. I can slow them down more but don't like the large empty voids in the case when I'm shooting up and down hills. Could load a heaver bullet I guess.
Z

Originally Posted by Friwi

With hornady releasing their 190 sub x this coming year as a reloading component it might be a game changer. Nosler also released some 220 grain subsonic projectiles , but I did not have the opportunity to test them on game. Winchester ,I think, got also a subsonic ammo that expends at those low speeds, but not available here...yet.

Sounds promising. Definitely keep an eye out for them.

Cheers

.308 Winchester super suppressed, open tip.

Yep still subsonic.

Originally Posted by Finnwolf

Is it still sub sonic with 8.5 g of Trailboss?

I’ve got a load of 4.6g with 150gr in 7.62x39 that’s sub sonic but maybe I could use a faster load and still be silent?

yip.....try up to 6 grns......without using a chronicgraph its only your ears that will tell the point of breaking sound barrier. DONT use magnum primers.