Hornady bullet promo question

[annasophia]

I bought a Hornady Lock-N-Load Classic reloading kit and it came with a promo where I pay $15 shipping and get 500 free bullets. Sweet deal, except you have to choose from a short list of bullets that they allow you to pick from and on top of that, you have to get all 500 in the same type of bullet. They all appear fairly light-for-caliber to me. The two that I'm trying to chose from are both from Hornady's InterLock line. One is a 7mm 139gr Boat Tail Soft Point and a .30 cal 150 gr Soft Point (not boat tail). I have several rifles that "should" work with these bullets (.30-06 Springfield, .308 Winchester, 7mm Remington mag.) If you had this choice to make, what would you pick and why?

-Anna Sophia

 

[wizofwas]

Not knowing anything about the 7mm, I'd say that the 139 gr. is on the light end. The 150 gr. is on the light end, depending on the barrel twist. The boat tail will fly better through the air. With all of that in mind, I'd still pick the 30 cal. 2 rifles to load for and if you have military brass, 2 different cartridges to load for on each of the 30-06 and 308.

 

[Boxhead]

The 308 and 150 gr Interlock are a match made in heaven.

 

[mattsbox99]

I'd also pick the 30 Cal. It'll take a long time to shoot 500 bullet through a 7RM.

 

[44shootist]

Myself I would do the .308 soft points for loading 30-30 Winchester, 150gr. is just right for hunting or target in this cal.

 

[mattsbox99]

Doesn't look like the OP is loading for a .30-30, and soft point bullets would NOT be safe in a tubular magazine anyway.

 

[annasophia]

I'm kind of leaning towards the .30 cal bullets since I have more rifles to shoot them through....but another wrench in the works here is that I can also pick a 180 grain .44 Mag XTP bullet. I have several .44 mag revolvers as well as a Marlin lever action in .44 Mag. I would easily shoot through 500 bullets in that caliber much faster than through either of the aforementioned rifle calibers....but I also usually shoot hard cast lead bullets of heavier weights through these guns and so I'm wondering if I'd really get the most bang for the buck (or rather "bang for the value"...ie, what the bullets are worth if I were to buy them at retail) going with the .44 Mag compared to the .30 cal. I've also heard that the Marlins don't often shoot light-for-caliber bullets very well compared to the heavier bullets. I'm guessing that this would be due to the twist rate of the rifling? I haven't tried any lighter bullets in the 180 grain range through the rifle. Any more thoughts?

 

[44shootist]

Mattbox-- soft points are what you use for tubular mags in Winchesters, if their not safe Why has Winchester been making the soft points for my 94's for the last 118 years?
I know OP is not loading 30-30 I said that's what I would load myself.

 

[mattsbox99]

Okay, since you are completely clueless here, the Hornady bullets available in the promotion are a spire point bullet.

AS - I depends on what twist is in the Marlin. The older ones had 1-38" twist and wouldn't handle heavier bullets well, the newer ones are 1-20" twist and should work fine with all bullets. I'd get whatever one I reloaded more of, it sounds like the .44 Mag might be your choice. Also, if you decide to get them and they don't work well in your guns, you could probably sell the excess easily.

 

[44shootist]

Mattbox--- go back up to the top and read the tread form annasophia again, All he says 150gr soft point in .308 not spire, maybe your just clueless. soft point could be round nose or spire point he did not say which I figured he ment round.
I don't know what's available in the promotion other than what he wrote here, and that's what I went by, no reason to pass judgment on people so fast.

 

[Klondike Mike]

The 308 and 150 gr Interlock are a match made in heaven.

+1. And it's just as good in the 06. For what it's worth, I never had any luck with 180 grainers in Marlin 44 Mag carbines and I've got four of them with barrels ranging from 18.5" to 24". Just my 2 cents worth but, I'd jump all over the 30 caliber 150's. Mike

 

[44shootist]

Mike-- have you tryed 240 gr. for your rifles? they work well in my Winchester 18" think 180gr. would be OK for a plinking round in my Vaquero's, but 200 seam best for them.

 

[Klondike Mike]

Shootist; I have used 240's. None of my 44 carbines could be considered tack drivers but, they do their best with the 240's. They're more than accurate enough for close range hunting though and they're just fun to shoot. Mike

 

[Lloyd Smale]

ive killed a slug of whitetails with the 150 30s that i got when i bought two lnl progressives a few years back. Ive used them in both 308s and 06s and they did great. Ive also killed a few deer with the 139 in the 7mag and never found it lacking.

 

[Mobuck]

The 139 SPBT is an excellent bullet for deer sized game and smaller when used in the 7mm Rem mag. I killed a lot of deer with that combo and some really long range coyotes. Trajectory is almost as flat as a 22/250 and wind drift is much less.
It opens pretty quick, destroys some meat, and I wouldn't go bigger than deer with it.

 

[annasophia]

Thanks for all the tips and experience with these bullets! I think I've decided on the .30 cal 150 grain spitzers mostly because I have more .30 cal rifles to shoot them through compared to the 7mm, and I kind of enjoy lead cast bullets in revolvers and my .44 Marlin. I'm kind of a traditionalist and the cast lead is appealing to me in that area, so I'll stick to them since I know they work well in my guns and I won't likely hunt with them other than the odd (and unfortunate) jack rabbit, etc. that might get in my way or otherwise look at me funny when I'm hiking around with one. Thanks again!

--Anna Sophia (female gunslinger)

 

[BlackEye]

Good pick. Don't forget to share the range results when you get to try them out.

 

[wizofwas]

I think that's a good choice.