Bill Gabbard
Hornady has joined the ranks of ammunition manufacturers that are producing a line of ammo specifically designed for the Whitetail Deer. It really isn’t surprising that the Whitetail is the most popular big game animal in North America. They are found in forty-eight of the 50 U.S. states and most Canadian provinces. Estimates show that there are somewhere between 10 and 11 million Whitetail Deer hunters. Taking U.S Fish and Wildlife estimates into consideration that 79% of all U.S. hunters specifically hunt deer, it is understandable that Hornady would develop and market ammunition targeting these hunters.
Hornady’s new American Whitetail Tipped is offered in every round listed in the Top 10 of my “Popular Calibers for Hunting Deer” article except for two. They offer eleven calibers using their excellent SST Bullet. The SST has long been one of my favorites in factory ammo as well as one I use extensively for handloading. I have seen this bullet make one shot kills on critters ranging from Coyotes to Elk with tons of Whitetail in between. It is a well-proven projectile for both accuracy and terminal performance at close range as well as extended ranges. I have personally taken Whitetail from 50 yds to 380 yds with a 7mm Weatherby Magnum using a 154 gr SST. All but two of these were one shot kills. The SST (Super Shock Tip) bullet has been around for several years. It has been loaded in several types of ammo and is available in numerous variations for handloaders. It features a locking ring down toward the base of the bullet to help lock the jacket to the lead core, as in Hornady’s well known Interlock bullet. It also has a midline cannelure to aid in keeping the jacket and core together as well as providing a consistent place to crimp. Both combined with the polymer tip to ensure quick expansion, make a deadly combination on Whitetail.
Each load was developed for accuracy as well as optimal velocity for bullet performance. The loads featuring SST bullets include 243 Winchester 95 gr, 6.5 PRC 129 gr, 6.5 Creedmoor 129 gr, 270 Winchester 130 gr, 7mm-08 139 gr, 7mm PRC 154 gr, 7mm Remington Mag 154 gr, 308 Winchester 150 Gr, 300 Winchester Magnum 165 gr and 300 PRC in 165 gr. All of these are the most popular bullet weight for hunting Whitetail Deer in each of the calibers offered. In addition, they offer their revolutionary 165 gr FTX bullet that allows you to use pointed bullets in rifles equipped with tubular magazines in the 350 Legend, a popular round, especially in states where straight walled cartridges are popular.
Hornady’s Seth Swerczek, set me up with samples of three popular Whitetail rounds 30-06, Springfield, 7mm Remington Magnum, and 7mm-08 Remington. I raided the gun vault and pulled out a few old favorites and called on Tyler Price a local shooter who is extremely competitive in every local match and asked him to do the same! Together we put together a nice selection of hunting rifles for each caliber that we had to try.
For the 7mm Remington Magnum we used a late 1970’s vintage Winchester Model 70 XTR, a Remington 700 BDL Synthetic, and an old Browning BBR. The 7mm Rem Mag American Whitetail tipped listed the muzzle velocity for the 154 gr SST bullet at 3025 fps. And all three of the rifles shot well with it The Browning BBR had a best group of 1.089, while the Remington 700 BDL Synthetic shot under an inch with a 0.926-inch group. The Winchester Model 70 XTR shot the best group of the three with a 0.701-inch group.
The 30-06 American Whitetail tipped ammo pushed a 165 gr SST bullet out the muzzle at a nice 2900 fps. We dug out some old classic rifles for the 30-06, the round that is credited with winning two World Wars. A late 70’s Remington 700 BDL, A Sako Finnbear built in 1971 and a Sako Finnbear Deluxe built in the mid 1960’s. All three of the 30-06 rifles shot groups of less than one inch. The Remington 700 had the best group at 0.854, while the Finnbear Standard shot a 0.954, and the Finnbear Deluxe turning in a 0.905. Three rifles, three groups of less than one inch, impressive!
We only had two rifles chambered in 7mm-08, a Remington 700 Boone and Crockett Edition and a Tikka T-3 Lite. The 7mm-08 Whitetail tipped ammo uses the 139 gr SST bullet leaving the muzzle at 2830 fps. Both rifles did quite well with the Remington 700 going barely over the one-inch mark with a 1.011-inch group. The little Tikka shot the best group of the test turning in a very impressive 0.574 group barely missing the half inch mark.
These were impressive numbers from factory ammunition, but even more impressive was the fact that none of the test groups from the eight stock hunting rifles exceeded two inches. When trying out factory ammo for your next hunt, you owe it to yourself to give Hornady’s new American Whitetail Tipped ammo a try!
