Round Nose Vs. Spitzer

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   How about it boys?  The age old debate.

For hunting and NOT target shooting, which one do you choose and why?

I'm a fan of round nose bullets especially heavy for caliber round nose bullets.

They tend to expand very consistently at 303 British velosities and they tend to penetrate deeply.  Both are essential componets of choosing a hunting bullet.

You can't measure the slight difference in bullet drop with a 303 in the field being shot at animals from a field rest at 250 yards and under.  Sure you might be able to get the group average of a 180 gr. spitzer to cluster a few inches above that of a round nose in the same weight, but the groups will more likely overlap if shot on the same target and your game animal isn't going to notice the difference.  Most of us can't hold to two inches from field positions anyway.

So, great accuracy, better expansion similar trajectory makes me a fan of the round nose.

So, what do you guys think?  The range is open, fire at will.

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EnfieldHunter Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: April 13 2010 Location: Wisconsin Status: Offline Points: 64	Post Options Post Reply Quote EnfieldHunter Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Round Nose Vs. Spitzer Posted: May 26 2010 at 12:07pm
	How about it boys? The age old debate. For hunting and NOT target shooting, which one do you choose and why? I'm a fan of round nose bullets especially heavy for caliber round nose bullets. They tend to expand very consistently at 303 British velosities and they tend to penetrate deeply. Both are essential componets of choosing a hunting bullet. You can't measure the slight difference in bullet drop with a 303 in the field being shot at animals from a field rest at 250 yards and under. Sure you might be able to get the group average of a 180 gr. spitzer to cluster a few inches above that of a round nose in the same weight, but the groups will more likely overlap if shot on the same target and your game animal isn't going to notice the difference. Most of us can't hold to two inches from field positions anyway. So, great accuracy, better expansion similar trajectory makes me a fan of the round nose. So, what do you guys think? The range is open, fire at will.

sabretech2001 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: April 20 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 169	Post Options Post Reply Quote sabretech2001 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: May 26 2010 at 12:21pm
	So long as you get meat in the freezer, use what works best for you.
	No4 MkI*, Savage 1943, FTR (F) 1954 Mk1/3 No4 Mk2 ROF(F) 5/50 No2A1 RFI 1966

airforcediver Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: November 12 2008 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 519	Post Options Post Reply Quote airforcediver Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: May 26 2010 at 4:45pm
	Not much in round nose avail aroudn here. So I mostly use spitz, just cuz thats what I always have. AFD
	If all else fails call in a MOAB and call it a day

LE Owner Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: December 04 2009 Status: Offline Points: 1047	Post Options Post Reply Quote LE Owner Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: May 27 2010 at 11:16am
	I picked up some 205 gr Cast roundnose bullets recently, haven't tried these yet. A friend was given part of a box of very old 215 gr round nose bullets. Theres probably a load where both 180 and 215 bullets would group close to the same point of aim, but the fairly light charged 215 gr loads I tried printed far to the right from the POI of MkVII and 180 grain sporting loads I tried.

Kysusha Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: April 24 2010 Location: New Zealand Status: Offline Points: 96	Post Options Post Reply Quote Kysusha Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: May 27 2010 at 1:55pm
	If you’re going to hunt, you can’t beat Sectional Density – nothing gives better penetration than a good longun. Weight per calibre cannot be beaten. I have a 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser – the 156gn RH pills for that are amazing and will kill most game on the face of the planet (properly placed). The Barnaul 203gn SP (.310 inch) is an ideal game dropper for the .303 – still gives you reasonable velocity (as opposed to the 215gn pill) and better penetration than the 180gn pills; and heaps better performance than the 174gn FMJ Ball round. The spitzer styled projectiles and the Boat tails etc are all flash range rounds and the only time you go to the sptizer type projectile in the .303 is for shock effect and meat damage as opposed to vital organ damage. I use the 125gn Barnaul SP pill for that – travelling along at close to 2,800 fps (MV) it fairly explodes on small game out to 150 metres – great for head shots on Fallow deer. If you are serious shooting – anything over big reds; then go for Sectional Density and big round nose pills.
	Evil is when good men do nothing about it.

303carbine Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: January 29 2006 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 376	Post Options Post Reply Quote 303carbine Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: May 27 2010 at 2:08pm
	I have taken deer with 180 grain spitzer type bullets in the 303, but the most memorable shots were on moose using the old Dominion 215 grainers shot out of a No5Mk1. These big round nose pills kill big game very well, it's too bad that they are not made anymore by Dominion or CIL here in Canada. I have one full box of older Winchester 215 grain factory bullets, I just can't bring myself to plink them at paper.

Rumpelhardt Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: December 28 2010 Location: U.S. Maine Status: Offline Points: 33	Post Options Post Reply Quote Rumpelhardt Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: June 09 2011 at 1:17am
	I have not hunted with the .303 British yet. I have hunted almost exclusively with a 30-06 and over the years I have tried both 180 grain round nose and 150 grain spitzer of various manufactures. I have shot white tail deer from as close as 30 yards to as far as around 500 yards and notice no difference in killing power between them. I use Remington 150 grain now because of their flatter trajectory. I hunt from a stand mornings and evenings and still hunt during the day so the shot distances tend to vary a lot. The recoil is noticeably less off a bench with the 150 grain projectiles also but I don't recall ever noticing recoil when shooting at a deer. I know you are asking about the .303 British but I can't imagine it would be appreciably different from the 30-06 in the woods. If I was absolutly certan my shots would not ever be over 200 yards I would not be afraid to use 180 grain round nose bullets. Over that I personaly believe 150 grain spitzers show some advantage.

BJ60 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: May 09 2011 Location: New Zealand Status: Offline Points: 7	Post Options Post Reply Quote BJ60 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: July 07 2011 at 8:59am
	I agree with other comments above, what ever fills your freezer, with the proviso that you use the most accurate bullet you can. I have a very worn P14 that won't group 150gn spitzers worth anything at 100 yards, but will shoot Ok with 180gn spitzers, and better with 180gn Round Noses. It appears that with worn barrels the longer bearing surface of the projectile improves the accuracy. The deer isn't going to make any decision at the other end of your shot as to whether to fall over or not based on the shape of your bullet. Barry J

c-monkey Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: August 22 2011 Location: Michigan Status: Offline Points: 13	Post Options Post Reply Quote c-monkey Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August 23 2011 at 8:42pm
	I like round noses simply for their sex appeal. Somehow they equate to days gone by, red plaid wool hunting jackets with the big licenses pinned to the back, cooking over a campfire, the station wagon being your hunting vehicle. For the ranges I encounter here in Michigan, I find no reason NOT to use them. And somehow in my mind's eye, I just picture the frontal area on those bullets opening up a tad easier than anything with a point. If I were shooting across a canyon somewhere West (which I probably wouldn't take the shot anyhow), I might opt for a different construction. Last but not least, compared to the super duper, bonded, grooved, non-metal, plastic tipped, moly coated whatchmacallits with fancy names, they cost a lot less too!

.303 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: March 26 2010 Location: NT, Australia Status: Offline Points: 48	Post Options Post Reply Quote .303 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: September 01 2011 at 11:30am
	Round nose on big stuff Spitzers on the smaller stuff. I hope to try out some 215gn Woodleigh RNSP on some Buff next week, I'll see how they go!
	Amor patriae

EnfieldHunter Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: April 13 2010 Location: Wisconsin Status: Offline Points: 64	Post Options Post Reply Quote EnfieldHunter Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 03 2011 at 12:27pm
	.303 Did you find a buffalo and test your theory of spitzers for the small stuff and round nose for the big stuff?