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Hornady 174gr BTHP for hunting?

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DairyFarmer View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DairyFarmer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 03 2015 at 5:51am
Basically the recoil you feel at the butt of the rifle is the force that will act on the prey. This comes the law of physics in that for every force there is an equal but opposite force.
 
To knock over an animal that weighs about the same as you, you would react to the recoil the same as the animal reacts to the bullet.
 
Animals that flip are being controlled by the nerves. It's the fight or flight reaction. Most animals are so highly strung that the slightest of stimuli will set off a subconscious reaction. They do not have the luxury of assessing the situation then reacting. Much like a professional sportsman. Most of the time they are subconsciously reacting to the situation. Training builds up their state to react to different situations in different ways so that they have to do the minimal amount of thinking (which is slow compared to reactions).
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303Guy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 303Guy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 03 2015 at 12:49pm
A bullet can do interesting things to a target.  Like a hare I once shot.  It was sitting side on and my bullet clipped the back of the head, exploding the brain and blowing a hole in the back of the head.  It did a full forward somersault.  The energy of the bullet exploding it's brain and the cup formed in the scull would have acted like a pulse engine.  Like shooting a can of water.  Place a stone on the lid of a can filled with water and shoot the can and see how high the water spray and stone lifts.  And it goes up, not in the direction of the bullet.  In this instance, being a hare it would likely have convulsed it's hind legs in a jump making it possible for the bullet to flip it over.
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Darreld Walton View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Darreld Walton Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 25 2016 at 6:45am
Rolltide, that Hornady match ammunition was made up specifically for rifles used to compete in the Civilian Marksmanship Program's "Vintage Military Bolt Gun Match".  They load for M1 Garand, the load you're asking about for .303, as well as 6.5X55 Swede, 7.62X54 Russian, 8X57 Mauser, and several others, IIRC.  That price is about what the CMP sells the stuff for.  I've used the 168 gr. '06 in an M1 and a 1903A3, but that's about it.  
The bullets in all of that line are Hornady's.
They'll make a '30' caliber hole in a critter, maybe all the way through!  Those "match" hollow points do NOT expand reliably.  Their intended function is to make a nice clean hole in paper, and thin paper at that!
The 174 gr. PPU soft points are, or at least have been available at Palmetto State Armory, and IIRC, Midway USA, for about $16.00 (US) for twenty rounds, and perhaps a bit for shipping.  
Around here, in south central Idaho, 303 in the "major" brands, WW, Remington, Federal, are generally on the shelf with asking prices in the vicinity of $35 a box!
BTW, I've used 150 gr. M2 ball (.308 150 gr. flat base, FMJ) at 'about' 2700 fps, and it'll drop mule deer as effectively as it dropped a whole bunch of 'bad guys' over several decades of use.  I'd wager that so has the Mk VII load, when not much else was available. 
Shot placement with those target loads, or FMJ's is crucial for a "humane" kill.  
http://thecmp.org/cmp_sales/ammo-parts-accessories/
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote RIKELECTRIC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 23 2022 at 2:41pm
I have a No4 Mk1 Enfield that I sporterised with a Zytel Monte Carlo stock and have a 6-24x40 scope mounted on it. For years I shot Federal 150 grain soft points and have taken several whitetails with it. About 10 years ago I found the Hornady 174 grain BTHP and that ammo literally turned my rifle into a tack driver out to 300 yards. I have taken several 300+ pound hogs , 2 very large Axis Deer, and several more whitetails. I have recovered some of the rounds and the expansion is impressive. My next adventure with this rifle and ammo is an Elk hunt in Montana suffice it to say my 1948 Enfield with the Hornady ammo is a very impressive hunting rig that I will use for years to come. The Hornady 174 grain BTHP ammo is all I shoot.

Hope that info helps.
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