Best rifle cartridges for roe

Posted on June 29, 2020 by towens — No Comments ↓

Expect a busy return to deer stalking and load up with this range of exceptional rounds for the coming season.

Extreme Point Copper Impact

Winchester’s Extreme Point ammo, which sports an extra-large tip for maximum energy transfer down-range, is already well established in the market.

Now, Extreme Point has been launched in a lead-free version, based around a copper core. Winchester report that there is growing demand for non-lead ammo, and this round fits the bill with its monolithic, 100 per cent copper bullet, made for high penetration and guarantee of exit wound on larger species such as red deer.

Browning, 01235 514550, browning.eu

Sako Gamehead Pro

Gamehead Pro feature Sierra’s GameChanger bullet heads. These have paired the accuracy of Sierra’s MatchKing bullet with the traits of a big game hunting bullet.

Sierra engineers took the MatchKing bullet and gave it a thicker jacket, a harder antimony lead core (3 per cent harder) and a plastic tip – the result is a super accurate, tough game bullet.

Matched to their boat tail design, legendary Sako cartridge and production and you have a fantastic new addition to Sako’s range of hunting rounds. Available in 6.5 x55, 6.5 Creedmoor, .308, .30-06 and .300 Win Mag.

GMK, 01489 579999, gmk.co.uk

Winchester Power Max

Winchester produces a huge range of ammunition, ranging from varmint hunting, all sizes of game, lead-free and training. The Power Max is one of their more popular cartridges the UK.

It works on a combination of three technologies. The bonding process prevents fragmentation, the hollow point guarantees expansion and the jacket thickness controls expansion.

Browning, 01235 514550, browning.eu/winchester

Remington Premier AccuTip

First launched in the mid 1950’s, the .243 was the “in” cartridge of its time as it produced high velocities with sub 10ft.lbs of felt-recoil energy achieved with most bullet weights – over 30 per cent less than its parent case the .308 Winchester.

Whilst many have come to regard it as the “minimum” calibre for deer in the UK, it is in fact globally proven on much larger species than we have here in the UK.

Raytrade UK, 01635 253344, raytradeuk.co.uk

Federal V-Shok

Part of the Federal Premium range, V-Shok uses a thin jacketed bullet for high energy release with minimum penetration.

It’s available with a wide variety of different bullet designs, so those that are faithful to the brand can still choose between Speer, Nosler and Sierra to suit their needs and preferences. Available in a wide range of calibres.

GMK, 01489 587500, gmk.co.uk

GECO Soft Point

The long-established GECO brand has a century of history behind it. Pictured here is the .243 Win 105gn Soft Point version, designed with precision, flat trajectory and knock down power in mind, as well as good penetration with minimum meat damage. It is available in boxes of 20 or bulk packs of 50 rounds for that bit of extra value.

RUAG Ammotec, 01579 362319, ruag.co.uk

Lapua Hunting Cartridges

Loaded with Naturalis, Mega or FMJ bullets, Lapua’s hunting cartridges are versatile enough that you’ll always have the ammunition required for your stalk.

The Naturalis round was nominated for a Great British Shooting Award, its lead-free core producing consistent, controlled expansion and retaining its weight.

But whichever bullet you choose, you’ll find something for you in the Lapua range. Available in .222 Rem, .243 Win, 6.5×55, .308 Win, .30-06, 9.3×62, 6×47 Lap, 7x65R, 7.62x35R, 8x57JRS.

Viking Arms, 01423 780810, vikingshoot.com

Blaser 8.5 x 55

The 8.5×55 Blaser is ideal for moderated rifles and offers long-range trajectory and wide field of use. Even with barrel lengths of less than 50cm, the calibre reaches ideal ballistic values that are normally only achievable with longer barrels for high performance calibres.

Blaser Sporting, 01494 481004, blaser-group.com/uk

Hornady Precision Hunter

The Hornady Precision Hunter factory-loaded ammunition boasts excellent accuracy, and excellent terminal performance. Loaded with ELD-X bullets, great care has been taken by the engineers at Hornady to ensure that this ammunition reaches its maximum ballistic potential.

Precision Hunter ammunition uses clean burning propellants – meaning more time shooting, and less time cleaning. It’s also got Heat Shield tip technology – ideal for any hunting situation, due to its effective terminal performance at almost all ranges.

Edgar Brothers, 01625 613177, edgarbrothers.com

Nosler Trophy Grade

Available in a huge range of calibres – the roe-ready .243 and .308 among them – Trophy Grade ammo combines Nosler brass and Nosler bullets for a highly accurate ballistic package. Several different bullet options are available, including ballistic tips, ensuring you can pick the right load.

What’s more, Nosler ammo is subject to a rigorous regimen of quality control, including case checking, neck sizing, flash hole inspection, powder charge weighing, visual inspection and polishing.

Highland Outdoors, 0845 099 0252, highlandoutdoors.co.uk

ADI World Class

ADI’s new range of match-grade ammunition brings their offering bang up to date. Superior Ballistic Temperature Independence technology means simply that your shot will show marked improvements over standard ammo when fired in either really hot or really cold conditions.

Aside from this USP, these bullets are beautifully crafted, using bespoke manufactured brass with ideal tolerances, ADI powder developed, balanced and matched to relevant load data, and anealed cartridge shoulder and world-class bullets on top. The range comes in .223, .300, .308, .243 and 7.62mm sizes.