Hotshot brand ammo, distributed by Century International Arms, Inc., 6.5X55 FMJ, should I take whitetail with?

Question

I asked a similar ? to this already and a guy told me I shouldnt try to use the FMJ to hunt with, why? I would like to understand the ballistics and make up of different bullets. And no one has ever heard of HotShot ammo before, I found it on the internet for a decent price, even if I cant shoot deer with it I can still have fun with it, 100rds for 45$ is near unheard of in this caliber. Should I buy different bullets to hunt with?

Answer 1

Yes, you need to purchase hunting ammo.

FMJ is target and military ammo. I don't know where you live, but it may be ILLEGAL to hunt with.

I buy Hotshot ammo from Century for my 1903 Carl Gustav Swedish Mauser and have found it to be decent target ammo.

Back in the 1800s, extreme developments in powder and projectile technology saw the development of two basic types of projectile, the pointed, hard "jacketed" round and the soft, rounder "expansive" round.

Most countries agreed to outlaw soft ammo for military use due to the terminal wounds caused by expanding rounds. They will literally blow off limbs and heads. It's important to understand that the ballistics of the two rounds have distinct advantages and disadvantages:

A hard, jacketed round will penetrate light armor, trees, brush, wooden or brick walls and still kill or wound an enemy taking cover behind them. This is all good for military use.

I remember being shocked when I was once using a fence post the size of a telephone pole to lean my target against when shooting my 8mm Mauser Turk. The rounds were going through my plywood target and completely penetrating the 10 inch wood pole with enough energy that the holes looked like a power drill had gone through them.

Also, a tenet of modern warfare was developed around the time of the Civil War: that it's much better to wound an enemy than to kill him. A FMJ round will cause many more wounded on the other side whereas a soft round will kill more. The care of a wounded man eats up your enemy's valuable resources many times more than feeding....or burying, a live or dead one. In hunting, you want to kill that deer dead...not wound him.

A soft round will be deflected or stopped by many of the same obstacles that a FMJ round will go right through. Test this yourself using both rounds and some quarter inch steel plate.

Use only hunting ammo for hunting. If you don't, you endanger hunters a mile away and you will be chasing that wounded buck for 10 miles as he runs away.

Answer 2

Bound's hubby here:

First, FMJ bullets do not expand ... it is like a hot knife going through butter.

The HotShot ammo is probably military surplus that Century International is re-boxing for retail sale.

Century International is developing a poor reputation in the shooting community for bottom of the barrel quality surplus rifles, and poor quality control. If their ammo is anything like the surplus rifles I have heard of recently, I would avoid it like the plague!

Good luck!

Answer 3

Military ball doesn't expand. It's made to wound, not kill. For hunting you want a quick, clean, humane kill, and that means an expanding bullet, especially in a small caliber like the Swede. I feed mine with 140 grain Nosler Partitions, which are really a bit much for deer, and used to have a good load with the 129 grain Hornady.

Answer 4

It has more to do with bullet placement rather than whether or not you use FMJ or hollow point ammunition. In my youth I took deer with a .22 rim fire (early 70's). Hollow points do more damage meaning you can be off your shot a little more.
There is no reason why you could not use FMJ to hunt whitetail with.
Go for it. If for no other reason than for target practice.

Answer 5

i have never heard of this brand??? is it loose in the can. if so you should check it well. if the cases are dented and damaged don't use them. if it is loose in a ammo can then it is what they call class 3 ammo and it is usually the stuff they sweep off the floor.
i would not use it.

hollow points or soft point would be best for hunting.
fmj will go through not knock down.

Answer 6

FMJ is more for wounding then killing you need to use soft point bullets for hunting to ensure a clean kill

Answer 7

Lack of expansion - it'll tumble and tear up a lot of meat rather than expanding and knocking down the game.