Thread: You told me so! (subsonic centrefire)

Not easy admitting you failed to take good advice, but here it is...

For a long time I was after a subsonic centrefire. Ended up with a Bergara BA13 in 300BLK. Lovely little rifle. Because I don't reload and have no interest in reloading, my plan was to use Hornady Sub-X rounds which are subsonic and designed for hunting, i.e. projectile designed to expand at subsonic speeds.

Initial disappointment came with the Sub-X rounds in that that they are louder than expected. Loud enough that I bought an extra two baffles for my DPT suppressor which got it under control. I don't think they are going supersonic as there is no crack as such, just a loud muzzle blast.

I wanted the rifle for very short range goat hunting in dense Northland bush. It's taken me a while to find a goat! In the meantime, I have shot a wallaby, rabbits and a turkey with the setup. While all died, the round cannot be described as devastating and I started to doubt effectiveness. Concerns about subsonic rounds have been brought up on the forum many times, but I was keen to proceed based on the fact that I believed the Sub-X projectiles to be appropriate for the job and that I'm shooting goats at very close range rather than big deer at longer distances.

Yesterday, after putting in some hard yards, I found a goat in the bush. It was about 10 metres away. Got a fairly clear broadside view and placed a classic shot behind the front leg. Bullet landed where I intended, but the response was not expected. The goat looked at me and continued about it's business. I placed a second shot mid-neck. It fell over, paralysed, but was very much alive. I had to finish the job with a knife. Not something I've done before or particularly enjoyed.

The entry/exit wounds on the chest were virtually non-existent, the bullet just pencilled through. The exit wound on the neck was more impressive. I suspect it was caused by the projectile breaking up on hitting bone. Having said that, I'm surprised there wasn't enough energy to make it a fatal shot.

Anyway, that's the end of my subsonic experiment. Hornady Sub-X rounds do not do what they say on the tin. I'm sure subsonics work well under some circumstances, but for quick shooting in dense bush, I would not recommend them. I'm sorry for the goat. I dispatched it as quickly as possible. That's not the way I usually do things.