Help--
I am trying to find a sub-sonic recipe for a 270 and a 30-06 load. I have a depredation permit for deer and I do not want to disturb the neighbors during the night.
Anyone with a recipe I sure would appreciate the help.

here some links that might be worth trying.

members.shaw.ca/cronhe...sonic.html

This one has a load but says it still can be noisy
ironknees.proboards.co...&thread=30

looks like you will need some lead bullets if you want any expansion on impact.

Have fun.

If you really want to be quite, get a crossbow.

Check this link out (if I can successfully get it here) Wildhorse. Don't know how noisy they are though.

www.imrpowder.com/PDF/...s-data.pdf

That Trail Boss info sure looks interesting!

My question is, will a subsonic load have enough "oomph" for the job? I plugged a 220 grain .308 bullet at 1100 ft/sec into PointBlank and get 590 ftlbs at the muzzle and 505 at 100 yards. Unless it was pretty soft it wouldn't expand any either. Where is Gelan and his Whisper?

A bigger diameter cartridge would help. A .44 Mag with a 300 grain bullet at 1100 ft/sec gives you about 800 ftlbs at the muzzle. A friend of mine, also in TX, was looking at a .45-70 Marlin with subsonic loads for killing hogs on his place but I haven't heard what he came up with.

Pumpkinslinger wrote:

A friend of mine, also in TX, was looking at a .45-70 Marlin with subsonic loads for killing hogs.

I have a 45-70 Remington Rolling Block. The subsonic loads still make a lot of noise.

Crossbow with some large expanding broadheads that will anchor them!

Hi Wildhorse.

I have been shooting mostly subsonics for the past few years.
I have used 300 Whisper, 308 Win and 45-70 and the target choices are goats and pigs.

A few things came to mind on subsonics loads.

1. they are not quiet unless you use a silencer.
The only thing you will get is the fact that there is no sonic boom associated with your projectile's flight.
The muzzle blast is always there, but less noisy.

2. they have banana trajectory.
you would need to be close, really close otherwise you would need a very accurate range finding method.

3. the heavier and wider meplat the projectile, the better it guarantee kills. 30-06 is better than 270
heavy bullets usually retains their energy better than lighter ones.

4. If you hit something solid on the way or pass the target, you would need to ensure that the ricochet is not going to harm others.
in Supersonics loads, the projectile often either disintegrated or embedding itself into whatever.
in subsonics, the projectile WILL ricochet!!

5. best way to find your load is to start at the lowest supersonics and reduce slowly to subsonic.
Temperature will affect the speed of sound, and trans-sonics speed affect accuracy.

6. use FAST burning powder!! they are usually more bulky (Red dot and trailboss is great for 30-06)
and they ensure that the bulk of the detonation is contained within the heaviest (stronger) part of your barrel.

7. Soft cast bullets are often better to use than hard jacketed ones.
cast bullets are naturally lubricated and is easier to dislodge if you made a boo boo

8. Check your barrels after you shoot to ensure that the projectile did indeed get out off the barrel
always listen to the sound, if you hear bloompfth isntead of booom.. then you may have problem.

9. The length of your projectile vs barrel twist have a GREAT impact to your accuracy.
The longer the projectile, the faster the twist got to be.

Having said the above, subsonics are FUN, they are almost recoil free, economical to shoot and safe to your ears.


For your starting load, try the trailboss on 30-06, using IMR load data.

Have fun, and tell us how you do.

lots of good lessons learned, gelandangan.

Thanks to all who took time to reply. That is one of the things I like best about this site. A person can discuss thoughts, ask questions, get a response, and best of all no one here talks to you like your an idiot.

Thanks guys.

Interested to hear how your experience goes!

Willl do