Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles monolithic performance

I am considering taking my 270 Win as a backup rifle on a plains game safari. My 7mm Rem Mag will be my primary. I have been shooting Accubonds and Partitions, and been very happy with their performance. I am considering trying some monolithic bullets, perhaps a 130gr E Tip. I know the monos penetrate very well, and retain high levels of bullet weight. My question is, what is the internal damage like, say compared to other premium bullet designs like the Accubond/Partition? Are your kills just as quick, or perhaps somewhat delayed compared to these other designs? I know exact bullet impact location on the animal matters greatly too, but in general terms. I have heard the wound channels are generally not as broad?

I have used the 130Etip in 270WBY some. I’ve found it to kill very well. But it hasn’t produced the bloodshot and jello effect that the 130 Partition does at the same speeds. Where the Etip broke a shoulder and left a 2” diameter hole the Partition on the same shot at roughly the same range pretty much pulped the whole shoulder and left it a bloody mess. On rib cage shots they’ve both turned lungs to soup but once again the Partition left a bunch of coagulated blood in the top tissue layer.

I’ll still use both but feel like more care is needed with the Partition to stay off the eating parts. YMMV

I’ve only used 270 mono 130 grain on deer. It didn’t seem to do internal damage like “the kid“ wrote.

The kills may not be quite as quick as a “properly placed” cup and core.....but, are much more forgiving and lethal “if” a raking shot or impact on heavy bone is encountered We’ve used mono’s exclusively since the early ‘90’s....with great success. On game from deer/antelope to moose....and a few coyotes! memtb

I can't find the reference now, but as I recall, the monolithic bronze round nose was a classic safari projectile at one point.

There are generally only secondary wound channels if you hit bone with monolithics, but in my limited experience, high velocity and a wide, flat, expanded nose creates a pretty good wound channel. I think they are a bit less forgiving (than lead cores) on shots where no bone is hit, and a bit more forgiving on shots where bone is hit.

I'd hunt plains game with a 130 E-Tip pushed to at least 3k fps, but I'd prefer a 150 Partition at close to the same speed.

Everything I've ever shot with the Barnes TSX has dropped in its tracks. Internal damage was relatively the same as any other bullet I've used. Bullet sized entrance, quarter to half dollar size exit. Very little meat loss due to being bloodshot.
I did shoot a 350lb hog with my 7mm08 140TSX that went through the near side elbow, the 7/8" protective plate, a rib, both lungs and took out a rib and exited through the opposite side and left a half dollar size exit. And the shot was about 75 yards.

My experience is strictly Barnes. Monos are different, they expand to a lesser frontal area than C&C bullets. For example a mono might expand from .308 to .500 whereas a C&C might expand from .308 to .6 or .7 diameter. Thus they typically leave a smaller wound channel and penetrate farther since there is less resistance given the smaller frontal area.
My last safari we took Mrs Blacktailer's 308 for her to shoot a zebra and for me to use as my light rifle. We used 165's and took everything from zebra to warthog. The only animal that required a second shot was her zebra because she hit it a bit too far back on the first shot.
Most PH's have a very high opinion of the monos.

My Mono experience has been limited to Hammer bullets, and I have taken 4 deer the last 2 yrs with them. They kill better than lead bullets from my 260 ( accubonds.) Of the 4, 2 dropped where they stood, 1 went maybe 5 yards, and the farthest was 30 yards. Admittedly, a small sample. But I really really like what I see. If you are not familiar with them they are a hp bullet, nose is designed to shed into several petals, creating secondary would channels. That leaves you with a flat point that plows the rest of the way through the deer. They are a bit pricy, but I use other bullets for practice and keep these for hunting. I would not hesitate using them for elk. Go to their website abd see if you can find their Africa report where they tested them there. Some good stuff.