Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Am I overthinking bullet construction?

Yep, I don't use smaller caliber or light bullets.
150 7mm to 180 30's. They usually go through.

120 in the Sweede is ok, not enough use to judge yet.


Even 100's in 243 penetrate often.

Yep. Heavy for caliber cup and core bullets are moderate speeds work EXTREMELY well for almost anything. They don't ruin much meat either.

Thanks for the insight and opinions!

Yep. Heavy for caliber cup and core bullets are moderate speeds work EXTREMELY well for almost anything. They don't ruin much meat either. [/quoteX

Have seen that performance with 150gr Interlocks out of a 270. Shot a 225# boar in TX that penetrated stern to bow. Broke left hip and exited offside between shoulder and neck. No tracking needed on that one.

Where I typically hunt, a critter running 100 yards is no big deal but. I completely understand the issues that could arise in other terrain.

Ironic how the same old s--t that worked last year, last decade, last century,
still works.

Been tempted to try the mono bullets.
But dam they are expensive, and I'm cheap.
Got lots of old stuff sitting in ammo boxes waiting to be loaded.

And after the experiences I had with the Sweede and a load that
just didn't work for me, I sure as heck want to avoid that again.

Most of critters I have shot with monos have been with 30 caliber versions at high velocities from a 300 win mag, wsm or RUM. Not once have they leaked blood like a Nosler BT from the same rifles. Just one of the trade offs of mono bullets.

All I’ve shot so far with monos is a couple of foxes, and one buck killed with a head-on spinal that didn’t exit (ML), so don’t have much (any) data yet. Mostly I use BT and Partitions, and have some bonded bullets in the que. All shot with the NPs and BTs had nice juicy exit wounds, except one frontal neck shot with an old, original BT that pretty much just disappeared. I try to keep my hits low in the chest so the blood starts leaking out quickly, but sometimes that doesn’t happen.

OTOH, C&Cs that failed to exit didn’t provide much of a trail either. Two little holes are better than one little one, I suspect. Which monos did you use? I have 6mm LRXs loaded up for my 6CM and some 130gr TTSXs ready to try in a .308.

EDIT: Also, what did those monos do on the inside? I can trade a big, juicy exit wound for mushed-up innards.
Thanks.

Sierra Game Kings and Hornady Inter-loks have always killed whitetails dead for me, Hornady XTP's in .44 Magnum rifle or handgun are my bullet of choice.

If I had to go mono (lead free) I'd be onto the CEB Raptor. They're expensive but very accurate and the terminal performance is sorta like a Partition, petals flying off early on, the core boring thru. Effective bullets.

I also like Sierra HPBT on WT's, very accurate and good tissue damage. The 120 NBT out of my 7-08 at 3K has been effective, not as expansive as the Sierra, but deadly. I've killed WT's and hogs with TTSX's in several rifles; they end up hanging at the skinning shed.

My 240 Wby HS Precision prefers the 100 NPT. I like to use bullets that the rifle likes and if they shoot good, I like them, too. They all kill stuff.

Us Loonies probably do over think all this. But, ain't it fun....

DF

165gr HP Gamekings were my goto bullet for a while. Quick killers.

My sole experience with a 130gr .270 IL was a no-exit, no-blood one, that gave me considerable trouble. Not typical, I suppose, but no fun for Grandpa either.

I'm just fine with most cup/cores when going medium to heavy for caliber or not pushing them too fast, in calibers 6.5mm and above. Nothing wrong with your average Interlock or Ballistic Tip in .26 to .35cal if it's not going much over 2,800 or so. If I'm going faster than that (or smaller than that), I usually want a tougher bullet to ensure good penetration and increase odds of an exit. In those cases, I'd rather have a moderate exit and blood trail from a Partition or TTSX 80-90% of the time than have awesome exits/trails from a cup/core but only 60% of the time. Many bowhunters say the same thing about broadheads when discussing big expendables vs. penetrators. What do you value most in terms of performance and cost? That should be your guide.

I always think there are two reasons to use premium bullets .... Large animals and/or high velocity.

Heavy for caliber C&C from a non magnum is fine for the large ones as well lacking the high velocity. The old timers used 140gr RNs in their 6.5x55, 175gr RNs in their 7x57 and 220s in their 30-06 and these are all well known for penetration.

Yep, hair burning range is the true test of a bullet.......

Yup, it sure is!

I'm a big fan of the TTSXs but I also like SOME traditional cup and cores. One just has to match game, caliber and velocity. This weekend for example, it was opening day here in GA. Two very nice bucks brought into the scales at camp, an eight and ten point (156 and 172 lb respectively) were taken with the (gay) 6.5 Creeds at ranges of 60 and 80 yards (more or less) using 140gr Nosler Ballistic tips. No pass through but both were lung shots but with HUGE entrance holes and LOTS of ruined meat.

I think I have asked this before.

The 140 HPBT?

Interesting. I've seen a good handful of critters shot with 140-143gr cup/cores from Manbun rifles and didn't see any big-time blow ups, ranges from 35 to 220yds. Figured it was due to the MV being between 2,600 and 2,750fps. Generally got exits on broadsides. In fairness, I have not used the 140gr Ballistic Tip though.

Were they perpendicular broadsides or were the angles of entry shallow?

We've used Ballistic Tips and SSTs at our camp for years and haven't gotten huge entrance holes and lots of ruined meat. I can't say we've used the 6.5mm 140 grain BT though.

95 grain .243 BT and SST
120 grain BT in 6.5mm and 7mm
150, 165 and 168 BT in .308
165 SST in 308

I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

Yes, 140 HPBT out of my 7-08. Good exits, good tissue damage, quick kills. And that bullet is the most accurate in my Hart barreled sporter weight 700. I have (3) consecutive 5 shot groups under half inch, actually in the .3+ range. Pretty impressive, IMO. They not traveling at 3K like the 120 NBT, but kills'em pretty quick, maybe quicker.

DF

I like the TTSX bullets, use them in the majority of my rifles, but use ballistic tips in 7 mag, partitions in 30-06, GameKings in 308. They all work real well. If I had to pick one bullet, I’d go TTSX.