Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Preferred bullet performance

cast boolits that are either FN, WFN or LFN with either COWW and a skosh of tin or Lyman #2 and a skosh of tin.

444 Marlin with 280gr WFN GC with Reloder 7 going 1937fps. right behind the shoulder, about 1/3 of the way up

+2

Not one "You idiot, know nothing jackass" comment anywhere in this thread?! WTH is this place turning into........

Good discussion and points made.

My empirical evidence points me to a more frangible bullet. I've shot elk and deer with monos, both etips and TTSX, and I've been unimpressed with the internal damage. Many here swear by them and I don't doubt their experience. For me, I've seen more internal damage and shorter tracking jobs with a more frangible bullet. I'm also a big fan of the answer that arrived in 1948. My initial read on the LRAB is that it is a slightly more frangible, higher BC Partition. At least at the velocities I run them at in my 6.5. I have a fast twist 280 being put together and I have 162/180 ELDM and 168/175 LRAB set for testing. One of the 4 should shoot well. I'll prob also rebarrell my 84L 270 to a 7x57 seated to 3.3 COAL and set it up to shoot the lighter of 4 listed above.

I've also been scheming a bigger 6.5 of some flavor - 6.5 PRC, 6.5x284. In a 23" barrel, a bigger 6.5 doesn't seem like much gain over the 6.5 creed. I get an honest 2700 with the 150 LRAB in my 22" creed. It appears a bigger 6.5 may push 2900, but more like 2850 with the 23" barrel. You'd think that would make a big difference but it doesn't seem to gack that way out to 500 yards. Its a matter of a few less inches of drop and fractions of an inch in wind drift. And you get more recoil. Examples posted on various internet platforms seems to indicate frangible, high BC don't necessarily benefit from more velocity. This makes sense to me.

The biggest advantage i see with frangible, high BC bullets is a guy can shoot a smaller cartridge, yet have less drop and wind drift than "standard" bullets from bigger cartridges. As I grow older (61 now) I'm way more attracted to less recoil, and I shoot them better. What's not to like about that arrangement - less recoil, better shooting. It's prob been said before but it's the bullet not the headstamp that does the killing

Thinking about this a bit more, I’ve been solidly in the “2 holes” camp for most of my hunting career. I’m moving from this position based on what I’ve seen in recent years and recalling most of my years using cup/core bullets. For a lot of years my 2 primary rifles were a 280 Rem and 7mm Rem Mag. I shot everything with them. I loaded 160 Speer in the 7 RM and 140 Sierras in the 280. Deer hated both. A lot. Some of the most impressive DRT I’ve ever had were with the 7 RM and the 160 Speer. My favorite shot was quartering to or head on. Most dropped at the shot. And the bullets didn’t exit on most. Tracking was easy <G>

I then started using Partitions and had the same results, except got more exits. I thought Nirvana had arrived. Then I started hunting out west and generally shooting longer distances, mainly because it was fun, and educational. The name of the game back in those days was velocity – higher velocity = flatter trajectory. My magnum career was fully lit. At one time, I had a 7 RM, a 300 WM, a 338 WM, and a 375 H&H. I also started doing backcountry hunts and discovered lightweight rifles. It took a few years to realize that combination – magnums + light rifles – sucked. I’ve several ‘witness marks’ from that time period, most along my eyebrows.

After moving to Accubonds about 5-6-7 years ago, and more frangible bullets in the past 2 years, I’m way less concerned about exits. I still prefer exits but I no longer think it’s a requirement. This past year, I shot a big cow at 50-60 yards quartering to with the lowly 6.5/150 LRAB combo. No exit but a way better blood trail than I ever saw with monos. My buddy shot his cow with a 7 RM and 150 gr tipped Corelokt at ~ 40 yards quartering to. We tracked it 3 feet – straight down. It never regained its footing and flopped around for about 15 seconds. He did lose some shoulder meat but I was surprised at the performance at that distance with that combo. I’d use it again.

Which takes me back to my above post. A guy can use smaller cartridges with high BC frangible bullets and achieve the same thing we all tried to do 20-30 years ago. Of course, you still need to pick your shots and know how to shoot.

Lol, "Mr Brokedick" must be buisy.

Okay, that’s enough with the common sense and experience mixed it.

This is no place for that sorta thinking

Admonishment received - I'll try to do better.

I've used MONOs almost exclusively since the Barnes TSX came out. Same for my brother and two kids whom I handload for. I have used X,XLC, TSX,TTSX,LRX,GMX,CX and Etip. After using them for years it's pretty apparent they do indeed dig very deep. It's also apparent that if you don't break major bone or hit the CNS they kill slower than a lead and copper bullet. Blood trails are often scant to non existent because the entrance and exits are so small. This is from 300 win mag, 300 wsm, 300 ultra, 270 win, 280 rem,6.5 creed, 7mm-08 and 25-06.
I'm gradually transition back to the Nosler Partition, Speer Grand Slams, Nosler BT's and AB'S. Partitions are still the gold standard IMO.

I could see this if my name was Saddlesore Jr, and if I lived out West and had all season to hunt and wait for a perfect shot angle, but, traveling out West for an Elk hunt, and damn sure loading up and heading out for an African Safari, man I have to be prepared to reach vitals from any angle I'm lucky enough to get.

I'm in the moderate expansion and deep penetration camp. Penetration has never been an issue for me with deer but I don't care for soft bullets shot through the shoulders. I typically aim for the boiler room as they say as I don't like dealing with jellied up meat. I've used most of the popular bullets starting with Core Lokts and Silvertips in the early 80's to Game kings, Interlocks and Partitions. Out of those the Interlock and Partition are most favored. Then the tipped bullets came along and out of those I like the Accubond, Bondstrike and Trophy Bonded Tip. For some reason I haven't had much luck getting Barnes bullets to shoot well for me but the few times I've used them on game I liked the terminal performance. I recently bought some E-Tip ammo for my 280AI that shoots really well so I plan on giving that a try this year.

I don't get any longer to hunt than nonresidents. Seasons are the same. I learned a long time ago it is where you hit them rather than with what. Taking marginal shots doesn't fascinate me.

It's become common knowledge that highly fragmenting bullets kill quicker than moderate, controlled expansion bullets when the animal is hit in the same place. Mule Deer has verified this, and I've verified it on scores of hog kills. I personally don't like killing and making hamburger at the same time, so I'll take the controlled expansion bullets performance that I've been getting for 40 years. Pick your poison.

Seasons are generally the same for both res and non-res, yes…and I know some states like CO and NM have 5 day or 7 day seasons in a lot of their units. That’s about how long most non-residents hunt, guided or not.
Even the states with longer general seasons don’t always have their residents hunt the whole season. They may just take a week of vacation and not come back. I know plenty of folks who do so.

20 yard shot through both shields and stopped under the hide on the passenger side.
308 Win
Norma 150 whitetail ammo

This stuff is accurate and makes two holes most of the time. We hardly ever use factory ammo but I like it.
Took three shot to knock him off his feet. He was moving on…

I live out West…..but feel the same as you! I want a bullet that will work every time from any angle!

I’ll “not” argue that a frangible bullet placed into the lungs/heart will kill a bit quicker …..but, I’ve yet to lose an animal that we (wife & I) have shot with a Barnes bullet.

Our most difficult recovery, was on an Antelope that my wife made a quick offhand shot on at a “whisper” over 200 yards, as it was walking out of sight behind a little ridge. We got there, but couldn’t find any evidence of a hit…..she thought that she may have missed. But, continued to search, going in the general direction that he was going. She found him, about 50 yards from where he was standing at the shot! She had hit very low on the chest, at the bottom of the little “naked” spot just behind the foreleg. A couple of inches lower would have been a miss. Didn’t really hit any vitals, and at that point of impact an Antelope might only be about 6” thick. Not a lot of resistance for a Barnes, and probably barely “clipped” vitals. Maybe a cup and core would have done much better…..maybe a Barnes with higher velocity than her 225 grain TTSX from her .338 WM would have done better! memtb

I prefer a reasonably priced bullet that tends to give exit wounds. I reload exclusively.

I generally start with Hornady Interlocks but getting out of that routine and going with Sierra TGKs for deer bullets. My .338Fed does not really have any offerings from those two companies so I have gone to Federal Fusions and am very happy.

When elk or anything bigger is the target, then Barnes TTSX is my preferred bullet. I can always find a load that is accurate. I cannot say the same about any Nosler or Speer offerings.

That has been pretty good hog ammo for us also. I think I've stopped it in one quartering shot, but that's it.

Where you hit them is pretty right but where you hit them with the bullet your using really matters! I like 75gr Hornady V-Max in my 243 but it's my varmint rifle. Shooting on a range developing loads in the 243, I used a 1" foam backer to hang the target's on. Penetrating the foam at 200yds tore the bullets apart as the ground behind the target was littered all over with jacket metal. But shoot a deer in the head and it's gonna die with that bullet. Different bullet's allow hitting different spots and making clean kills.

A few days ago I watched a couple of elk die to the 140gr 6.5 CM version of that ammo. All exits and moderate wound channels, even though heavy bone was involved in one of them. The stuff shoots under MOA for 10+ shots, too, in the particular rifle in question. Impressive for cheap factory ammo.

I got a few boxes of the 150 Norma ammo when I was between moves and had just picked up a 7-08 Montana. Stuff hovered around an inch for 5 and worked great on the few deer I took that fall. Shaped like a brick, but out to 300 it shot decent enough. Plus at the time it was around 20 bucks a box.