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Ideal bullet Performance #7216133 07/05/18 01:18 AM
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What do you consider ideal bullet performance?

I would think full expansion and pass through to allow for tracking. But somebody said they wanted full expansion and the bullet to stop in the animal as it dumped the most energy in the animal.


Thoughts?

Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7216145 07/05/18 01:46 AM
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Originally Posted By: Cleric
What do you consider ideal bullet performance?

I would think full expansion and pass through to allow for tracking. But somebody said they wanted full expansion and the bullet to stop in the animal as it dumped the most energy in the animal.


Thoughts?


I want them bleeding out both sides.


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Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7216146 07/05/18 01:49 AM
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I like a bullet that is designed to retain 60% of its weight. Sometimes they pass through, sometimes they don't.

Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7216148 07/05/18 01:51 AM
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I don't want a bullet to penetrate to the point of penciling through. I'm fine with finding the bullet in the off-side skin/shoulder. I shoot right through the middle of the front running gear, so impacts are most often dramatic...

Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Jgraider] #7216150 07/05/18 01:53 AM
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Originally Posted By: Jgraider
I like a bullet that is designed to retain 60% of its weight. Sometimes they pass through, sometimes they don't.


x2. I shoot NBTs, NABs, and SGKs almost exclusively.

Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7216155 07/05/18 01:58 AM
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I clean 20+ animals a year that we find the bullet embedded just under the skin on the opposite of penetration. They are generally all destroyed inside, full of blood and jelly. These deer/antelope generally do nor go far, so tracking is not a big deal.
So no pass through is just fine for me.


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Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7216171 07/05/18 02:32 AM
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Full expansion and pass through.
If you need the energy the bullet still had after exiting use a bigger gun.

M

Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: ckat] #7216183 07/05/18 02:55 AM
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Originally Posted By: ckat
Originally Posted By: Jgraider
I like a bullet that is designed to retain 60% of its weight. Sometimes they pass through, sometimes they don't.


x2. I shoot NBTs, NABs, and SGKs almost exclusively.


X3. I'm one that will never complain about bullet failure when I have no exit and the animal drops on the spot.



Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7216187 07/05/18 03:01 AM
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Originally Posted By: Cleric
What do you consider ideal bullet performance?

I would think full expansion and pass through to allow for tracking. But somebody said they wanted full expansion and the bullet to stop in the animal as it dumped the most energy in the animal.


Thoughts?


I don't think it is boiled down so easily as this and I don't really think the condition of the bullet is nearly as important as the condition of the animal. In other words, what is happening to the bullet isn't nearly as important as what is happening to the animal. You can get comparable levels of lethality with bullets than perform very differently.

The bullets that I like for killing hogs are not bullets that I would like nearly as much if I was a meat hunter because they leave so much lead behind in the animal and it is in the form of tiny pieces that sometimes can be found outside of the main wound channel that is often fairly massive. It is the massive wound channel, however, that I really like to see. The more tissue destruction being done, the better. The bullets in question tend to leave permanent wound channels larger than the diameter of the expanded {when recovered} bullet.

If I was a meat hunter, I think I would prefer one of the monolithic bullets that seem to bore such nice holes through the bodies of animals, often with nice clean wound channels that seem to be about the diameter of the expanded bullet, leaving no lead behind, and often overpenetrating too boot.


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Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7216234 07/05/18 07:25 AM
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You don't need expansion with the high-shoulder shot.

But,

I have recently switched from Accubonds (several instances of bullet fragmentation in antelope without exit) in favor of Barnes LRXs. Lead poisoning is real, which is why I chose the all copper option. If I'm going to feed ground meat to my kid (soon to be kids), I don't want to drop their IQ or cause any of the other ill effects of excessive lead exposure. Otherwise, the Nosler Partition is really hard to beat, and I killed 50 whitetails and a bunch of other stuff with that bullet out to 300 yards.

A note on performance. I hit a 24 inch steel plate at 1000 yards with 180gr LRXs out of my 300 Win Mag 7 of 10 shots.

Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7216283 07/05/18 12:36 PM
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Originally Posted By: Cleric
What do you consider ideal bullet performance?

I would think full expansion and pass through to allow for tracking. But somebody said they wanted full expansion and the bullet to stop in the animal as it dumped the most energy in the animal.


Thoughts?


Either one is fine, as long as the bullet expands. I've had lots of past through's and some that did not, depending on animal size, toughness, and shot angle. All resulted in no real tracking, and cleanly killed animals.


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Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: J.G.] #7216308 07/05/18 01:16 PM
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Originally Posted By: FiremanJG
I've had lots of past through's and some that did not, depending on animal size, toughness, and shot angle.


Just curious, did you cut open the animal to explore the wound tract? The reason why I ask is that in numerous cases I have seen unremarkable exit wounds, often that look like unexpanded bullet exits, when it fact the bullet expanded, did lots of damage, and either due to skin stretch or loss of petals, made an unremarkable exit.


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Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Double Naught Spy] #7216326 07/05/18 01:39 PM
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Originally Posted By: Double Naught Spy
Originally Posted By: FiremanJG
I've had lots of past through's and some that did not, depending on animal size, toughness, and shot angle.


Just curious, did you cut open the animal to explore the wound tract? The reason why I ask is that in numerous cases I have seen unremarkable exit wounds, often that look like unexpanded bullet exits, when it fact the bullet expanded, did lots of damage, and either due to skin stretch or loss of petals, made an unremarkable exit.



Only whitetail buck I've ever shot was 120 yards. Right shoulder entry, found the bullet in the left flank area, no exit. 165 gr Sierra Game Kind SPBT out of a .308 Win. Bullet expanded to 3/4" and still weighed 140 gr (still have it). Lungs destroyed, G.I. track destroyed.

Bull elk, 200 yards, 7 Rem Mag 180 gr VLD-Hunting @3000 fps MV. We did not gut him, but I do not recall an exit wound. He was on the ground 5 seconds after he was hit, and had only made about 4 slow steps.


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Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7216343 07/05/18 01:59 PM
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What animal?

Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7216347 07/05/18 02:02 PM
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I’m with Hwy Man, in that I prefer an exit wound. Sometimes tracking has to happen, so more blood makes the tracking easier. As for bullet preference, all I use these days (and have used since Nosler quit making SBBTs) is the Nosler Ballistic Tip. Effective and sometimes messy, and i most always get an exit wound on deer of all sizes. Don’t get many exit wounds on hogs though. I shoot a 260 these days, with 120 gr BTs. With my 270 I use the 130 gr BTs.


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Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7216358 07/05/18 02:11 PM
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I want them to drop where they are standing...I bet 98% of the deer I have shot have dropped in their tracks and the other 2% didn't go but a few yards.

Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Russ79] #7216360 07/05/18 02:15 PM
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Originally Posted By: Russ79
I want them to drop where they are standing...I bet 98% of the deer I have shot have dropped in their tracks and the other 2% didn't go but a few yards.


Whitetail each year I am only on a doe hunt. Also went on a cow elk hunt last year. 3 whitetail and one cow elk, were shot in the brainstem. That flips the main breaker, and they fall straight to the ground. up


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Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7216367 07/05/18 02:26 PM
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Interesting thoughts....

How about another question:
What percentage of deer in Texas when they are killled
A) dead where they were standing
B) dead within 10yards
C) dead beyond 10 yards


I would say
A) 10%
B) 60%
C) 30%

But that’s just gut feeling

Last edited by Cleric; 07/05/18 02:26 PM.
Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7216385 07/05/18 02:48 PM
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My experience says deer that drop where they stand are most often (by far) impacted by a CNS shot. Lung shot deer tend to run off some distance, depending on the bullet used. I personally like to shoot through both shoulders if possible.

Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7216404 07/05/18 03:24 PM
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I don’t shoot animals for the sake of saving meat. I want to anchor that animal where it stood. I don’t track but I get to help track many and they all are the meat saving attitude..

I like vmaxes and Berger vld.

Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7216671 07/05/18 10:12 PM
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I taught my wife and all 3 kids to shoot point of the shoulder. They never run. Ever. Any bullet will work with this shot. I shoot what I am most confident in. I reload exclusively Nosler BT and Accubond. Both 180's shoot the same spot. We are MLD with ton's of hogs to shoot. 60+ animals a yr and we find them all. 95% DRT. It's bullet placement/Accuracy not performance in my opinion.


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Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7216679 07/05/18 10:26 PM
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Ideal bullet performance happens when your shot is good. You can have the best bullet made and unless it is a 50 BMG in the belly it doesn't matter.

Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7217623 07/06/18 11:56 PM
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50 cal will suck a deer’s eyes out just passing near it

Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7217791 07/07/18 03:48 AM
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Originally Posted By: Cleric
50 cal will suck a deer’s eyes out just passing near it


Only in the mind of a crazy man! roflmao


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Re: Ideal bullet Performance [Re: Cleric] #7217950 07/07/18 01:56 PM
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Placement and the ability to penetrate reliably are what matter.

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