ballistic tips again...

[Murphdog]

Pop,

Yes but as a follow up shot. One elk in partuclular was a very big dry cow that spotted me just as I shot pulled the trigger. She went from a walk to light speed almost instantly. I hit her too far back and a bit high with a 180 Partition. She was with a large group of elk and managed to get a couple of spikes between her and I. The elk were on a large sage brush flat and by the time the spikes got ahead of her they were quite aways out there. Managed to hit her again and slow her down but she went into a coulee where all that I could see was her head and neck but at least she was walking. I was down to the two Btips in the bottom of the magazine but that is precisely what they were there for. Held just over her ears and broke her neck about 6 inches below the jaw.

 

[Murphdog]

My two cents on head/neck shots.

There is a time and a place for them and if you follow a couple of quid pro quos they are extemely effective at producing all most instant kills. For the record my first choice is the shoulder blade just above the junction of the arm bone and get both shoulders. The idea is to seperate the aorta from the heart. Death is all but instant and even if you don't get the top of the heart they are not going any where with both shoulders broken. This is why my primary bullet is the Partition. A more expansive bullet like the Btip ruins too much meat and my not take out the far shoulder.

On those occations when I don't have a clear shot at the shoulder or the animal is already been hit hard my next choice is the head/neck. I often find elk in deep sage brush and the lower third of the chest cavity is covered. An elk hit high in one lung can go a long long ways and is very often lost. If you have a steady rest and the range is reasonable the neck is the best option. Important you want the animal looking directly at you or directly away from you. Why; if you hit enough of the neck to cause a lethal wound the elk is not going any where and most of the time they will be dead before it hits the ground. The other situation where I choose to target the neck is when playing peak-a-boo in heavy timber. You are going to be very close and the elk is automatically looking at you. Beats trying to push a bullet through the vegatation

 

[SJB358]

Again, I like the BT's alot, along with the Accubonds, but I think the PT's are about as perfect a game bullet as it gets. Soft front core that expands like crazy, then a rear core that penetrates like crazy. You get the best of both worlds and probably get full penetration on all but the biggest game. Granted, different bullets are just that, different, but when applied correctly to the intended target, you will get good results. We don't use 155mm cannon's to breach doors and we don't use breaching shotguns to penetrate deep rock encased bunkers. You have to pick what covers your hunting the best, and stick to your plan. Scotty

 

[boolit]

Pop,

Yes but as a follow up shot. One elk in partuclular was a very big dry cow that spotted me just as I shot pulled the trigger. She went from a walk to light speed almost instantly. I hit her too far back and a bit high with a 180 Partition. She was with a large group of elk and managed to get a couple of spikes between her and I. The elk were on a large sage brush flat and by the time the spikes got ahead of her they were quite aways out there. Managed to hit her again and slow her down but she went into a coulee where all that I could see was her head and neck but at least she was walking. I was down to the two Btips in the bottom of the magazine but that is precisely what they were there for. Held just over her ears and broke her neck about 6 inches below the jaw.

I thought of this before you wrote this post Dog... good job bobalouie. :wink:

Partition atop BT's below.... Yes! quite aways out there will the BT's will be my AT&T bullet.

 

[rick smith]

I take a lot of head and neck shots. Killed three deer so far this year. head shot on the first doe, brains all over the ground. Two neck shots, one on a 180lb nine point buck at 80 yards and one on a doe at the same distance. You have to know the anotomy to take these shots. The spine, verterbral bones are not in the middle of the neck from the side. They are from the front and back. Longest neck shot is 200yds and the longest head shot is 175yds. Study the anotomy and work up accutate loads, then practice. If you can't hit a golf ball every time at 200yds, don't take the shot.Rick.

 

[FOTIS]

Sounds about right with them BT's. I know one guy in Canada who swore by them for his 300 rum sendero. He pushes them at 3300 fps and he shot a big bull under 100 yards. In/out and soup in between. I honestly thing Nosler did a great job toughening them up.

 

[boolit]

I wouldn't think about a spine or neck shot beyond 100 yards.

 

[boolit]

Sounds about right with them BT's. I know one guy in Canada who swore by them for his 300 rum sendero. He pushes them at 3300 fps and he shot a big bull under 100 yards. In/out and soup in between. I honestly thing Nosler did a great job toughening them up.

Someone else mentioned about improving the BT's too. What did they improve?

 

[FOTIS]

The jacket is somewhat thicker than the original version in the 1990's or so. Initially they were way too soft and had a tendency to come apart. This is no longer an issue if used within their design envelope.

 

[JD338]

The newer BT's are more robust with a thicker jacket.

JD338

 

[cloverleaf]

Dang neck shots......I take that back. To date I have taken three antelope out of a 250-3000 Savage with 100 grain BT. Three shots, three goats. That first one was a neck shot at 120 yds. It was the one that got me hooked on the 250. No need for a bigger gun when you get lucky and shatter the neck. Talk about dramatic. That goat literally fell on his feet and never twitched. One of the few compliments my Dad ever gave me was after that shot. Got me hooked on the 250 Sav. but it was more luck than skill. Very Dramatic though.... the next one ran 50 yards on a double lung. Two years prior to that I emptied a sporterized 6.5 Jap over the back of a standing goat at 75 yards Can you say buck fever....? Good times. CL

 

[JD338]

I have only shot 2 WT deer in the neck. A big 11pt tha dressed out at 180 lbs and a spike horn. These were actually the first 2 deer I shot with my M700 Classic in 35 Whelen back in 1988. The load was a Remington factory 200 gr PSPCL bullet and I recovered both bullets. Both deer dropped in their tracks and never moved.
The neck shot is very effective but it is a small target with little room for error.

JD338

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

Boolit, the 130gr BT is a great choice for deer. If you are launching the 130 BT over 3100, and worried about it's performance either move up to the 150gr BT, or the 130-140gr AB, and shoot with confidence.

 

[boolit]

The jacket is somewhat thicker than the original version in the 1990's or so. Initially they were way too soft and had a tendency to come apart. This is no longer an issue if used within their design envelope.

used within their design envelope

at or under 3000 fps.... sounds good, will do.

 

[cloverleaf]

130 Gr. at 3100 fps....Sounds a lot like Dads only load for his 7mm Mag. Except he went a little slower and uses speers. Honestly, literally, a deer has never walked away, never. You should be fine. CL

 

[boolit]

130 Gr. at 3100 fps....Sounds a lot like Dads only load for his 7mm Mag. Except he went a little slower and uses speers. Honestly, literally, a deer has never walked away, never. You should be fine. CL

You should be fine

Sounds like it depends on me. LOL :wink:

 

[Bluejay]

My 2 cents....

I base my comments on personal experience only. I have been using BT quite extensively, from target practice to hunting Roe Deer and Chamois here in the Italian Alps. At first, I was loading them in a .270 Win. Remington 700 and, since 2004, I switched to a 6,5x57R (comparable to a .260 Rem) in a K95 single shot Blaser rifle.
I presently shoot 100 grs. .264"
Through the years I have never lost an animal because of the BT "softness", but I can honestly say the other way around.
In some cases, if it wasn't for the BT, I would have gotten unrecovered wounded critters....

I am a big fan of the ..."better a bigger hole than a wounded deer" statement...

One example....few years ago I shot a Roe Buck downhill at a steep angle.
Distance was 240 meters and the Roe Buck was standing almost looking at my direction (frontal shot).
I misjudged the distance and did not correct for bullet drop.

The bullet hit the chest but did not enter the "boiler room". It continued its path and broke the left arm (above the elbow).

I was hunting by myself and could not read the deer reaction well enough (and did not have my dog with me either... )

Just a few hair on the spot and no blood or Deer.....

Well, after coming back with my Dog, I found the deer dead no further than 50 yds. from where it was.

I am convinced that with another bullet it would have been a much longer story, with the happy ending to be seen...

BJ

 

[boolit]

Hey thanks Bluejay... great story. I'm only a few weeks away from opening day of Whitetail season, hopefully I'll be able to do some more testing.Arrivederci . :mrgreen:

 

[Hawkeye270]

Just wanted to say I have had the same great results with BT`s. Earlier I used a 6,5 X 55 with 120 gr BT reloadings for Roe Deer, don`t remember the velocity, but i tend to load a little under Nosler max loadings. Those deer make small targets, and often You see them for just a brief moment. If the grass is high, it will cover them partly. In my case range varies between 40 and 150 yards. This cartridge/bullet combination gives You enough velocity and power, flat enough trajectory, and terminal performance. The bullet always performed perfect, exit wound and tolerable meat damage. The 6,5 X 55 is popular over here, and I know several other who use the BT for this purpose.

Hunting moose or wild boar, though, I always use the Partition or the AccuBond.

 

[SJB358]

Thanks for the input Hawkeye, and welcome to the forum. Glad to have you. Scotty