Can a bullet be to tough?

[jmad_81]

I was thinking about trying some of the 130 GR. ET out of my 270 WSM. Most of the time the only thing that it will be used for is deer and speed goats, maybe a bear here and there, and more than likely not for elk. I know they the ET is a pretty tough bullet, I'm a bit worried about it opening up to slowly on a thin skinned deer or speed goat. I know the ABs that I'm shooting would be perfect was just thinking about it the other day. I'm interested in the ETs.

If they had some 225 .338s I'd be giving you guys range reports on them by now, but I can't bring myself to shoot a 200 gr bullet out of my .338 WM.

Whats your guys thoughts on bullet toughness, poke two holes in them, or one hole with a bunch of splatter inside? I'm really leaning on the ABs right now cause I think they are the best of both worlds.

 

[Richracer1]

I've taken a CA coastal blacktail last year using my 270WSM and 130ETs. It was a bang-flop hunt. I would not hesitate to use them on deer, speed-goats and similar sized game. I would switch over to the 140AB or 150/160PT for larger game such as bear, elk, or moose, but that's just my opinion.

 

[1Shot]

I have killed well over 200 deer over the years with everything from a Bow to a 45-70. If you put what every it is you are shooting through the vitals it will die eventually. For the game you listed to shoot mostly I would go with the Nosler ballistic tip in 130 gr pushed by 60 grs. H-4831 lit by a CCI-BR2 primer in a Remington case. It has never let me down. 99% of the time on deer it is bang flop. For the thin skin animals I have found that a quick expanding bullet works best.

 

[Richracer1]

If they had some 225 .338s I'd be giving you guys range reports on them by now, but I can't bring myself to shoot a 200 gr bullet out of my .338 WM.

Why??????? I'm shooting a 200ET out of my 338RUM and proud to report my load developments - which can be found in this section.

 

[jmad_81]

One of the reasons I'm shooting the AB is for the better BC, but I never really shoot far enough for that to matter. 500 yards tops is what I'd be comfertable with but I have yet to need to take a shot that far.

You guys don't think that the 130 Et would be tough enough for elk, or is it a matter of energy? I would think that they would penetrate just as deep or deeper than an AB or PT in the 140-150 range because they don't lose as much weight.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

I don't want my bullets too tough. Imagine a broadside shot with minimal bullet expansion, that slips between the heart and lungs. I want a bullet that's going to open up and help me out if my shot is less then perfect. The E-tip has that plastic starter tip, to get the expansion going, and a hollow cavity right behind it, so it looks to me like it should give a nice boost to the expansion.

I've seen deer shot with 250gr Sierra's out a .338 Win mag. Might as well been shooting them with FMJ's. Good thing I was there with my .270 and 130gr BT's....BT's kill deer dead.

200 BT's in a .338, they open up and leave big holes. Deer, elk, DRT.

 

[JD338]

The E-Tips are plenty tough but will open up on smaller big game like deer and antelope. The 130 gr E-Tip will work quite well on deer sized game.

The 338 cal 200 gr E-Tip is an impressive bullet with retained weights of 197 grs from my 338 RUM. Here is the range report-
http://noslerreloading.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10567
I really like the E-Tip but will keep using the 250 gr AB in my 338 RUM because of the .575 BC.

JD338

 

[jmad_81]

JD-the BC is why I am sticking with the 225 AB over the 200 ET. Have not got to try the 250 yet, might have to get on that.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

What the 200 looses in BC, I'd expect it to make up in velocity.

 

[.405]

Yes a bullet can be too tough.Try shooting the 350 grain Hornady bullet out of a .45/70.It performs like a solid.It might open on a hickory stump, but I doubt it.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

I'd just stick with the AB. The etip will no doubt penetrate further but its more of an elk/moose bullet IMO.

A bullet can be to tough IMO. You dont need bullets that retain 90% of there weight for deer size animals. Conventional bullets work better IMO giving sufficient penetration with maximum expansion and shock, therefor resulting in more bang flops.

 

[R Flowers]

This is a good thread, but I have to take exception to Antelope_Sniper's comment about the 250 grain Sierra in the .338 Win Mag.

I have shot a number of deer with the 250 grain Game King with my .338 Win Mag and performance has been great. My dad has killed several using that bullet in his 340 Wby Mag as well. We have also had good results on elk and wild hogs with those bullets.

It was entertaining because on one outfitted deer hunt in Wyoming an outfitter was giving me hell for bringing a Ruger Number One chambered in .338 Win Mag. He could not believe I brought a single shot and that I had such a huge cartridge for deer. He changed his tune when I busted a great 4X5 mule deer on the run at about 250 yards and he went down in a heap.

If the 250 Sierra did not open up well it would not have dropped the big mule deer I shot in Montana at well over 400 yards like it did. Great bulet performance, rather large exit hole.

My dad quit using that bullet in his .340 Wby Mag because it opened up too much on elk. He had problems with it on a 7X7 bull in Wyoming.

In regard to the 200 grain BT in the .338 Win Mag, it works great also. I have shot a number of wild hogs with that load and it works fine. I first tried them when a friend had a problem with them surface blowing when shot from a .338-378 Wby mag at 3500 fps. When shot at close to 3000 fps in my 338 Win Mag they work great!

The "hardest" bullets we ever tried were some 6mm Nosler Partitions, the old ones turned on a lathe. They would shoot through deer like you could not believe, I think they would have worked on elephant. I doubt they expanded at all. But that was a LONG time ago.

Yes, I believe a bullet can be "too hard", but it does not happen all that often. We are blessed with a great variety of bullets on the market today.

 

[Greg Nolan]

IMO:
The AccuBond is about the perfect bullet for most any application. I would NEVER switch to non lead unless it's the law. The E-Tip is the perfect bullet for non lead "only" applications. Unfortunately the E-Tip only comes in a few flavors and all of us multi- flavor types are going to need a few more calibers available or learn to like TTSX bullets whether they expand or lose all their petals or whatever.
Greg

 

[Idaho_Elk_Huntr]

If you put what every it is you are shooting through the vitals it will die eventually.

Eventually?? Thats funny. You can probably hit anywhere on 75+% of its body and eventually it will die.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

Yes, this is a great thread.
R flowers. The 250 Sierra's I refered to were some 20 years ago, so I wouldn't be suprised if what Sierra is making now is a better bullet.

Die eventually, after it runs 3 miles....that sounds like alot of work to me.

+1 on the AB being the best all round bullet. Opens up, keeps it's base, and shoot great. What's not to like?

 

[.405]

I have had such outstanding results with the 130 grain BT out of a .270win on deer and antelope that I wouldn't personally consider using another bullet in that rifle.

 

[jmad_81]

I have used BTs befor in a 270 win, a 7mm STW, and my 338 wm. All killed stuff pretty good but I like to have one bullet for my guns that can hunt everything. The 140 AB out of my 270 WSM or my wifes 7mm-08 could be used for elk, as well as speed goats and never have to change anything. I could go the same way with my 375 Ruger, I could take anything with a 260 AB.

When I go on a hunt I like to take a back up rifle incase something happens. So I like all my guns to shoot bullets that will work with anything. I don't want to have an elk load and a deer load and a bigfoot load for every rifle that I take to the woods. Thats why I started this thread was wondering if the E-tip offered any advantage over the AB, or the other way around.

I know guys that will pack six different types of bullets and loads for one gun while they are hunting and try to change out ammo while they are hunting to get the best bullet/load combo for the situation. I can have both out tags filled (not that I would) while they monkey around trying to get the right color coaded bullet in.

Lots of good input.

 

[Richracer1]

I have used BTs befor in a 270 win, a 7mm STW, and my 338 wm. All killed stuff pretty good but I like to have one bullet for my guns that can hunt everything. The 140 AB out of my 270 WSM or my wifes 7mm-08 could be used for elk, as well as speed goats and never have to change anything. I could go the same way with my 375 Ruger, I could take anything with a 260 AB.

When I go on a hunt I like to take a back up rifle incase something happens. So I like all my guns to shoot bullets that will work with anything. I don't want to have an elk load and a deer load and a bigfoot load for every rifle that I take to the woods. Thats why I started this thread was wondering if the E-tip offered any advantage over the AB, or the other way around. Lots of good input.

I'm the same way, I have one dedicated bullet/load for each rifle. Now I will develope loads with other bullets, but I have my rifles sighted in for the primary load. If I need to swtich for what ever reason, such as leaving Idaho to go hunt in CA, I'll re-sight in at the Vandenberg gun club once I get there. IMO, hunt camp isn't for initially sighting in your rifle, only to verifying your still sighted in where it should be.

 

[.405]

If I were going after elk I would use the AB or PT.I just like the BT's explosive results on deer. I did kill a large wild boar with it.He ran about 75 yards and died.The BT blew up on the boiler plate on entrance. I found only the heal of the bullet on the far side,under the hide.

 

[nomosendero]

Yes