"kennedy bullet" .280 on deer

[Polaris]

Think I shot one of my deer with the Kennedy bullet this year. Bullet was the Speer 160 BTSP from my .280 rem. Shot placement was bad. Deer was moving fast through the woods at 125 yards, stopped briefly where I had a window, confident shot for me but she jumped just as the trigger broke. Bullet hit R hindquarter and impacted Femur. Other than a lot of meat loss things would have been OK, bullet should have cracked pelvis and ruptured femoral artery, but that's where things went wrong. After expanding maybe 1/4 of the nose, the developing jacket ripped off, bullet deflected 45degrees and followed the seam between the body cavity and hide all the way around the abdomen of the deer like a FMJ doing absolutely no damage. Recovered bullet just behind the far side shoulder under the skin. Max. dia was .294 and weighed 143 gr. Looked like I could almost load it in a case and shoot it again. Fortunately there was fresh snow on the ground and I was able to trail the sparse blood trail and dragged right leg track over 400 yards and head shoot her in her bed. I will not be using that bullet on game again. I'm considering switching to the Hor 154 or 162 gr, the NP 160 or one of the ABs.

 

[Elkman]

I have been using the Partition since the early 60's. Taken Deer, Elk, Caribou, Bear. Never had a failure and am using them in several rifles. No better hunting bullet. :grin: :grin:

 

[JD338]

Polaris,

Try the 140 gr BT in your 280 Rem, it kills deer like lighting. The longest tracking job I ever had with this combo was on a 6 pt that I heart shot, 4 jumps. :wink:

JD338

 

[Polaris]

Polaris,

Try the 140 gr BT in your 280 Rem, it kills deer like lighting. The longest tracking job I ever had with this combo was on a 6 pt that I heart shot, 4 jumps. :wink:

JD338

Every time I hear kills like lightning, I think about what lightning will do to my shoulders and backstrap. I'm looking for more of a pass through and expand along the way kind of bullet.

 

[JD338]

Polaris,

Try the 140 gr BT in your 280 Rem, it kills deer like lighting. The longest tracking job I ever had with this combo was on a 6 pt that I heart shot, 4 jumps. :wink:

JD338

Every time I hear kills like lightning, I think about what lightning will do to my shoulders and backstrap. I'm looking for more of a pass through and expand along the way kind of bullet.

Keep the bullet off the shoulder and in the slats. DRT. :wink:

JD338

 

[SJB358]

If you are worried about extra expansion, I would look into the 160grAB or 160gr PT. I can't imagine you would be disapointed in the least. Should expand nicely at your 280 Rem speeds and be not have any extra bullet pieces to ruin extra meat. Glad you were able to recover the deer, bullets do weird things sometimes, glad you were able to recover from it. Scotty

 

[Mountain Goat]

I wouldn't let a one-time mishap ruin your taste for a good shooting bullet. I've used the 145gr version out of a 280 without issue. In fact, If I used the one time and done logic, then I would never shoot a Nosler Partitin again. I had a 165grn fail to penetrate the ON-SIDE hide of a blacktail buck. First shot dead-centered a rib. The front section went through the lungs and stopped on the inside of the ribs on the other side. The rear section was stuck in the hide on the entrance side. It was the first thing I noticed when I walked up to him. The second shot hit him in the neck, dropping him.

I had a 250grn .338 Partition travel a strange path inside a yearling cow elk. Entrance was just behind the "elbow" and between the ribs. The bullet went across the top of the heart, hit the ribs on the opposite side and went straight up and lodges unerneath the shoulder blade.

My buddy's bull elk this past season took two 160grn TSX's to complete the task. The first shot at 330yds center punched the hams, but put a lot of blood in the snow. He's a good shot, so I'm not sure what happened there, but things do happen. The second shot was at about 40yds, right behind the shoulder, and that TSX didn't pass through. Bullet failure, not hardly. It shows that you just never know.

A bullet hitting bone can do strange things. Even the femur on a doe is a fairly large object to predict the outcome of a bullet's path. If we relied on bullets to preform on azz shots, we would need to program them to take a hard left or right a few inches after impact.

I'm glad you were able to track her and find her, but blame the shot more than the bullets. Like I said before, things happen, it's all part of hunting, and you did well. Things could have been much worse like missing the femur altogether or simply splattering the hide like a lead paintball.

 

[Polaris]

Polaris,

Try the 140 gr BT in your 280 Rem, it kills deer like lighting. The longest tracking job I ever had with this combo was on a 6 pt that I heart shot, 4 jumps. :wink:

JD338

Every time I hear kills like lightning, I think about what lightning will do to my shoulders and backstrap. I'm looking for more of a pass through and expand along the way kind of bullet.

Keep the bullet off the shoulder and in the slats. DRT. :wink:

JD338

Glad your deer are always standing broadside and not quartering towards, away or up or downhill from you. Sometimes precluding a neck shot ( I like those when practical) a bullet that expands violently will end up close enough to the shoulders or backstrap to wreck a lot of meat, a lesson I learned from the Hor. SST. 4 different deer killed like lightning with well placed shots that did not directly impact any parts that I like to eat other than the heart resulted in meat loss I consider unacceptable due to secondary missiles and hydrostatic shock. I've no doubt the speer bullet will work well with good shot placement, but I'm not impressed with the performance on heavy bone. I would expect the same result if a shoulder or vertebrae were hit. I want one more likely to push through if things go wrong. I've had that with other bullets, think I'll give the 160 NP and Hor 162 a try, see which groups better. My rifle likes that weight.

 

[YoteSmoker]

It is unfortunate that so many deer are becoming bullet proof these days. FWIW, I shoot 160 partitions in my 7mm rem mag with no problems and if the AccuBond would shoot half as accurate in my rifle, it would be a better deer bullet yet. The real reason I use the 160 Partition is because it works well on elk combined with deer in the same season. No matter what angle the fearless deer is standing, and with most any hunting bullet, aim to place the bullet into the FAR shoulder and you will have a dead deer in short order.

 

[DrMike]

Yotesmoker,

From anecdotal evidence provided on numerous forums during the past several years, I have drawn a similar observation to that which you posted--deer and elk in the Lower Forty-Eight are growing tougher. It seems that bullets are bouncing off of these animals, even when launched at magnum velocities. It is almost impossible for bullet manufacturers to come up with the new magic bullet necessary for the job as the old ones are revealed to be ineffective against the new generation of game. Fortunately, that trend in tougher hides hasn't reached Canada yet. I'm still able to use Partitions, and whether launched from magnum cartridges or from standard cartridges they work very well indeed on moose, elk, mule deer, whitetails, black bear and grizzly. Surprisingly, the AccuBond bullets from calibres ranging from .257 to .375 work every bit as well on this same variety of game.

 

[JD338]

Yote and Mike,

I concur. Fact is, bullets kill by trauma and shock. Put any bullet into hard mass like bone and the destruction is be much more. Increase the velocity and it is enhanced.
Mid calibers (26-30) shooting mid weight bullets are ideal for deer and the BT was designed for deer sized game. It has been improved over the years and today is is a very sound bullet. Keep the impact velocity below 3000 fps and they are just fine.
I have used the 7mm 140 gr BT for several years killing quite a few WT deer at ranges of 30 yds to 150 yds. Where I hunt, I am usually able to wait them out for a decent angle. I have also killed a couple bull caribou with my 280 Rem using the 140 gr BT, both quartering on shots at 250 yds and the bullets exited the off side through the ribs with exits about the size of a quarter.

JD338

 

[tecumseh]

I'm using a 140gr AccuBond in my 280.

 

[JD338]

tecumseh
That will work!

JD338

 

[Polaris]

I still miss the old solid base in my old 308. Maybe I'm just scared of plastic tips after picking jacket shrapnel out of my venison with hor. SSTs even on clean double lung hits. I keep hearing good things about the 160 Partition. Think I'll have to give it a try. I don't think they make the 160 Speer Mag tip anymore. I'm happy with what that one does and it shoots really well in my rifle. Pushed one through the far side shoulder on a Q-away big bodied deer with lots of winter fat and got surprisingly little meat loss but plenty of damage internally.

 

[JD338]

The 160 gr PT will work on deer but you will get quicker kills with a 140 gr PT. I have shot a few deer with the 140 gr PT from a 280 Rem and never recovered a bullet, even on hard quartering shots.

JD338

 

[DrMike]

I don't think they make the 160 Speer Mag tip anymore.

Looks like it will be the Deepcurl now.

 

[Polaris]

The 160 gr PT will work on deer but you will get quicker kills with a 140 gr PT. I have shot a few deer with the 140 gr PT from a 280 Rem and never recovered a bullet, even on hard quartering shots.

JD338

That and the 150 PT are 2 others I considered. My rifle just will not group consistently with bullets under 150 grains with loads I've tried. Velocity starts jumping around. I got good results accuracy wise with the Hor 154SP and the 154sst, and anything 160-162 has been really sweet. That's why I'm leaning towards heavier bullets. Would also like to work up a load that would double on Elk if I ever get the chance, but that's a secondary consideration now that I got my new '06. Think I might pick up some NP 150s, and Hor 162s and see what shoots.

 

[Polaris]

I don't think they make the 160 Speer Mag tip anymore.

Looks like it will be the Deepcurl now.

Well, add another option to my list. Looks like what I want in terms of weight, construction and they even improved the BC over the mag tip.

 

[JD338]

The 160 gr PT will work on deer but you will get quicker kills with a 140 gr PT. I have shot a few deer with the 140 gr PT from a 280 Rem and never recovered a bullet, even on hard quartering shots.

JD338

That and the 150 PT are 2 others I considered. My rifle just will not group consistently with bullets under 150 grains with loads I've tried. Velocity starts jumping around. I got good results accuracy wise with the Hor 154SP and the 154sst, and anything 160-162 has been really sweet. That's why I'm leaning towards heavier bullets. Would also like to work up a load that would double on Elk if I ever get the chance, but that's a secondary consideration now that I got my new '06. Think I might pick up some NP 150s, and Hor 162s and see what shoots.

Polaris,

Try this load.....

280 Remington
160 gr PT
54.0 grs IMR 4831
R-P case
Fed GM210M primer

Shot .400" in a M700 Classic
Work up.....

JD338