Lack of blood trail with Nosler BT ?????

[Guest]

My son and his friend have an excellent place to hunt and they use it. The 2 of them killed 11 deer this year and they are concerned with a lack of blood trail with the nosler BT bullets they are using. The bullet went all the way through 2 of the 11. They hand load and both use 270s with 130 gr. Nosler BT and 56 to 57 grains of H 4831 powder.

My son killed 5. 3 were DRT. The other 2 were found within 60 yards but there was no blood trail. Range was from 125 to 200 yards and shots were just behind the front shoulder.

His friend killed 6 and 3 were DRT. The other 3 were recovered within 40 to 60 yards but there was no blood trail. He shot one other at a range of about 375 yards. It was trailed for over 1.4 miles with a good blood trail for the first 1.2 miles before losing it. They never found that one. They could not believe the total loss of blood from an animal that just kept going and was never found.

What is the experience of others with blood trails when using Nosler BTs? Any ideas? It may seem that 6 out of 11 DRT is pretty good but a lack of blood trail on 5 out of 11 leaves room for questions and analysis.

 

[DrMike]

Tracking both whitetails and elk (to say nothing of black bears) quickly teaches that a blood trail is not always present, regardless of the bullet. If a major artery is severed so that there is significant spray, there will be a major blood trail. However, if no major arteries are clipped, blood loss can be more defined by an ooze or a drip. There will be occasional drops of blood on the litter requiring you to search carefully for blood sign. I have tracked moose wounded by arrows for up to a mile and elk hit hard for over 600 yards. Whitetails often run for distances of 40 to 60 yards, and there is not always a significant external blood loss, though there is massive internal blood loss resulting in death. The blood spray is less the result of bullet type than it is bullet placement.

 

[rick smith]

Never had that problem when the bullet was placed so the exit was in the correct position. I would guess their exits were not quite where they should have been. That happens more than most people like to report. Or they could have looked in the wrong place for a blood trail and found the deer before finding blood. Lots of explanations but I don't think almost half with no blood trail. I have taken over 100 whitetails with NBTs and a blood trail was present on all but a very few.Rick.

 

[SJB358]

Maybe try bumping up to a 140 or 150gr bullet out of the 270. Those would offer a little more bullet weight to make sure you get some exits on off angle shots. I know what you mean, you have dead deer, but would like to have a hole on both sides. I would go heavier, or go with an AccuBond or Partition. Either of those would probably do fine with 130's if you want to stick to that weight bullet. Scotty

 

[JD338]

Most of the deer I have shot with a BT dropped on the spot or within sight. The couple that were trailed didn't go very far and there was plenty of blood for trailing.
Consider the high lung shot. Put the bullet 2-3" above center line of the body tight behind the front leg. They go straight down and never get up.

JD338

 

[1Shot]

In my experience the 130 Nosler ballistic tip fired from a 270 Win is a quick expanding bullet and most of the time it will not exit a deer that is inside 200 yards. Beyond 200 yards the bullet has slowed down enough for it to hold together a little better and it will exit. If you want good expansion and have an exit at almost any range go to the 130 Nosler AccuBond. In my experience it flies and is accurate and starts to open up quickly like the ballistic tip but holds together like the partitions and a keeps on trucking. I really like them.

 

[FOTIS]

You can shoot 100 deer in the same place (anatomically) and get 100 different responses. 90% of my BT kills resulted in DRT kills. A few times I had to look for them. Not too far though.

In 2002 I hit a doe antelope with a 300 RUM at 185 yards or so. with a 180 gr Scirocco doing 3250 fps at the muzzle. Both lungs were soup. She went about 180 yards before dropping.

 

[Desert Fox]

Most of the deer I have shot with a BT dropped on the spot or within sight. The couple that were trailed didn't go very far and there was plenty of blood for trailing.
Consider the high lung shot. Put the bullet 2-3" above center line of the body tight behind the front leg. They go straight down and never get up.

JD338

I have the same experienced with Nosler Ballistic Tip.

 

[sask boy]

I really believe for the 270 win that 130 gr is the pet weight for the caliber.
I would change bullets as it is the minor expense.
I would use Accubonds my new favourite or partitions.
I have found that BTs are more for paper than hunting. But that is just my opinion

 

[SJB358]

I agree on the 130 for the 270. My WSM really shoots well with the Hornady Interbond (130gr). I have a good load for the 150gr Ballistic Tip, but that is primarily going to be a deer buster. If you want to stick with the BT's move up to 150's. You will get a better SD bullet which should help alot with getting exits and still have great expansion. Maybe less meat damage also, compared to the 130's. Scotty

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the input. They have read it and are considering their options. I think I will go to a heavier bullet or maybe try the AccuBond..

 

[SJB358]

For an all around load for the 270 Win, I think it would be hard to go wrong with the 140gr AccuBond. Great speed and it will work very well on deer. Held up to an elk shot at 35-40 yards with my 270WSM also. Scotty

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

Scotty, if you are going to shoot only one bullet out to the .270, you picked right!

 

[HTDUCK]

Talk about a love and hate relationship.

My 308s love BTs and deer are DRT with them.I've got three 308s.A Mdl 600 that sports an 18 inch tube,a 700 VSSF wearing a 26 incher and a Howa 1500 Varmit with a 24 inch barrel.165 BTs are damn accurate and have gone through every whitetail from 40 yards to 300.
Obviously muzzle velocity varies with barrel length,but all are loaded with the same powder charge.
Exit wounds are horriffic,almost to the point of wasting meat if the bullet isn't placed with surgical precision,


On the other hand....

My first load in my 280 was a 140 BT on top of 57 grains of RL19.
It's a Rem 700 with a 22 incher.Gun shot really well with his load but performance on game was less than desirable.

I've killed nine Tx deer with the 280 and have never had an exit hole that was a complete passthrough. I had one exit hole.Entry low behind the shoulder,exit between the shoulder blades at the base of the neck.

Long story short,my experiences with BTs is to slow them down,they are hell on wheels on both paper and a fine game bullet.

YMMV
Howard








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[JD338]

Thanks for the input. They have read it and are considering their options. I think I will go to a heavier bullet or maybe try the AccuBond..

Just switch to the 130 gr AB, you already have the basic load and tweak the charge weight and COL for best accuracy. Quick and easy fix.
Plenty of penetration on deer, you will get exits.

JD338

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

Accubonds fix alot of problems.

 

[JD338]

On the other hand....

My first load in my 280 was a 140 BT on top of 57 grains of RL19.
It's a Rem 700 with a 22 incher.Gun shot really well with his load but performance on game was less than desirable.

I've killed nine Tx deer with the 280 and have never had an exit hole that was a complete passthrough. I had one exit hole.Entry low behind the shoulder,exit between the shoulder blades at the base of the neck.

Same rifle, caliber, and load, I have taken a dozen+ WT deer and a couple Caribou bulls with out issue. Every bullet exited except for one, shot a doe quartering on at 150 yds and the 140 gr BT was under the hide between the last two ribs.

JD338

 

[Powerstroke]

I think POP has stated it best.......

IMO - Once that bullet starts its travels, none of us know exactly what is going to happen. Best practice is for a premium bullet to stack the odds in our favor.

Most of my B-tip hunting experience has been with the .284 diam in 120, 140 & 150's shot from a 7-08 or .280 I can say I've seen varying results that would be nice be a little more consistent.......With that said, I've put alot of those bullets down the tube and believe if memory serves me well they have all exited short of one. That was a 180gr B-tip fired out of my .300RUM on a Cow Elk @ very short distance-( she didn't take another step either )

 

[Guy Miner]

I think the farthest I've had to track a deer hit with a ballistic tip was about.... Zero feet.

They tend to drop straight down and stay there. :grin:

Agree that if you want a blood trail, it's likely best to use a bullet that will put two holes in the critter. Something with excellent penetration like a Nosler Partition. Those things shoot through critters real well... I haven't tried the AccuBond on game yet, but from all accounts it does real well too. Sort of combines the accuracy of the B-Tip with the penetration of the Partition. Best of both worlds?

Regards, Guy

 

[cloverleaf]

Cant really comment on this one....but that never stopped me before. Only shot two game animals with a BT. One exited, the other did not. Bothe dropped within 10 feet of where they were standingwhen the were hit. Blood trail not required. Just my experience. CL