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

[OldMan]

I used the 180 BT for elk for the first time because the 300 Win mag was ready to go and my other rifles were not. I shot a raghorn bull and it went straight down! I have killed many more elk since that time with the same load and all have been the same. As for deer, they have all gone straight down too! I always lung shoot these animals and that probably has a lot to do with my experiences with the BT's. With my latest 300 Wby I have taken three elk with the 180 AB, all one shot kills, but they all ran a ways before going down. Is this just the luck of things?? I don't know, I will continue with the AB's in the Wby as it's going 3200 fps plus. Another note: the three AB's did not exit, but didn't come apart either.

In my 30-06 with 150 BT's, it's a deer killing machine and I wouldn't change a thing! The loading for this is the 150 grainer at 3000 fps--great load in a grand rifle.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Its odd to me that 130s from a 270 aren't exiting on whitetails...MY cousin used them on our muleys and never had problems.

We have never found a NBT in a deer from 25 cal 100g nbt's up to 30 cal 180g nbt's. Most have dropped on the spot and were DRT, and the few that did run off, there was always enough blood to follow that even someone like myself with less then ideal tracking skills could easily follow...

If you want to ensure a blood trail, you need 2 holes. If your not getting that with the 130g NBT, maybe move up to the 140g NBT for the added SD and heavier bullet with less impact velocity. Or you could switch to the AB's.

I"ve never had nothing but great things happen when animals met NBT's. Spectacular 1 shot kills is all I have to say, with little to no tracking required.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

I would go with a 140g AB or NBT, or 150g NBT and solve your problems.

I'd opt for the heavier of the 2 NBT's myself, as I dont think you need bonded bullets for deer.

 

[JD338]

My longest tracking job was on a heart shot buck, 2-3 jumps. The BT's just plain work.

JD338

 

[Guest]

This is a reply to some info I sent my son. It gives a better account of his BT performance this past year.

"Checked out the thread during lunch. I was lead to believe that the overall opinion was for the need for expansion. I also believe that NBT’s are considered expanding bullets……..? The recovered bullet from the deer I killed this year had definitely expanded. Exit wound size relative to entrance wound size on the pass through kills we cleaned this year were larger, indicating expansion occurred. I am beginning to believe that the NBT expands/fragments rapidly, especially if bone is contacted on entrance. The last two deer I shot this year behind the house were both shot > 140 yds. Both were hit behind the facing shoulder, and were standing essentially perfectly broadside. Each shot was a pass through, with a small (had to search to find it) entrance and a fairly sizeable exit (the one I cleaned had three mangled ribs on the exit side). They both bled extensively (you remember the one you picked up) and went a total of 0 ys when shot. I did not clean the second one, but on the first one the entrance was between the ribs, not through a rib bone. Would Accubonds exhibit less fragmentation when entering through bone? My feeling is no, but I don’t know. I guess I just need to practice hitting them between the ribs at 100 + yds and selecting placement to allow for proper exit…………….. :mrgreen: In retrospect, I killed five deer this year. Three were pass through kills- DRT, one was a pass through that went ~25yds, and one allowed bullet recovery and traveled ~35-40 yds. All in all, I guess one would have to say bullet performance has been pretty darn good. I fully believe the track job on Shane’s unrecovered deer was a placement issue and not a bullet issue. Still leaning towards trying some 140 gr Accubonds."

Jay
ar.

 

[SJB358]

Sounds like excellent bullet performance to me. I don't know if it would get much better than that with Accubonds. If he killed five and those were his results, I can't see any bullet doing much better. Bullet weight would help them stay together, but heck, you have dead deer. Shot placement will always bring home animals. A bad shot with a great bullet still doesn't guarantee backstraps. Scotty

 

[JD338]

If you put the BT where it needs to go on a deer, they die fast with out having to track them. Its all about shot placement. :wink:

JD338

 

[Powerstroke]

260fan,

In response to your Sons statement / question about the A-bonds not fragmenting while going through bone....
First pic is a 130 gr A bond recovered out of my Dad's elk this year with the 260 @ basically two hundred yards. Bullet traveled through the shoulder and was wedged in the spine.
Second is a 180 gr A-bond out of a 300 win found in the far shoulder socket of an elk......third pic if you look closely is the leg ball / socket... on the left side you can see the base of the bullet........ The A bonds will hold up and not fragment.
The good ole milk jug test / method will give a pretty decent actual detail of bullet performance.

 

[DrMike]

Now, that's what I'm talking 'bout! Some performance, Powerstroke. Those ABs flat work.

 

[rick smith]

260, your son's reply is in line with what has been posted. A little different from the initial post. I have hunting buddies that won't shoot NBTs because of stories they have heard. I have never had an issue with them as far as deer and hogs are concerned.Rick.