bullet
Handloader
- Dec 26, 2007
- 4,973
- 8
THAT FAMILIAR SATISFYING EXPERIENCE
- Thread starter bullet
- Start date
Great article Mike. I think I got the gist of the meaning. While I agree 100% for regular bullets for hunting deer sized game, and also regular bullets for big game such as moose/elk in Whelen/30-06 speed type cartridges, I really enjoy the ability of a PT to hang together in big bone out of 338's and 300's. I think we are all on the same page for bullets. A guy could probably hunt everything with his 30-06 and 165 PT's and never think a 2nd thought about the ability of the combo. Probably jump to a 200 or 220 and tackle the bigger bears as well and still never miss out on much.. All this is for the 0-500 yard shooter, which, I would probably think most of fall into. Love reading about bullets, and hearing how they acted when they hit different animals. Just one of those subjects I always enjoy.
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,654
- 5,417
Good article Mike!
I think one of the things that has happened, is that most of us hunt deer, for which standard cup & core bullets do a fine job.
The various heavy duty bullets seem mostly intended for hunting large, heavy, or dangerous game in difficult circumstances, and they do a good job at it.
They're NOT needed though on a 150 pound buck... I think an awful lot of us (and I've been guilty of it) are tempted to try the various premiums on our favorite (only?) game: deer. As you pointed out, a standard cup & core works just fine on deer... The heavy-duty premium bullets, so good for deep penetration on big game, often don't kill deer as quickly as a standard. At least that's my impression.
Might explain my fondness for the Nosler Ballistic Tip for deer hunting. Quick kills via accuracy, rapid expansion, adequate penetration, and a LOT of destruction in the vitals.
Guy
I think one of the things that has happened, is that most of us hunt deer, for which standard cup & core bullets do a fine job.
The various heavy duty bullets seem mostly intended for hunting large, heavy, or dangerous game in difficult circumstances, and they do a good job at it.
They're NOT needed though on a 150 pound buck... I think an awful lot of us (and I've been guilty of it) are tempted to try the various premiums on our favorite (only?) game: deer. As you pointed out, a standard cup & core works just fine on deer... The heavy-duty premium bullets, so good for deep penetration on big game, often don't kill deer as quickly as a standard. At least that's my impression.
Might explain my fondness for the Nosler Ballistic Tip for deer hunting. Quick kills via accuracy, rapid expansion, adequate penetration, and a LOT of destruction in the vitals.
Guy
- Oct 30, 2004
- 24,184
- 2,822
Bravo Mike. Great article!
- Thread starter
- #6
bullet
Handloader
- Dec 26, 2007
- 4,973
- 8
Well, I am glad you all liked the read. I will be taking a break on articles until after the first of the year, so good luck hunting and thanks for the encouragement.
truck driver
Ammo Smith
- Mar 11, 2013
- 7,260
- 792
Great read Mike I always enjoy your articles. I never considered using the ultra premiums until I got a 300 Wby.
cloverleaf
Handloader
- Sep 10, 2006
- 4,359
- 975
Really good article Mike. We all fall victim to the marketing....occasionally. The only real trouble with Core-lokts and Slivertips (remember those?) is that they kill stuff with boring regularity if you put them in the right place and dont expect everything to get blown off its feet. I have some 100 Gr PT's loaded up, but Ive had such good luck with BT's I see no need to change. Again, nice read. CL
Oldtrader3
Ammo Smith
- Nov 6, 2009
- 8,406
- 5
Mike, I took a short cut to Nosler Partitions in 1963 after a bullet failure on an elk and a deer bullet failure, both cup and core failures. Like John Nosler, I figured that the bullet was the cheapest component of my yearly hunting trips. Also being an engineer, I felt that John's logic was impeccable. I switched to Partitions and except for some recent regression to Ballistic Tips for smaller animals, I have stayed with Nosler Partitions ever since and never have had a single failure on many game animals shot once through the years with a Partition. You can not improve on those odds of 100% one shot kills for 50 years!
truck driver
Ammo Smith
- Mar 11, 2013
- 7,260
- 792
Two of my all time favorites are the Partition and Hornaday Interlock bullets. I've only had to track one deer shot with the Hornaday which wasn't the bullets fault or mine, seems I hit a twig I didn't see in the scope and it deflected the bullet causeing it to tumble. The bullet entered a large Doe just behind the shoulder on the left side taking out the top of the lungs bounced off a rib on the right side and traveled the full lenght of the dody coming to rest under the hide in the left hind leg. I tracked her blood trail ( what little bit I had ) for around 100yds before I found her curled up under a large muitiple rose bush DRT. The recovered bullet didn't expand a lot after being deflected by the twig and acted some what like a solid. The bullet in question was a Hornaday 165gr Spire Point Interlock loaded at a little over 2900fps in my 30-06. If it hadn't of bounced around inside her she may have bled out quicker but with no exit wound and only taking out one lung she had a lot of life left in her. It seems all game animals like to find the nastiest places to lay down and die.
Didn't mean to step on your posting just got carried away.
Didn't mean to step on your posting just got carried away.
