Hunters (Especially Big Game Guys)...Which Bullet Has Performed badly for You

My experience was similar to CamoCops. I shot a small (87 lbs dressed) 8 point quartering away slightly with a 295grain Powerbelt CVA bullet, and it fragmented, and did not exit. The deer ran about 100 yards on a shot that I have never had a deer run on before. The shot was at about 55 yards. I like bullets that exit.
 
Thanks for the response taylor. I do it because it still works and they are varmints anyways.

I posted the results because I have concerns about the vast difference between the two projectiles.

I wouldn't even use the BK's on bobcats. They proove that weak.
Not enough penetration to consider reaching vitals more than an inch from the hide.
 
Yithan, I definatly understand that wild/feral pigs are varmints. I just don't really think that the .204 Ruger is a good choice on any anmimal that weighs in over 50+/- pounds. I just didn't see your bullets as failing, just being expceted to do more than what they were designed for.

I will agree as well that not all varmint bullets are fur friendly, and it takes trial and error to find the ones that are. I like Sierra 55 grain HP's for saving fur on coyotes, if I can center punch one with my .223 in the chest at the base of the neck I've never had one exit. I do loose a hide every now and then as I don't always get that shot, but I only get around $15 for a whole coyote (I don't like to skin them) so I don't feel bad if it can't be saved. I still get a $3 bounty on the ears so it isn't a total loss, I still get a gallon of gas out of the deal.:D
 
Eh nevermind my story's not really got a point - I had one bullet blow up out of several used, wrecked up one deer pretty good - but don't really want to say the whole bullet performed badly on account of one deviation from what I expected. Just blowing a lot of time on the boards today and wanted to contribute to an interesting read :P
 
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Lost a big cow elk that was shot with my .50 caliber muzzleloader.

Gun: .50 Caliber CVA Magnum Hunter
Powder: 150 grains of Pyrodex RS
Bullet: Thompson Center 300 grain PTX
Range: 85 yards

I shot an elk through both lungs at 7:15 am. Five of us looked all day for the animal. She was found at 6 am the next day about one-half mile from where the blood trail petered out. The elk was taken out by the finder: He later told me that the exit hole was the same size as the entry hole and that very little lung tissue was destroyed.
 
130 grain ballistic silvertip in 270 WSM

No penetration on pronghorn. The bullet basically blew up upon impact. I shot it a couple times at short range, which did nothing but scare the hell out of it, and then finally had a bullet hold together and penetrate once the pronghorn was about 100 yards away.

I bought like 5 boxes of that ammo on sale, and have not taken it out of the closet since.
 
I've hunted using both Remington core-lokts and Winchester ballastic tips and I can honestly say that neither has performed badly if I do my job. By doing my job I mean good shot placement above all else. Regardless of bullet, a bad shot is a bad shot. As Kennedy proved, there is no "magic bullet" that will cure a bad shot.
 
150gr sivertips out of a 06, will and do blow up on the surface. Only good thing they would be used for is shooting paper at the range..
elkman06
 
elkman06, is that the regular silvertips or the newer ballistic silvertips.


My dad has had good success with the 180 Silvertips in his 308.
 
remington core lokt have been the poorest performers from factory loads at all ranges and calibers

I have had good performance with winchester silvertip, but real close shots did not perform well on the faster velocity calibers I shoot (failed to expand).
 
whitefish,, the last ones I used were in 1975 so I guess the old style. I reload now so not something I would ever load.
elkman
 
Old Nosler ballistic tips in 7mm rem mag. blew up on the shoulder of a deer shot at 160 yds. Went back to 139 btsps ever since. no problems. Shot several nice Nilgai w/ it. (think elk sized animals)
 
A buddy of mine wanted me to post this...

A whitetail doe at 75 yards with 7mm Weatherby using Grand Slams. Caught a piece of the shoulder and the bullet went kaboom! This experience essentially sold him on Barnes X (he keeps trying to convince me to switch to them).
 
I know this thread has all but expired, but I was poking around here and wanted to add my two cents. Besides, with the fall not too far off, many of us will be working on our handloads for the hunt(s), so maybe a revival isn't a bad thing.

By no means is this meant to stir the pot, but last year I took a 200lb Blacktail with regular old 150gr Rem. CoreLokt (the $13/box walmart variety), out of a Savage 30/06 @ 20yds. Now, perhaps the close range was a factor, but the animal took one step (he was in a light trot) and dropped. As for the bullet, it pretty much snapped one rib and ruptured the heart, breaking into two chunks, penatrating about halfway through the chest. However, there was no exit wound.
 
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Ken,

I have used conventional, 60's-era .30 cal (30-30, .308 & '06) 150-180 grain softpoints on several deer apiece and have yet to lose one. Essentially no tracking involved either. I used a Privi Partizan 175 grain 7x57 SP (from an original 7mm rolling block, no less) on a running doe about 20 years ago and flattened her. Granted, 250-300 pound animals are big ones here and the .30's are more than 'up to the task'.

If I had the good fortune to live & hunt in your country, I'd probably trade the 30-30 for a .375 Win, and pick up a .338 WM or .375 H&H for anything beyond that. It's hard to argue with 75-100 grains more bullet when the local fauna can teeter-totter with a fat boy on a Harley Davidson.

The conventional bullets work fine but you have to use enough gun, enough bullet, and then put that bullet where it needs to go.
 
Remington Core Lokt in 180 grain with a German Mauser 30-06.
It is a real dog on Georgia whitetail. I killed 20 of 'em with this slug, but never could get it to expand. Damn deer would run 120 yards with holes through both lungs.
I got a .30 entrance and a .35 exit.
 
"You know my experiences with accubonds from "Accubond Performance?".

Other than that, I took a 50-75 yard running shot at a small whitetail doe using a 180gr PowerPoint (factory load) out of the same 300 Win Mag. I hit the back hip and it REALLY exploded. There were chunks of copper and lead all over the place. Basically destoyed the hind quarters.

That said, both of these bullets have performed perfectly at ranges over 125 yards in the past. I think both are good performers at the right velocity/energy. Depending on what gun is used, thats going to translate into range.

Browning A-Bolt II 300 Win Mag - 26" barrel - 1 in 10 twist"

Unethical.
I am sorry to see that you shoot deer in the ass at 50 yards.
Please stick to standing still shots henceforth.
 
Sarge, your last statement is right on. I believe shot placement is much more important then what kind of boolit you fling.

That being said, unlike last year, I'm reloading now, and will be hunting deer with a custom 6.5mm. I've been shooting 140gr Hornady Interlocks with decent results (for an old gun that needs a barrel). I am however, considering using a premium bullet this year, perhaps a Nosler Partition.

I was leaning toward a tipped/bonded like Accubond or Interbond, but reading about how the ballistic tips are "exploding" when hitting bone, now I'm not so sure. Question is, most of those reports are from guys shooting the fast 300's, so, would a slower gun like mine perform a little better with say, an Accubond?
 
dad shot a ~100 pound antelope with a 130 seirra from a .270 win.while it did its job I was less than impressed the bullet lost its jacket and failed to exit.IIRC the shot was nearly broadside.IMHO it should stay together on such a small animal.
 
gedenke- thanks. My guess is that your bullet selection for your 6.5 will work out fine.

The standard Nosler BT is probably not the best choice for 'fast 30's' or fast anything, unless severe fragmentation is your goal. I run the 150 BT at 2944 fps from Peggi's '06 and it is still a chest-grenade at 200+ yards. You can actually hear it impact over the report at that distance, and it sounds like it's hitting wet paper or water jugs.

Does it stay together? Nope. I shoot shoulders/spine and they rarely exit. No matter. It is a wicked, deer-slaying machine. Where you shoot 'em is where you find 'em.

It also happens to be exceptionally accurate in her rifle, which is why keep loading it. In terminal ballistics it is not unlike the original 130 grain 270 load that Mavracer mentioned. They were both designed to meet perceived shortcomings in the 30/150 loads I mentioned above- and kill deer as well at 250 yards as the old stand-bys did at 100. This they do, but the price you pay is a little wrecked meat and passed-up Texas Heart Shots.
 
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