Bullet design poll

[interlock]

ok guys as a follow on to the other two polls i have submitted.

we now know what cartridges are favourite by thr users, what bullet weights now we will do bullet designs. Remember this is for a one bullet for general deer use from your favourite bottle necked rifle cartridge. I am quite sure i have missed some options off... and i am quite sure you guys will see me right!!

I have used this type of cartridge because this is what i know. I don't really have enough knowledge to look at rounds like 30-30, 45-70 etc

thanks guys.

if you like one for instance hornadies sst which is a polymer tipped bonded boat tail then please vote for the nearest or other and then explain in your entry.

interlock (aka uk roe hunter)

 

[Shawnee]

Can't say I really have a very specific favorite design because several have been quite good.

I usually buy/use some flavor of Hornady bullets but there are several Sierras that I like just fine too.

I also usually lean toward boattails but, again, that isn't a hard-fast rule.

 

[MCgunner]

Depending on caliber, but I picked Game Kings because that's what I use in two of my rifles. I use ballistic tips in .30 caliber.

I like barnes, but for heavier game. Deer don't require the controlled expansion expensive stuff.

 

[moooose102]

my favorite deer hunting bullet is winchester sivertips. not the new ballistic tip version, the old school aluminum tipped bullets. i grew up with them, and at that time they were as good as it got. while these may not be the "latest and greatest" technology has to offer, i know they work. and they are still one of the better bullets made. for me, it is hard to argue wth sucsess. of couse, a lot of you would dismiss me as an "old codger". but thats ok. with age comes experience. they are now on the edge of extinction, so i suppose eventually, i will have to try something else. but for now, i will just sit on my "stash" and hold onto them until i run out.

 

[Harve Curry]

So far I'm the only cast bullet shooter. I use the 45-70 with a Lyman/Gould 330gr HP @ 1500fps cast of wheel weights and dropped in water from the mold. I've been shooting deer with it using a 1881 Marlin for 15 years. Have not missed or lost a deer to it
Tried it on Oryx and was dissappointed. I either have to shoot more accurately or get a heavier bullet and still shoot more accurately.

 

[pbrktrt]

i've become a real believer in Hornady's sst bullet. very accurate & excellent terminal performance on deer in my 270. their interbond is an excellent choice for heavier game also. they just seem to be as a company, a step or two ahead of everyone else.

 

[Sunray]

FMJ's are illegal for deer hunting, in most places. A V-Max varmint bullets are not suitable for deer sized game either. Varmint bullets are designed to expand rapidly upon impact with little penetration. Neither is an A-Max or any other match grade bullet.
Deer don't need a premium bullet either. A Remington Cor-lokt will do. Mind you, I don't use factory ammo. A .243 Speer 105 SP works just fine.

 

[interlock]

sunray, you are right in all you say. however, it doesn't stop guys from using them!

 

[Maverick223]

Ballistic Silvertips

I really like the ballistic silvertips, however there are not many factory loads available for my rifle, .270WSM. This load seems to have excellent trajectory, whilst maintaining effective expansion and penetration. For close range engagements there are probably cheaper rounds that are similarly effective or even superior, but I like the thump they provide at a relatively long range. Deer in my neighborhood must be more picky...

 

[147 Grain]

Ballistic Tip Overview:

Ballistic Tips (BT's) were designed by John Nosler for violent expansion / explosion and medium penetration on light-skinned animals like deer. For most calibers shooting fragile BT's, you're better off using heavier projectiles with larger Sectional Density's (SD's) than you would normally use for a regularly constructed soft point bullet.

Why?

1. Heavy for caliber bullets are better in a BT because they tone down the violent expansion a bit and still have enough weight leftover for a extra penetration or a complete pass-through. Lighter BT bullets often fail to penetrate to the other side of the animal.

2. The shock-value with the heavier BT will still be more than lighter standard soft point bullets like 150-gr. and you get more downrange energy on target with the 180-gr. (fragile) load.

3. Short range shots also suit the heavier 180-gr. round with a higher SD versus lighter weight BT'd bullets with less mass that might blowup too quickly.

4. Raking quartering-away shots obviously benefit from a heavier bullet for adequate penetration.

5. A larger BT'd bullet is also more forgiving if you shoot accidently into the shoulder.
___________________

* Nosler says that beginning with the 30 caliber 180-gr. Ballistic Tips (and larger), the jacket's profile is changed or upgraded to a much stronger contour similar to the AccuBond (shown below). The lead core is also hardened over the 165-gr. and below bullets in smaller calibers - to include the 150-gr. you're considering.

Lighter weight bullets like 165-gr. 30 caliber and lower (shown below) do not have the thicker contour which starts in the middle of the shell and goes down to the base.

In summary, one might infer that the 180-gr. Ballistic Tip is simply a non-bonded version of the AccuBond.

In Summary:

* Soft point bullets generally perform better on deer in lighter to mid-weight sizes, but BT's do not!
* For best performance, Nosler recommends heavy for caliber BT's.
* Reported problems of a BT blowing up too quickly are generally associated with too light of a bullet.
* Remember, remember.... Ballistic Tipped rounds are the exception to the rule!

Steve

P.S. I like a bullet to perform two things in my 30-06:

1. Violent expansion / shock.
2. Plenty of penetration for a pass-through, which 150-gr. and 165-gr. most likely will not do the majority of the time!

Nosler makes 4 great aerodynamic rounds to accomplish any North American hunting task:

1. Ballistic Tip
2. Solid Base
3. AccuBond
4. Partition

* Light skinned / boned deer = 180-gr. Ballistic Tip / Solid Base / AccuBond
* Heavy skinned / boned elk = 180-gr. Partition / AccuBond

 

[Sinixstar]

My favorite round to hunt with was a 485gr cast Buffalo Arms .50 cal out of my ML.
Behind that - was the same ML, but with a .45 JHP of some sort in a sabot.

 

[357sigRog]

For my 270 I like Federal Vital Shok Nosler Partition 150gr. In my 243 it is Rem. 100gr core-loks. It just depends on the rifle and the caliber I am hunting with at the time.

 

[JimmAr]

Someone needs to make more of these little sexies..

As far as hunting goes..aside from match..we'll call this little guy "claymore" out of the 30-06

IF YOU DONT LIKE REAL WORLD RESULTS DONT SCROLL DOWN.

Looks like some permanent cardiac arrest to me..

 

[Pulse]

Someone needs to make more of these little sexies..

Lima KJG, good stuff, but rather expensiv.

 

[interlock]

in my opinion and i respect all of the other contributors posting here (this is why i looked at these polls) a bullet that fragments while deer shooting is a failiure. I like my bullets to stay together and expand into a full mushroom and fully penetrate. This is why i don't use balliatic tips and sst. At the ranges i shoot and with the speeds of my reloaded rounds they would fragment pretty heavily.

 

[JimmAr]

Lima KJG, good stuff, but rather expensiv.

I couldnt find anyone even lima that sells them.. :/

I wanna buy a mold..

Anywho..Merry Christmas everyone.. and God bless..

 

[jeepmor]

I've only used fusion on game and was very happy with the results. Plus they shot sub MOA, so I didn't even bother looking for something else besides a first batch of handloads.

 

[gvnwst]

I couldnt find anyone even lima that sells them.. :/

I wanna buy a mold

Buy them right from Lutz moller (the guy who makes them) he ships here. They are expensive though They are turned, a mold wouldn't work well at all.....