Bullet choice?

[bullets13]

I've been using Winchester silver tips, but I'm thinking about making a change.  Your thoughts?

[tvc184]

For larger calibers like .270 and larger, I don't think it really matter.

If you are talking about the Winchester ballistic silvertips, they are a polymer tip rifle ammo. It mostly stabilizes the round in flight and them rapidly expands the soft core. It is probably the most rapid expanding Winchester round and is meant to expend most of its energy in the animal but I normally get pass through shots. If those rounds will to through, I think almost anything will. If you send a high power rifle round through the heart and/or lungs, you are going to drop the animal.

Now if you are shooting a lighter round, then you might want to stay away from the rapid expanding rounds and get one that has more penetration. Every deer that I have killed with a rifle in the last five years was shot with a .223 in only 62gr and all were killed and the never went beyond 30 yards. For those kinds of rounds, a rapid and light varmint round might not do the trick or will do it but the deer will run farther and you might not leave a blood trail.

For a .243 and larger, I really don't think it matter much on the results and more what you have confidence in. Once you start reaching 100gr or more, as long as you don't have a true varmint round that almost explodes, you will be okay.

Did you have some problems with the silvertip?

[bullets13]

I shot a doe last year broadside double lunged and left an exit wound the size of my fist.  But this year I lungshot a hog (a little too far for me to feel comfortable headshooting) and didn't get an exit wound.  Then the big bodied buck I shot last week was quartering towards me.  I took out the front lung and into the guts (either that or let him walk, and I knew I'd get the lung).  He dropped, kicked for a few seconds, then stood back up and walked down the road and around a corner.  I shoot a TC encore single shot 25-06, and he only had to walk about 10 yards to make the corner, so I couldn't put another shot in him.  I got down after a few minutes and found good dark blood, a little frothy, and knew I'd gotten lung, but just a few drops here, a few there.  Waited for my dad to come from across the lease, and we started trailing.  Followed blood for 35-40 yards, and the trail just stopped, but we heard him try to get up and then fall down and start kicking, so we left him, went back to the cabin, and let him die.  Went back an hour later, went in the woods where we had heard him, found him after a couple of minutes.  But he went 50 yards, and only bled for 30.  No exit wound, and then entry had plugged with a piece of fat.  Our lease is all shooting lanes surrounded by thick brush because the trees burned last year, and tracking a weak blood trail is extremely difficult.  I want an exit wound on the occasion that I have to shoot at an angle that takes a longer path thru the body when the angle necessitates it.  I just wanted to hear some other hunters' thoughts.  Sorry for the novel :)

[tvc184]

A deep quartering round with a ballistic tip? Yeah, I could see that not penetrating, especially with a lighter round and/or on a hog. It will kill the same. Did you just get one lung?

With my .270 I used to shoot Silvertips with 130gr and never had a problem but they weren't deep quartering shots into the guts. I am wondering which rounds would penetrate in that situation. I have shot the 62gr quartering on most of my deer and got good exit holes on every one of them but they were all double lung shots and sometimes the heart also. They were never shallow quartering shot with the round going way back.

I know a lot of people use the old Remington Core-Lokt. They have been around since dirt but maybe that is why they are still here. Winchester also makes a much deeper penetrating round like the Power-Point and the bonded Power-Max. I have my .270 sighted for the Power-Max but haven't used it on a deer yet. I like the bonded rounds because they expand very well but hold together. Bonded rounds is what I shoot in the .223 and that tiny round makes about a .50 caliber exit hole. The bonded rounds just don't come apart.

I have never used them but I read a lot on the hunting forums around Federal bonded rounds (which is the same brand of law enforcement bonded rounds we use and I hunt with) and the Federal Barnes all copper bullets (no lead) like the Triple-Shock. Some of them have ballistic tips but no lead so the entire copper bullet only expands on the nose and the solid copper round holds together. I have the Federal bonded LEO rounds so I see no reason to think otherwise with their bonded hunting rounds and it is likely that they are the same thing under a different name.

I will say that the Federal rounds (Federal, Speer) are the only rounds that we issue for carrying on duty and that covers all pistol calibers, .308 and .223 and all bonded.

[Texasminuteman]

I stopped shooting the Remington Core-loc,a while back.Ive lost too many deer because of them.At first I thought it was me and then tried to blame it on the gun.A friend of mine told me to switch ammo and I did and havent lost a deer since. I now shoot Brock Lesner's advertised brand 'FUSION' and they work great.The cost is only a few dollars more than the Remington but its worth it.Im getting too old to be tracking deer just to end up losing them.

[puddin tane]

i like the ballistic silver tips in my 25-06..but too messy to reload ..switched to horandy sst....havent seen anything to pop one with em yet, so the jury is still out

[Uncle Si]

Ballistic tip rounds expand on impact, they usually cause lots of trauma but in many cases they will not exit the other side of the body cavity which is where most of the blood loss occurs.  Ballistic tips are fine however if you shoot and the animal does not go down immediately I would suggest giving it at least an hour to two hours before trying to blood trail, in most cases if the animal is left undisturbed it will bed down after running a small distance and die.  Dont ever push a deer too soon, give it time to bed and bleed.

[AggiesAreWe]

I prefer Silver Bullets. ;)

[Uncle Si]

[quote name="AggiesAreWe" post="1367530" timestamp="1359397489"]
I prefer Silver Bullets. ;)
[/quote]Silver bullets have the same effect as ballistic tips UNLESS you are hunting the ever elusive werewolf, they work great on them.  The wolfman will disentegrate at bullet impact which is a waste of good wolf meat and hide!!!  If werewolf is what you are after then I would suggest you start in Oklahoma because it is WIDELY speculated that the wolfman hangs out with bigfoot and he is from Oklahoma.  Happy hunting!

[PN-G bamatex]

I thought Bigfoot lived in Hardin County? That [i]Weird Texas [/i]book says so. It says he's even been spotted out there on the ghost road.

[westend1]

[quote name="PN-G bamakid" post="1368284" timestamp="1359577826"]
I thought Bigfoot lived in Hardin County? That [i]Weird Texas [/i]book says so. It says he's even been spotted out there on the ghost road.
[/quote]  It was traveling with one of those black panthers.

[Uncle Si]

[quote name="PN-G bamakid" post="1368284" timestamp="1359577826"]
I thought Bigfoot lived in Hardin County? That [i]Weird Texas [/i]book says so. It says he's even been spotted out there on the ghost road.
[/quote]No, that myth was debunked.  Come to find out it was just that guy that rides his murray ridin' lawn mower around the streets of Fred, however I have speculated that by the looks of some Fred residents that at some point in history there was a bigfoot in the woodshed!!!

[PN-G bamatex]

[quote name="westend1" post="1368313" timestamp="1359584940"]
It was traveling with one of those black panthers.
[/quote]

That's not that much of a myth. My dad had a run-in with a panther on Rayburn one time. WT Block did a series of articles about black panther sightings and maulings in Southeast Texas dating back to the late 1800s.

Unless you're talking about the Quanel X kind. ;D

[quote author=Uncle Si link=topic=107280.msg1368324#msg1368324 date=1359587707]
No, that myth was debunked.  Come to find out it was just that guy that rides his murray ridin' lawn mower around the streets of Fred, however I have speculated that by the looks of some Fred residents that at some point in history there was a bigfoot in the woodshed!!!
[/quote]

Don't tell these guys.

http://www.texasbigfoot.com/

Figures that a bunch of A&M grads are the ones looking for Bigfoot. ;D

[Uncle Si]

I had an Uncle that wore a size 16 1/2!!!  Now that is a BIGFOOT, Jack!!!

[AggiesAreWe]

[quote name="Uncle Si" post="1368190" timestamp="1359561975"]
[quote author=AggiesAreWe link=topic=107280.msg1367530#msg1367530 date=1359397489]
I prefer Silver Bullets. ;)
[/quote]Silver bullets have the same effect as ballistic tips UNLESS you are hunting the ever elusive werewolf, they work great on them.  The wolfman will disentegrate at bullet impact which is a waste of good wolf meat and hide!!!  If werewolf is what you are after then I would suggest you start in Oklahoma because it is WIDELY speculated that the wolfman hangs out with bigfoot and he is from Oklahoma.  Happy hunting!
[/quote]


I was actually referring to the Coors Light brand of bullets.  ;)

[Uncle Si]

[quote name="AggiesAreWe" post="1368628" timestamp="1359666710"]
[quote author=Uncle Si link=topic=107280.msg1368190#msg1368190 date=1359561975]
[quote author=AggiesAreWe link=topic=107280.msg1367530#msg1367530 date=1359397489]
I prefer Silver Bullets. ;)
[/quote]Silver bullets have the same effect as ballistic tips UNLESS you are hunting the ever elusive werewolf, they work great on them.  The wolfman will disentegrate at bullet impact which is a waste of good wolf meat and hide!!!  If werewolf is what you are after then I would suggest you start in Oklahoma because it is WIDELY speculated that the wolfman hangs out with bigfoot and he is from Oklahoma.  Happy hunting!
[/quote]


I was actually referring to the Coors Light brand of bullets.  ;)
[/quote]OH, that is a much better brand of bullets!!!!  Those would probably be really good bigfoot bait!! 

[PN-G bamatex]

[quote name="Uncle Si" post="1368558" timestamp="1359659386"]
I had an Uncle that wore a size 16 1/2!!!  Now that is a BIGFOOT, Jack!!!
[/quote]

Wait, your uncle was bigfoot? I guess that explains where all that facial hair comes from. ;D