Bullet selection

[mohawk]

To tie into the deer rifle thread, here is another aspect of taking game that needs consideration: the bullet. A wise feller by the handle Fuzz once said "it ain't the arrow; it's the indian". ;D There are many bullet brands and styles out there and I am curious what you all prefer for whatever game you shoot, be it white tails, grizzly bears, buffalo, prairie dogs, you know, anything you want to talk about.

[white316]

Very interesting thread mohawk,but i can only add to this tomorrow as i am not home as we speak and i have a wide range of bullets.

[fuzz269]

What a can of worms to open Mo

[fuzz269]

These are my main deer rifles

280 ackly = 140g nosler BT
25/06= 115 nosler BT
243= 95g Speer hot core
7mm08=140g Nosler BT
30-30= 150g hornady RN
308=150g hornady RN

For moose and elk
300win mag=180g barns X
45/70- 405g home cast hp

Coyotes/random vermon
223=50g speer tnt or 50g barns varmit granades
204=32g nosler BT

I am sure I forgot a few but that is the genral list. For the big tuff stuff them Barns x bullits are king. for acuracy and deer\black bear shootin the nosler balistic tips are awsome. If you are not loading the cartrige to the max any of the jacketed soft points perform great, you run into problems when you use a cheeper slug and push it to hard, keep the speed down alittle and they work flawlessly. Just my 2 penneys

[sneakysnake]

Most guns have a specific bullet that was designed when the guns were designed. Case in point, when the .270 was designed and built, the 130 grain bullet arrived at about the same time. I have found that both of my .270's shoot the 130 grain bullet better than any other bullet weight that will fit. I have tried many brands and bullet weights, I always went back to the 130 core lok. I don't even try other brand ammo now.

[mohawk]

Jul 31, 2010 22:51:52 GMT -5 fuzz269 said:

What a can of worms to open Mo

LOL!!!! Yes it is!
Sneakysnake, you are right on the money I am thinking. The barrels come with a certain twist rate and if you try to shoot a longer, heavier bullet from a barrel that is of a slower rate for the shorter and lighter bullets you may not get the performance you would like to see. I prefer the 130 grain in a 270 also. The reason I went on and asked this is because I read in FF&G this month where a feller is using hollow points for shooting yotes and cats in a 220 swift and getting minimal pelt damage, specifically the Sierra 52 gr BTHP match, which is what I load in my 222. The reason he states is that the copper jacket is heavier throughout the bullet construction, vs a lead tipped bullet where the copper jacket is thinner. I have found this to be true in the 243 and 308 on whitetails. I load an 85 gr bthp in the 243, and a 150 gr bthp in the 308 and have found that the bullet passes through. The internal damage is enough that the terminal performance is as good as any other to boot. I have been shooting them for several years now with consistent performance or I never would have brought it up, plus I have reinforcement in print via the magazine. ;D Rifle hollow points are designed different than pistol hollowpoints, which are meant to expand rapidly and at times fragment, but the points on the rifle bullets are very small openings so the hydraulic shock doesn't effect the rifle hp bullet like that of a handgun hp bullet. Back when I got that 222 I was shocked that the hp bullet didn't blow more of a hole in the pelt, and after several more the performance was the same, then after stepping up to deer I was really in awe. Sierra offers match grade hollow point bullets in lots of calibers that are deadly accurate once you get a load developed. I don't think I would use them for elk or anything though, in those I think I would have to go with the Barnes X or Trophy Bonded Bear Claw.

[sneakysnake]

I have investigated many shooting scenes. One thing I have consistantly found (in rifle ammo) is that the faster and smaller the bullet, the more it disintergrates at impact. A .223 HP will almost always go through one side of a car, and come apart in the interior of the car. It will even penetrate the support beams in the doors etc before comming apart. A solid point will go all the way through a car more often than not. Also something else that I consistantly found is that the smaller, faster bullets tended to deflect more often if fired from an angle. The shallower the angle is at entry, the wider it is at exit. This does not have much to do with hunting, but it may save you from sending a bullet in a direction that you do not want it to go. Safety Issue. Pistol ammo is a whole different story.

[white316]

I agree the 270 and the 130g go hand in hand.

[mohawk]

Well now I don't know much about shootin cars, but keep talkin SS, this info is GOLD! Now I am getting the idea about what angle the bullet needs to travel for the next jack ankle that comes rippin down my street! By solid point bullets are you talking full metal jackets or the lead tipped spire points? I agree that the smaller faster bullet will deflect more, this is especially true with wind although most people dont realize that fact in a hunting situation. I am not sure they should, especially if the critter struck piled up as it was supposed to, and died humanely. In a hunting situation it is often hard to call your shot as you may not have the best of rest like shooting from a concrete bench. I wouldn't recommend that a guy that hit a deer 2" forward move his scope 2" back without shooting from a bench first.
I have shot most of my deer with a 270. I tinkered with different bullet weights and found the 130 to be what it was meant to shoot, by comparing the measurements of the groups between the 130 and bullets of different weights both heavier and lighter. Different rifles like different loads though, it just seems the 130 gr is a more popular bullet weight in the 270. So you boys that shoot the 270: Where would you draw the line as far as game in North America, that you would shoot with that cartridge? (do I hear a can opener?) Same goes with you others that hunt, what do you prefer to shoot and where do you draw the line? The biggest rifle I own is a 308, I would load a 180 gr bear claw in it and go after a moose, but I am not sure I would be comfortable chasing 1100 lb. coastal grizzlies with it.

[fuzz269]

Mo, I never have owned a 270 but alot of my friend do, a bullet behind the shoulder and your moose is as good as in the freazer. I know a few fellas who shot g bears with them, only one was by choice but it worked lol. I am a food hunter and I want to make sure when I see my bull I can get him no matter what, I have shot them at under 50 feet to way ferther than any one should ever think about shootin them (I had no idea it was that far away and apperintly I jerked alittle high) so for these kind of conditions I use a 300 win mag with barns x bullets. It puts them in the dirt every time. Now deer I have fun with we are alowed 3 deer each so I get a chance to play with all my odd ball rifles and cartriges. I have shot them with about every gun I own, in the end it all comes down to the "indian not the arrow"

[white316]

I shoot 130-140-150 in my 270,,we don't have g bears but we have some big blacks and our biggest land animal the Canadian moose and the 270 puts them all down,,my all around favorite.

[mohawk]

;D For sure Fuzz. There was a gun writer from many years ago that was the worlds biggest fan of the 270. He traveled the world shooting all sizes of critters with that gun, even wrote about killing an elephant with it by reloading the bullet backwards so the bullets base lead the way. I want to say his name is Ackley.

[sneakysnake]

FUll metal jacket is for sure what I meant... Military Style ammo

[mohawk]

I kind of figured it was, considering the environment you were using them in.

[utahtrapper]

mo,,paul ackley was the gunsmith,i think your talking about jack o'connor,,he was the man who took nearly every thing possible with a 270.