Cast Boolit Effects on Game

[bisleyfan41]

I have to say neither the accubonds or partitions will group MOA in either guns. The cheap corelocts and ballistic tips will all touch at 100 yards in both guns and will put deer down on the spot.

My experience is the same. The "grenade" effect the lighter-constructed bullets have really hammers them.

[444ttd]

i have many deer with the 270win and the 130gr nosler bt. at under 100 yards, the bt acts like a grenade. over 100 yards, it mushrooms and goes thru the deer. the furthest i shot was about 375+/- yards away, a thru and thru in the lungs.

what i don't like about bt, is its propensity to act like a grenade and not leave a blood trail. every deer i shot at 100 yards or less, ran after the shot. sure, it was only 40-50 yards, but they did not bleed. never a good time when the deer are swallowed by the brush and jaggers.

i "think" that the ballistic tip was moving too fast(2900-3000fps) to mushroom. i also think that 2800fps and less is optimum bullet performance(meaning the bullet mushrooms). i never had a chance to work this theory out, because i got into cast boolits and thats where i'll stay.

i have the 140gr hornady sst(270 win) that will go 2800fps, already loaded up.


130gr nosler bt and imr4320(left group(5 shots)

[Tripplebeards]

I shot a few deer with a 180 grain NBT out my 06 at 2650 fps and it drops them like Thors hammer. It just makes the whole cavity like jello inside. Big mess gutting so I quit using them. Same bullet out of a 300 RUM round 3200 fps dropped a black bear where it stood but made the same internal mess. The .308 180 grain nosler ballistic tip knocks animals over like bowling ball pins every time I pulled the trigger when I use to use them. They just made to big of a mess inside deer so I switched back to core locts.

[HD.375]

So recently an not the first time , a few occaisions now the animal / deer in this instance, has needed a coup de grace when hit with this cast 375 FN jobby , the shot hit behind the arm pit and exited about liver on far side, deer was somewhat angling toward a bit.. good damage and blood trail after 20 yards, an it went another 20 yards an sat down. this has happend couple times.

we waited maybe 5 -10 mins before goin in search of animal...
is it case of placement not ideal, tad forward for the angle?
thats huntin..

this was 60m with williams peep an factory front, filed a little slimmer but nt alot, couldnt really place it any more as bead covers animal enough n target sholder region...?
100m is stretching it imo without just havin some luck the bead covering the vitals and the bullets path cuts the goods.... ? or limit to 75 or so, OR file that bead down more to almost pin like head...... thats an option, as long as it works for focusing on.. ?!
it was also late in the arvo with that 5-10 mins of light left , which i understand can alter the poa with shadows n the darkness etc... anyway, fresh meat

[ChristopherO]

HD.375, did the wound angle catch both lungs or one lung and the liver? Though there is 30% of the blood in the liver at all times they don't always bleed out as fast as a double lung shot. I find for Whitetail deer that most of the time they will run, die on their feet and hit the ground without a twitch. Yet, there are always those times when a follow up ensures a quick kill. That can happen with cast and jacketed projectiles. The will to live is amazing.

I had filed my front sight post down to a finer point, too, and really liked how that helped in aiming. But something got knocked off and I had to start from scratch with a big square (partridge style) front post. After this coming hunting season I'll likely file it to a finer point again. Wish they would come that way from Skinner. Love their Aperture Sights, Front post is quite wide, though. I try to set it for a 6 O'clock hold with a bit of overlap on the target at 100 yds.

[HD.375]

HD.375, did the wound angle catch both lungs or one lung and the liver?
Love their Aperture Sights, Front post is quite wide, though. I try to set it for a 6 O'clock hold with a bit of overlap on the target at 100 yds.

It is quite possible wit hthe angles that it caught just one an put a hole in liver id assume- proberly a tad Low entry!

yeah theres an interesting point too you make, where the poi is on the bead , ive been somewhat centre bead at 100m or 'bang on' per se.... i may elevate it somewhat so it shoots a bit more along the top of the bead / top 1/4th which may help a bit of over lap for a bit of deer in sight an not jus its back half !
more filing is in order too!

thanks!

[beltfed]

HD375,
Be careful about the idea of sighting with the top of the bead as in a "6:00" hold,
I recall shooting at a large buck with my M86 45=70 with peep and bead and had sighted it for a "top of the bead"
hold. It was a fast, moving shot, and I shot over its back....
I had sub consciously held the bead "center mass"
PS. The bead on my M86 is an ivory 1/16" bead that I had filed to a "square"
Since resighting the rifle to a centermass hold , no problem with fast shots

beltfed/arnie

[wolfdog]

I shoot cast in my 357s, 38-55, 35rem and 45-70. On game, I don't think a jacketed bullet is going to give me any sort of improved performance. Bump up the speed another thousand FPS and things change, IMHO.

[ChristopherO]

HD375,
Be careful about the idea of sighting with the top of the bead as in a "6:00" hold,
I recall shooting at a large buck with my M86 45=70 with peep and bead and had sighted it for a "top of the bead"
hold. It was a fast, moving shot, and I shot over its back....
I had sub consciously held the bead "center mass"
PS. The bead on my M86 is an ivory 1/16" bead that I had filed to a "square"
Since resighting the rifle to a centermass hold , no problem with fast shots

beltfed/arnie

beltfed makes a good point, especially if the Bullseye is large and the 6 O'clock hold is at the very bottom. I've seen some huge 6 O'clock targets folks have printed out. I use a 3" Bullseye to sight in and, as mentioned previously, overlap so the holes appear just above the bead and still in the Bullseye, or slightly above, if I do everything correct. Sometimes they are above and below the bead, but are still a keeper group and should stay in the vitals, even if running. My eyes aren't as sharp as once they were, so if I can keep a 3" group of 5 at 100 yards with a peep sight off shooting sticks I am a happy camper. Where I once could shoot a MOA target with a 1" black dot with an aperture site, I have a hard time now keeping a 3" spot in view at the same range.

[HD.375]

I wnt out the rain today, non stop for 48 hours so i had to go walkabout while it eased mid afternoon.
i was able to lay eyes on a big sambar hind down below me in the creek, 50 meters exactly ranged AFTER the fact I sent a 245gr FN .375 toward her.
At the shot, this one Dropped in her tracks- she was alert on to me-
she Dropped an kicked a few times, then a few seconds later kicked an thrashed but made attempt to get up- bull dozing her way up stream on the bank before launching into the Creek as a last resort.
it was in there i heard her last breathes

fair to say the deer ran approx 20m after the shot.

never got to see entry an exit as she found herself bulldozing through inpenetrable black berrie bush and sounding like finishing up in the creek itself. sigh.

regardless, this has lifted my confidence with this Load.... the bang drop showed it had plenty of oomph and the shot death run was signs of good performance once the boolit went in done its thing an exited.

i'll be trying hard to get a killshot from the Lever on video in these comin weeks... it was too wet to think about filming todays hunt.

[ElCheapo]

I don't know that I have anything really different to share, as my experiences have been the same as what others have posted. In the woods at shorter ranges, I prefer cast bullets for their good wounding ability and reliable penetration. I've used water quenched COWW's in 357 and 30-30 rifles for deer. Nice big meplats in both calibers have dropped deer very quickly with good bullet placement. Last one I shot with a Lyman 311041 was caught in the far shoulder and dropped in it's tracks. This year I'm trying the Lyman 311008, partially because I do shoot at close ranges, but also because I'm PCing these bullets and I want to see how they perform. I'm betting the hardness drop from heating them during the PCing process will aid in expansion and help them hold together for complete penetration. I'll find out in a couple weeks! I also use an NOE 22 caliber 38 grain flatpoint bullet for reduced loads in my 22 hornet. I PC these as well, and 5 grains of Herco gets me 2200 fps and great accuracy for a 22 mag equivalent load. These bullets are instant death on groundhogs here on the farm. Accurate, quiet and cheaper to shoot than 22lr.

Again, I'll echo what others have stated and say I like Jword bullets for longer ranges. In the woods with higher velocity calibers such as 308, 30-06, 270, etc., performance can be unpredictable. You may get full penetration or you may not, depending on shot placement. Lung shots turn a deer's insides into soup, causing death fairly quickly, but you also may waste a lot of meat if you hit a shoulder. In any case, be advised these calibers can make a mess of things at short ranges. IMHO they work better farther out, where reduced velocity limits expansion and increases penetration. Lower velocity cartridges like the 30-30 and 35 Rem work great at woods ranges with the Jwords. In fact, they are ideal. Expansion and penetration are perfect most of the time, resulting in quick death to the animal and little or no bloodshot meat.