6.5x284 close range shot

[jbcason]

Curious....what powder are you loading with?

40.3 of 4350. My speed isn't quite what yours is but its super accurate.

 

[jbcason]

40.3 of 4350. My speed isn't quite what yours is but its super accurate.View attachment 412759

 

[jbcason]

Obviously some unintended pictures got on there. Sorry.

 

[jumpmasterkolo]

I was on a disabled SOF veterans hunt for Veterans' Day in Texas hunting a down a 1000+ yd long firebreak with my 6.5 PRC and 143 ELD-X for a pop up blind and as per, a 9-pt walked out right in front of us at 27 yds.
Big buck! Yes or No?!?! YES take him BOOM! Blew all the window out of the blind and the deer just disappeared in the smoke. Luckily my guide saw what happened. Hit him right in the shoulder and threw him backward. DRT

 

[WV Hitman]

That's why I don't use ELD-Xs. Had the same damage on a deer ay 565 yds. from my 6.5/.284 XP 100.
I use ABs, NBTs, and Nosler Solid bases. Never get that kind of damage, but get one shot kills like on a 800# kudu at 368 yds. Dropped him.

 

[Nomosendero]

That is unusual, I thought maybe you were confused. In all the deer I've shot I have yet to see a large entrance and a small exit.

It is more common of course to see a larger exit wound but I would not call it odd or unusual to have a bigger entrance wound. Like Fiftydriver said, sometimes a quick energy dump with this type bullet but I have seen it even with a TTSX type bullet, you may hit a bone just right just under the skin and weird things happen when you take enough Deer. I am way past 3 digits at this point and sometimes bullets do the unexpected, even the more "predictable" types.
No surprise for me in this case at all!

 

[M1A1ABRAMS]

deleted

 

[Flatbow]

Looks as though That hole in the carcass was made after going through the shoulder which started the violent destruction of the bullet. I am curious what the shoulder looked like. The small exit most likely just a part of the bullet jacket exiting at much slower velocity of course.
That is why I no longer use Eldx in my 6.5.
Does not penetrate deep enough for my liking before almost completely disintegrating on close range shots and considering that here in N. Idaho I could be shooting at quit a variety of game up to and including Elk.
I went to the Barnes LRX mono and have had amazing results with it.
The front peels back and mushrooms and depending on remaining velocity they may break of in larger pedal size peaces not tiny fragments and the remander of the bullet keeps penetrating amazingly well.
Just my 2 cents is with the smaller higher bullets there is just not enough mass there to have anything left after impact with most LR BULLETS unless they are bonded bullets or Mono's.
I am REALLY liking the mono

 

[jbcason]

I have excellent results out of the Berger VLD hunting bullets. They are des to penetrate 2-3 inches and then do their work. Devastating to the internals.

 

[mb6355]

I have excellent results out of the Berger VLD hunting bullets. They are des to penetrate 2-3 inches and then do their work. Devastating to the internals.

Considering using these in both a 6.5 and 7mm. Is the damage enough to where you think meat loss is an issue compared to an ELDx or similar bullets?

 

[Turpentine21]

Many years ago, mid to late 80's, my hunting buddy called me and asked if I could come take care of a deer he had shot while running the combine cutting soybeans. He showed me where the deer was and told me he had shot him dead broadside right in the shoulder. We had a deer problem at that time and the two of us killed quite a few back in those days.
Anyway, I get to the deer and load him and sure enough he's hit dead in the shoulder but I immediately smell gutshot. There was no exit. My buddy assures me he was perfectly broadside so I go skin the deer and hang it. . It was a nasty process. The bullet had gone straight thru the left shoulder, hit the offside shoulder, and had somehow taken a 90 degree turn. It then traveled lengthwise through liver, guts and the left ham. I removed the battered, but somewhat mushroomed bullet from just under the skin in the left ham two inches from the anus. The deer was DRT as you folks like to say. Just how this bullet managed to pinball around inside the carcass is beyond me. If I had not seen it myself I probably would not have believed it. My friend had just come back from out west and had gone a bit magnum crazy. So he set aside his old 30/06 that he had literally killed hundreds of deer with. The range was 125 yards. The gun used was a 300 win mag with 150 grain Remington corelokts. My thoughts on the bullet was that it was light for caliber but we had always had good results with it in 30/06, 308, and in 270 with the 130 version. I guess the whole point of this story, other than entertainment value, is that bullets can definitely do some crazy, unexpected things sometimes. One thing I did notice during my friends brief stint with the 300 Win mag was that deer hit in the pocket ( our terminology for the classic behind the shoulder shot) seemed to run dead on their feet a good deal farther than deer hit this way with the 270s and 30-06s we usually used. I have no explanation for this. You would think that with that much speed the sheer shock would be through the roof. Sample size of 30 or so shot with the Win mag. Hundreds shot with 30/06 and 270. I've always shot shoulder and will continue to because of the very thick briar beds, cutovers, and proximity to water where I hunt. Hitting bone transfers more shock. Most shoulder shot deer go nowhere. The few that do move don't go far at all. It's a shot I have a lot of confidence in. However, many of my friends pocket shoot their deer so I've been in on a lot of those "Dead Run Recoveries". The one caliber I noticed over the years that would drop a deer straight down when shot in the crease or pocket quite often was the 7mm REM mag with Remington 140 grain soft points. Not corelokts, just plain old soft points. Now we have "More Better" cartridges,I guess, but bullets have come a long, long way. I'm not a magnum guy, I don't care for excess recoil, muzzle blast, muzzle brakes, etc. But my brother really liked the 7 mag.. The energy dump from the soft point bullet at that speed did the job and did it quick. He got exits the majority of the time as well.
On another note, Thankfully, my friends stint with the 300wm was short lived. There's certainly nothing wrong with the caliber but he finally figured out, with some persuasion from us, that he just plain couldn't shoot it as well as he could shoot his "old" 30-06. In short, he just couldn't handle the recoil and muzzle blast and it affected his accuracy.
Sorry For the long rambling post, it's raining, I'm bored, and I figured some of you might enjoy the conversation.

 

[birddog 68]

Considering using these in both a 6.5 and 7mm. Is the damage enough to where you think meat loss is an issue compared to an ELDx or similar bullets?

Lots of threads about Berger on game performance on here. My opinion is that they work great on game but if you're worried about meat loss I would stay away from shoulder shots. Behind the shoulder is my preference when using Berger and they don't go far!

 

[Nuclear Worker]

40.3 of 4350. My speed isn't quite what yours is but its super accurate.View attachment 412759

I am using Tetumbo

 

[Panhandle Pete]

Many years ago, mid to late 80's, my hunting buddy called me and asked if I could come take care of a deer he had shot while running the combine cutting soybeans. He showed me where the deer was and told me he had shot him dead broadside right in the shoulder. We had a deer problem at that time and the two of us killed quite a few back in those days.
Anyway, I get to the deer and load him and sure enough he's hit dead in the shoulder but I immediately smell gutshot. There was no exit. My buddy assures me he was perfectly broadside so I go skin the deer and hang it. . It was a nasty process. The bullet had gone straight thru the left shoulder, hit the offside shoulder, and had somehow taken a 90 degree turn. It then traveled lengthwise through liver, guts and the left ham. I removed the battered, but somewhat mushroomed bullet from just under the skin in the left ham two inches from the anus. The deer was DRT as you folks like to say. Just how this bullet managed to pinball around inside the carcass is beyond me. If I had not seen it myself I probably would not have believed it. My friend had just come back from out west and had gone a bit magnum crazy. So he set aside his old 30/06 that he had literally killed hundreds of deer with. The range was 125 yards. The gun used was a 300 win mag with 150 grain Remington corelokts. My thoughts on the bullet was that it was light for caliber but we had always had good results with it in 30/06, 308, and in 270 with the 130 version. I guess the whole point of this story, other than entertainment value, is that bullets can definitely do some crazy, unexpected things sometimes. One thing I did notice during my friends brief stint with the 300 Win mag was that deer hit in the pocket ( our terminology for the classic behind the shoulder shot) seemed to run dead on their feet a good deal farther than deer hit this way with the 270s and 30-06s we usually used. I have no explanation for this. You would think that with that much speed the sheer shock would be through the roof. Sample size of 30 or so shot with the Win mag. Hundreds shot with 30/06 and 270. I've always shot shoulder and will continue to because of the very thick briar beds, cutovers, and proximity to water where I hunt. Hitting bone transfers more shock. Most shoulder shot deer go nowhere. The few that do move don't go far at all. It's a shot I have a lot of confidence in. However, many of my friends pocket shoot their deer so I've been in on a lot of those "Dead Run Recoveries". The one caliber I noticed over the years that would drop a deer straight down when shot in the crease or pocket quite often was the 7mm REM mag with Remington 140 grain soft points. Not corelokts, just plain old soft points. Now we have "More Better" cartridges,I guess, but bullets have come a long, long way. I'm not a magnum guy, I don't care for excess recoil, muzzle blast, muzzle brakes, etc. But my brother really liked the 7 mag.. The energy dump from the soft point bullet at that speed did the job and did it quick. He got exits the majority of the time as well.
On another note, Thankfully, my friends stint with the 300wm was short lived. There's certainly nothing wrong with the caliber but he finally figured out, with some persuasion from us, that he just plain couldn't shoot it as well as he could shoot his "old" 30-06. In short, he just couldn't handle the recoil and muzzle blast and it affected his accuracy.
Sorry For the long rambling post, it's raining, I'm bored, and I figured some of you might enjoy the conversation.

I used to shoot Hornady 150 grain round nose bullets in my 270 Win. , they certainly were not fast but it was a deadly deer load with minimal meat loss, speed and hydro-static shock wave cause lots of tissue damage.