Pass through or Expended in Target?

[cornshank]

243, 87 gr Hornady flat base spire point, using WW 760 for 3100 fps. Same rifle and bullet for 40 years. I am pretty selective on the shots I take. 10 day season here and I always took the whole season off, so I could be out every day. Also, I hunt meat not horns.

Nice post.i like, same same rifle same bullet 40 years.

 

[D2wing]

Some of you might want to try full metal jacket for guaranteed pass through. Pass through with a blood trail is a big thing with archery though.

That is illegal in my state and not ethical as an expanding bullet creates more tissue damage and a faster kill.

 

[memtb]

I wish I knew who/whom answered

"I don't care, I'm a perfect shot and they always fall DRT"

They would've earned an ignore title! memtb

 

[HARPERC]

Maybe some of you should use full metal jacket, you get all the velocity and guaranteed pass through. Pass through and better chance of a good blood trail is very important... in archery.


If one is married to a particular type of bullet, then respect that bullet's limitations, and put it where it needs to be.

Non expanding bullets have their role. Not every shot calls for the same type of bullet.

Fragile bullets have their failures and limits also.

What the discussion is about is finding the balance between types most of the time, for the situation each of us most likely uses them.

 

[WildRose]

I've shot numerous deer with tipped match bullets and all have dropped on the spot with some at very long ranges. All hit behind the shoulder mid rib cage area. Entrance and exit holes with destruction in between unlike any other bullets. These work great but not sure how well they'd do on direct shoulder hits. I'm guessing not 100% reliable. I prefer keeping them in softer tissue.

That would be the proper use and POI for thin skinned cup and core bullets, minimal penetration and maximum destruction inside of the rib cage from fragmentation a a velocity that allows them to penetrate enough to do that maximum damage instead of blowing up shallow and just horribly wounding them.

Good match of the bullet, how it's designed to perform and shot placement.

 

[WildRose]

I wish I knew who/whom answered

"I don't care, I'm a perfect shot and they always fall DRT"

They would've earned an ignore title! memtb

Actually I think it was me accidentally doing it when I was screwing the whole poll up

 

[WildRose]

Non expanding bullets have their role. Not every shot calls for the same type of bullet.

Fragile bullets have their failures and limits also.

What the discussion is about is finding the balance between types most of the time, for the situation each of us most likely uses them.

And matching the chosen bullet, it's performance characteristics, and velocity to the game and intended POI.

 

[06nut]

I have been very lucky in that I can't remember the last time I had to track anything I have shot. Most shots in the past few years have been pass through as I think my loads are better with better bullets and I have become better at being patient and ensuring that my shot is optimum (broadsideish). I remember my days shooting core locks and power points when tracking was a part of the hunt and remember my first season using Winchesters 270 Failsafes... was like a lightening bolt hit them and in most memories the bullet, regardless of the angle, stopped just under the off side. I do feel that pass through shots produce better blood trails. Personally, I stick to the theory of the heaviest bullet I can shoot accurately and don't stretch my limit... have had amazing results with my 06's with 180 to 210 ELD style bullets running in the 2600 to 2800 sweet spot. My biggest concern is my inability to go to the store to get milk and bring another rifle home... most of the time forgetting to pick up the milk!

 

[Jcook02]

Using heavy for caliber bullets, I could care less about exit's. I typically get them with a 230 Berger out of a 300 RUM. I use them from coyote's to elk and very seldom have something run further than fifty yards (When I do my job and make the quality shot I demand myself to make). "When" I do make a poor shot, I do prefer the bullet coming apart and doing as much internal damage as possible, to slow the animal down, so this loose nut and make a finishing shot. I've made poor shots and I'm thankful that I had a bullet that absolutely came apart inside the animal and did significant internal damage on the inside. Thankfully, we have lots of options to pick what we like and what fits our individual needs.

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

Ok I really blew the wording of the poll, I should be embarrassed.

To your comment that in former times, the thought was that "a bullet that remained in the animal had expended all it's energy in the animal," I would say that should be corrected to say "the bullet that remains in the animal expended the LAST of its energy in the animal." The bullet that exits has greater energy when it enters, and thus makes it all the way through. We know that bullets do most of their damage by the hydralic shock around the bullet, not just by the size of the diameter, whether it maintains its original shape, or mushrooms.

 

[VLD Pilot]

Using heavy for caliber bullets, I could care less about exit's. I typically get them with a 230 Berger out of a 300 RUM. I use them from coyote's to elk and very seldom have something run further than fifty yards (When I do my job and make the quality shot I demand myself to make). "When" I do make a poor shot, I do prefer the bullet coming apart and doing as much internal damage as possible, to slow the animal down, so this loose nut and make a finishing shot. I've made poor shots and I'm thankful that I had a bullet that absolutely came apart inside the animal and did significant internal damage on the inside. Thankfully, we have lots of options to pick what we like and what fits our individual needs.

In my experience, heavy for caliber bullets DO exit Everytime for me. It's the average to lighter for caliber bullets that stay in the animal. For me, the heavier bullets don't seem to perform as well on smaller animals (deer, goats). Elk are different. Heavier is always good simply because of the larger bigger boned structure. More mass for the bullet to perform in. Most if not all bigger bullets I've killed deer with have gone in and out with minimal expansion. Don't get me wrong they DID kill the deer just fine but no where near as destructive as the lighter bullet did when hitting Also I think velocity and construction obviously mean alot. I am comparing same bullet design in both heavy and lighter bullets when I compare. I'm my case, it's the Partitions I'm speaking of. .308 caliber lighter vs heavier. 165 grain vs 200 grain used in the 300 WM.

 

[SpeedymanWCC]

So here's my take on the subject. I used to muzzleload exclusively. In Indiana awhile back you either used a shotgun or a muzzleloader. I used a .45 caliber T/C Omega and the shockwave/Hornady SST. Anyways, the rifle and SST combo would pass through completely. Pencil in pencil out, no blood trail and long tracking following a drop of blood here and there. Then I started shooting deer in the shoulder with that combo. It would break the shoulder, but I'd have to finish the deer off because they wouldn't die. Long story short it's all about the bullet make-up. I switched to Barnes and all was gravy. Indiana switch their laws and now I can use anything from .243 and up. The ML SST was crap. It refused to expand. When it hit bone it would completely separate. I found the tip, core and jacket laying behind the shoulder bone of a mid size doe, she laid there until I finished her off. I've read other stories of Hornady SST hi-po rifle bullets doing the same thing. I won't use them. I've had awesome luck with anything Barnes, Federal trophy copper, and Hornady deer season soft point.

 

[SpeedymanWCC]

So here's my take on the subject. I used to muzzleload exclusively. In Indiana awhile back you either used a shotgun or a muzzleloader. I used a .45 caliber T/C Omega and the shockwave/Hornady SST. Anyways, the rifle and SST combo would pass through completely. Pencil in pencil out, no blood trail and long tracking following a drop of blood here and there. Then I started shooting deer in the shoulder with that combo. It would break the shoulder, but I'd have to finish the deer off because they wouldn't die. Long story short it's all about the bullet make-up. I switched to Barnes and all was gravy. Indiana switch their laws and now I can use anything from .243 and up. The ML SST was crap. It refused to expand. When it hit bone it would completely separate. I found the tip, core and jacket laying behind the shoulder bone of a mid size doe, she laid there until I finished her off. I've read other stories of Hornady SST hi-po rifle bullets doing the same thing. I won't use them. I've had awesome luck with anything Barnes, Federal trophy copper, and Hornady deer season soft point.

Trophy copper was 168 grain 30-06...4 deer within 100 yards shot...DRT.
Hornady Deer Season 130 grain Man Bun (6.5CM)...4 deer within 100 yards shot...30-40yd run.

 

[VLD Pilot]

Trophy copper was 168 grain 30-06...4 deer within 100 yards shot...DRT.
Hornady Deer Season 130 grain Man Bun (6.5CM)...4 deer within 100 yards shot...30-40yd run.

Lots of good bullets out there. Lots of bad ones too. Shoot, sort and move on.