TARGET BULLETS ARE NOT HUNTING BULLETS!

[xsn10s]

I am too. I don't know if I have ever gone 10 days. I shoot for 5. But as long as you keep the drain open and the ice chest tilted up (box of shotgun shells works great for this on top of another ice chest) and additional fresh ice as needed you will be happy. My Idaho November 20 buck dripping in rut juice tasted great.

I appreciate this tip you guys are sharing. I typically hung up game in my garage because the temps allowed it. but we had some warmer seasons some years here in Oregon. So this ice trick really could come in handy.

 

[richhymas]

Pretty simple. Add a bag of ice to the bottom of a large ice chest throw in a hind quarter and a front shoulder, add some more ice throw in the other hind quarter and the front quarter and your trim and cover with ice.

Keep it closed up and drain as needed. The ice will melt fairly quickly at the beginning, but once the meat is cooled to the bone, the ice will last a long time. Replace ice as necessary. I've done two antelope and a deer this year so far with the ice aging method and left them for 12 days. I don't think it hurts to rotate the meat either but sometimes the ice gets really hard and it's hard to access the meat.

As you drain the water, it will be extremely bloody at first, but by the seventh or eighth day it's barely pink. I think it does a good job of removing all of the blood. Everything I've eaten has been very tender and mild.

No better way t do it! And no waste like dry aging.

 

[richhymas]

That's awesome
I started playing with 225 eldms again this season and I was amazed at what it did to a cow my wife shot.
It literally dropped like the spine was severed with a double lung hit.
The only Bergers I still use are 180 vldh cuz I have like 2000 of them, otherwise Berger can suck it with their price hikes, lack of availability, and in some cases (195s and 215s) unreliable expansion

I'm curious. Did you get an exit on this double lung cow elk? What was the approximate impact velocity? Our 225 match didn't exit at all. 2700 fps approximate impact velocity. 200 yard range out of a 300 PRC.

 

[memtb]

I'm not sure why this is any surprise. It's always been my stance. I only make contentions when fed a line of BS. Like junk science, false claims, or personal attacks to cover up junk science/ false claims.

I'm not clairvoyant…..was that directed at me? Either way…..do heartily agree with your last sentence! memtb

 

[Ucsdryder]

I am too. I don't know if I have ever gone 10 days. I shoot for 5. But as long as you keep the drain open and the ice chest tilted up (box of shotgun shells works great for this on top of another ice chest) and additional fresh ice as needed you will be happy. My Idaho November 20 buck dripping in rut juice tasted great.

That was last years buck. He tasted gamier than anything I've shot in the last few years. That being said, I'd call it a 3/10 on gaminess flavor. He ate great. I've never had an animal that was so gamey it was an issue.

 

[Playtimefun]

This has been an interesting topic for me. Years ago a local guide told me he loved it when guys had Berger target bullets loaded up because when they hit, they basically exploded and the shrapnel takes out virtually every organ and the animal would go down right away. But the meat loss was pretty bad. One of the big pros you see on TV told a friend he only shoots Bergers and when he's aiming at a big buck for the camera... he's always aiming for the front shoulder because he doesn't care how much meat he ruins. He gets enough from guided hunters who don't want to take meat back.

For me... I grew a huge amount of detest for the 270 Win not because of anything to do with the cartridge but everytime I shot a deer, the shrapnel just went through right through out the animal and I got right ****ed off thinking it was the cartridge. After shrapnel killing 2 deer that year, I swore off using the 270. Especially since I didn't ruin nearly as much meat shooting any of magnums. A few years later, I realized that this was typical for the particular factory bullets I was shooting. I sold a beautiful birch stocked Savage 99 in 243 because I loaded up some nosler ballistic Silvertips and when I shot a deer facing me... the bullet never expanded at all. We found the deer the next day but not until a couple of coyotes beat us to it but that Silvertip acted the opposite of what everyone says they experience. They zipped through just like a FMJ would have.

In the end... it's really tough to go away from bullets that you have had luck with. For me, when the Barnes TTSX and LRX bullets came out... they became MY go to. BUT... I have had luck with Core-Locts, Partitions, Bergers, ELD-X, Accubond, Accubond LR... unfortunately every brand of bullet can work perfectly until one day something just changes slightly... and you look at all the blood shot meat and go what happened???

The most important thing to me is that you have confidence on hitting where your aiming when you pull that trigger. If you practice with "X" and you know that you can put that bullet where it needs to go... it WILL translate into a good shot and EVERY animal will go down with good shot placement regardless of the bullet or caliber.

My favorite story is that the 3rd largest bear ever shot (or used to be) was killed by a inuit woman with a single shot 22. If I recall correctly she stumbled upon a polar bear and she had the 22 for Ptarmigan. She aimed for the eye/head as it ran at her. It stopped to shake its head... she would run and reload and turned and did it again... bear would stop and shake its head and she would run again... 11 shots later... dead bear. Think she worried if the 22 caliber lead bullets contained 95% lead or 98% pure lead???

 

[3800fps]

Target bullets are not hunting bullets….on those occasions where deer, antelope and coyotes are the target, I've always been glad I loaded up with target bullets…hunting bullets are the ones that I need to hunt for a way to make them shoot like target bullets.

 

[twooly]

Question time….

I have a 6.5x300 weatherby mag. In Pennsylvania the vast majority of my hunting is 200 yards and less. What bullet would be best for that?

How about 200 yards and farther?

 

[Ucsdryder]

Question time….

I have a 6.5x300 weatherby mag. In Pennsylvania the vast majority of my hunting is 200 yards and less. What bullet would be best for that?

How about 200 yards and farther?

Extreme speed and short range.

I'd probably see what a 156 Berger would do and I sure wouldn't be aiming for the shoulder!

A copper would also work in that scenario. I bet a ttsx would peel back nicely!

 

[bsnyder]

Question time….

I have a 6.5x300 weatherby mag. In Pennsylvania the vast majority of my hunting is 200 yards and less. What bullet would be best for that?

How about 200 yards and farther?

I ran an 127 lrx that worked well to 400. Other wise 300 and beyond it would be the 156. Berger

 

[memtb]

I ran an 127 lrx that worked well to 400. Other wise 300 and beyond it would be the 156. Berger

Absolutely!

If you happenstance to be loaded with Bergers and are presented with a close shot…….you merely do a "reverse" stalk to get sufficient yardage between you and your game to prevent "bullet explosion"! memtb

 

[Ucsdryder]

Absolutely!

If you happenstance to be loaded with Bergers and are presented with a close shot…….you merely do a "reverse" stalk to get sufficient yardage between you and your game to prevent "bullet explosion"! memtb

Can you post up some of these bullet explosions you speak of?

 

[Huntnpack]

Question time….

I have a 6.5x300 weatherby mag. In Pennsylvania the vast majority of my hunting is 200 yards and less. What bullet would be best for that?

How about 200 yards and farther?

Id use a solid copper Hunting Bullet with a High BC & Excellent Terminal Performance.

 

[memtb]

Can you post up some of these bullet explosions you speak of?

I don't need to…..you folks have provided many photos providing evidence of their "fragile" nature with their tendency to violently expand!

I will readily admit….they are accurate, offer very high BC's and are extremely deadly, provided that the hunter does not expect deep penetration on larger big game after dense, thick muscle and/or bone is encountered at close range. Or, bringing home a high % of edible game meat! JM very biased O!

I've had enough bullet failures……. a bullet that either fragmented or expanded so violently with subsequent bullet weight loss whereas I did not get "my" desired penetration, I prefer to avoid these issues!

If you are satisfied with this…..I'm happy for you!

As I've mentioned before there are great bullets that offer good terminal performance, provided that they are used within their ballistic limits! Yes, this will limit the maximum distance that they should be ethically be used ….. but impact velocity and animal anatomy should be heavily considered with the more "fragile" bullets as well! memtb