?? Wonder if I made a bad choice

[chav0_12]

Ok went and looked today and found nothing, but it's so thick you can't really see much. I did shoot a gallon milk jug at 300 to see where I'm hitting. **** twice because I thought I missed the first shot. Upon checking the milk jug, the water was drained and both bullets left tiny tiny entrance and exit holes in the jug. Every time I have shot ELDX at milk jugs the jugs exploded. I'm not to happy with these bullets for deer. Great for paper but not an animal.

A buddy of mine is using the 205gr Elite Hunter and has been very happy with its results on deer and elk. He killed his bull this year at just over 300 and had zero issues, granted it's a little more open here, I'm not sure about a blood trail.

 

[FEENIX]

Ok went and looked today and found nothing, but it's so thick you can't really see much. I did shoot a gallon milk jug at 300 to see where I'm hitting. **** twice because I thought I missed the first shot. Upon checking the milk jug, the water was drained and both bullets left tiny tiny entrance and exit holes in the jug. Every time I have shot ELDX at milk jugs the jugs exploded. I'm not to happy with these bullets for deer. Great for paper but not an animal.

Hitting the milk jug at 300Y is not the same condition as when you shot at the deer. "I" hope that it was a clean miss instead of an injury that might lead to a slow and painful death.

 

[Tumbleweed]

All I'm saying is that, recommending, TARGET Bullets for, the General Hunting Public that, DOESN'T "Test" or understand much about, Bullet Performance, can result in, LOTS of, lost / crippled, animals and WE Sportsmen, don't need, too much of that, chit,.. IMHO
Yes, I've "heard" of, some good results, using some, Target Bullets in the Bigger ( .30 - .338 Mag. Cal's ),.. successfully.

For example, a quick google search of the Berger 215 Hybrid for hunting will provide you with days of reading successful hunting stories. It's not up for debate anymore, long since been tested and verified that this particular hybrid is a fantastic hunting bullet.

 

[HANGum HIGH]

It's literally not made to take an animal down, that's why they call them target bullets, and that's why they make a separate line called hunting bullets. He's talking about taking a target bullet and modifying it or prepping it to have good terminal performance. It's not a quality control issue or product issue or anything other than using an item for something other than what it was intended for.

And that's why I said in my first post that instead of drilling out the tips, get a bullet that performs. Doesn't make any sense to me why you would drill out a target round to try to use it for hunting? We have some many different options made specifically for this purpose. But the picture I saw earlier in the thread showing all the material out of the tip is crazy.

 

[FEENIX]

For example, a quick google search of the Berger 215 Hybrid for hunting will provide you with days of reading successful hunting stories. It's not up for debate anymore, long since been tested and verified that this particular hybrid is a fantastic hunting bullet.

Yep, Jeff's (BROZ) thread with many successful harvests with Berger 215 and .300 WM is a prime example.

 

[chav0_12]

And that's why I said in my first post that instead of drilling out the tips, get a bullet that performs. Doesn't make any sense to me why you would drill out a target round to try to use it for hunting? We have some many different options made specifically for this purpose. But the picture I saw earlier in the thread showing all the material out of the tip is crazy.

I'll agree to an extent. I prefer to use bullets intended for hunting when hunting but at the same time I'm not opposed to using an ELD-M or a Berger Target if that's what I'm already using for a bullet. From what I hear, the match bullets work just fine the majority of the time. Even "hunting" bullets can fail. I just shot a deer with a 120gr NBT in a 6.5 Grendel at about 60 yards and the bullet seemed to "fail", it was what appeared to be a pure lung shot, and when I walked over to where I swore he was laying down he was standing there staring at me, so he got one to his CNS to ensure he went down.

 

[7sand8s]

And that's why I said in my first post that instead of drilling out the tips, get a bullet that performs. Doesn't make any sense to me why you would drill out a target round to try to use it for hunting? We have some many different options made specifically for this purpose. But the picture I saw earlier in the thread showing all the material out of the tip is crazy.

Agreed

 

[7sand8s]

Hitting the milk jug at 300Y is not the same condition as when you shot at the deer. "I" hope that it was a clean miss instead of an injury that might lead to a slow and painful death.

Tell me what the difference is, either way the bullet didn't expand.

 

[richhymas]

I know I didn't miss him….that shot was spot on…I'm not bragging but it was an easy shot for me also. I still feel good about it even after not finding blood

You could confirm by shooting at paper at 280 yards with that load. That way you know exactly the point of impact compared to your aim point.

 

[chav0_12]

Tell me what the difference is, either way the bullet didn't expand.

It really shouldn't matter too much, if you hit the deer in the lungs, without a chest seal, some decompression, he's going to die. Might not be the best death but if you hit that deer where and how you said you did you killed him.

 

[Bravo 4]

So you were using a 300 win on two little whitetails at a 100yds. Son, I have a extra Remington 870 12 ga. you can borrow, if things are that rough.

In the words of the great Michael J. Crocodile Dundee, "Good one Skippy!"
So if I set up on a spot that I can shoot over 1000 yards and a deer pops out under 100 I shouldn't shoot it? Would you carry the shotgun for such places (if you weren't confined to such silliness by law)? Or should I carry both, the 12 gauge for close shots and reserve the long range capable rifle for long shots?
I assure you that with the right bullet that .300 WinMag is capable from muzzle to 1K+.

 

[richhymas]

I'm a big Berger fan but one thing that has to be noted is every different bullet line and weight/caliber/hunting/target etc act a little different on game. The LRHT line does have a smaller meplat then the other target hybrids. The 215 and 230 hybrid along with the 230 OTM are proven killers. The new 208 and 220 LRHT I'm not sure if there is a ton of info out there on how they do on game. The smaller meplat and Im not 100% but I don't believe the cavity is as deep as some of the older target hybrids but these things could cause less expansion.

This is just speculation, I know of some kills with the 153.5 and 144 lrht bullets this year and they worked just fine. But people have a tendency to lump all Berger bullets into one category when they really shouldn't. Pick one with a proven track record and shoot a bunch of game with one you like and draw your one conclusions on how they act with different shot placements and impact velocity's.

I agree. Good success with the 215 hybrids but the 7mm 190s are smaller hollow point and more likely to pencil. Those that shoot 7mms drop down to the 180s because they expand better on game. Agree. Shoot one with a proven track record.

 

[7sand8s]

It really shouldn't matter too much, if you hit the deer in the lungs, without a chest seal, some decompression, he's going to die. Might not be the best death but if you hit that deer where and how you said you did you killed him.

I just hate like hell I was reccomended a bullet not meant for an animal.

 

[chav0_12]

I just hate like hell I was reccomended a bullet not meant for an animal.

I agree, but at some point you should take the responsibility for using what is designated as a target bullet by the manufacturer without some research first. As others have said there are some of the Berger target bullets that perform well on game. Perhaps it's the smaller melpat that the 208 has that contributed to your results, with the Melpat Reduction Technology. The 215s don't have that, neither do the hunting bullets. I know when my buddy was looking for a 300WM bullet I told him he should try Berger and I pointed him towards the 205gr Elite Hunter.