Allergic to monos?

Lots of cryptic responses, but not much actual explanation of the issue.

I'm assuming you've been to my thread and I gave my reasoning. It wasn't something I "heard" about monos. I was the one on the track that shouldn't have went more than 20-40 yards all 3 times. Instead they were all 100 plus yards with a couple specs of blood. Good thing I can track like a bloodhound.
 
No, Trapoholic I haven’t seen your thread. I’ll try to look it up.
Opps! Your very recent thread.
It is actually the inspiration for me posting this thread.
 
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Sir Isaac Newton has already taught us that work requires the transfer of energy. No energy, no work. No transfer, no work.

Ole Newt’ never lost a lot of arguments..

I agree that energy is what allows the bullet to do work, ie: mess up the inside. I don't go by the notion that the bullet "dumps all it's energy" inside the animal and therefore kills it.
 
Not knowing the laws of physics doesn't change the laws of physics.

I did some math for the less knowledgeable in the audience. Let's compare a 30-cal 150gr TSX to a 200gr ELD-X from a 300 WM at book max loads from Alliant. 150gr starts out at 3316 fps, 200gr at 2932 fps. The 200gr has a 155 ft lb energy advantage at the muzzle, not a whole lot. But we don't usually shoot animals at the muzzle so muzzle energy and velocity don't matter. What matters is energy and velocity at impact, correct?

150 grain TSX at 3316 fps
Distance Velocity Energy Drop Wind Drift at 10mph
100y 3032 3060 +1.5 0.7
200y 2765 2546 +0.9 3.0
300y 2513 2104 -4.3 7.2
400y 2276 1726 -15 13
500y 2052 1402 -33 22

200 grain ELD-X at 2932 fps
Distance Velocity Energy Drop Wind Drift at 10mph
100y 2786 3446 +1.5 0.5
200y 2644 3103 +0.2 1.9
300y 2505 2787 -6.0 4.4
400y 2371 2496 -18 8
500y 2241 2230 -36 13

Looks like the 200gr ELD-X carries 22% more energy at 200 yards and 32% more energy at 300 yards than the 150gr TSX. That's significant. And is able to dump more of that energy inside the animal. The velocities are almost identical at 300. By 400 yards the 200gr is head and shoulders above the 150gr. And that's the lesson for the "most hunters [who] have never heard of BC". We should teach them instead of pretending it doesn't matter. Sure, I'm losing bullet weight in the animal but that lost bullet weight is causing damage to the animal. It's not a bad thing as long as you still get the penetration that you need.

If you're not interested in shooting that "far" (cough), you can use the same knowledge to reduce your recoil. Use a lower muzzle energy cartridge with a high BC bullet like the 6.5 Creedmoor with a 143 ELD-X. Believe it or not, at 200 yards it's only down 500 ft lbs compared to the 300 Win Mag 150gr TSX. That's less difference than the 150gr vs 200gr comparison. (At 500y, the Creedmoor has MORE energy than the 150gr 300 WM.)

Long story short: heavy for calibre bullets carry not only more energy but also more velocity at longer distances. And drift MUCH less in the wind. Or lets you shoot a lower velocity, lower recoil cartridge with the same results at the animal.

If I was going to use a Barnes, it would be an LRX, nice and heavy with decent BC. But it still has the disadvantage of less terminal damage and higher velocity threshold for full expansion. Yes, the Barnes is more reliable on tough shots and tough animals; it has its place, I've said that before. No, it's not the be-all, end-all hunting bullet.

Most of them are just going to buy a box of whatever ammunition is the cheapest, anyway.
 
I agree that energy is what allows the bullet to do work, ie: mess up the inside. I don't go by the notion that the bullet "dumps all it's energy" inside the animal and therefore kills it.

Its just a choice of words. Dump, transfer, expend. Bottom line is that that nasty mess is directly caused by the target animal slowing down or stopping the bullet. The faster it stops it the more damage is done to the unlucky animal. The slower it stops it the deeper it will penetrate and the less damage it will do along the way.

One could argue that bullet construction is just a way to manipulate the time and space over which the energy is transfered.
 
Its just a choice of words. Dump, transfer, expend. Bottom line is that that nasty mess is directly caused by the target animal slowing down or stopping the bullet. The faster it stops it the more damage is done to the unlucky animal. The slower it stops it the deeper it will penetrate and the less damage it will do along the way.

One could argue that bullet construction is just a way to manipulate the time and space over which the energy is transfered.

100%. Any bullet fragments that stayed inside the animal transferred all of their kinetic energy into the animal (causing wounding). Bullet components that exit are still carrying kinetic energy with them. Bullets that don't expand as much will carry more energy out the other side. Bullets that don't make it to the vitals won't kill very well. Bullets that slow down more on the way to the animal (low BC, light for calibre bullets) have less energy to do damage to the animal.

It's all a balancing act with a Barnes TSX on one end of the spectrum and a Berger Hunting VLD on the other.
 
I agree that energy is what allows the bullet to do work, ie: mess up the inside. I don't go by the notion that the bullet "dumps all it's energy" inside the animal and therefore kills it.
Energy dump translates to tissue damage. Greater tissue damage generally means more trauma and faster kills. Good old fashioned cup and core bullets don't get the credit they deserve on thin skinned game in the deer to moose range.
 
No, Trapoholic I haven’t seen your thread. I’ll try to look it up.
Opps! Your very recent thread.
It is actually the inspiration for me posting this thread.

From the only 3 samples I've had to go on with monos they were extremely uninspiring. That 8 point in my avatar went about 15 yards. But he also had 2 180 grain interlocks fly through his chest cavity in maybe 3 seconds. His last 5 yards were sliding down the hill on his chin. Had he got out of sight a blood trail wouldn't have been a issue at all. He did end up with 3 holes in him, last one was behind his ear because he was gurgling trying to get air and I owe it to him to finish it right now.
 
I sold all mine after a bore scope view. They are not harder than Nosler Partition. It took forever to get that soft copper out of the barrel. But to each their own. If it works for you go with it. I have my own favorite. I shoot between 500 and 5000 rounds a year.
 
I like monos for moose and elk but really don't have any use for them for deer. I do like that there isn't lead splattered through out the meat like there can be with cup and core. I've shot 2 deer with monos, one 140 ttsx and 1 140 etip both from 7mm mag and they both died but did run a ways. The 3 moose I've killed with monos, 1, 140 etip and 2 150 ttsx from 308 have both died very quickly and 2 of the 3 bullets were recovered both being picture perfect mushrooms. I still feel that the trophy bonded tip is the best of both worlds but I can't get them to shoot in all guns but my 7-08 sure seems to like them.

I like to go down a few bullet weights with copper bullets and push them hard. I use 140 in 7mmmag and 150 in 308 but would go down to 120 and 130 respectively and not feel handicapped. Since you can expect 100 percent weight retention this makes sense to me.

Myself as well. Worked again very well this season.

Regards
Ronr
 
I sold all mine after a bore scope view. They are not harder than Nosler Partition. It took forever to get that soft copper out of the barrel. But to each their own. If it works for you go with it. I have my own favorite. I shoot between 500 and 5000 rounds a year.

I'll agree with this regarding copper fouling. I've noticed it's quite heavy in my 375 HH, however, it doesn't affect accuracy for me at the moment. I used to be anal about cleaning it out until I realized it wasn't doing anything on this large of a bullet at the ranges I use it at (300 and under). Presumably this would be a larger problem on something smaller.

But as I said in an earlier post in this thread. I only use tsx's in 375 and lead based in everything else for a reason. Every bullet has its niche and specific purpose and suitability changes depending on exactly what you're looking for a bullet to do. I like the comments earlier in the thread about the bullet being the control over energy transfer dynamics. It's very apt and a fantastic way to describe it.
 
Energy dump translates to tissue damage. Greater tissue damage generally means more trauma and faster kills. Good old fashioned cup and core bullets don't get the credit they deserve on thin skinned game in the deer to moose range.

I definitely agree with this. I don't switch to a bonded bullet until I get to magnum chamberings. I actually just had an issue with my 308 carbine I use as a bush gun. 180 hot cores weren't expanding fast enough and giving quick kills. I'm switching to a softer bullet and hopefully rectifying the issue. Sometimes a softer bullet is the answer over a tougher construction.
 
I’ve hunted with both I just prefer Nosler Accubonds, for one they seem to shoot better but that may have to do with barrel twist in my rifles.
 
I've only used monos in a couple of rifles. In my 416 Rigby the 350gr X Bullet performed beautifully. Used them extensively in Africa in 2007 on everythign from springbok to kudu. On the other hand, in my 9.3x62 I couldn't get 286 TSX to go faster than 1950FPS. Certainly nowhere near as fast as a 286 should go. So I ####canned the idea and went back to a cup and core bullet result is a dead buffalo.

Mainly I haven't switched to monos because I have thousands of dollars in components on the shelves in my loading room (as evidenced by the grunting and complaining the movers made when they emptied out the room). Doesn't make it very attractive to change. I only load for about 9 different bullet diameters, but that makes for a lot of different bullets and a ton of powder and primers to work up new loads. All for what? Nothing I've ever shot has run off because of bullet failure (Shooter failure, yes. Bullet failure, no).
 
I’ve had the same experience. I won’t use them anymore in anything less than 30 cal.

I double-lunged a whitetail buck this year at 70 yards with a 243 shooting TTSX. He ran over 400 yards before laying down. The exit hole was exactly the same size as the entry, with minimal damage to the lungs. It performed about as well as a FMJ.

I've taken 3 whitetails with .223's, 2 of them with Hornady GMX 55gr, the other with a Nosler partition and none of them went beyond 70 yards. I was unable to find any difference in performance, all expanded well and did exactly what they were supposed to. I've also used the GMX's extensively in .308 and have had similar results when compared to premium bonded bullets.
 
Me and my buddies have moved to barnes ttsx in .308 and .30-06, 7-08. Super accurate, so far on a sample of about 5 deer and one bear over the past two years, all have been pass-thrus (except the bear), no animal went further than 50m before dropping dead and a couple dropped on the spot. All deer were thru and thru; Entrance and exit hole sizes indicated proper expansion.

The bear took a round square on the shoulder, the .308 TTSX bore clean though the bone, passed though the vitals, and bore into the far shoulder where it stayed. Literally lights out flattened the bear.

Now lets be honest, shot placement trumps all, and every animal is going to react differently based on the circumstances. Shoot em through both lungs and or the shoulder with a good bullet and they ain't going far. That being said, I prefer the 'non-lead' feature of the monos.
 
I had to try them, being a Hornady fan I went GMX. They functioned flawlessly for me but I'll stay with the good old copper/lead offerings of Hornady. But I had to try them because you never know when BC might become California of the North, and make us to go lead-free.
 
I had to try them, being a Hornady fan I went GMX. They functioned flawlessly for me but I'll stay with the good old copper/lead offerings of Hornady. But I had to try them because you never know when BC might become California of the North, and make us to go lead-free.

If that happens I'm buying a Corbin bullet swaging setup ;-). No way could I afford to shoot solid copper or non-tox frangibles at gophers or steel haha. Hundreds of rounds a day... I like my 13¢ 50gr Speers and 27¢ 75gr Hornady BTHP!
 
I've tried them and seen many animals shot with them. The animal does not die quick enough for my liking. I don't like tracking especially moose.
 
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