Bullets recovered from deer........

deerslayer

deerslayer

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A few years back I picked up a 243win for yote,s and it shoots so accurate I started to use it for deer.It does a great job on the deer and with some of the shots being 200 yrds + , I have retrieved 8 bullets or bullet jackets I should say because thats all thats left of the nosler 95 gr ballistic silvertip.I use the nosler BST in my 7mm express and over the years I have recovered some bullets from various game animals ,and I found that only 30 to 50 percent of the bullet is left.Found the same with serria gameking 150gr SBT in my 7mm express. Normal or should there be more lead recovered, I,m I pushing these bullets to fast?
 
they are both bullets designed to expand rapidly. personally I will use neither as I prefer to use tougher bullets in my rifles. have shot 3 head of game with Gamekings and although they were one shot drops, the weight retention and inability of the bullet to stay intact was unaceptable.
 
That is totaly normal for those bullets. Dispite what many inexperienced hunters think, the most deadly DEER bullets are the ones that loose about 100g of lead and still make it to the far side of the animal.

Large game, like moose, is better hunted with a bullet that goes deeper than your 150g Game kings. A Nosler partition, Barns TSX, Swift A Frame, in the same weight will greatly out penetrate the Game King on bone.

People will start posting on the various "premium" bullets now.....
 
Id not expect to have too many cases of complete penetration with a 243 & Ballistic Tips. Avoid heavy bone and bad angles and you got a good killing load there
 
You know if your bullet goes through one side and reach the vitals even it they explode inside the body so what your deer will be dead.
I wouldn't worry about it.
 
I get all depressed when I find a bullet in a deer, unless it was shot lengthwise. Deer are small for cripes sake. Put me down on the side that likes lots of penetration. Having said that, bullets that shed a lot of weight do tend to kill deer a little faster when things go right.
On a sort of related tangent, isn't it ironic when someone shows off a high weight retention bullet that never made it all the way through a broad side deer? If the Holy grail of high weight retention is greater penetration, then what exactly did the miracle bullet deliver?
 
Dogleg said:
I get all depressed when I find a bullet in a deer, unless it was shot lengthwise. Deer are small for cripes sake. Put me down on the side that likes lots of penetration. Having said that, bullets that shed a lot of weight do tend to kill deer a little faster when things go right.
On a sort of related tangent, isn't it ironic when someone shows off a high weight retention bullet that never made it all the way through a broad side deer? If the Holy grail of high weight retention is greater penetration, then what exactly did the miracle bullet deliver?
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so your saying the 300WM I used to shoot thru a moose with is good for deer :D

well the deer I shot with it did'nt complain :dancingbanana:


If I'm only hunting deer I'll be using my 25-06 with 120grn Nosler BT, good penetration and expansion.

whatever works for you, but I think heavier is better.
 
bullets

I agree with woodchopper, bigger is better.
I have never recovered a 180 grain bullet from any deer whether they were island Blacktails or big bodied Mulies from the interior :) .I have shot a couple of Island deer with 220 RN hornady's in an 06 doing 2580, never recovered those ones either.:eek:
Smaller bullets going fast tend to come apart easily depending on how thet are constructed.
 
Put me squarely in the 'heavy bullet a moderate velocity' camp. Moderate velocities make it easier on the bullet with less chance of a catastrophic failure. Less meat damage if you happen to hit a bone. Heavy enough to sail clear through both deer and moose.
 
DEAD IS DEAD If it is a load you loaded and it is killing consistantly for you use it, and hang what ever anyone else tells you.
Keep hitting the animals where you have been and they should keep dieing.
My two cents worth.
Ken
 
I'm with Prosper...heavy and slow (relatively) .. had a very interesting experience last week... a fairly small whitetail (6 pointer eg 3 aside) at about 110yds was struck with a .270W Lapua "Mega" 160 grn roundnose factory load (they apparently no longer make this bullet unfortunately) hit a rib going in on a broadside shot and slipped between a rib going out. Very clean and the animal dropped immediately and did not get up! About a loony sized area of bloodshot meat at both sites...that was it...was pretty impressive.
 
prosper said:
Put me squarely in the 'heavy bullet a moderate velocity' camp. Moderate velocities make it easier on the bullet with less chance of a catastrophic failure. Less meat damage if you happen to hit a bone. Heavy enough to sail clear through both deer and moose.
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X2!! ........While high velocity does have it's place, be prepared for bloodshot meat. You should see the bloodshot that a 22/250 does at 60yds. :eek:

.
 
AP said:
I'm with Prosper...heavy and slow (relatively) .. had a very interesting experience last week... a fairly small whitetail (6 pointer eg 3 aside) at about 110yds was struck with a .270W Lapua "Mega" 160 grn roundnose factory load (they apparently no longer make this bullet unfortunately) hit a rib going in on a broadside shot and slipped between a rib going out. Very clean and the animal dropped immediately and did not get up! About a loony sized area of bloodshot meat at both sites...that was it...was pretty impressive.
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That's why the oldtimers liked the 160grRN in 6.5x55, the 175grRN in 7x57, 115gr RN in 257Roberts and the heavies in the .303.

I thinks I'm going to start shooting some 180gr RN in my .308Carbine.
 
Shot my moose this year with a factory 150 gr PSP in .308 winchester. Recovered bullet under skin on off side. Upper leg shattered, lungs pulped. Moose went about 20 ft. Lost about 5 lb of meat due to bullet tearing things up. Next time I will use something more reasonable, like a 25 calibre; its fun to get out the big rifle once in a while though!
 
woodchopper said:
so your saying the 300WM I used to shoot thru a moose with is good for deer :D

well the deer I shot with it did'nt complain :dancingbanana:


If I'm only hunting deer I'll be using my 25-06 with 120grn Nosler BT, good penetration and expansion.

whatever works for you, but I think heavier is better.
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Yes, I think the load that you shot through your moose with is fine for deer. Why wouldn't it be?:confused: I don't have a lot of use for big game rifles under 7mm. They work, sure, but don't do anything better. Whats the point?
 
Nothing kills deer like the 25 06, IMO. It doesn't seem to matter what you stoke it with either. I have killed 8 deer with mine, and it is always the same: their front legs fold up, the back end goes down, and then over they go. No second shot required.

Mind you I shoot at very close ranges. You long distance guys might get different mileage.
 
Glenfilthie said:
Nothing kills deer like the 25 06, IMO. It doesn't seem to matter what you stoke it with either. I have killed 8 deer with mine, and it is always the same: their front legs fold up, the back end goes down, and then over they go. No second shot required.

Mind you I shoot at very close ranges. You long distance guys might get different mileage.
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Glenfilthie,
You'll have to see a few deer shot with a 7mm STW sometime. Something about 140 grain bullets at 3500 fps just makes them come unhinged.:dancingbanana:
 
303carbine said:
That's the reason I sold my 7mm stw, no matter where the critter was hit there was too much bloodshot damage.
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140 grain TSXs cure that, but otherwise, yes, there is a lot of blood shot meat. That's an advantage if you don't like deer ribs.:p I'm just talking about what I have found to kill them the fastest though. Meat saving is a whole 'nuther issue.
 
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