Favourite Hunting Bullets

im mostly a TTSX guy and dearly love them but I am also a fan of accubonds and federals trophy bonded tip which is a hell of a bullet
 
I think the Speer Grand Slam is a very underrated bullet. I used a 200 grain GS in .300 Win Mag for years and it never failed. I love the performance of Accubonds in just about any caliber; but the tips break in the magazine of my .338 RUM under recoil. Hard to beat TSX bullets in guns that can drive them fast enough to reliably expand too.
 
3macs1 said:
Have you ever been tested for heavy metals i.e. hair or blood?? It is worth the money if concerned as you clearly are. You may get a big shock as I did initially
I have been tested many times do to my exposure at work , reload a ton of lead and shoot / eat wild game with lead bullets

NEVER has my levels of lead been flagged in not even one test in fact not even close to being flagged

Mind you been flagged many times for uranium, mercury , arsenic etc etc only to find out to prevent that I best stop breathing since the burning of fossil fuels here i.e. coal generation power plants is causing it and that has been proven :(

Pending where you live you may have to stop taking a breath also and not worry so much about your exposure to lead and bullets
Here I am more concerned about the air than anything
Cheers
Click to expand...

I have and that’s where my nerves about lead started. This is fully on me no excuses, as I didn’t read the prominent labels. I grew up on a large commercial chicken farm and we shot pigeons daily with air rifles to prevent them spreading disease. Like many of us I used to put the pellets in my mouth as it was handy, being a stupid young kid, and in my jeans pockets staining them grey as we all do / have. Then I’d eat with the same grey fingers too. I had my blood lead levels tested when I was about 13-14 when I suddenly started developing intense and frequent headaches and had trouble sleeping, and my lead level was extremely elevated. Ever since I’ve been lead phobic, lead takes forever to leave your body as your body stores it deeply. It is not something you want in your food in even trace amounts in my opinion. The headaches disappeared after I cut the lead exposure and started being careful in my handling of it, was it the cause? Who knows. But it correlated heavily and my levels were way, way high for a young teen. I still had levels five or six years ago above what I should, but I believe that’s from leaded Avgas as I flew piston machines that leaked exhaust into the cabin daily for years at that time. I haven’t been tested in the last five years.

Given the lead free bullets kill what I send them into, albeit I believe they’re not equal with a lead bullet, I’m all for them in the game I put on the table.
 
Ardent said:
I have and that’s where my nerves about lead started. This is fully on me no excuses, as I didn’t read the prominent labels. I grew up on a large commercial chicken farm and we shot pigeons daily with air rifles to prevent them spreading disease. Like many of us I used to put the pellets in my mouth as it was handy, being a stupid young kid, and in my jeans pockets staining them grey as we all do / have. Then I’d eat with the same grey fingers too. I had my blood lead levels tested when I was about 13-14 when I suddenly started developing intense and frequent headaches and had trouble sleeping, and my lead level was extremely elevated. Ever since I’ve been lead phobic, lead takes forever to leave your body as your body stores it deeply. It is not something you want in your food in even trace amounts in my opinion. The headaches disappeared after I cut the lead exposure and started being careful in my handling of it, was it the cause? Who knows. But it correlated heavily and my levels were way, way high for a young teen. I still had levels five or six years ago above what I should, but I believe that’s from leaded Avgas as I flew piston machines that leaked exhaust into the cabin daily for years at that time. I haven’t been tested in the last five years.

Given the lead free bullets kill what I send them into, albeit I believe they’re not equal with a lead bullet, I’m all for them in the game I put on the table.
Click to expand...

Ahh not to take this thread off track but it is 100% understandable why you think as you do about it
I am surprised they didnot put you through some form of Chelation therapy . I had to do it for my heavy metal poisoning once
Take care
Joe
 
I've partially switched over to unleaded at my wife's request, the Barnes TSX and TTSX don't seem as dramatic as cup and core on deer but they died none the less with minimal bloodshot meat, which I like.

My favourite is the Partition though.
 
3macs1 said:
Ahh not to take this thread off track but it is 100% understandable why you think as you do about it
I am surprised they didnot put you through some form of Chelation therapy . I had to do it for my heavy metal poisoning once
Take care
Joe
Click to expand...

I did get chelation Joe, but only as a teen, the levels a half dozen years ago were above normal but not high enough to be concerned with treating it. Problem is chelation binds the free lead in your bloodstream and allows it to be pissed out, but lead remains locked in the bone marrow. Overall heavy metal is not something I’m putting on the dinner table, and unfortunately BlackRam metallic lead is absolutely absorbable and toxic, your friend is wrong. Google game meat xrays and see how the fragments of lead travel in the meat to places you wouldn’t expect.
 
No worries Ardent, I was only passing on what I was told by someone who I respect, is highly educated and worked extensively in the medical research field, has told me, and I have no reason to doubt him. As he has been out of the field for a few decades now, there is no doubt that more current research could have found information, such as inyour case, that was not found while he was still doing research. (i.e. new technology and advancements in modern science). I won't argue against it, as I am no expert on it.

Your experiences are vastly different, and obviously has taught you different things. And that is undeniable.
All I can say is that I am glad that you are not suffering from those health conditions that you had when you were younger, and I am not taking anything away from what you have learned or experienced first hand, or have implemented in order to protect you and your family. Those are your rights, and I would never argue against it.
I too, spent a lot of time shooting pests on the farm as a kid with a pellet gun, and I too used to keep an extra pellet or two in my lips (like a carpenter holding nails) for the next quick follow up shot. Easy to relate to.
 
I am a big fan of the gs custom monometal copper bullet, got turned on to them about five years ago and haven't had any issues at all. When i cant get my hands on them i revert back to swift.
 
Plain old Hornady Interlocks are what I use for virtually everything, never recovered one yet, always pass through. This includes moose and bears
 
I have been using Nosler Partitions since the 70's and tried Accubonds because they are also Nosler. Took my last bull moose and a good buck last year with them. Use 70 gr Nosler BT hunting type in my 243 for wolves and 70 gr.BT varmit for coyotes. Never had a reason to leave the Nosler family.
 
Anchutz said:
Is a pass through considered a perfect bullet? Will to learn
Click to expand...

There are two trains of thought on complete penetration of an animal by the bullet (or pass through) equaling good bullet performance.

On one side, those who prefer the bullet to completely pass through an animal are quite often looking for more blood leakage for easier trailing of the animal after it runs off when being shot. This a good thing on animals like bears, whose heavy hair soaks up blood so as to leave little sign for tracking, and because fall bears have a lot more fat that can also plug up wounds and leave less bloodtrail to follow, this two holes (entry and exit wounds) provides better odds of a better bloodtrail. Better blood trails making tracking a lot easier on certain types of ground and environments like tall grass and heavy bush where footprints can be difficult to read, but blood on the tall grass and on the brusk or sides of trees can help with trailing. Season and weather can also make tracking difficult with less bloodtrail, such as light rain or snow falling that can wipe out sign and wash away blood and tracks. An animal with two holes in the vitals usually doesn't go as far either. The catch here, is that the shot must be placed low enough in the vitals for blood to leak out of the animal, and not pool inside the animals chest cavity and not leave a blood trail. There can be the added danger of that bullet still carrying enough velocity and energy to wound or kill another animal beyond the intended target, or cause harm to someone or something else that is not the intended target. This is why it is imperative to know what is beyondyour targetedanimal before you pull the trigger. Andto not shoot at animals that are skylined; you just do not know what is beyond the skyline that you are putting in jeapordy if you miss.

The other side prefers that all of the energy from the bullet is dumped inside of the animal to energy a proper amount of hydrostatic shock to the circulatory system , central nervous system and/or the respiratory system to provide a quick, clean kill. The extra hole from the exit wound means that not all of the energy was used to harvest the animal, and is therefor wasted as the bullet continues on past the animal.

I think that there is merit to both sides of this debate, and have depending on the targeted game and its location, date, time, weather and local terrain conditions, have intentionally made my shot for the effect that best suited those particular circumstances.
 
BlackRam said:
No worries Ardent, I was only passing on what I was told by someone who I respect, is highly educated and worked extensively in the medical research field, has told me, and I have no reason to doubt him. As he has been out of the field for a few decades now, there is no doubt that more current research could have found information, such as inyour case, that was not found while he was still doing research. (i.e. new technology and advancements in modern science). I won't argue against it, as I am no expert on it.

Your experiences are vastly different, and obviously has taught you different things. And that is undeniable.
All I can say is that I am glad that you are not suffering from those health conditions that you had when you were younger, and I am not taking anything away from what you have learned or experienced first hand, or have implemented in order to protect you and your family. Those are your rights, and I would never argue against it.
I too, spent a lot of time shooting pests on the farm as a kid with a pellet gun, and I too used to keep an extra pellet or two in my lips (like a carpenter holding nails) for the next quick follow up shot. Easy to relate to.
Click to expand...

Good discussion, no emotions over it here so no worries. If you read on lead you’ll find little good about it health wise, this said the amount received from game meat is clearly not killing people or driving them to dementia prematurely. Second count is debatable around here I have bouts of gun buying sprees mid winter.

The only time I get truly up tight about it these days is around my kids. :) I still use the odd lead bullet for convenience, factory ammo usually, but phasing that out and don’t feed it to the kids.
 
BlackRam said:
There are two trains of thought on complete penetration of an animal by the bullet (or pass through) equaling good bullet performance.

On one side, those who prefer the bullet to completely pass through an animal are quite often looking for more blood leakage for easier trailing of the animal after it runs off when being shot. This a good thing on animals like bears, whose heavy hair soaks up blood so as to leave little sign for tracking, and because fall bears have a lot more fat that can also plug up wounds and leave less bloodtrail to follow, this two holes (entry and exit wounds) provides better odds of a better bloodtrail. Better blood trails making tracking a lot easier on certain types of ground and environments like tall grass and heavy bush where footprints can be difficult to read, but blood on the tall grass and on the brusk or sides of trees can help with trailing. Season and weather can also make tracking difficult with less bloodtrail, such as light rain or snow falling that can wipe out sign and wash away blood and tracks. An animal with two holes in the vitals usually doesn't go as far either. The catch here, is that the shot must be placed low enough in the vitals for blood to leak out of the animal, and not pool inside the animals chest cavity and not leave a blood trail. There can be the added danger of that bullet still carrying enough velocity and energy to wound or kill another animal beyond the intended target, or cause harm to someone or something else that is not the intended target. This is why it is imperative to know what is beyondyour targetedanimal before you pull the trigger. Andto not shoot at animals that are skylined; you just do not know what is beyond the skyline that you are putting in jeapordy if you miss.

The other side prefers that all of the energy from the bullet is dumped inside of the animal to energy a proper amount of hydrostatic shock to the circulatory system , central nervous system and/or the respiratory system to provide a quick, clean kill. The extra hole from the exit wound means that not all of the energy was used to harvest the animal, and is therefor wasted as the bullet continues on past the animal.

I think that there is merit to both sides of this debate, and have depending on the targeted game and its location, date, time, weather and local terrain conditions, have intentionally made my shot for the effect that best suited those particular circumstances.
Click to expand...

I don't really pick a side..... instead I use different bullets and loads/speeds to accomplish the task.
Say I'm hunting black tail deer or black bear in the steep coastal terrain, I want that load that dumps it's energy in the animal and put it down at or near point of impact(slightly loaded down .303 brit 180gr). Chasing or tracking animals in that terrain is far too dangerous. Whereas in open country, a pass thru is just fine by me and I want speed to keep the energy up at 300 and 400 yards. Though I have only had to track down 2 animals in my life, both shot at close range under 50 yards and with the fast loads (7mm mag 165)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom