Round nose bullets

[Hooker]

I just got back from deer camp had a blast as usual. 11 days with out a cell phone  :grin: Got a doe and a nice 8 point buck. When I got to camp I realized I had packed the wrong ammo for my 357 Ruger GP100. Instead of 158gr swc I had 158round nose bullets. I had got a great bargin price on these bullets and had been using them for plinking, loaded with the same 6.2 grs of Unique I use in my hunting loads. This load is extremely accurate in my gun. I've heard that round nose handgun bullets were not good for hunting. Well  I now know better. I dropped my doe at 70 yards.
The shot hit her in the breast taking out both lungs exiting behind the right shoulder. She fell with in feet of the hit. Field dressed weight was 110 lbs.
This was my longest shot on a deer with a handgun. Have any of ya'll used round nose handgun loads on deer? With what results?

Pat

[Mohawk]

I've never had a problem with killing things regardless of bullet type. Shot placement seemed to be the key. I killed my one and only handgun deer with a .38 Special loaded with 130gr. FMJ Round nose, because it was the only gun I had to use that was legal. Shot was through the Vena Cava artery and the deer ran several yards and collapsed. I would not use it again unless I had to. But I would use .38 SWC's if the shot was right and I was starving. Personally, I think the key to the round nose bullets are WHAT THEY HIT. This goes beyond shot placement(heart/lung area). Example, if the bullet hits the lungs then who knows how severe it is. If a pulmonary artery inside the lung was puched it would be a whole different story than if it was missed and the lungs were just deflated. Another experience is a small 20lb hog piglet I shot with a Marlin 882SS rifle .22 Mag. 40gr. CCI Maxi-mag FMJ behind the shoulder. Didn't mean to shoot it there, I misjudged the angle. The thing ran about a 30ft. circle and fell over dead. I put another one in him to make sure. The holes were VERY small. But I think one of those pulmonary arteries were hit. Just my thoughts.

[Redhawk1]

Like Mohawk said, shot placement is the key. Congratulations on the deer.

[Mikey]

Hooker, congrats on your deer.  However, gotta say that round nose bullets are not the bullet design of choice for handgun hunting.  Most often a round nose bullet will slip on through without causing much damage and your deer can run a good distance before running out of steam.  A SWC, as you know, is more preferable.

I once picked up the wrong box of bullets before a hunt and had to postpone it.  I learned from that lesson.

Again, congrats on your deer.  Mikey.

[OrangeWing]

They are not the best for hunting because most of the time they just pass through without expanding.  That being said shot placement also has a lot to do with all hunting.

[Hooker]

Thanks for the replies. I'll be checking my ammo more closely from now on. Although the round nose performed great I prefer the swc. I have a lot of experience and confidence with this load and would not have used it, had I not been shore of shot placement.
Also I feel that I may benefit from a heavier bullet and I'm working up a load using Bear Tooth's 180 gr bullets and AA#9 so far the results are good but I feel it could be better. Any sugestions?

Pat

[Mohawk]

Just an add-on for this thread. When a round nose bullet enters a structure such as lung, artery, heart, etc., at slight angle the wound becomes much larger than one might imagine. This can not surely be counted on everytime. A SWC will make a larger wound head first. But the few critters I've killed with a round nosed .38 happen to be at slight angles and a couple of the wounds were almost an inch long. Try shooting a paper target at a very slight angle, you'll see what I mean.

[Dusty Miller]

If you are firing a bullet at game that is not hitting straight on then you are taking a risk of wounding an animal that may run off into the woods/bush and die a long slow death.  That 's flat out immoral.  We, as hunters, have the responsibility to use a gun that is adequate, at a minimum, to the task at hand.  I'm not an animal rights type but the fact remains that a quick, clean kill should be what we are all trying to achieve.

[Mohawk]

Shooting a rabbit, or any animal,  behind the shoulder angling away is immoral?  It drives the bullet right through the chest, and the lungs being somewhat flat, gives a much better wound. Thus the angle. That is the preferable shot. Plus, it usually takes out the shoulder on the far side as well. Works with any four legged animal. With the shape and location of animal's lungs it is virtually impossible to NOT hit the lungs at an angle, with the exception of a perfect, I mean PERFECT, broadside shot. And if your up in a tree, and the deer is broadside, that is an angle(downward). And yes, bullets will make slightly larger wounds at an angle.

[Dusty Miller]

Mohawk, read the entire discussion.  I was refering to the flight of the bullet!  If a bullet hits the target sideways then it has lost a lot of power in flight and its killing potential is reduced.  This is true even if the bullet is only PARTIALLY sideways.  Anybody who knowingly uses ammo that does this is behaving irresponsibly.

[Van/TX]

Dusty, how in heck is a bullet going to  turn sideways and hit the target?  Never heard of any ammo that would do  that.  Maybe I'm not understanding what you are trying to say :? ....Van

[Lone Star]

It is common for understabilized bullets to hit a paper target sideways - I've seen it many times at the range and in print.  I doubt that you'd hit a prarie dog at 300 yards with a sideways bullet, but at 50 and even 100 yards it can and does happen.  Try firing a 69-grain .224 bullet in a .223 with a 12" twist, or a 200-grain .308 bullet in a 14" twist and you'll see what we mean.

[Mohawk]

Sorry, Guys....Let me re-explain. I was not referring to a bullet turning sideways. I was referring to the target being at an angle to you. That was about the best advantage to a round nose bullet. A .38 LRN would make a decent 1/2"-1" long and caliber sized wide hole through tissue when the tissue was at an angle. More angle means longer wound, to a point. Not keyholing, just angle of contact.  Sorry for the confusion.

[Hooker]

Mohawk
That would explain my success, As my shot entered the doe at a slight angle traveling across the chest cavity exiting behind the off side shoulder.
The entrance wound was elongated internal damage was massive, But the exit wound was small. Not a great deal of external bleeding, but a lot of blood in the chest cavity. Meat damage was almost nonexistent 2 clean holes one slightly larger than the other. This post was not to make a case for hunting with round nose bullets. Rather to show a observation of the event. RN bullets will work. Are they the best tool for the job? IMO most likely not. At the velocity of my load at that range bullet placement is critical. The target was stationary and I felt confident with the shot.

Pat

[Mohawk]

Exactly, Hooker. The one thing I would notice is an elongated wound through the lungs at an angle and clean entrance/exit wounds. The angle factor does not seem to work all that well on skin and hides. Though you are still better of with SWC's, of course. But I thought you might want to know just encase you are "forced" to use ball or round nose bullets in life's endeavours. Again, sorry for the confusion, Dusty. I should have explained it better.