Author Topic: it finally happened...ballistic tip hit deer ran! (Read 4200 times)

myronman3 · « **on:** November 22, 2008, 10:31:44 AM »

i have told stories on here about my 270, ballistic tips, and instant kills with chest shots on whitetails. i have also been called a liar for stating my experiences. and i said that if i shot one that didnt nose dive right there i would say so.

well today i shot a six point buck that actually ran a little ways before dropping. truth is i was about to pop it again when it tipped over dead. i figured something was off, and upon inspection of the deer, i hit is square in the diaphram; basically, i got shot it. well like i said, it STILL tipped over dead 40 yards, 10 seconds later. FROM A GUT SHOT! so, while the streak ends, i am impressed more than ever with the performance of the bullet.

i feel bad about the poor hit, but glad for the quick kill. little bugger came through as i was halfway through my sandwich, and when i saw him i swallowed wrong and was suppressing a gag as i shot. funny thing was when he didnt tip over i was so shocked i forgot all about gagging.

life is strange sometimes.

Tn Jim · « **Reply #1 on:** November 23, 2008, 06:18:17 AM »

Myron, that would have been a heck of a story. Deer dies from a gun shot and you from a samich! Congrats on the deer BTW.

hillbill · « **Reply #2 on:** November 23, 2008, 04:11:40 PM »

a samich and a beer is always the best way to git a big catfish to hit, didnt know it werked on deer too. thanks for the advisement!

Swampman · « **Reply #3 on:** November 23, 2008, 04:16:48 PM »

I tried them once. I'll never use them again.

I'll stick with Remington Core-Lokts.

rickt300 · « **Reply #4 on:** November 25, 2008, 04:07:57 AM »

I like the Ballistic Tips also. the only animal I have hit solidly that ran was a feral hog. Hit him right behind the shoulder, the bullet exited out behind the far shoulder spraying blood and chunks under the feeder. The hog drunkenly staggered maybe 50 feet, he was going down hill which probably helped. This was with a 150 grain 7MM Ballistic Tip going around 2700 fps.

hunt-m-up · « **Reply #5 on:** November 25, 2008, 07:38:19 AM »

I like the factory ammo Hornady SST 130 grn version in my 270. Deer hate them.

wareagleguy · « **Reply #6 on:** November 25, 2008, 02:14:46 PM »

I sure hope you keep droping those rascals in the tracks cause the day one runs off you will not have a blood trail. I have talked to many folks that love the BTs but after shooting two and another friend shooting three and not one had a drop of blood that could be found I quit using BTs.

Best of luck to you

myronman3 · « **Reply #7 on:** November 26, 2008, 04:23:39 AM »

it is funny you should say that, i noticed that with this deer, being the first that ran, there was not one speck of blood. it has been a non issue for me to date. and i am sure if i would have made a better shot, it wouldnt have been an issue here, either.

wareagleguy · « **Reply #8 on:** November 26, 2008, 11:20:48 AM »

May I suggest (if you reload) that you try pushing the BTs a littler slower. This seems to help keeping the bullet together a little more. That friend of mine that lost three was on monster mule deer (one in a life time deals) and he was just sick. The next day he got a shot at another mule. Again, we found no blood but just by chance I walked up on the deer. When we cleaned it we noticed the small entry hole and no exit. Now, the insides were toast but no hole for the blood to run out. I loaded those rounds for my buddy and the rounds were really hot. After my experince with this it seems the more you push the BTs it becomes clear that you will have more bullet fragmentation and no exit hole.

By the way, I must admit the BTs group really well.

myronman3 · « **Reply #9 on:** November 26, 2008, 12:53:12 PM »

i appreciate your opinion, but i have never had problems getting an exit. and out of 15-20 deer, this is the only one that moved from where i shot it; which was entirely my fault. 25 yards on a gut shot is what i call outstanding performance.

ihookem · « **Reply #10 on:** November 26, 2008, 02:05:17 PM »

A friend bought a box and used them on two does both dropped like you said myron. He swore by them and said I should use them but I still have 400 Rem core-locks and 500 Hornandys. Myron did you sell your house yet?

charles p · « **Reply #11 on:** November 26, 2008, 03:25:04 PM »

Most every deer I have shot with them dropped dead. Notice I used the word "most". I've also had bullets blow up on contact with hardly any penetraton and no blood loss. Very early BTs were bad for doing this. I think the bullet composition has improved.

They are best for shooting paper. Most accurate bullet I have ever loaded, but not on a par with ordinary cup and core bullets for deer.

myronman3 · « **Reply #12 on:** November 26, 2008, 03:42:48 PM »

no sell on the house yet. of course i aint trying all that hard and i dont expect to; so i am planning to end up keeping it as a cabin. granted, it is on the edge of town, but still minutes from some of the best hunting and fishing a guy could hope to find.

rickt300 · « **Reply #13 on:** November 27, 2008, 05:02:56 AM »

There seems to be some real misunderstanding about current Ballistic Tips and the early ones. The current Ballistic Tips have very thick jackets. I have not recovered one from a deer yet and not all shots were perfect broadside hits. I use the 95 grain in the 6MM and the 150 in the 7MM mauser and I have to say they are excellent deer bullets that generally provide exit holes. I won't slam them into the shoulder on the side of the deer I am shooting at but I have had them go thru the far shoulder and exit (95 grain from my 6). Another real misunderstanding is that an exit hole will provide a blood trail, this simply is not true in many cases. A gutshot will seldom flow much blood and the liver tends to plug exit holes. I far prefer to destroy all that is in the chest cavity than depend on an exit hole to help me track my deer down. The much touted TSX doesn't always give an exit hole and when it does "small" is what you get. While my 6MM gives around 3100 fps with the 95 grain BT the bullet certainly works at that velocity. The 150 grain 7MM BT at 2700 fps may just be the perfect deer combination.

myronman3 · « **Reply #14 on:** November 28, 2008, 04:35:23 AM »

i agree rick. with the exception of this last deer, i have shot the others through the chest cavity. the heart and lungs have been soup after a hit; and the deer dropped INSTANTLY. the most movement i have ever witnessed after a bullet through the chest cavity was a ear twitching-that result is hard to beat.

charles p · « **Reply #15 on:** November 28, 2008, 06:07:00 AM »

Interesting that you mentioned the new TSX. I just watched a 150lb buck being cleaned that was shot with a TSX from a 30-06. Not sure what grain bullet it was. The entry was perfect and the bullet lodged near the last rib on the off side. Their was no exit hole. We only found one small copper petal under the hide. The remaining bullet must have stopped in the entrails. The deer ran 60 yards I was told.

Based on that one and only sample, I see no advantage of the TSX over a good cup and core bullet.

buck460XVR · « **Reply #16 on:** November 28, 2008, 07:09:53 AM »

first off congrats on the buck.......Nutin' better than a warm barrel and fresh backstraps. I'm also a firm believer that a hunter should use the type of ammo and equipment he is most proficient with and has the most confidence in.

That said, I don't buy into the hype of "premium" type bullets for deer sized game at reasonable yardage.....and I don't believe your use of them contributed to your success. IMHO, even on a small, young 6pt. buck, no bullet(unless from a howitzer) from a is gonna kill 'em dead in 10 seconds when shot only in the guts. Altho it wasn't me that shot them, over the years, I've trailed gut shot deer for hundreds and thousands of yards, some that had dropped most of their guts outta the huge holes in their sides...some hit more than once, most were hit with guns bigger than a .270('06, 12 ga, .308). Since the diaphragm is the muscle used to pump the lungs, and since the lungs rest directly on it, by your own description of "i hit is square in the diaphram" tells me, you more'n likely clipped the lungs and/or the liver(which also sits next to the diaphragm) either directly or caused trauma to them from the shock.

Quote

it STILL tipped over dead 40 yards, 10 seconds later.

...... a reaction typical to a lung hit deer not hit in the shoulders also.

Don't get me wrong myronman3, I ain't trashin' your ammo, just givin' you credit for a shot better than just "in the guts".

myronman3 · « **Reply #17 on:** November 28, 2008, 10:15:20 AM »

i did clip the liver. after that gut job, trust me, i gut shot it. gutting that deer really sucked!

i dont know how well it could breathe, if at all, with that big hole in the diaphram. the bullet entered just before the diaphram, and exited out the bottom of the belly. for what it is worth, that memory is what i call motivation to make a better shot next time, sammich or no sammich.

ihookem · « **Reply #18 on:** November 29, 2008, 12:43:50 PM »

Myron, what is bringing you to Ellsworth? Nice country and you might not ever care to hunt anywhere else when you get used to the area. Anyway if you reload you can get ballistic tips for 7 or 8 bucks a box, maybe 9 bucks . Later ihookem.

myronman3 · « **Reply #19 on:** November 29, 2008, 01:23:24 PM »

work. actually, i am taking a job in elmwood, but the wife has more job opportunities in the cities, so we split the difference. i just got back from ellsworth; put down rent and security deposit on my place down there.

handi243 · « **Reply #20 on:** December 09, 2008, 12:02:39 PM »

I have to disagree with you on the tsx i am loading for a guy who is shooting a custom 260 we have loaded 130gr tsx bullets and the damage coming out is outstanding. Have not had to look one yet. I have not had very good luck with the ballistic tip i tried them in some testing and everyone came apart not saying they are bad bullets but i just like to have a bullet that stays together.

uncle_motorhead · « **Reply #21 on:** December 09, 2008, 05:46:26 PM »

If you found a petal at the hide, the heavy part did not stop earlier. You just didn't find the exit hole, which is sometimes small with the TSX. I've caught a few TSX's and they all look textbook. I've never found any "petals" Now when I was using BT's I usually found 2 -5 bases in the ones we found. I can't make myself use them anymore. When lead bullets explode, where do you think the lead fragments go?

Quote from: charles p on November 28, 2008, 06:07:00 AM

Interesting that you mentioned the new TSX. I just watched a 150lb buck being cleaned that was shot with a TSX from a 30-06. Not sure what grain bullet it was. The entry was perfect and the bullet lodged near the last rib on the off side. Their was no exit hole. We only found one small copper petal under the hide. The remaining bullet must have stopped in the entrails. The deer ran 60 yards I was told.

Based on that one and only sample, I see no advantage of the TSX over a good cup and core bullet.

myronman3 · « **Reply #22 on:** December 10, 2008, 01:40:25 AM »

it dont matter to me anyhow, i aint a big fan of venison ribs and i dont use the front quarters, either. even on big northern whitetails, i find there isnt enough meat worth your time. backstraps, loins and hams. everything else the coyotes, crows and eagles can have.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #23 on:** December 10, 2008, 02:24:00 AM »

lots of opinions , BT's work for me , Liked old style silver tips before they became BT's , core loke never seemed to do as well but like most bullets worked on whitetail deer . On most deer its bullet placement anyway.

charles p · « **Reply #24 on:** December 10, 2008, 03:29:52 PM »

I've got two boxes of 30 cal Ballistic Silvertips in 150 gr. I loaded some in 300 WSM for mule deer. They kill our small WT deer with no problem. I think I will try them in my new 308, probably next season. I've had mixed results with BTs in 257 and 7mm. They either work great or hardly work at all.

Anybody know if the Ballistic Silvertip is anything except a Ballistic Tip with a grey covering. They do shoot accurately.

kiddekop · « **Reply #25 on:** December 14, 2008, 05:07:20 PM »

I've used 165gr Nosler BT's in my Garand with 47.5gr of imr 4895 & a Rem 9 1/2 mag primer hit a Colorado mule deer buck in the neck at approx 300 yards & dropped him instantly.The most accurate bullet I've ever loaded and fired in my 30-06 Sako FinnBear is the Nosler 165gr Solid Base lead tip it's the precursor of the BT 5 shots in less than 7/16 inch,a friend uses the same bullet in his 300 weatherby mag for elk,mule deer & blackbear. We arrived home yesterday pm from a 6000 mile drive to and from Pennsylvania for a whitetail deer hunting trip but we never saw a legal 3x deer in a week of hunting nor were any others seeing any legal deer that we hunted with on private property.

critter44 · « **Reply #26 on:** January 15, 2009, 04:23:54 AM »

30-06 using 150 gr BT's
308 with 16" barrel using 150 gr BT's
Contender super 14" 30-30 using 125 gr BT's
25-06 using 100 gr BT's
300 Win Mag using 150 gr BT's

ALL of the above have been VERY effective for me taking whitetail and hogs. Plenty of penetration, blood trails (when needed which was not often) and not a single lost animal. Lots of them 'bounced'-that is they were so dead when they hit the ground that they bounced and did not even twitch. Total number of animals is probably near 30.

I'll keep using them.

KAYR1 · « **Reply #27 on:** January 23, 2009, 07:44:02 AM »

I love BTs for standard rounds, but load the Accu-bonds for my .300 WSM. They seem to hold together better and are just as accurate, perhaps more so. I killed 3 deer with it this year ranging from 30 yards to a laser-ranged 385. The one at 30 yards showed a little too much meat damage. I intentionally shot behind the shoulder, but had to disacrd most of both front shoulders on that one. All dropped in their tracks. Great bullets.

pozoutdoors · « **Reply #28 on:** January 23, 2009, 05:20:00 PM »

I luv BT's!! Used 150 gr in 30-06 and they worked great!! I never recovered one, complete pass though!! I use 85 gr in the 25-06 and they drop in their tracks most of the time. If it doesn't they don't go very far!! I have shot some at about 500 yds with this load. I don't have a range finder but i am good at judging distance and know the drop of the bullet!!! They are super accurate and do their job very well, on deer size game!!

petemi · « **Reply #29 on:** January 27, 2009, 10:09:15 AM »

My Ruger M77 MKII .308 loves Winchester 168 gr. ballistic tips. They're all I use in that rifle. About a dozen deer taken, and one went 75 yards with one lung and the heart shot out and the right shoulder blown through. The rest dropped where they stood. I've also used it on fox and coyote out to 350 yards.