Has anyone used 50 cal Harvester bullets? I have not sure about them

[boatboy]

I harvested my second buck with Buckhorn 209 and Harvester 240 grain sabot and bullet. I must say both deer were quick humane kills but...

I was able to retrieve the bullet out of last nights deer and the jacket and bullet were total separated and  I need to get my scale but the majority of the lead is somewhere else.

In the past I have used Hornady bullets and man the flatten out and dont loose much if any weight.

Ironically the deer last night went about 25 feet and I was lucky he was in a field there was no blood I didnt find any on snow. You could tell when we dressed him the blood flowed like crazy.

In the end they did the job but I dont think they would picture this bullet on an advertisement IE the "deadliest mushroom"

Hank

[DennyRoark]

You don't say which Harvestor bullet you're using.  I found the Scorpion PT very accurate and mushroomed nicely in the sand trap.

In the end they did the job but I dont think they would picture this bullet on an advertisement IE the "deadliest mushroom"

During which part of the bullets "failure" did the deer die?  25 feet ain't bad for any bullet!

[Ron 1]

i have read about the risk of lead poisoning from bullet fragmentation it is recommended that non partitioning bullets should be used for hunting if you intent to eat the meat. i would cut way enuff meat so to make sure i was not feeding my family meat with lead in it.
    rw   

[boatboy]

HMM never really thought about that part. Butchering tomorrow will keep that in mind


Hank

[moto357]

i think sand and flesh are two different things.. i've seen lots o bullets mushroom in sand.. and same bullets also look almost new with only a few scratches on the nose.  dirt is dirt, and makes a good stopper so i can re-cast my bullets and anyone elses i dig up.  as far as being a test medium for bullet performance, well sand isn't it  

although i do agree, dead is dead.. but if that same bullet that fragmented was shot at 'ol mossy horns and a shoulder shot was taken.. a feller might be tracking a wounded deer when another boolit might have made quick work of the larger animal.  now if you knew you had a bullet that would fragment, and were ok with the "varmit bullet" performance, im sure taking archery type shots or head/neck shots would make things just as well also

just my thoughts

[sja384]

Boatboy,
I switched from T/C Shockwaves to Harvester Scorpion PT Gold Bullets this year. I shoot the 260 grain version of them out of a crush-rib sabbot in my TC Omega. They are the most accurate bullet I have shot so far, I can shoot a 3 shot group with the holes touching at 100 yards. 3 weeks ago I shot an eight point buck at 50 yards that dressed out at 220 lbs with them. The bullet did not go through the deer; he did, however, drop in his tracks at the shot. When I skinned him out I was surprised at the damage. The shoulder where the bullet went in was completely destroyed and I found bits of lead and copper plating, along with bone fragments throughout the meat. I did not recover the bullet whenever I dressed the deer because it was snowing pretty good out and I wanted to get home, but it would be interesting to see how much of it was left because I found alot of it fragmented throughout the meat.

[metalman]

I killed a 175 lb., field dressed, Mule Deer buck during the 2010 regular rifle season using the 300 gr. Harvester Scorpion PT Gold on top of 120 gr. of B209 with their high pressure EZE load sabot, and a Federal primer. This load averages 2050 fps out of my T/C Triumph Bone Collector. The buck was standing broadside at 103 yards. He was dead on his feet and ran about 25 yards.The exit hole was 3 3/4 inches and his heart and lung tissue were identifiable by color only when I cleaned him out. The tissue damage from hydraulic pressure of this expanded bullet as it went through the chest cavity was really impressive. I didnt find any evidence of lead particles.
I will have no hesitation using this load on elk under 200 yards. It is a 200 yard sledge hammer. The guys at Harvester were friendly and very helpful when I called for recommendations. Their sabots solved the Triumph tight bore problem and the accuracy is very good as long as I do my part. I have also shot the ribbed sabots with Barnes bullets and they perform well.
Hope this helps.