Hollow Points Or Solids

[martinfaw]

HP or Solids 240 to 300 gr. in sabot,which is the best in front of 100grains powder for deer.

Martinfaw

[cayugad]

Both will do the job if you put it in the right place but in that weight class I would lean towards the hollow point.The XTP's have sure killed their share of deer, but a pure lead projectile has been killing deer for many years also. I actually shoot both (not at the same time of course.. ) I hunt one tree stand where the shots are close and I usually hunt with my Wolverine LK-II. I like to load that with 85 grains of Goex 3f and a 240 grain .452 XTP or a 250 grain Barnes Expander. Although I sure like the .458 300 grain HP that Sabotloader turned me on to. They shoot good and have a great hollow point to them. I think they will do well.

Long range shooting I like to load a spitzer point or Shockwave type bullet. Also I like conicals.

I guess what I am trying to say is, shot placement will make the animal yours. There are really a lot of good projectiels out there...

[sproulman]

slow speed use hollow point, high speed the spitzer .longer ranges over 100 yards to 150, i would not use hollow point with high speed.i love the hollow point powerbelts in the t/c hawkins flint but i dont shoot over 80 yards at a buck and i shoot low charges in the 80/90 gr area .if i had a in-line, loaded hot , i would use a spitzer type bullet.

[sabotloader]

martinfaw

Just my random thoughts on your question... I think of all the animlas that a simple old 30-30 type gun has dispatched in this world and it was done with a "solid" type bullet - no hollow points - no spire points - just a plain old flat nose bullet. So does a "solid" bullet work? - certainly does - and a lot of people still use them. Hollow points, I actually do not know when they were invented, but the high use of them has been a fairly recent thing, both for hunting and use against people. I am not sure how many people would use a HP against a dangerous animal though - that might be risky. The HP is designed to "open" sooner and with less velocity than the standard bullet. The HP probably is the an excellent bullet on thin skinned animals, when shooting a high velocity bullet at the thin skinned and even a skinny animal. It almost asures expansion in the animal before it exits. The HP does reduce BC but enhances expansion and hydrostaticdamage caused within the animal.

Just my 2 bits....

[AQUATECH]

Well I would have to side with sabotloader &
cayugad. The solids have their place, and have
taken many many animals. But I still like the
hollow-point configuration at 300gr. even on deer,
and in front of a 100gr. powder charge. I want
that hydro. shock with awsome terminal damage.
I shoot most of mine at 50yds or less. The solids
are good at 100-200 yd range. I believe when
scootin along in front of a 120-150gr. powder
charge.

[jaybe]

It's my understanding that hollow points came to be so that reliable expansion could be attained with pistol cartridges - that is, bullets traveling at lower speeds. With most rifles, this happens when the frontal area of the bullet - flat or pointed - strikes the animal. A hollow point bullet travelling at a high speed will often "blow up" - resulting in inadequate penetration and/or excessive tissue damage.
Since muzzleloaders were usually much slower than CF rifles, it made sense to use hollow points for reliable expansion. With the advent of ML's developing speeds approaching or equal to many CF rifles, it may be again preferred to use solids.

IM jaybe

[Pittsburghunter]

Agreed I have not had the chance to prove it but I think the flatpoint 265g Interlock from Hornaday would be deadly at todays speeds. With 120g of T7 in my Encore it hits as consistant as my .308 out to 100yds. Knowing it leaves the muzzle going as fast and straight as it does it's hard to spend the money on the specialty bullets. ( I do anyways lol always need something to shoot).

I figure the spitzers would be needed more out west than here in NH where seeing a deer or moose over 100yds is rare.

XTP's seem to hold their own accuracy wise out to 100yds as well. I just wonder if they are over driven in magnums? Any thoughts?

[sproulman]

youre right on 30-30.the 30-30 bullet had a lot of lead on tip of bullet so it expaned more at lower velocity.todays SOLID bullets are solid.they have very little lead on tip BECAUSE todays guns shoot at high velocity.thats why i like the powrerbelt bullet so much in my hawkins flintlock.i can load the charge down say at 80grs. no kick, no flinching and better groups as i dont worry on the kick etc.to me its like shooting a .22 cal in my head with lower charge.most of bucks i shot were all under 80 yards.i am putting my maxi-balls to their final rest in hunting withetail deer.long time they have been my best friend on those bucks.they will be sadly missed. i am using roundballs for practice now and powerbelts for deer. take care.

[sproulman]

your right too. never use a hollow pointwith high velocity.it will blow up.in inline with hot load, i would NEVER use hollow point bullet.

[racks-n-beards]

So what is considered high velocity? I was shooting TC's 240 grain xtp bullets with 100 grain of ffg T7. Was this dangerous? I had no idea untill I read this post.