Yep, if game animals were made of wet newspapers, water, ballistic gelatin and clay all that wonderful testing would have some relevance. However, game animals are made of hide, bone, flesh, gristle, blood and guts; lots of guts.

No ones magic bullet is going turn a bad shot into a recovered animal every time, if at all. It is sad that makers of some so called "premium" bullets advertise that their bullet can make a difference on a marginal shot. Lots of folks who are not experienced take bad shots on game because they believe all that hype.

i help track a lot of elk and deer that have been wounded: Have heard nearly every make of bullet maligned because it failed to do something magic that the hunter thought it should have when he made that gut shot. Deer and elk that are gut shot quite often bleed very little even when the bullet expands and exits. Unless an artery or vein is hit there is very little blood. Hogs quite often do not bleed at all from a gutshot. Sometimes they bleed for a ways and then the hole/s become clogged with fat and the external bleeding stops. In about 50 percent of my tracking, the hunter cannot get me within 15 yards of the animals location when he shot it. Very few of them will fess up to making a gut shot.

i kill a lot of hogs every year. Last year it was in the high 40s. This year is is in the low 30s because i worked in SLC for three months. Hogs are the ideal testing medium for bullets. They are tough and they are usually lost when a bad shot is made.

Do not rush the shot. Wait until the animal is in position for a good shot. You owe the game animal a fast death.

In 2003 i lost a huge cow elk because that well advertised TC 300 grain PTX bullet failed to expand. The cow was double lunged. Four of us seached for that elk for about 10 hours. Had i gone with the 300 grain .420 XTP bullet that animals lungs would have been shredded.

Another hunter found the elk and took her out. The elk had traveled nearly one-quarter mile after being hit. That is the last animal i have ever lost.

Oh this was in Pa some of my friends hold County records for bears in Pa not State records,but County..[/QUOTE]
Z your wrong about State Records
Andrew Seman you and me both know him you probably went to school with him.He's from your hometown and shot this Bear in your back yard.Here's the link http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_422836.html I know who your talkin about with that bear and silvertips Greene right ? and Neil he had the record in the 90s then broke his own record,held it for Years.

Not sure if this post was in relation to my post, but just in case it is I thought I would chime back in. I, in no way, advocate taking less than ideal shots. I passed up my first chance at a deer with my newly scoped BP rifle this year because I just didn't have the shot I wanted. As anxious as I am to try out the new scope and bullets, I just couldn't take the shot. I also passed up a less than ideal shot with my 30-06 too this year.

I do occasionally make less than ideal shots, but not on purpose. But, when it has happened, the deer have not gotten very far and I credit the bullet with the stop. Well that and it is a 30-06 which is arguably more gun than needed on whitetail. But the results are why I stick with the caliber and the bullet.

Like Sabotloader, I am looking for similar results with the blackpowder rifle and bullets.

thanks Sabotloader, I'll find and try some this spring..

grizzly 2

Ubetcha...

It was not.


Folks get on this board and badmouth the most two most widely used muzzleloader bullets. Then you ask them which 240 grain XTP bullet they are using or which 250 grain SST/Shockwave bullet they are using and you get no answer most of the time. i'm on several other boards: This phenomenom is peculiar to this board.

If you make a good shot on a Animal, Heart, Double Lung, I dont care what Bullet you use the animal will expire and it's now up to you to find your Harvest. The Bullet did it's job and now it's time for you to do you'rs. If you need a 2 foot wide blood trail to do so then you better find another sport. Hunting is'nt easy and there's no Majic Bullet.
You have to be a Marksman first, a Tracker second and a Hunter last, and most important out of all of them you cant be Lazy when it come's time to find your Animal.
(BP)