Todd1700

The online accounts of consistently great performance manyclaim to get out of ballistic tips on deer and even bigger game animals is one of those odd things in life that make me feel like I've been hunting in a another dimension of space time. Why? Because the results I've seen from them are anything but consistent. Very few people I know still use them on even deer sized game and most people I know actively hate them. I bet 80 percent of the wounded and lost deer horror stories I have heard or been involved in over the past 10 years involved a ballistic tip bullet. The main difference I'veexperienced from the online accounts I read is in the area of penetration. I see these accounts that say, " I've shot 442 deer with ballistic tips and all but 3 exited; why one pentrated a 330 lb deer from @$$ to nose, exited the left nostril; went through 4 pine trees crossed onto a military base; hit an M1A1 Abrams tank, blew throught the plate armor on one side and lodged in the offside track retaining 92% of it's original weight. (okay I'm exaggerating a bit but you get the idea) Well, all I can say is that they must be shipping a different version to you guys than the one they are selling us down here in south Alabama. I had 3 cousins and an uncle who usedballistic tips in their270s and 7mm mags for years. I also had multple friends who used them and I shot a few deer with them. They killed a lot of deer with them (although they have all soured on them now) but even on broadside shots I'd say they exited less than 50 percent of the time. And on any kind of angled shot they almost never exited. And our Alabama deer are not that big either. Hell, I thought that was the reason why some people like them. Because they don't exit. The few people I know that love these things are huge fans of the energy dump theory of terminal ballistics and use ballistic tips precisely because of their rapid violent fragment prone expansion.

In my experience withballistic tipsI'll say this: if you are willing to wait for perfect broadside shots and keep your bullet placement in the ribs behind the shoulder you will probably never have a problem. But shouder hits, frontal shots or sharp quartering shots are a roll of the dice and will eventually send you home will nothing but a bad memory of a sparce blood trail ending at nothing. And dear God are they meat manglers. I mean they are basically just hollow points with a plastic nipple. And why is a bullet given a hollow point? To facilitate rapid expansion.

When I carry a bow into the woods I am content to wait for perfect shot angles. I consider it part of the challenge of bow hunting. But whenI carry a rifle in the woods I want a bullet Ican trust to drive throughto the vitals on a less perfect shot angle. Me personally, I have zero confidence in ballistic tips to be that bullet.

bigcountry

Guys, take a look at what mossy killed with a bullistic tip last year. Shoulder shot from a 7mm Mag exiting out the rib. Chrono'd at 3050 out the muzzle.

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=1790260&mpage=1&key=&#179026 0

shepdogwv

the problem I have with ballistic tips are not that they can't kill a deer. There's no doubt in my mind that they will put one down, but I've seen a bunch of them just blow the crap out of a deer. I prefer to eat my meat.

bigcountry

Shep, if you don't have meat because of BT, you are not hitting them right. I suggest behind the shoulder in the boiler room. You don't want to shoot them in the hind or back or even shoulder, or you will ruin meat.

retrieverman

As a varmint bullet, ballistic tips are great, but for "big game", I prefer Accubonds.

stubblejumper

I guess that we just have bigger varmints.The one below was killed with a 180gr ballistic tip out of a 300 ultramag.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...r11/moose2.jpg

shepdogwv

You'll have to excuse me for taking a shot at a deer that's quartering away or not standing exactally broadside between two trees on the same flat as me. I always try to put it in the boiler room, however I don't havea sub MOA rifle and shooting while sitting on my seat in the cold don't always lend themselves to perfects shots right where I want them to be. I've yet to wound a deer I haven't found and haven't missed one completely formany years either, but there's no way I can guarantee perfect shots all the time so I try to cut my shoulder losses.


I did hit one in the rear one time and after I knew I hit it but didn't see it go down I looked at my rifle and realized why I had a hard time seeing it.....my walmart special package scope was fogged up I did find it later though and got close enough to see and get it.

bigcountry

Shep if you need some shoulders,I will be more than happy to give you a bunch.I go thru WV at least 5-7 times a year headin to Ky. I can bring you some shoulders if you need meat that bad.

bigcountry

Thats the truth. I think we are spoiled. I know I am.

retrieverman

There is nothing in my post that says ballistic tips would not kill big game, and I have used them on deer and hogs myself. All I said is that I PREFER Accubonds.