broey1

I need to know if any of you out there have ever experienced what I did yesterday. I went out to a friend's farm in central Virginia to hunt deer. He wanted to set me up on a powerline that runs the back of his land... however he insisted 200-250 yard shots would be the norm so he pleaded with me to try some of his Hornady SSTs out of my 30-06. I guess he felt my regular softies just wouldn't be the ticket & how do you argue with a man who is setting you up on his land?? Any way, I shot a few rounds just off hand to double check the scope.... nothing too different. Well, it was getting late on Saturday and I'd only seen a couple doe, when a small six pointer walked out at about 200 yards. He wasn't a wall hanger, but he was meat. I fired, he dropped after a jump and stagger. Nothing out of the ordinary...... then I walked up to where I'd hit him. Blood everywhere.... and I do mean everywhere. I got to the deer and I'm not kidding, about a quarter sized ENTRY hole and maybe about a fist sized exit hole. Lost a bunch of meat on the backside. I've read about bullet "explosion" on this board before, but is this normal?? As far as I could tell it was a straight lung shot that passed clean through. If this is normal, why do you all use these plastic tipped bullets??

Virginia7

I've never used 'em, but I've seen the effect you describe. Why do folks use 'em - for rapid expansion. Sometimes, I think, a little too rapid. Imagine if all you had had for a
shot was a rear angle raking shot - necessary penetration might be questionable.

These plastic tipped bullets are great for varmints (incl. coyote), okay on antelope, and
maybe some deer, but I want no part of 'em on larger deer, any bear, elk, moose, etc.
Give me a good ol' Core-Lokt or Core-Lokt Ultra. Heck, even a regular Federal Classic
or Power Shok is better for big game (IMHO).

johnch

I have shot 2 deer with Hornady SST and 15 -20 with Nosler BT with my 30-06 and not had that happen to me .
What bullet weight where you shooting ?
What fps do you think it was going?
You said 200 yds ,did you hit the shoulder going in or out?

broey1

Well, they were reloads so I'm not sure what fps they were cooked up for. 180 grains (although I was told heavier bullet weights are used with tipped bullets as to slow them down, but what do I know). No shoulder hit at all that we could tell. The only thing I can think of is that it hit something going in and started to open up early (although I don't know what that could be). I hear mixed reviews about these tipped bullets..... some guys shoot a bunch it seems and never experience this at all and some guys hit one and say never again. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'd never use one again, but my lord did it open up and in a hurry too. It killed him though, so in that regard it did its job, but I can't believe they would be designed for that radical of expansion.

skeeter 7MM

I only used the SST for one season it accounted for a doe and the largest bodied buck I have ever harvested. On the doe the shot was just shy of 200 yards it was double lung only making contact with the ribs, hole in was little bigger than the diameter of the bullet exit was 2 1/2", only meat loss was the rib and bit of the flank. The buck was 127 yards, quartered away, bullet enter leaving the same size hole as the doe but hit the opposite shoulder darn near plucking it clean off the animal - the exit hole was huge - obviously it was completely trashed and lost. Both animals never took a step and the lungs were soup. Were shot with 154 gr sst out my 7 rem mag.

Since then I have switched back to the 150gr Nosler Ballistic Tip, I have never experienced a failure or fist size hole unless I encounter heavy bone. The reason I use the bullet is accuracy (especially extended ranges) and the expansion, being a rib shooter I like to see a 2" exit hole and vitals made into soup..I don't worry about a little bit of rib meat lost, any bullet will cause some trim away so I consider it to be nill. If I happen to take out a pin I expect meat loss but I also know it will get the job done on our good size bucks.

Different strokes I guess but the NBT has never proved IME to be to explosive for the likes of 250-300lb animals and never give it a second thought.

bigcountry

If you hit him in the lungs, why did you lose any meat?? What meat are you talking about? You mean the ribs? This meat damage thing always perplexed me some. I have shot dozens and dozens of deer without this meat loss thing unless I hit them square in the arse. Or shoulder. And I am not a big shoulder man anyway.

Todd1700

The meat loss thing doesn't perplex me. Ballistic tips are fine if every shot you take is a perfect broadside and you make a well placed shot in the ribs. If you have to make a quartering away shot however or a quartering to you shot I have seen these things fragment and destroy a ton of meat. Go stand around one evening at a deer processor and watch them skin the days take. It's not hard to spot the deer shot with a ballistic tip because half of them gemnerally have to be thrown away.

bigcountry

Sorry Todd, never stood around and watched people at the deer processing place. I only butcher my own. NO way I am going to pay someone 50 dollars for something I enjoy. And out of the 60 or so deer I have butchered I havn't seen all this meat loss. But I don't see the need to take risky shots. Let a deer walk and get the next one Myself, I don't like shoulder meat. I use the top chunk for veg soup, and the dog gets the rest. Or it goes to ground. I like the backstraps, inner loins, and hind quarters.

Shoot if people loves these parts that much, I can arrange to give ya at least 20 to 30lbs of meat a year. I can even throw in some of the neck meat from bucks that rutting. I won't eat it.

Whats funny, is I have these uncles who all the time talk about meat loss, and getting every scrap of meat off. But every year, my aunt tells me she throws out these ribs they never cook, and shoulder meat they never eat. Or they are trying to give it away.

A good shot should not have any meat loss.

skeeter 7MM

BC, ain't that the truth! I as well butcher all my own as well as several others hunters game in a given year. I am very picky when it comes to trimming the meat, even the ground stuff I like to sift through as we eat wild meat a ton and as such I want it to be pleasurable..I see no reason to save intercostal rib meat on most animals when it is largely made up of a thin layer of meat sandwiched between skin over and talc. I can never seem to get enough of the choice (backstarps and rear hams) and always way to much ground (besides moose) so some shoulder loss really doesn't bother me any. I am not saying to waste the meat in any way but if I must take a quarter shot you better believe it is on animal I am hunting for the headgear, as well as meat.

Like I said to each his own but for deer I'll take my chances with the NBT.

killer243

yea i myself don't like the plastic tiped bullets. it is just to thick where i hunt and a lot of time you have to take a quatering shot, i do up my own deer and i don't mess with the rib meat but the front legs go into jerky and the back go into balona(sp) and hamburg, and sometimes i'll throw in some neck meat. then i either butterfly the tenderloins or just cook them whole with some seasonings on it.

however i did try the NBT's once. shot a doe through the neck into the oppisite shoulder. knocked the shoulder off. talk about bloodshot