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Cup and core bullet vs bonded bullet for whitetails

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philsanchez76

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Hey all, for 450 bushmaster (reloaded anywhere between 2200 fps and 2600 fps), max shooting distance would be 200 yards, but about 50% of the time deer pop out at 30-40 yard ranges and present shots. A lot of small parcel hunting so close to property lines; very helpful to make shoulder shots for DRT deer.

Question: would a classic cup and core like the Hornady Interlock do the trick on close and far shoulder shots? Any issues with these exploding on shoulders for folks on closer shots? Or would it be better to go with a bonded bullet (federal fusion) to ensure shoulder to shoulder penetration all the time? Maybe 2600 fps too slow to realize benefits of a bonded bullet? I've heard these can make smaller wound channels, less blood to follow if you do end up having to track? Any thoughts/experiences super helpful. thx
 
There's a lot of variability in construction between bullets of different calibers and manufactures for optimum expansion at usual impact velocities. In general, I prefer a bonded bullet when impact velocities may exceed 2800fps in most calibers. Less than 2800fps impact velocity and it doesn't matter.
 
I don't know a ton about .450 bushmaster, but I do know that it uses a .452 diameter bullet which was originally designed to open up at handgun round velocity. I'm a big interlock fan, but a rifle interlock may be different from a handgun interlock due to the construction and sd.

With a low sd non-bonded bullet like that it may come apart and not exit if you hit it on a quartering-to shot. I'm sure any other shot would probably give you a pretty good chance of pass-through. With that much diameter I'd rather it bore a hole all the way through with minimal expansion, knowing that a shoulder shot will likely impart a bunch of energy and likely DRT results anyway. Give me a hard cast, mono, or bonded bullet if it's 45 caliber or larger, but I don't think that there's a bad answer here. Try out the interlocks on a broadside shot a few times to see how it performs before you trust it to a quartering-to shoulder shot.
 
EastTNHunter said:
I don't know a ton about .450 bushmaster, but I do know that it uses a .452 diameter bullet which was originally designed to open up at handgun round velocity. I'm a big interlock fan, but a rifle interlock may be different from a handgun interlock due to the construction and sd.

With a low sd non-bonded bullet like that it may come apart and not exit if you hit it on a quartering-to shot.
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You said a mouthful there EastTNHunter. I used to shoot a wildcat 357 Herrett round out of a 14" barrel Contender and being 357 I started handloading pistol bullets. I learned the hard way that pistol bullets being pushed at near rifle speeds causes very, very bad results. I actually had bullets come apart in flight.
 
If it's not a hollow point (ballistic tipped or otherwise), I'd say you're good. I've never seen a non-bonded soft-point bullet do poorly on a deer at the ranges you're describing unless something was off with shot placement (and I don't mean hitting bone). Assuming the grain of the bullet isn't exceedingly light-for-caliber, its weight should make up for lower velo, penetration-wise. Those old .45-70 Gov't loads fired at long range back in the BP days were no screamers.
 
I have some of the Buffalo Bore 450 Bushmaster rounds loaded with a 275 grain Barnes XPB. My son shot 2 bucks with them this past season. Both broadside shots and both pass through. First one was at 75 yds. Hit tight behind shoulder about halfway up deer. Impact broke the spine and deer dropped in its tracks. Second buck was about 165 yds. Hit a little far back but right through liver. Made big holes and good blood trail , huge hole in liver that almost tore liver completely in half. Both bucks had no excessive meat damage . So I recommend this round. I have no doubts it would break bones and keep on going, making a big hole on the way.
 
EastTNHunter said:
I don't know a ton about .450 bushmaster, but I do know that it uses a .452 diameter bullet which was originally designed to open up at handgun round velocity. I'm a big interlock fan, but a rifle interlock may be different from a handgun interlock due to the construction and sd.

With a low sd non-bonded bullet like that it may come apart and not exit if you hit it on a quartering-to shot. I'm sure any other shot would probably give you a pretty good chance of pass-through. With that much diameter I'd rather it bore a hole all the way through with minimal expansion, knowing that a shoulder shot will likely impart a bunch of energy and likely DRT results anyway. Give me a hard cast, mono, or bonded bullet if it's 45 caliber or larger, but I don't think that there's a bad answer here. Try out the interlocks on a broadside shot a few times to see how it performs before you trust it to a quartering-to shoulder shot.
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This is what I was kind of thinking but didn't want for it to be true because I have access to all kinds of Interlocks of course and anything bonded is either impossible to get or super expensive or both. What kept nagging at me about the Interlocks was exactly what you say, low SD comparatively. Hornady loads these in factory ammo at 2200 fps so kind of right between rifle and pistol velocity. I am guessing they will take 90% of the deer I shoot at cleanly if I tuck it right behind the shoulder. But the other 10% is what I am trying to think about- like the biggest buck I've ever seen giving me that quartering-to shot. I fully intend on doing some poor mans penetration tests this year before season. Appreciate all the experience shared here.
 
Dennis said:
I have some of the Buffalo Bore 450 Bushmaster rounds loaded with a 275 grain Barnes XPB. My son shot 2 bucks with them this past season. Both broadside shots and both pass through. First one was at 75 yds. Hit tight behind shoulder about halfway up deer. Impact broke the spine and deer dropped in its tracks. Second buck was about 165 yds. Hit a little far back but right through liver. Made big holes and good blood trail , huge hole in liver that almost tore liver completely in half. Both bucks had no excessive meat damage . So I recommend this round. I have no doubts it would break bones and keep on going, making a big hole on the way.
Click to expand...
Ive had great experienced with Buffalo Bore in several other calibers. Man I wish I could get my hands on some of those Barnes so I could reload em.
 
Speaking of quartering-to shots, I was reading an article on hunting Colorado elk and when they are recommending calibers, they say to make sure your bullet is carrying a minimum of 1200 ft/lbs of energy at whatever range you're shooting a broadside shot and if you choose a quartering-to shot, your bullet should be carrying 2000 ft/lbs at that range! They are almost doubling the energy requirements! I know this does not translate to deer exactly but I found it interesting that outfitters in the state of Colorado were requiring such ballistics.
 

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