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So, about these bullets???

CliffordN

CliffordN

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2021
Messages
455
Location
Florien, LA
I pulled these out of storage and noticed one says bonded... Would one work better on whitetails? I have probably shot each and just cannot remember if there was a lot of difference. I did determine that my TC Pro Hunter likes the black sabots much better. And cleaning the barrel with solvent was the answer to my loss of accuracy...
TCbullets.jpeg
 
Some will disagree, but that is ok…

The 250gr bullet is light for caliber in a 50cal ml. I prefer 300-325gr because I want a pass through and blood trail. If I were to use 250s then I would want them to be mono metal or bonded to ensure that the bullet held enough mass to pass through every time, barring some crazy scenario.
 
EastTNHunter said:
Some will disagree, but that is ok…

The 250gr bullet is light for caliber in a 50cal ml. I prefer 300-325gr because I want a pass through and blood trail. If I were to use 250s then I would want them to be mono metal or bonded to ensure that the bullet held enough mass to pass through every time, barring some crazy scenario.
Click to expand...
My worries are that the bonded bullet might blow clean through without sufficient expansion. Although a 50 through both lungs should do the trick either way. I am not opposed to a direct , on purpose, shoulder shot to put one on the dirt right there. Just trying to decide what to shove down the pipe... I will probably be shooting less than 100 yards, using two pellets of Triple Seven to push this out of the barrel. The area I hunt is pretty much wide open. Unless a deer runs 150 yards I would likely see it go down...
 
CliffordN said:
My worries are that the bonded bullet might blow clean through without sufficient expansion. Although a 50 through both lungs should do the trick either way. I am not opposed to a direct , on purpose, shoulder shot to put one on the dirt right there. Just trying to decide what to shove down the pipe... I will probably be shooting less than 100 yards, using two pellets of Triple Seven to push this out of the barrel. The area I hunt is pretty much wide open. Unless a deer runs 150 yards I would likely see it go down...
Click to expand...
Nah, they should expand just fine. They're bonded, not solid. If you make sure to stay off of the shoulder and only take broadside shots (that can't be done in the areas that I hunt) then either will work. If you hit shoulder with an anchor shot, or a quartering shot that may encounter bone or have to traverse farther, then I'd definitely want the bonded bullets
 
I have killed deer with both, I'm sure... Just trying to get back on track after using a 35 Whelen in Mississippi for years, during the primitive season there. I decided to drop back to two pellets after I got to the range, and it was shooting so good I never tried three again.
 
CliffordN said:
I have killed deer with both, I'm sure... Just trying to get back on track after using a 35 Whelen in Mississippi for years, during the primitive season there. I decided to drop back to two pellets after I got to the range, and it was shooting so good I never tried three again.
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I shoot bh209 and I was shooting 75grs by weight so last year I dropped to 60grs by weight. Accuracy is as good and recoil is less. At the ranges I'm hunting, inside 100yds, deer won't know they're being killed with lesser charges.
 
Remi said:
I shoot bh209 and I was shooting 75grs by weight so last year I dropped to 60grs by weight. Accuracy is as good and recoil is less. At the ranges I'm hunting, inside 100yds, deer won't know they're being killed with lesser charges.
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That's what I'm thinking too... But I enjoy hearing what others are doing, and their opinions... The only problem I ever had shooting muzzleloaders before was when I was shooting patched balls and didn't get much of a blood trail.
 
CliffordN said:
That's what I'm thinking too... But I enjoy hearing what others are doing, and their opinions... The only problem I ever had shooting muzzleloaders before was when I was shooting patched balls and didn't get much of a blood trail.
Click to expand...


Oh yeah, lots of right ways to do it.

Ive killed a few with PRB from a 54 cal and I didn't get much blood but they also didn't go far.
 
CliffordN said:
My worries are that the bonded bullet might blow clean through without sufficient expansion. Although a 50 through both lungs should do the trick either way. I am not opposed to a direct , on purpose, shoulder shot to put one on the dirt right there. Just trying to decide what to shove down the pipe... I will probably be shooting less than 100 yards, using two pellets of Triple Seven to push this out of the barrel. The area I hunt is pretty much wide open. Unless a deer runs 150 yards I would likely see it go down...
Click to expand...
Bonded doesn't mean it's a harder material....it just means the jacket and core are fused together so they won't separate after impact and expansion. Either should work just fine at the range you're talking about shooting.
 
Neither of those bullets will expand well. I have shot several deer with the TC shockwave. I have even recovered a few with full length penetration in deer and wild boar with no expansion.

They still killed deer and pigs but do not expand. It's still a rather large hole. I prefer to use the TC cheap shots as they are soft lead and expand well.

I currently use Hornady xtp and nosler jhp 44 cal pistol bullets in sabots that I buy separately. They perform flawlessly
 
I shoot the bonded ones in my 45-70 conversion at ~2500fps muzzle velocity because they stay together better. They still fragment but the pieces of jacket also have lead stuck to them. At 200 yards they still expand well and are traveling at less than 1700fps. FYI, the yellow tipped ones are Hornady SST's.
 
CliffordN said:
My worries are that the bonded bullet might blow clean through without sufficient expansion. Although a 50 through both lungs should do the trick either way. I am not opposed to a direct , on purpose, shoulder shot to put one on the dirt right there. Just trying to decide what to shove down the pipe... I will probably be shooting less than 100 yards, using two pellets of Triple Seven to push this out of the barrel. The area I hunt is pretty much wide open. Unless a deer runs 150 yards I would likely see it go down...
Click to expand...
I wouldn't be concerned that bullet expansion. The best expanding bullet in the business is probably the Barnes and it is all copper- harder than lead, jacket metal.
 
The non bonded are super hard imo, I have killed 5-6 with them and all were pass through without the exit being much bigger than entry, the XTP leaves a good exit hole. Keep your shots lower in the chest cavity so you get a quick blood trail just in case, They are very accurate in my savage smokeless. I like the 300g sst better than the 250g
 
I killed 5 deer with Hornady 250gr sst. All 5 dropped in there tracks. This yr trying hornady 290gr bore driver bullets. I was in bass pro in Springfield Mo. Fount them for 15.00 per pack. Bought the only 6 packs they had that day.
 
I use the controlled expansion yellow tipped Shockwaves 250gr with 100gr blackhorn 209. I got better accuracy by ditching the yellow sabot and use a harvester crushed rib which made it extremely accurate. I've killed around 30 deer with that combination most of which were mature big bodied bucks. I always get pass throughs and big blood trails, some drop in their tracks and some run but I've not lost one yet.
 

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