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Unusual experience with hornady xtp

This has happened to me when I started shooting ML at them. Started with Powerbelts, went to Hornady SSTs, then landed on TC Shockwaves. Had several incidents with the first two where I had little to no blood to trail. What I figured out was most of those bullets do not have a bonded core, so if you have too much powder or maybe just the way the bullet hits, it can explode, thus no exit wound and no blood trail. In thick stuff this can lead to lost deer. The TCs worked better but I made sure I bought bonded core bullets, which are more expensive.

I ultimately switched to Barnes expanders and honestly there isn't a huge cost difference vs. the TC bonded bullets, but those things are lethal. I've only shot a couple of deer with them as I have really stopped shooting does on my main spots, and I have shot a coyote too. The 2 deer went less than 50 yds and the coyote was down right there. Blood trails were present on both the deer I shot, but I didn't need them.
 
bullets do weird stuff sometimes. i did some tests years ago with different muzzle loader bullets in 250 gr and 100gr of 777. i remember one big doe i hit and after hitting the high shoulder it made a 90 degree turn and embedded in the femur.

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shockwave bonded (the saga continues pics)

shot another doe yesterday evening, waited to see if big boy was going to show up. he didnt and a doe was about to bust me, so i swung my rifle around and let one go. my tree was swaying a little so it knocked the shot a little high. hit her right below the backstrap above the shoulder. the...
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WTM said:
bullets do weird stuff sometimes. i did some tests years ago with different muzzle loader bullets in 250 gr and 100gr of 777. i remember one big doe i hit and after hitting the high shoulder it made a 90 degree turn and embedded in the femur.

www.tndeer.com

shockwave bonded (the saga continues pics)

shot another doe yesterday evening, waited to see if big boy was going to show up. he didnt and a doe was about to bust me, so i swung my rifle around and let one go. my tree was swaying a little so it knocked the shot a little high. hit her right below the backstrap above the shoulder. the...
www.tndeer.com www.tndeer.com
Click to expand...
Yep, with a living body being such an inconsistent medium...density wise...a bullet can do some crazy stuff after impact.
 
deerhunter10 said:
I've shot many different bullets with ml, and I've seen all of them not leave hardly a blood trail. Not unusual.
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Not unusual for today's modern MZ bullets. But in the past, with hard maxi-ball and Maxi-hunter conicals, they always left amazing blood trails. If those old conicals weren't so hard to load, I would still use them.
 
Its 100% about impact velocities... the heavy bullets are more likely to pass through because they leave the barrel at a lower velocity, and lower impact velocity, so they deform less travelling through tissue.

If you arent getting pass-through with the lighter bullets, simply lower your powder charge, or shoot deer further away.
 
Use the heaviest bullet your MZ will accurately shoot.

I use the Barnes TEZ in 250 grain, with 100 grains of Blackhorn, they blow thru the largest deer.
I've never had a failure to pass thru with this.

Also, I'd second what BSK said--the best I ever had in terms of deer killing combo was the old Hawken and a heavy maxi-ball. Hit like a freight train.
And as hard to load as a freight train down the barrels of those old Hawkens with the older powders.
 
I've had the same experience with the 240gr XTP out of my ML. I've killed every deer I've shot with it, but it leaves zero blood trails. They shoot very well out of both of my MLs, but I switched to Barnes. I've had just as good accuracy and now my first blood trails using the 250gr T-EZ and the 250gr Expanders. I switched because I shot a big buck on the mountain with the XTP and had the hardest time finding him due to it being thick and steep in there. He only ran 80 yards, but that can be a long ways when you have to grid search in a dense area.
 
I've always had issues with muzzleloader bullets not leaving blood. I started shooting everything in the shoulders, typically no tracking necessary.
 
K-dub said:
I've always had issues with muzzleloader bullets not leaving blood. I started shooting everything in the shoulders, typically no tracking necessary.
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Everybody's experiences may differ, but since our place has grown up impossibly thick after being timbered back in 2015, I'll swing on over into the shoulder and try to break some bone. I still get pass-throughs, better blood trails and usually a plowed path of leaves and debris to follow if they don't drop right at the shot.
 
I've shot a ton of deer with the 240xtp bullet. I've had 2 deer with a similar story. Nothing but I heard them crash and walked in the general direction until I found them. I've had 5 or 6 dump buckets of blood. Most of my shots are within sight so I'm not gonna change since accuracy has been good.
 

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