308 blootering deer

[Brithunter]

Change the make of bullet

I shot my first deer a Roe Doe using the .308 and a 180 grain Sierra Pro Hunter and it blew up at about 90 yards. I found bits of jacket and lead inside the deer although it appears the base or part of the bullet did exit tearing out a 3" hole on exit and taking out three ribs. She dropped on the spot but I don't use Sierra's from choice only if I cannot get another make.

The 130 SP Hornady does very well on Deer and I use it in .308 and a bolt action 30-30 to very good effect. Later this upcoming year I hope to try them in the 30-06.

Now in the .308, a Brno model ZKK 601, I found the 165 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip to be very effective and not destructive either however the gamekeeper did not like them so a switch to the Speer 165 Hot cor was made and that too performed very well.

 

[Stand Buck]

Ballistic tips will spread the most contamination.


Mark

Is there any evidence to suggest ballistic tips spread more contamination? We're not talking lighter fox/varmint rounds which are highly frangible and splatter on impact. I thought weight retention for BT's designed for heavier game was roughly comparable to lead tipped bullets - or am I miles off the mark?

With most bullet manufactures there is only one difference between a ballistic tipped bullet, and a soft point or hollow point bullet. They have stuck a bit of plastic at the front. The manufactures are using the same jacket irrespective of bullet type. Jacket thickness is a controlling factor in bullet expansion; thin copper jacketed bullet will be more frangible, a thicker jacket will lead to less expansion. Could somebody tell me why all other thinks being equal, the ballistic tip bullet will expand more than another type?

The reason in my opinion Ballistic tips have been given a bad press is because early ones V-Max’s etc were not designed for deer but for varmints, some shooters then used them for a purpose for which they were never intended. Of cause if enough people repeat it over and over again others start to believe it as fact.

As for lead poisoning caused from eating big game, are there any independent peer reviewed medical trials to prove that it is a medical problem? I have ate plenty of small game that has been pepped right though with lead (unavoidable when game is shot with a shotgun) with no problems, and I have never heard of anybody having ill effects from lead poisoning by eating game.

Is this a solution to a problem that does not exists spread around by the purveyors of none lead projectiles?

ATB

Tahr

Every BT I have ever recovered has had between 90-95% wieght retension, alot higher than most monolithics would achieve, with their tendancy to shed petals on hitting bone.

 

[MarkH]

The bullet in the photo is a standard unbonded RWS lead copper softpoint. The faster a softpoint bullet is pushed the greater the risk of jacket seperation and lead fragmentation. Microscopic lead fragments are tasteless and harder to spot than pieces of copper jacket.

As far as lead poisoning is concerned there is a lot of research in more sensitive animals such as the Californian condor.
Lead shot does not tend to fragment so is not such a risk as lead powder.
The bottom line is don't eat contaminated meat. Lead is an accumulating toxic heavy metal, do a meadline search

Personally I don't purvey none lead projectiles I just like to shoot them.