Has there ever been a study on what bullets stand up well at max load and 25 to 30 yard range?

Since I use heavy loads and hunt some open areas and thick timber I would like to find more information on what bullets stand up to the heavy loads at short range, since I average about one shot a year at 100 to 150 yards and have had a couple at 200 yards I will continue with heavy loads.
I found out the hard way what the lighter PB can do to the surface of a deer's shoulder when pushed up to 2100 FPS are there any others like that?

I would have to cast my vote for one of the all copper Barnes...I've killed deer with the 40 cal 195 BX, the 45 cal 250 TEZ, and the 45 cal 290 TEZ.....All of them are devastating bone breakers...they're a two hole bullet.

Absolutely agree barnes tez is a devastating bullet.
Hornady non mag xtp very close second but close range can be fragile.

Barnes by design opens up for devastating damage and body will continue thru animal

I cast all my own bullets and prefer non expanding ones with a decent size metplat. Although I like to take lung shots these bullets do well when shooting through a shoulder or ham creating a nice hole rather than over expanding like a hollow point can.

My hand cast 40 Caliber bullets have been my personal favorite in both 45 and 50 caliber muzzleloaders for at least a dozen years and have been proven to be effective for me from close range out to 150 yards.

Saxtonyoung said:

I cast all my own bullets and prefer non expanding ones with a decent size metplat. Although I like to take lung shots these bullets do well when shooting through a shoulder or ham creating a nice hole rather than over expanding like a hollow point can.

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When would you want to shoot a deer through the ham ?

bestill said:

Absolutely agree barnes tez is a devastating bullet.
Hornady non mag xtp very close second but close range can be fragile.

Barnes by design opens up for devastating damage and body will continue thru animal

Click to expand...

Completely agree

I just posted this picture elsewhere on the site. Its a .44 cal 300 grain XTP that took my buck at about 35 yards with 77 weighed grains [110 grain volume equivalent]

I never purposely shot one in the ham but I did take a long shot on a slow moving one and didn't account for the wind and ended up shooting it through the hips that took the deer down on the spot. Like I said earlier I prefer lung shots because they will run a few yards and go down with little meat loss but I must say I was surprised of what little loss of meat on the deer I shot through the hips.

If you are talking 50 caliber,

My hunting was a lot like yours. It has changed some, to go to 200 now. My First choice in bullet with the heavy charges would have been the 300gn Speer Deep Curl. I would rather have the wider meplat for close range and bonding of the Speer for heavy charges. Last fall I used the Bloodline 275,very impressed, and this year the Lehigh 265 CF. The Speer or a Lehigh CF/Bloodline would be my picks.

Saxtonyoung said:

I never purposely shot one in the ham but I did take a long shot on a slow moving one and didn't account for the wind and ended up shooting it through the hips that took the deer down on the spot. Like I said earlier I prefer lung shots because they will run a few yards and go down with little meat loss but I must say I was surprised of what little loss of meat on the deer I shot through the hips.

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Ahh gotcha ! Ya shots don't always go where intended . I have heard some hunters talk about a ham/rump shot . Myself that is not a ethical shot . May work but not humane to the animal . I'm also a lung shooter but I also know that things happen and sometimes shots hit where they were not intended . It's the ugly part of hunting . Thanks for clarifying.

Lee 9 said:

Since I use heavy loads and hunt some open areas and thick timber I would like to find more information on what bullets stand up to the heavy loads at short range, since I average about one shot a year at 100 to 150 yards and have had a couple at 200 yards I will continue with heavy loads.
I found out the hard way what the lighter PB can do to the surface of a deer's shoulder when pushed up to 2100 FPS are there any others like that?

Click to expand...

I guess I am assuming that you know the Lehigh or Lehigh Bloodline will work just fine @ short range. They know no difference - velocity and fluids determine the whole process.

Lehigh/Bloodline, Barnes, 300 Deep Curl, or 300 XTP mag if I was concerned about close shots with heavy charges.

sabotloader said:

Lee 9 said:

Since I use heavy loads and hunt some open areas and thick timber I would like to find more information on what bullets stand up to the heavy loads at short range, since I average about one shot a year at 100 to 150 yards and have had a couple at 200 yards I will continue with heavy loads.
I found out the hard way what the lighter PB can do to the surface of a deer's shoulder when pushed up to 2100 FPS are there any others like that?

Click to expand...

I guess I am assuming that you know the Lehigh or Lehigh Bloodline will work just fine @ short range. They know no difference - velocity and fluids determine the whole process.

Click to expand...

Actually I did test the 40/200 grain bloodline myself, both on jugs of water and on a 140 # buck at 2350 FPS[ custom gun] and it worked just like it was supposed to.
What I was thinking of is the box of bullets I have picked up over the years; I used to pick up a box or two of bullets every time I went shopping and I have them in a box in the gun room which I can just barely lift. And that's just the ones for the 50 calibers The ones for the 45 and the ones for reloading are separate. Now I am looking at what I can use them for.

There was a study of some sort done. Read this one.

https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/black- ... -long.html

There is one thing that scares me on bullets that preforms like a Liegh bullet ( bullet that the pedals break off ) I realize that you will get incredible internal damage but what happens if the deer runs off ? My only concern with bullets that preform like that is a good blood trail . What happens if the shot is bad ? Like a gut shot or ham shot ? I realize that a bullet that the pedals break off does normally give you a entrance and exit hole but the hole will be small.Sometimes a hunter needs a good blood trail in order to find The deer . Maybe this is a stupid question and nothing to worry about ?

This is the reason I personally am a Barnes fan or a big chunk of heavy lead . They normally pass through and they normally have good blood trails . This is just my opionion I have been wrong many times .

Maybe im worrying about nothing ? Im just asking the what if question .

Testing shows the Lehigh bullet penetrates deeper than the Barnes bullet.

Doug
80 grains of RS is quite short of a max load, it does eliminate a few but I don't think it tells what a max load would do.
About the Bloodline, with the 200 and the 250 I have take about a dozen deer with them the penetration and the damage has been extreme and the exit hole much larger than the bullet. I suspect the nose shape of the bullet builds a wedge in front of it, I can not say much about blood trails as I have not had to go more than 25 or 30 yards at most and a lot were DRT.

Perfect thank you for the info