TC Shockwaves bullet concern

[dbowling]

Shawn,
I was talking about pics Ive seen posted on forums of deer shot with bloodlines thru shoulders or a shoulder, usually the whole side of deer was bloodshot,if you shoot any deer straight thru the lungs you wont get much bloodshot meat..alot of times angle of shot makes you hit a offside shoulder and Barnes bullets do a tremendous amount of damage if you do, most people don't wait for the absolute perfect broadside shot either.
I prefer to shoot them in the neck that way there is very little meat messed up, but have shot a lot of deer different ways including shoulder shots.
I use mostly the 240 gr XTP or the 300 gr XTP and while they do cause damage no where near the extent of a Barnes and most of my deer are either DRT or don't make it over 40 yds.

I don't have a lot of experience with the Bloodlines on game yet but took 2 last year. Both shot at around 80 - 85 yards through the lungs and don't recall any Blood shot meat. :huh?: Was the blood shot meat you speak of from a shoulder shot with the bloodline?

 

[Long Range]

I was told the SST and the shockwave (both made by hornady) was the same bullet with just different color polymer tip?

Someone told you wrong. It's more than just a color, i've used hundreds of both bullets. i will say again: The 250 grain SST has a very soft tip, the Shockwave has a very hard tip. That hard tip sometimes causes the bullet to pencil through an animal without expanding.

BTW: The newer Hornady bullets have that same very soft tip.

TC formerly sold another bullet with a very hard tip, called the PTX. It had a horrible reputation on deer and elk.

Good to know! I guess Hornady should train their people better. That's who told me.

 

[ShawnT]

Shawn,
I was talking about pics Ive seen posted on forums of deer shot with bloodlines thru shoulders or a shoulder, usually the whole side of deer was bloodshot,if you shoot any deer straight thru the lungs you wont get much bloodshot meat..alot of times angle of shot makes you hit a offside shoulder and Barnes bullets do a tremendous amount of damage if you do, most people don't wait for the absolute perfect broadside shot either.
I prefer to shoot them in the neck that way there is very little meat messed up, but have shot a lot of deer different ways including shoulder shots.
I use mostly the 240 gr XTP or the 300 gr XTP and while they do cause damage no where near the extent of a Barnes and most of my deer are either DRT or don't make it over 40 yds.

I don't have a lot of experience with the Bloodlines on game yet but took 2 last year. Both shot at around 80 - 85 yards through the lungs and don't recall any Blood shot meat. :huh?: Was the blood shot meat you speak of from a shoulder shot with the bloodline?

I can see your point there. I personally try to not shoot to hit any of the legs to ruin any good meat. And yes that has cost me a deer or 2 getting away. I have only internationally taken a shoulder shot one time. Biggest buck I ever saw and could legally harvest was standing next to a border fence. Would only see him one time a year too so I shot high shoulder to put him down where he stood. Quartering shots can be tough if you don't want to hit the opposite leg. Should still just be the base of the bullet hit that opposite leg though. I would think the damage would be similar to using a deep curl or XTP. I have hit the opposite leg a time or 2 using deep curls and lead and usually have to clean up some blood shot meat.

 

[WV Hunter]

Personally, I prefer heart lung broadside (as most folks probably do) but honestly, ruining a shoulder here or there doesn't matter to me. Our deer don't have a ton of meat on the shoulders anyhow, and we have alot of deer so we always put at least 4 in the freezer. I'm more interested in a quick clean kill. :yeah:

I will say, the bloodlines give the quick clean kill...but yes, the petals certainly do cause damage (as designed).

 

[Fort Valley Man]

These bullet responses are incredible!!!! Buffalo were shot in the late 1800's with 45/70's using lead bullets, and that did the job. That is only 70 grains of BP. Why on earth would Whitetail Deer harder to put down? If you double lung a deer with a SST or Shockwave, you will not have any trouble finding the deer, and normally within 25 to 50 yards, and there will be a blood trail. If it is a neck shot, you will not need a tracking job anyway. Just my 2 cents. Good luck!

 

[GoexBlackhorn]

Many of those buffalo ran off with little blood loss too. Very-very difficult to double-lung on public land - with no deer blind - no bait - no shooting sticks. Also, for the past couple years, I've abandoned my scopes, just to get my shot off quicker. We are hunters, not snipers.

 

[Okie Hog]

These bullet responses are incredible!!!! Buffalo were shot in the late 1800's with 45/70's using lead bullets,

For a couple hundred years American hunters killed deer DRT using small caliber muzzleloaders firing round balls. In his diary my Great Granddad wrote of killing deer with a .32 caliber rifle using round balls.

i often kill big hogs with .50 and .54 caliber patched round balls. When put in the right place, round balls kill as well as anything else, including those magical bullets that cost $1.50-2.00 each. A .50 caliber round ball will exit the body of a big whitetail deer or 200 pound hog.

Some hunters never "find" a blood trail despite the fact that a blood trail does exist.

Some pointers:

1. Know where the animal was standing when shot.

2. Know where the animal went after it was shot. If you did not see where the animal went; they usually go back the way they came.

3. Work in ever increasing circles looking for blood.

4. Some grasses have red stalks that can be mistaken for blood. Some leaves have red on them. Peroxide makes blood fizz on contact. I carry it in a small spray bottle.

 

[livetohunt228]

So I'm the original poster of this post and I must say I never thought it would get so many responses. So over this past weekend my brother and I went down to our farm and my brother shot a doe using his TC Omega with 150 grains of 777(pellets) and a 250 grain Shockwave bullet like I have pictured in the original post. Put a perfect heart shot on her at 60 yds and she ran maybe 50 yds and was done. The blood was a little better this time, although all at the site where she went down, none prior, not that she went far and made that distance in literally seconds. Now to my question. I shoot a CVA Optima and only shoot 100 grains of 777(also pellets) with a 250 grain Shockwave bullet, same one pictured in the original post... the yellow one. I know that if you put it in the sweet spot your more than likely going to find the deer even if it don't put out a lot of blood. My question is, with shooting only 100 grains of 777, would a different bullet maybe be a better fit for me?? I really don't want to shoot 150 grains of 777.

What are some bullets you guys would recommend using 100 grains of 777 out of my CVA Optima to achieve easier recovery which in most cases equals more blood for tracking. A bullet that will do more damage when only using 100 grains of 777. I do understand that shot placement is KEY and I's most important! Any advice would be extremely helpful and appreciated! Thanks!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[ShawnT]

If you want to stick with Pellets I personally would recommend switching to the 300gn XTP or Speer Seep Curl. Also look at the Bloodlines.

Busta gave you some very good info on the reasons some have had issues with the 2 bullets you mentioned. It seems that 2 pellet loads give very inconsistent expansion with those bullets and ez loading sabots complicate that. If you want to stick with the SST or Shockwave, I would recommend switching to loose powder.

 

[ronlaughlin]

DeepCurl® Handgun Hunting .452

 

[dbowling]

I agree there is some with XTP`s but not anything compared to what a Barnes does..

Shawn,
I was talking about pics Ive seen posted on forums of deer shot with bloodlines thru shoulders or a shoulder, usually the whole side of deer was bloodshot,if you shoot any deer straight thru the lungs you wont get much bloodshot meat..alot of times angle of shot makes you hit a offside shoulder and Barnes bullets do a tremendous amount of damage if you do, most people don't wait for the absolute perfect broadside shot either.
I prefer to shoot them in the neck that way there is very little meat messed up, but have shot a lot of deer different ways including shoulder shots.
I use mostly the 240 gr XTP or the 300 gr XTP and while they do cause damage no where near the extent of a Barnes and most of my deer are either DRT or don't make it over 40 yds.

I don't have a lot of experience with the Bloodlines on game yet but took 2 last year. Both shot at around 80 - 85 yards through the lungs and don't recall any Blood shot meat. :huh?: Was the blood shot meat you speak of from a shoulder shot with the bloodline?

I can see your point there. I personally try to not shoot to hit any of the legs to ruin any good meat. And yes that has cost me a deer or 2 getting away. I have only internationally taken a shoulder shot one time. Biggest buck I ever saw and could legally harvest was standing next to a border fence. Would only see him one time a year too so I shot high shoulder to put him down where he stood. Quartering shots can be tough if you don't want to hit the opposite leg. Should still just be the base of the bullet hit that opposite leg though. I would think the damage would be similar to using a deep curl or XTP. I have hit the opposite leg a time or 2 using deep curls and lead and usually have to clean up some blood shot meat.

 

[dbowling]

240 gr non mag xtp or .44 300 gr non mag xtp, both work great with 100 gr of pellets.

So I'm the original poster of this post and I must say I never thought it would get so many responses. So over this past weekend my brother and I went down to our farm and my brother shot a doe using his TC Omega with 150 grains of 777(pellets) and a 250 grain Shockwave bullet like I have pictured in the original post. Put a perfect heart shot on her at 60 yds and she ran maybe 50 yds and was done. The blood was a little better this time, although all at the site where she went down, none prior, not that she went far and made that distance in literally seconds. Now to my question. I shoot a CVA Optima and only shoot 100 grains of 777(also pellets) with a 250 grain Shockwave bullet, same one pictured in the original post... the yellow one. I know that if you put it in the sweet spot your more than likely going to find the deer even if it don't put out a lot of blood. My question is, with shooting only 100 grains of 777, would a different bullet maybe be a better fit for me?? I really don't want to shoot 150 grains of 777.

What are some bullets you guys would recommend using 100 grains of 777 out of my CVA Optima to achieve easier recovery which in most cases equals more blood for tracking. A bullet that will do more damage when only using 100 grains of 777. I do understand that shot placement is KEY and I's most important! Any advice would be extremely helpful and appreciated! Thanks!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[livetohunt228]

Thanks for the advice guys!! Think I'll look into ditching the pellets and also try one of the above mentioned bullets. Thanks again! Happy Holidays!!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[WV Hunter]

I have killed deer with alot of ML bullets. Based on my experience, I would use the Bloodlines.
The XTP, Deep Curl, and Barnes are great bullets also.
Check out Ron's bullet testing threads/videos when you get time. :yeah:

 

[hawki]

I have had one failure with a shockwave, a hit directly on the elbow. The bullet came apart and didn't enter the chest. Was it the bullet's fault? No,mine poor placement. I don't know if any other bullet would have made a difference with that placement. That is the only bullet that has been recovered out of dozens. Now granted my open field hunting put a different emphasis on bullet performance with ranges out to 200+, than someone who is hunting in heavy cover. There is usually plenty of time to get a broadside shot. Many of these deer would have to travel quite a distance to get out of sight after the shot. That is not the norm for other situations. Tailor your bullet choice to the job you ask of it. For me the accuracy of the bullet is the most important and the Shockwave is the most accurate out of my gun.

 

[ronlaughlin]

.....I don't know if any other bullet would have made a difference with that placement........

Take a look at the Monoflex. It flies as good as the shockwave; works better at the lower speeds the bullet will be traveling at longer ranges. It is very accurate from my rifles, a way out there. It won't come apart on a deer elbow.

 

[Fort Valley Man]

The key is to pair the bullet you use with the proper amount of powder so the bullet can perform properly. Some bullets perform better at slower speeds. The craze of guys using 150 grains of powder does not work well with some bullets because they disintegrate upon contact. HP XTP works better with a slower speed, so that 80, 90 or 100 grains of powder is best.

 

[WPrather]

I have a CVA Optima V2 thumbhole and it loves 3 777 pellets and a Hornady 250gr SST. It will shoot a 3 shot group under a inch on a regular basis. My hunting buddy has a CVA V2 also and with 3 777 pellets and a 300gr Hornady SST his will shoot right at a inch also.

I have killed a lot of deer with the Hornady SST’s over the years. The reason I shoot a 150grs of powderbis because the bullets just work better on deer at that higher speed. I have shot some with a 100grs and you get a 45cal hole straight thru. I have always had a blood trail but they can run pretty far. With a 150gr of powder that bullet does what it’s supposed to do and deer don’t go far if at all.

 

[WPrather]

Try the Hornady 250gr Monoflex bullets there supposed to shoot the same as the SST’s. But they are supposed to mushroom better at slower speeds. They should work better with a 100grs of powder.

 

[Long Range]

Try the Hornady 250gr Monoflex bullets there supposed to shoot the same as the SST’s. But they are supposed to mushroom better at slower speeds. They should work better with a 100grs of powder.

Is this the same as the FTX bullet? Looks very similar?