Deer hunting bullet/powder combo question

[Knoxmccoy]

Hello,

First off let me state I know there is a traditional hunting subforum, however I’m using a modern inline traditions buckstalker.

I’m having some issues with lack of deer blood trail and knock down power with my initial bullet/powder combo

I’m using Hornady sst low drag 250 gr sabots with 2 50/50 gr (100gr) 777 pellets.

Anyone have a better recommendation for bullet charge combo?

Im noticing a lack of blood trail or long blood trail and bullet is not making full passes.

I want to have the most ethical kill possible so please keep this in mind.

Thanks

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Thats a decent bullet and the t7 should be sufficient to expand it in a deer. But there are plenty of better bullets like Barnes 250 and 290 expanders, Speer Deep Curls, Hornady XTPs, Thor, NoExcuses, and Fury bullets also have options that will work with that charge. But you may have to buy some of everything and see what your gun likes, and it may want a hotter or lighter load too. I like the SSTs for accuracy but the XTPs and Barnes Expanders for knocking down the deer.

 

[BuckDoeHunter]

I've had very good success with a Barnes 250 grain TEZ. A well placed broadside shot is almost always a pass thru. If the shot is a little high, it will take a bit for the chest cavity to fill up and spill out.

 

[MIinlinehunter]

I too am looking for a good combo for my CVA optima for deer at about 100 yards. 150 max. The property I hunt is near a main road and also has some houses a few hundred yards away. Not that I would take a shot in the direction of either, but it makes me nervous just the same. Also, I’m hunting from a tree stand so most shots would be at a downward angle. However, if big buck is out of range, I am not opposed to getting down and stalking closer which would mean a level shot. My first buck I got last year was about 150 yards out when I saw him and I stalked to 60 yards or so as he wandered along. The shot was a pass through that dropped him where he stood. My concern was with how far the bullet went after exit. I shot 250gr SST with 150 gr of pellets. I’d like to have peace of mind that my shot will be lethal out to 100 yards without fear of blowing clean through and still going a great distance on the other side. Or going a crazy distance in the rare event of a total miss. I’d really like to find a combo that uses 50 grain of powder.

 

[ronlaughlin]

I’d like to have peace of mind that my shot will be lethal out to 100 yards without fear of blowing clean through and still going a great distance on the other side.

250g Deep Curl

 

[sabotloader]

As Ron suggested the Deep Curl is an excellent bullet! Its design and operation are really appropriate for a Terminal Performance. I was always in favor of the Deep Curl until I found the Lehigh Defense bullets.

For deer I would really suggest the .451x230 CF-HP

These solid copper bullets are very accurate and as I said the bullet operation creates a tremendous 'Terminal Ballistics'

This link will get you to the Lehigh ML bullet page. You can see they also offer a 240 gr. and a 265 gr. They are more expensive than most of the pistol bullets but for hunting they work!

https://www.lehighdefense.com/all?ajaxfilter=f2-gun-type,muzzleloader
I shoot 110 to 120 grains of T7-2f loose powder, a MMP HPH-24 Black Sabot packed with the 230. This is a computed spread sheet for my load. Your pellet load will not produce as much velocity/energy but it certainly will work.

Hope this helps some

 

[Knoxmccoy]

As Ron suggested the Deep Curl is an excellent bullet! Its design and operation are really appropriate for a Terminal Performance. I was always in favor of the Deep Curl until I found the Lehigh Defense bullets.

For deer I would really suggest the .451x230 CF-HP

These solid copper bullets are very accurate and as I said the bullet operation creates a tremendous 'Terminal Ballistics'

This link will get you to the Lehigh ML bullet page. You can see they also offer a 240 gr. and a 265 gr. They are more expensive than most of the pistol bullets but for hunting they work!

https://www.lehighdefense.com/all?ajaxfilter=f2-gun-type,muzzleloader
I shoot 110 to 120 grains of T7-2f loose powder, a MMP HPH-24 Black Sabot packed with the 230. This is a computed spread sheet for my load. Your pellet load will not produce as much velocity/energy but it certainly will work.

Hope this helps some

This helps a lot. I will look into this bullet

 

[Knoxmccoy]

Thats a decent bullet and the t7 should be sufficient to expand it in a deer. But there are plenty of better bullets like Barnes 250 and 290 expanders, Speer Deep Curls, Hornady XTPs, Thor, NoExcuses, and Fury bullets also have options that will work with that charge. But you may have to buy some of everything and see what your gun likes, and it may want a hotter or lighter load too. I like the SSTs for accuracy but the XTPs and Barnes Expanders for knocking down the deer.

I’m thinking the xtp or expander

 

[MrTom]

Barnes XPB bullets are a sure thing for me. Much like the Expanders, the XPB are pistol bullets designed for home defense in and open at slower speeds. I load mine with either 63 weighed grains or 77 weighed grains, depending on the gun/bullet diameter.

 

[MIinlinehunter]

If you are using pistol bullets, do you just get a .45 bullet and some empty plastic sabots? Also, what is the effective range of the bullets on white tails when used in a rifle?

 

[MrTom]

There are a ton of .45 cal pistol bullets out there and Harvester offers sabots for about any of them. I'd look at the 250 grain XTP Hornady or the 250 grain Speer Deep Curls in that caliber. Both are offered in 300 grain as well. In that Optima using bh209 powder and a black sabot you'll likely find the sweet spot somewhere between 90 measured grains and 110 measured grains. The 300 grain bullets like to be driven hard while the 250 will sail accurately any where between the 90 and 110 grains.

 

[deermanok]

Back when I owned a Buckstalker, my load was 100 grains of 2f Goex black powder and a 275 grain TC maxi hunter.
When I heard about BH209 and switched to using it I loaded up with 90 grains of it and the same bullet.
The few deer I shot with this combination never went more than a few steps.

 

[MrTom]

Also, what is the effective range of the bullets on white tails when used in a rifle?

I'd consider what will be the longest shot that might be taken and base bullet weight on that. Heavier bullets will retain more energy at longer distances. Well placed shots at 200 yards will easily kill a whitetail as long as there is sufficient velocity and energy being retained to allow the bullet to function as its supposed to. If you're tending to see the 200 yard shots maybe lean towards the 300 grain pills and stay towards the 100+ grain in a measured charge to push them.. 150 yards or less the 250 grain stuff is plenty adequate. Here in SE Minnesota the longest shot I have ever taken at a deer was just over 165 yards and using a Barnes 250 grain Expander. I've since switched to Barnes XPB bullets and both deer taken this year went no more than 15 yards, but the range they were taken at was ridiculous short on both, 12 to 20 yards. I don't as a rule have long shots so I'm pretty comfortable with the copper bullets from Barnes.

 

[MIinlinehunter]

I'd consider what will be the longest shot that might be taken and base bullet weight on that. Heavier bullets will retain more energy at longer distances. Well placed shots at 200 yards will easily kill a whitetail as long as there is sufficient velocity and energy being retained to allow the bullet to function as its supposed to. If you're tending to see the 200 yard shots maybe lean towards the 300 grain pills and stay towards the 100+ grain in a measured charge to push them.. 150 yards or less the 250 grain stuff is plenty adequate. Here in SE Minnesota the longest shot I have ever taken at a deer was just over 165 yards and using a Barnes 250 grain Expander. I've since switched to Barnes XPB bullets and both deer taken this year went no more than 15 yards, but the range they were taken at was ridiculous short on both, 12 to 20 yards. I don't as a rule have long shots so I'm pretty comfortable with the copper bullets from Barnes.

The property I hunt, because of what is around it, the max I’d likely shoot is 100 yards. And even for that, it’s would have to be in the right direction due to a main road running near one side. My goal is to have a load that would be effective out to 100 yards, but I’m not concerned with anything past that. I’d also like to keep in mind that I don’t want the round traveling too far in the event of a miss or a complete pass through on a close shot.

 

[MrTom]

I have and have shot the XTP's and Deep Curls and they're both very accurate bullets and perform very well on deer. The Expanders and XPB bullets are very accurate too but more expensive and as mentioned are great in the performance department too. You'd be quite happy I'm sure using any of the four bullets at 250 grain.

 

[snapbang]

They fail to get mentioned on this forum a lot but GT Bullets work well for us. Inexpensive shooting too. My buddy uses model 44-255-hp-430. 100 bullets for $17.22. I use 44-305-hp-430. 100 for $19.30. If you have doubts look them up on Rons bullet test. On the last six deer 3 DRT, 2 wobbled less than 40 yards or so. Leaving a blood trail that required no skill to follow. The exception was the deer he killed opening morning on Sunday. It was a rainy day. It was a high lung shot and at the POI there was lung material everywhere. But no blood trail. The rain may have washed it away as we gave it 10 minutes before we went to the POI. 70 yards later we found the deer.

If you dont like the looks of GT Bullets go check out Mr. Hollow Point. I have a bunch Im going to try this winter. Got to believe they will be explosive.

I know Ninering62 likes both.

 

[Knoxmccoy]

I’m trying the following bullets

44 Cal. 300 gr. Hornady XTP Bullets (Sabots Not Included)
45 Cal. 400 gr. .451 Hard Cast Bullet (Sabots Not Included)

Both with crushed rib sabots

 

[Knoxmccoy]

I'd consider what will be the longest shot that might be taken and base bullet weight on that. Heavier bullets will retain more energy at longer distances. Well placed shots at 200 yards will easily kill a whitetail as long as there is sufficient velocity and energy being retained to allow the bullet to function as its supposed to. If you're tending to see the 200 yard shots maybe lean towards the 300 grain pills and stay towards the 100+ grain in a measured charge to push them.. 150 yards or less the 250 grain stuff is plenty adequate. Here in SE Minnesota the longest shot I have ever taken at a deer was just over 165 yards and using a Barnes 250 grain Expander. I've since switched to Barnes XPB bullets and both deer taken this year went no more than 15 yards, but the range they were taken at was ridiculous short on both, 12 to 20 yards. I don't as a rule have long shots so I'm pretty comfortable with the copper bullets from Barnes.

I hunt SE Minnesota as well! I keep my shots under 100 yards

 

[TiggerLueb]

I have a similar hunting environment to yours and you might look at bullet placement. My experience is only with.45 caliber in line muzzle loaders but I have used about 6 different bullet combinations. I have had almost 20 deer harvested from neck and spine shots. The furthest one I had to track was 40 yards. Base of the neck doesn’t mess up as much meat if that is a concern.

 

[MIinlinehunter]

I have a similar hunting environment to yours and you might look at bullet placement. My experience is only with.45 caliber in line muzzle loaders but I have used about 6 different bullet combinations. I have had almost 20 deer harvested from neck and spine shots. The furthest one I had to track was 40 yards. Base of the neck doesn’t mess up as much meat if that is a concern.

Im not terribly concerned with them running off the property, especially if I’m shooting within 100 yards. Because of the area, I’m not willing to even attempt a questionable shot. I approach every shot with my CVA as I would with my bow. Placement is key. I can not afford to miss and have it fly another few hundred yards.