Another bullet thread

Originally Posted By: Rock Knocker
I've voiced my opinion of the DRT histaria before, I dont understand it, especially when the road to DRT is riddled with pelt damage, inconsistentcies and inhumane kills.Just because you can't do it doesn't mean others can't do it.

It's mostly about shot placement, maybe you can't do that either? A lot of people can't.

If you are getting regular and consistent 30-yard runners, your shot placement sucks. That's my opinion.
 
I get DRT a lot of the time, varmint bullets or 65gr SGK, in fact I've had more drop in their tracks from the 65gr. It wasnt until I gave up on the internet's idea of a good coyote kill(DRT) and instead focused on using bullets that work in ALL conditions that I got more DRT and less pelt damage. I just dont find any benefit in DRT, it's not something I am focused on, it just happens.

The difference is when you have a varmint bullet and they DONT drop in their tracks you have a mess on your hands(sometimes a mess even with DRT) or a lost dog. With 65 SGK they ether drop in their tracks or never seen one one make it past 40 yards or any pelt damage. Throw in the huge amount of damage that the varmint bullets do to fox and bobcat if they're in the area, 65gr drop them on the spot without any damage.

You're out west probably watching stupid dogs come in for minutes and picking when you want to shoot. Here you have seconds and the coyotes dont let you chose the shots, its lucky just to get them to stop moving with a bark.

People get DRT kills on deer with 22lr... doesnt mean it's the best choice..... just because a bullet works under perfect conditions doesnt make it a GOOD bullet.
 
I'm curious, maybe a poll could be made.

How many here that swear to ballistic tip varmint bullets have only hunted with ballistic tip varmint bullets? And how many that have tried both soft points and varmint bullets ended up going back to the ballistic tips?

I cant remember hearing of someone trying soft point then going back saying the varmint bullets were better.

I'm also coming at this debate only speaking of my experiences with 223... 6mms and longer barreled 22-250s or swifts is a different animal when it comes to bullet selection. But even when it comes to higher velocity .224 cartridges, with my 16" 223 I've had to add less powder to the cases to decrease damage from blow outs with 52 and 53gr bullets so......
 
223 16" BHW barrel 27.74gr CFE223 around 3130fps.

People act like the 65SGK is a hard cast lead slug or something. The gel tests I've seen show so much fragmentation and expansion that the big 65gr bullets fail the FBIs required 16" of penetration, they dump a lot of energy and plow through what's in the way to deliver that energy.

I heard one person say " 65SGK is a big game bullet!" Like the 223 was ever a big game cartridge?
 
Rock Knocker,
I have suspected the 65gr SGK is softer than expected when I hit a few ground squirrels with it and they were not fur friendly. What is the twist on your barrel? Mine was a 1:9.
 
Originally Posted By: Rock KnockerI'm curious, maybe a poll could be made.

How many here that swear to ballistic tip varmint bullets have only hunted with ballistic tip varmint bullets? And how many that have tried both soft points and varmint bullets ended up going back to the ballistic tips?

I cant remember hearing of someone trying soft point then going back saying the varmint bullets were better.

I'm also coming at this debate only speaking of my experiences with 223... 6mms and longer barreled 22-250s or swifts is a different animal when it comes to bullet selection. But even when it comes to higher velocity .224 cartridges, with my 16" 223 I've had to add less powder to the cases to decrease damage from blow outs with 52 and 53gr bullets so......

I think that you bring up a good point. I have done the Poly tip-SP-Poly tip in the 6.5 Grendel. I started with SST's then switched over to SP's and decided that the SST's performed better in terms of delivering energy when hitting a coyote. So I stick with them. I initially went away from them due to the accuracy of the SP's being better.

I am currently trying a new Hornady Poly tipped bullet in .223 and hope to have something to share on the results soon. It might be another situation where I switch back if the poly performs as advertised.
 
Originally Posted By: HellgateRock Knocker,
I have suspected the 65gr SGK is softer than expected when I hit a few ground squirrels with it and they were not fur friendly. What is the twist on your barrel? Mine was a 1:9.

Mine is a 1-8. Sierra says they're good up to 1-10.

My confusion comes from my experience and from what I gather, others experience of trying to use varmint bullets in the 50-53gr range and having to tone the loads down to not get damage on good broadside shots. 53grs at 3100 to hope not to get blow outs on broadside shots but useless and still destructive on quartered forward or any shoulder shots. Meanwhile a 65 can be pushed to those speeds AND get you higher BC, go through any shot you're stuck with, save lots of fur and good on bobcat to whitetail, call me crazy.
 
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I thought we were talking terminal performance to eliminate "runners". If you are trying to negate pelt damage, do not follow a lick of advise in my post. Except for the shot shell loads, carry on.....
 
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