I have some 95 gr. for my 243 and have heard of the no exit wound problen as a result of explosive expansion. Would a lighter load reduce the expansion.

The greater the impact velocity the more a bullet will upset. A bullet that comes apart at 30 yards will often mushroon, hold together and exit at say 300 yards due to slower impact speed.

If you want an exit wound at any range, use one of the "Premium" bullets designed to hold enough mass to maintain energ needed for deep penetration such as Nosler Partition, accubond or e-tip, Swift Sirocco or A-frame, Barns X or TSX, Hornady GMX or theid bonded bullet. There are many others but the one thing the all have in common is they are designed to expand while not over expanding at high velocity, allowing for deeper penetration.

Some of the more dramatic kills are from a bullet that comes apart in the vitles expending all its energy right there. An exit would is nice though because if follwoup is required 2 holes and the exit is usually larger than the entrance provides a better blood trail.

x2 in a 243 use the tsx.. only bullet i have ever gotten a exit wound with in a 243.


Little.. fast.. well built bullets... are very deadly

Exit wounds are wasted energy, and energy kills. No need for a blood trail on a deer that is drt.

Ah, but what if the deer runs? Sorry, but I'll take my exit wound and uniform wound channel.

Some say energy kills, some say it's velocity. It's the bullet that kills. When placed properly, almost any bullet will kill efficiently. But field conditions are far from the perfect world we read about in books and see on TV. A 15mph wind, an extra 50yds on a long shot, a slight pull from the jerk behind the trigger can ruin that perfect world in a heartbeat. 4" off can be the difference between a deer that runs off and leaves no blood to follow or a deer that runs and leaves just enough to track him/her down.

I hit a deer several years back the ran after taking a 7mm 120gr bullet right through the heart, and the bullet lodged in the off-shoulder. The only reason i found that deer, after it got up, was the scuffed up trail it left in the muddy east tx ground. No blood to speak of. I literally poured that deer's heart out when i dressed it. Let one run after being hit similarly with a 160gr accubond, and I have plenty of blood to find my deer because that bullet will mangle that off shoulder and exit. Oddly enough, every deer I've hit with that accubond has run less distance than that buck hit with the 120gr bullet did. The few that run, that is.

can't guarantee DRT unless the CNS is breached.

As to "wasted" energy a 95gr bullet that enters at 2800fps has 2000 ft-lbs of kinetic energy. Let's assume it loses 2/3 of it's velocity and exits at 1000 fps. It only has about 200 ft-lbs of energy left to "waste". Do you really think an extra 200 ft-lbs will make the difference?

And IMO, energy doesn't kill. It's disruption of vital organs. A 44Mag has very little kinetic energy compared to a high powered rifle, but still kills very well.

I will stick to massive internal damage, and no wasted energy. Who said It would loose 2/3 of the energy. That makes it a guessing game. Energy does matter, whats more effective at 100 yards. A 44 mag shooting .44 dia. bullets or a 300 mag shooting .30 dia. bullets. Disrupting the organs is the main goal, but if you put a hole strait through the organs, the animal may still run a good distance. If you put massive ammounts of kinetic energy, and damage to the organs you probally wont need a blood trail.

As a homicide detective for many years and having been involved in many autopsies over the years I can assure you that it is wound channels and internal damage that kills.

A wound channel that knocks out vital organs and causes massive bleeding and soft tissue damage is going to kill and make game easier to recover.

I've seen lots of folks get hit by cars that delivered much more energy than a bullet and they survived.

I agree that massive internal damage is important. But any bullet true the heart/lungs may result in a 100-150 yard death run, until there is no more oxygen to the brain. You cannot rely on a DRT shot with any bullet unless the CNS is interrupted. In the frequent cases where the deer runs, a blood trail can be critical, especially if the deer run into dense, thorny brush.

I agree with Fowlplayer, Barnes TSX is the way to go if you want an exit wound and weight retention.

This is my favorite part of your hole post. What happens when it does run off and you cant follow it.

I am antother that loves a bullet that will pass through. I believe you can have the best of both worlds though. As stated above, shoot a light well constructed bullet, say a tsx, massive energy and enough guts to make a blood trail.

matt

A 95 grain will probably leave an exit wound it's an actual hunting bullet not like their lighter grained BT's.

Its still to thin walled for its velocity, and the jacket can easly seperate from the core.

I use to be a huge serria game king fan.... which is more or less a non tipped -BT...had to many of the seperate and not get enough penatration(happening in both my 243 and 270)

TSX in the 243 will do just as much soft tissue damage as the BT and still probely have a passtru.


I wouldn't use a BT in anything under 30 cal. I also think a TSX in any thing over 27 cal is over kill unless its rocking 3200 ft a second or more

I have been using the 95 gr. Ballistic tips for years, only twice have I not had a exit wound, My 9 y.o. son now shoots the 243 and has taken 2 deer only one rann about 50 yards nd pilled up there.

Old wive's tail, absolutely false...

x2!

Here is a new load from Hornady. 80 grains seems kinda light but being a GMX bullet(like a TSX) it ought to be a good little performer. It is fast too.

http://www.hornady.com/store/243-Win-80-gr.-GMX-Superformance/

The 95 grain bullet is the beginning of the heavier walled hunting bullet line. All Ballistic tips that weigh under 95 grain are varmint bullets, which are designed to be explosive at impact. The 95 grain Ballistic Tip bullets I have used in my .243 have passed through all of the deer and hogs I have shot. That being said, I always double lung the game I shoot, so I am not hitting any shoulder bone. It all depends on where you shoot them. I have had 150 gr 30-06 bullets get hung up in a deer when it hit shoulder bone first, so that is why I lung my game now. Lung pass through shots create great blood trails, and they don't run far.

bullets that go all the way through,while expanding is using all available energy. this is proven by nosler and hornady.

You can talk about DRT, but if you hunt long enough you are going to make a perfect shot and there will be no reason why that animal is not DRT. Bad news if the bullet doesn't exit. I'm not sure about yall, but I've got better things to do than try to find an animal with no blood, sorry.... But with a TSX or similar, loaded correctly you will have DRT + an amazing exit you can put your fist through 99% of the time. Don't know how that can be argued.

A lot of great info here. Thanks for your help.