Anyone using PVA Cayuga bullets?

[codyadams]

My cousin just killed an elk with the 127 .277 bullets going 3425 fps from a .270 Sherman, and we recovered the bullet. Wasn't the greatest hit, he was in about a foot and a half of snow on a really steep hillside on a 620 yard shot, the large cow was at a hard quarter away as she was moving out quick and stopped to rest from running through the snow. A perfect hit at that angle would have been an entrance behind the ribs, so pretty hard quarter. He hit about 6-8" or so back, and made a direct hit to the femur bone. Did a ton of damage as would be expected, impact velocity was still 2530 fps, bullet was under the hide up in the rib area on the off side I believe. She went down hard on impact, then stumbled/fell to the bottom of the drainage, and he was able to put another one through the back of her head to finish her. So overall, not much of a terminal performance takeaway possible on this one, other than it seemed like a lot of energy was dumped into her, she was able to go down hill slowly and that's about it, but when I get a pic of the bullet, I'll post it up.

Finally got around to this.....

Here is the bullet from that. It appears that 3-4 nose petals tore off and created their own wound channel, and at some point likely after hitting the large hip/femur bone, the bullet inverted and hit something with the rear of the bullet. This is the only one we have recovered, lengthwise penetration on a large cow elk with a 127 grain bullet at 620 yards ha ha. Under the hide on front of off side rib cage, coming from the hind quarter.

 

[JTH]

Tagging in

 

[codyadams]

My wife's 7 max is loaded up with the 170 PVA @ 2840 fps, she will be using that bullet exclusively this season on 1-2 elk, 2-3 pronghorn, and a mule deer, so we should have some good data there after this season.

 

[bigngreen]

I've seen other monos fracture of the petals like that and I really didn't like to see it cause it doesn't not tear out predictably or leave a shank that will stay stabilized while plowing through. I had more odd things happen like turning or even just breaking up completely. It'll be interesting to see more hits, too many of these monos are just a rip off of some ELR designs with a hole in them not designed for terminal performance so things do get weird!!

 

[JTH]

Developed a load for the 151 Cayuga in my 7 Max. My new barrel is a little slow, not quite the speed I was hoping for at 3050 fps with 69.0 grains of H1000 but they've been very accurate.Shooting about 0.5 moa out to 600 yards and the bc so far seems to be right on, using strelok calculated drop chart. Stability factor of 1.96 with the 8 twist barrel

 

[JTH]

Plugged all the data into Strelok and it gave me a drop of 29.8 clicks at 600 yards, dialed 30, seems to be right on.

 

[codyadams]

My wife got a goat down!

170 Cayuga, 505 yards, 2350 fps impact velocity. Bullet expanded fantasticly, even with the lowish impact velocity, and on a light critter like a goat. Missed leg bone, only hit the thin ribs on entrance. Gaining significant confidence in these bullets!

Entrance -

Exit-

Entrance-

Exit-

Insides-

Also, very minimal meat loss. Had some bloodshot on exit side, but not bad at all. Entrance shoulder-

Really happy at this point, especially since the .375 G7 seems right on, out to the 965 I have shot it to at least. This is a pretty awesome 7mm option so far!

 

[Bghunter338]

My wife got a goat down!

170 Cayuga, 505 yards, 2350 fps impact velocity. Bullet expanded fantasticly, even with the lowish impact velocity, and on a light critter like a goat. Missed leg bone, only hit the thin ribs on entrance. Gaining significant confidence in these bullets!

Entrance -
View attachment 393547

Exit-
View attachment 393657

Entrance-
View attachment 393658

Exit-View attachment 393659

Insides-
View attachment 393660
View attachment 393661

Also, very minimal meat loss. Had some bloodshot on exit side, but not bad at all. Entrance shoulder-View attachment 393662

Really happy at this point, especially since the .375 G7 seems right on, out to the 965 I have shot it to at least. This is a pretty awesome 7mm option so far!

Congratulations to the wife and with a great shot on her goat. This is good to here. This is the bullet where going to start with in my buddy's 28 Sherman mag.

 

[ButterBean]

My wife got a goat down!

170 Cayuga, 505 yards, 2350 fps impact velocity. Bullet expanded fantasticly, even with the lowish impact velocity, and on a light critter like a goat. Missed leg bone, only hit the thin ribs on entrance. Gaining significant confidence in these bullets!

Entrance -
View attachment 393547

Exit-
View attachment 393657

Entrance-
View attachment 393658

Exit-View attachment 393659

Insides-
View attachment 393660
View attachment 393661

Also, very minimal meat loss. Had some bloodshot on exit side, but not bad at all. Entrance shoulder-View attachment 393662

Really happy at this point, especially since the .375 G7 seems right on, out to the 965 I have shot it to at least. This is a pretty awesome 7mm option so far!

Tell the wife congrats

 

[Northkill]

My wife got a goat down!

170 Cayuga, 505 yards, 2350 fps impact velocity. Bullet expanded fantasticly, even with the lowish impact velocity, and on a light critter like a goat. Missed leg bone, only hit the thin ribs on entrance. Gaining significant confidence in these bullets!

Entrance -
View attachment 393547

Exit-
View attachment 393657

Entrance-
View attachment 393658

Exit-View attachment 393659

Insides-
View attachment 393660
View attachment 393661

Also, very minimal meat loss. Had some bloodshot on exit side, but not bad at all. Entrance shoulder-View attachment 393662

Really happy at this point, especially since the .375 G7 seems right on, out to the 965 I have shot it to at least. This is a pretty awesome 7mm option so far!

What was you starting velocity and twist again?

 

[bigngreen]

Entrance has a tumbled look to it?

 

[highdrum]

Entrance has a tumbled look to it?

Believe that's part the function of these Cayuga bullets. Not a lot of expansion, Spalling of bone contact initiates the larger portion of wound channel. I recovered a 122 Cayuga from an elk shot 2 years ago at 575y, impact velocity had been around 2700, very little expansion. These are decent bullets for smaller game, larger bodied critters I'd go with something more tested.

 

[codyadams]

What was you starting velocity and twist again?

7.5 twist, 2840

 

[codyadams]

Entrance has a tumbled look to it?

Personally I really can't see enough to make that assumption, it really just looks like expansion and/or fragmentation of some kind to me. I have seen Bergers, accubond's, Badlands, eld-x's/m's, A-Max's, Speer hot cores.....many bullets that have had oblong entrance holes by the time they hit the ribs.

We also recovered a 126 grain .277 bullet from an elk that traveled from the hind quarter to the off side shoulder in a strait path, and also observed a strait wound channel from a 151 7mm that entered at the shoulder of a large bodied mule deer and exited the hind quarter. On another pronghorn, observed a broadside shot that had a center exit hole with several radiating smaller exit holes indicating nose petals creating secondary wound channels.

Even if they are tumbling, which I can't say one way or another, they may be, they may not be, what I do know is they are traveling strait, traveling deep, and doing significant tissue damage starting nearly immediately, and continually on their path. Personally, I don't ask much more from a bullet terminally.....unless my observations change on future kills, I *personally* don't even see where it would matter.

But, that's just me. My expectations are outcome based!