Lab rat
Well-Known Member
so my question is do you prefer a exit from your bullet or do you prefer it to stay in the animal
Please explain your preference
Please explain your preference
Hunting bullet performance
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Hand Skills
Well-Known Member
On smaller soft skinned animals, I like fragmenting bullets that don't exit. Seem to provide a little more margin for error on small targets and preserves the fur a little better.
As hides get thicker and target resistance increases, penetration becomes more important. Exit wounds generally bleed more than entrances - a good blood trail can be helpful when locating an animal in the thick stuff.
...so I guess it depends!
As hides get thicker and target resistance increases, penetration becomes more important. Exit wounds generally bleed more than entrances - a good blood trail can be helpful when locating an animal in the thick stuff.
...so I guess it depends!
North Idaho Hunter
Well-Known Member
Where I hunt a blood trail is REQUIRED. I Lung shoot, animals always run a minimum 20 yards. I prefer two holes for optimal bleeding!
Coyote_Hunter
Well-Known Member
Exit or no exit? As long as the animal goes down quickly I don't much care. It took me over 20 years to catch a 160g 7mm Speer Grand Slam. When I did it was because both shoulders had been wrecked and the bullet was peeking out of the bone on the far side.
Have yet to recover a tipped X bullet and I've been using them since they came out. A tad over 50% DRT, a couple antelope running for a few seconds and the rest taking no more than a few steps.
North Fork is out of business but I have a lot of their bullets and have recovered them in 7mm RM (went the length of a mulie buck) and .308" (broadside on an elk at 25 yards), and .458" (6x6 bull broadside at 213 yards, obliterated a section of the near-side front leg and a near-side rib, shattered a far rib). I've also had them exit with a resulting massive loss of blood. They work both ways.
My preference for bullet performance runs a different direction than exit or not. What I want is a bullet that expands in a reliable but controlled manner (high weight retention) across a wide range of impact velocities. Bullets that come apart like a grenade are fine for varmints when you don't care about the hide, but they are not what I want for big game. Bullets I've been very happy with include Speer Grand Slam (old style core as well as the new style), Nosler AccuBond and ABLR, North Fork SS and FP (and HP prototypes), Barnes MRX, TTSX and LRX and Swift Scirocco II.
Have yet to recover a tipped X bullet and I've been using them since they came out. A tad over 50% DRT, a couple antelope running for a few seconds and the rest taking no more than a few steps.
North Fork is out of business but I have a lot of their bullets and have recovered them in 7mm RM (went the length of a mulie buck) and .308" (broadside on an elk at 25 yards), and .458" (6x6 bull broadside at 213 yards, obliterated a section of the near-side front leg and a near-side rib, shattered a far rib). I've also had them exit with a resulting massive loss of blood. They work both ways.
My preference for bullet performance runs a different direction than exit or not. What I want is a bullet that expands in a reliable but controlled manner (high weight retention) across a wide range of impact velocities. Bullets that come apart like a grenade are fine for varmints when you don't care about the hide, but they are not what I want for big game. Bullets I've been very happy with include Speer Grand Slam (old style core as well as the new style), Nosler AccuBond and ABLR, North Fork SS and FP (and HP prototypes), Barnes MRX, TTSX and LRX and Swift Scirocco II.
Deputy819
Well-Known Member
Agree with North Idaho Hunter....when/where pelt damage is NOT a concern 2 holes are better than 1 for best recovery/tracking purposes.
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dfanonymous
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Ideally I'd like the bullet to dump it's energy on expansion. However if it does that but has enough momentum to keep going enough to give an exit, I'm cool with that too.
Aussie Hunter Steve
Well-Known Member
If I'm wanting to keep the pelt of a small animal it's better if the bullet doesn't exit and damage the hide.
For larger game, especially trophy animals, I want a bullet to be built strong enough to reach the vitals regardless of the shot angle, which means the same bullet will likely exit on a broadside lung shot. Providing it has expanded sufficiently I'm fine with it exiting. Too much penetration doesn't usually cause much an issue, but not enough penetration causes big problems.
For larger game, especially trophy animals, I want a bullet to be built strong enough to reach the vitals regardless of the shot angle, which means the same bullet will likely exit on a broadside lung shot. Providing it has expanded sufficiently I'm fine with it exiting. Too much penetration doesn't usually cause much an issue, but not enough penetration causes big problems.
PredatorSlayer
Well-Known Member
no exit for me - I like bergers and eldm's that penetrate and then explode in the vitals. These bullets seem to have the quickest cleanest kills for me.
Wolf76
Well-Known Member
Application specific.
On an elk, I'd prefer an exit
On a deer, flip a coin
Coyote- just kill it, don't care how. Napalm is fine with me.
Shot placement comes into question too.
If you shoulder shoot animals, monos or bonded is the way to go.
Lung shooters benefit from softer bullets.
My go-to bullets are Berger hybrids and accubonds. Use a Barnes in my 257 due to the insane velocity.
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dfanonymous
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BallisticsGuy
Well-Known Member
I like my blood trails to look like someone walked down the path pouring out a jerry can full of blood. I don't want to hands and knees that stuff. Gimme an exit every time. There are other technical reasons but the blood trail is the one that matters on the day.
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