Gator Posted August 12, 2006 Report Share Posted August 12, 2006 What is a good hard hitting bullet in .50 cal at 250gr? I have shot TC XTP's in the past, but after taking my buck last year at 18yds, and not getting a pass through, I am kinda skeptical on those. Don't get me wrong, the bullet mushroomed and retained ALOT of its weight, BUT, I am not sure about it at longer yardage. I shoot a traditions and will be shooting around 90gr of loose powder this year. Another reason I am skeptical of these bullets is I shot at a doe 2 years ago, and to this date I still think I hit her, BUT could never find any sign of a hit, so I actually thought I missed, but after hitting my buck, I really don't know.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted August 12, 2006 Report Share Posted August 12, 2006 Re: Bullet help Actually, the bullet will hold together at longer ranges. When you shoot a deer at very close range, the bullet is put to the test. As the velocity is reduced, the liklyhood of a pass through is increased. I have killed a few deer with the XTP and I do not like them. The blood trails that were left were less than desirable. Luckily, I was hunting in an open orchard and finding them was fairly easy, it would have been a long and hard search if it was in dense cover. I switched to the QT40 and Dead Center bullets and have not looked back. Great performance from 10 yards to 200+ yards and I have not lost a deer that was hit by them. Blood trails have been nothing less than impressive. Accuracy has been outstanding to boot. The Shockwave and SST are also good bullets. They hold up better as I have pushed them to 2600 fps in my Savage and they still perform outstanding on game. Personally, I see no reason to use a copper jacketed bullet for deer sized game when the velocity is less than 2300 fps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
257bob Posted August 12, 2006 Report Share Posted August 12, 2006 Re: Bullet help [ QUOTE ] The Shockwave and SST are also good bullets [/ QUOTE ] Not much needs to be said after AJ gets done, but I would have to second these two bullets. We have gotten really good long range accuracy from both of them. Dad shot a prarie dog over 150 yards with the 250 grain TC Shockwaves last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted August 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2006 Re: Bullet help AJ, what you said about blood trails is another reason I wanna switch. How do the Shockwaves compare in performance to the XTP's? And are the QT40 and Dead Centers an all lead bullet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted August 12, 2006 Report Share Posted August 12, 2006 Re: Bullet help I have not used the Shockwaves in a stinky ML gun. I see no reason to use them on deer with those guns. They basically are similar to the XTP but have a polymer tip like the Nosler Ballistic Tip. They will hold together better as in the smokeless guns the XTP acts like a varmint bullet. The XTP frags where the SST and Shockwave will mushroom and hold together better. The Dead Center and QT40 are pure lead bullets with a polymer tip. I shoot them with 150 gr of powder (3 pellets) and like I said, I have taken deer from 10 yards to 150+ and have shot groundhogs with it out to 200 yards. I have not found a bullet that outperforms them. Check out this article about bullet drop. It compares a lot of different bullets and shows their ability to overcome atmospheric conditions, relative to one another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted August 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2006 Re: Bullet help Very interesting article indeed. I will say that I "zero" my rifle at around 70yds, and don't plan on shooting over 100yds, Should never even see a shot that long 90% of the time. AJ, do you think a 195gr is enough? And with my rate of twist at 1:32, any idea on how a lighter bullet will perform, roughly? The XTP's have given me great accuracy in the past. Also, is it true the slower the twist, the heavier the bullet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted August 12, 2006 Report Share Posted August 12, 2006 Re: Bullet help I agree that the majority of the shots are well under 50 yards. When the oppertunity presents its self at 150 yards, I know I don't have to pass it up for being out of range. Yes, I do feel the 195 gr bullet is more than enough for deer. Deer are not bullet proof, hard to kill, or have huge tough bones. If you put the 175 gr bullet in the lungs, the deer is dead and not far off. Actually the slower the twist, the shorter (usually lighter) the bullet has to be to stabilize. As long as the gun shoots the bullets well, over stabilization is not a big deal. There is no guarantee that a fast twist 50 cal will shoot light weight bullets well or heavy bullets well. Each type of gun and each gun is a different story. My Knight Disc Elites did not like the 235 QT40 but shoot the 250 gr Dead Center well. My Rem with a faster twist shoots the 200 gr Dead Center very well. It all depends on the gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted August 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2006 Re: Bullet help Hmm, I know my dad shot like 450gr Maxi Balls out of his old T/C hawken, Think that is where I got that thought about rate of twist in relationship to bullet weight. Thanks for the advice AJ, now, does anybody make a "variety" pack for bullets???? Where is a good place to pick up the Dead Centers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
257bob Posted August 12, 2006 Report Share Posted August 12, 2006 Re: Bullet help Sportsman's Warehouse in OKC has a large assortment of Dead Center bullets. Not sure how far you are from OKC, but I know you get there from time to time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted August 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2006 Re: Bullet help I work down by the airport, so I may have to run up there one of these days, and see what they have. Thanks Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gt2003 Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 Re: Bullet help Gator, I'm another Oklahoma hunter (Gore, Ok, eastern Oklahoma). I used to shoot the 300 grain XTP's with 90 grains pyrodex RS and had incredible accuracy. However, I lost 3 or 4 deer due to no blood trail in heavy cover. I literally got down on my hands and knees and still NOTHING. Thanks to AJ, I tried the precision rifle dead centers. I dropped to a 220 grain bullet with only 80 grains of 777 powder. The results were incredible. These bullets release all of their energy inside the deer and do an unbeleivable amount of damage. The 1st deer I shot with the dead center dropped in its tracks, the 2nd did too, the 3rd went about 40-50 yds and had a blood trail a blind man could have followed. Here is a link to two of the bullets I've recovered from deer. Just FYI, I ordered mine from Cabelas. Go with the dead centers and I'm sure you'll be satisfied. Here's the link http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b256/gt2003/precisionrifle220graindeadcenters.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 Re: Bullet help Been pretty happy with the TC xtp 240 grain bullets myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VermontHunter Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 Re: Bullet help Jason ,, Billkay was nice enough to send me some of the BARNES MZ Tipped Bullets which were 250 grn. I grouped these at less than 1/2 " at 100 yrds. check them out they are a great bullet... Here's a link to Cabelas... http://cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/...&hasJS=true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted August 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 Re: Bullet help Luke, I HAD some Barnes MZ bullets, and couldn't get them to load in my gun!!!!! qt2003, Thanks for the info, I think I will try them this year!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slugger Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 Re: Bullet help I just ordered some dead center 195's for my .45 omega a couple of days ago have never tried them b4 but a friend of mine shoots them and has had awsome results. I would recommend everyone go to thier website www.prbullet.com and check it out there are some very interesting articles and charts there. including a rate of twist/bullet weight selection chart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunterfisherman Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 Re: Bullet help I love the shockwave and the hornady. Can't go wrong with either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 Re: Bullet help Typically, I order direct from PR. Cecil is a wealth of knowledge and will help you out. I do a bulk order every couple years and it keeps me going. The shipping is a bit on the steep side, but you can get them from R&P Muzzleloading and save on shipping. I use many of their products with great success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted August 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 Re: Bullet help Thanks AJ, I found them here locally, but I may talk with them also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MZ_shooter Posted August 14, 2006 Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 Re: Bullet help Yeah the MZs were hard to load with the old sabots, maybe you got your hands on some of those, the new sabots load easier. I’ve shot a lot of deer with a lot of different bullets, and nothing I’ve seen can match the MZs for producing quick kills. Every bullet I’ve ever recovered looks just like the pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathews4life Posted August 15, 2006 Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 Re: Bullet help man you should try the 245 grain power belt hollow points....awesome shooting bullet and they load so easy!!!!!!!!! i'd seriously look into them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunterfisherman Posted August 15, 2006 Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 Re: Bullet help I love the new shockwave by TC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted August 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 Re: Bullet help [ QUOTE ] man you should try the 245 grain power belt hollow points....awesome shooting bullet and they load so easy!!!!!!!!! i'd seriously look into them! [/ QUOTE ] Powerbelts don't group worth crap outta my gun!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathews4life Posted August 15, 2006 Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 Re: Bullet help really...that's odd...guess that goes to show you how everything is diff....why the heck they gotta make everythign so difficult eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaskMan Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 Re: Bullet help Everyone has a preference, mine is Barnes, try some different ones. If you hit a dow with a barnes, you'll know it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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