They Came Today!!! Bloodlines...

[Sabotloader]

Big Brown stopped by today and left me a package... actually one that I was kinda excited to get.  Some of you know that Knight has introduced a new line of bullets on their web site.  Can not say the bullets are new to me as they are Lehigh's which I have been using for the last few years, but I really wanted to see how Knight was going to package them and mail them out.

Well, anyway here are my 2011 Elk Bullets... 'course I can not use them during our ML hunting season here in Idaho, but during our rifle season - I really do hope to give them a work out.. I even have a special one picked out just for one purpose...



These bullets shoot very accurately for me from any of my 50's, although this season I will probably be using my 52 cal.  These and the 275 grain bullets are my two favorites... The 275's are my do it all everything bullets... they are that good.

Here is a ballistic sheet on the 300 Elk train bullets...

[carpsniperg2]

They look good, I have read about them before. Might have to look into them. I like the poly tipped bullets better then the hollow points. But might give them a shot.

[Sabotloader]

They look good, I have read about them before. Might have to look into them. I like the poly tipped bullets better then the hollow points. But might give them a shot.

Again this is really just one guys opinion... but I have shot a lot of different bullets, and coming from being a nut about bullet BC during my centerfire days.  It really did not take me long to figure out that at muzzleloader velocities and muzzleloader range (my self imposed max is 200 yards with a scope) BC is not all that critical.  It is what the bullet does when it gets there... Terminal Performance, well and accuracy of course.

For myself... I must admit most of my shots I would be 60 yards with some so close you could measure them in feet.  But even though my average harvest is 60 yards - I still load for 200 - just in case! you just never KNOW!!!  Because of that when I was using the SST/SW with poly tips - there were a few occasions that I shot an animal at close range and ended shooting a nice 45 cal hole – right through the animal.  The bullet got in and out of the animal so fast that it had no time to expand.

Thinking about this, I thought about the 460 grain Bull Shop conicals that I shoot during our ML season, why do the work so well over all the ranges?  I decided it was the meplat of bullet – that is what caused it to work so well… From there, I moved back to the HP to get the same effect – large meplat in the body creating one heck of Hydrostatic Shock in the organs…

What I loose in a lower BC – I more than make up in effect of Terminal Performance…

On the other hand if I were shooting a lot at 200 yards and beyond – yep! I want a pointy bullet…

[carpsniperg2]

I agree bc is not that big of deal on the muzzy's. I have shot animals from 30 yards to 150yards. I have yet to have a poly tip bullet not open up for me. Exit hole are always bigger then the dia of the bullet before the shot. I do like the hollow points and agree that they will transfer more ke to the animal over the poly's. On closer shot's because the poly's will a lot of time pass threw at close ranges. I like the poly's more because at 100-200 yards the poly bullets penetrate better, the bigger hollow points use a lot of energy when opening, and can slow penetration. If you hit a bigger bone on say a elk at 150+ yards I would be worried about a big hollow point making it threw after opening up so much and loosing energy in doing so. The surface area on the hollow point is huge when it starts to expand and they tend to plug up with tissue. That's why I feel the way I do. I have shot a ton of diffrent muzzle loader bullets and have tested a lot of bullets as well. These are my ideas from what I have seen first hand.

You take a bullet like the hollow point power belt which can pancake and you add that into punching solid bone that= good bye animal.

[fair-chase]

Sabotloader, is there any difference between these and the Lehigh's other than packaging? Is Knight using Lehigh's plastic for the sabot or is it their own design? Also was there much of a price gap between the two? Thanks.

[Sabotloader]

carpsniperg2

I agree with your thoughts on the expansion of the bullet especially at longer range and if you go through a major bone... with a lot of bullets than can be a real problem… over expansion, pancaking or even blowing up…

That is the reason that I hunted with a Nosler Partitions all my life… the can not over expand or blow up.

This is a recovered .458-300 Nosler Partition Protected Point (blunt nose like a 30-30 bulet).  It was shot from a Rem 700 into and I thought all the way through a cow elk.  When were skinning the animal I found the bullet, it had traveled all the way through – exited the hide on right side of the animal and entered the right leg right at the elbow.  It became lodged in the bone there… It was approximately 180 yard shot.  I was amazed that it would go all the way through at that range… But a Nosler only expands to the partition and then quits expansion and just keeps driving.

 

You can see the bulk of the weight of the bullet is below the partition so it retains a lot of energy for the trip through. It does not give that big hole on the exit side – just a hole big enough to bleed.

The Lehigh/Bloodline works on a completely different theory…  With this bullet you can punch right though the shoulder and the bullet does not open up until it hits a liquid environment…  When the petals do there thing then the core of the bullet continues to drive through.  It becomes more or less a “Keith Nose Conical”

When it comes out the other side it comes out as a nice neat blood letting hole…  What it does on the inside is create a tremendous system shock to the animal.

This deer was shot with a small 40 cal 200 grain bullet… a long shot – but look at the blood the animal expelled…

 

[Sabotloader]

Sabotloader, is there any difference between these and the Lehigh's other than packaging? Is Knight using Lehigh's plastic for the sabot or is it their own design? Also was there much of a price gap between the two? Thanks.

The bullet! no difference... The sabot is built by MMP under contract - that is why it is Red instead of Orange.

The price difference at Lehigh reflected the cost of shipping and no sabot... The Knight price adds the cost of the sabot and you do pay shipping.  In all it comes out about the same per bullet...

Lehigh will not be able to sell directly from their site shortly as they are under contract to provide Knight with the bullets....