Bullet failure?

[hendog]

I shot a forked horned blacktail @ 100yds with a .308 Hornady 165 hornady SST. Hit him facing me where the neck meets his chest. bullet traveled 24" then hit mid way in the ribs.

I found the bullet complete jacket with no lead core in the ribs. The buck dropped in his tracks.

I have killed 3 other bucks with this bullet and all exited. I think this works OK for deer, but would not think of using on Elk. 

[BOWHUNTER45]

Well I do not know what to tell ya man ...my son just shot his Muley at about 150 with a 25-06 ( 117gr ) hornaday SST and it dropped like a bad habit .... hit behind the shoulder going forward into his neck ...night night ... very little blood shot meat but I did find pieces of the bullet here and there but it did a good job for such a light bullet ....just check out the blood which was coming out his nose !!!!

[BOWHUNTER45]

You can see where he hit it ....to the left of his scope ...never took one step !

[BULLBLASTER]

Can you explain how 24inches of penetration and a dead deer is a bullet failure? Sounds like it did.its job to me.

[hillbilli]

good expansion, lots of damage, 24" penetration.. hard to beat performance for a deer bullet.. if it penetrated 24" on your elk... create a mental picture of the shot that this is not enough penetration for... If you need a tougher bullet remember the accubond is the same profile, weight, shape, usable with the same load data.. but tougher..

[HardCorpsHuntr]

Here ya go.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,86313.msg1081777.html#msg1081777

[hendog]

I already planed on using Hornady's 165gn interbond for larger game than deer. Just dont like jacket/core seperation, but will continue to use SST on deer size game. The BC (.447)  &  SD (.248) is the same for the 165gn SST & interbond.

Here is my load: .308win  Federal match brass, Federal match LR primer, max load of Hodgon's varget powder. I get 3/4"  three shot groups @ 100yds.     

[Huntbear]

Accubond are some tough bullets.

My buddy shot his 4x4 bull at 20 yds. this year with a 225 gr. accubond out of a .338 WM.  The elk dropped where he stood, lung blood gushing out his mouth and nose.  Bullet never exited.  That elk died as fast as if you had cut his throat.  So did that bullet fail? 

[Biggerhammer]

Bullet failure!  LMAO!  The buck dropped in his tracks. Doesn't seam that bullet could have killed him any quicker, if it failed in your mind because it didn't exit? The I have 15- 20 stone cold dead Mulies, two which are on the wall that were all killed by a bullet that failed. . A little more time in the field and a few more animals and it will all come together for you.

[thinkingman]

OP,
I get what you're saying...it doesn't inspire confidence, especially if you're considering elk, when the bullet comes apart like that.
I like solid copper Barnes and partition bullets like Swift A-Frame.
Bonding is fine, solid metal is finer.

[hendog]

"I get what you're saying...it doesn't inspire confidence, especially if you're considering elk"

I can see why your handle is Thinkingman

[Huntbear]

Now.. SST bullets are not my favorite.... the 117 gr. in my .257 Bob, actually exploded at 35 yds. on a forked horn buck this year.. still he dropped where he stood..  so did that bullet fail?

[Biggerhammer]

Several Mulies I have shot with a .257 Arnold Magnum used the 100gr Nosler BT. dropped right where they stood, the one at 300 yards sounded like you slapped him on the arse with a boat paddle upon impact ( LOUD!!). I only found pieces of bullet and even the blue tip. In no what do I consider the bullet a failure in any way. I chose the bullet for the caliber and the game and conditions I would be shooting. If your looking for a all around caliber bullet combo, deer, elk, bear etc. Then you need to make a change on your bullet, cartridge and or both. I like to mix it up, I like to use a different cartridge almost every year. Sure I have my tried and trues in the safe but I like to mix it up.

[Biggerhammer]

Wrong button!

[Atroxus]

I don't see how that could be considered a bullet failure. Do you really want end to end penetration when shooting a deer head on? I can only presume that the 3 deer you shot where the bullets exited were at angles other than straight on. I can't see how anyone would consider 24" of penetration inadequate regardless of what condition the bullet is in unless you are hunting dangerous game in africa, or are the the habit of taking "texas heartshots". Do you really think an elk shot with the same bullet/angle/shot placement would be any less dead? I don't, but thats just my .

[carpsniperg2]

All the energy was dumped into that buck and the bullet went in 24" that is just fine in my book. I have killed tons of different animals with lots of different bullets. I have been around probably 20+ big game animals shot with a nosler b-tip. more then Half of them did not leave the animal! Just turned into pieces and most were very small. I don't like to see seperation on a bullet from its core. However I do think it did its job first

[257 Wby Mag]

Is that fancy designer boolit on the left a failure? Both came from the same buck, 85 TSX via a Venturi shouldered, free bored 240 Roy.

[BULLBLASTER]

I guess all Berger bullets are designed to fail then also... break apart and shed weight.... they sure kill well for failing every shot.

[257 Wby Mag]

They'll all fail given a guy makes enough meat with said boolit. After loading lotsa different slugs, I've come to the conclusion,
perty tough to trump a good ol Hornady Interlock for accuracy and straight killin....

[Biggerhammer]

They'll all fail given a guy makes enough meat with said boolit. After loading lotsa different slugs, I've come to the conclusion,
perty tough to trump a good ol Hornady Interlock for accuracy and straight killin....

I would have to agree concerning the Hornady Interlock! If a 30 cal 150gr Interlock was good enough for a friends stud of a sheep ( Current world record Calafornia WA State sheep) Then it's sure good enough for anything I'm going to point it at.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Now we getting somewhere... those of you who kinda know me by now know that I am a serious Hornaday Fan and the only bullets fly out of my guns are Interlocks BUT I decided to try those SST out of that 25-06 just to see what it does ...Next year we will be putting a 117 gr interlock back in the 25-06... I just feel better about it  :tup:Actually I forgot about the 87 gr SST my older son shot a 3 pt with a few years back ...it to dropped that deer like a bad habit and both deer were shot threw the lungs ....I think the SST would make a serious mess if it hit shoulder or any heavy bones !!

[257 Wby Mag]

Wish I could downsize pics on this damn new computer.

Pard dropped a monsterous 360 blues bull opening day with a 130 Interlock, 270 Roy freebore special!! grin.....
2 shots, humped, nosedove into a patch of blowdown. No tracking needed..

Last week, montucky, 2 really big bodied Montucky bucks, a 165 & 175 B&C, 257 Roy, 100 Hornady, 1 shot, Said pard with the 270 Roy, 130 Blues bull
combo, 1 shot. NO boolits were recovered, so I can't say if they failed or not???  Grin.....

[Biggerhammer]

Wish I could downsize pics on this damn new computer.

Pard dropped a monsterous 360 blues bull opening day with a 130 Interlock, 270 Roy freebore special!! grin.....
2 shots, humped, nosedove into a patch of blowdown. No tracking needed..

Last week, montucky, 2 really big bodied Montucky bucks, a 165 & 175 B&C, 257 Roy, 100 Hornady, 1 shot, Said pard with the 270 Roy, 130 Blues bull
combo, 1 shot. NO boolits were recovered, so I can't say if they failed or not???  Grin.....

Ha, ha, ha... Stinking free bore! 

[257 Wby Mag]

Laffin.... I was telling my pard"the one that shoots the 270 Roy" about the hyenas and rubber knife. We got a hellava laugh out of it on the Montucky trip.. Later

[Biggerhammer]

Laffin.... I was telling my pard"the one that shoots the 270 Roy" about the hyenas and rubber knife. We got a hellava laugh out of it on the Montucky trip.. Later

I bet that elk dislikes " Free bore "'as much as I do.

Have you seen the new Swift Scirocco II's?  25 Cal 100gr. They should work wonders out of that .257 Roy.

[jaymark6655]

Sounds like it worked to me.  At that range .308 SST are travelling around 2400 to 2500 fps depending on how you load them, thats fast for a round to try a stay together.  I haven't shot an elk with one yet, but it will punch through 6 inches of pine no problem and turn a milk jug into a flat piece of plastic at 100 yards.

[gadwall]

Can you explain how 24inches of penetration and a dead deer is a bullet failure? Sounds like it did.its job to me.

 

My daughter shoots a .260 remington and shot a mule deer doe this year.  She missed the boiler and clipped the liver on a quartering toward shot.  Bullet traveled through and lodged against the hide in the oposite hind leg.  Perfect mushroom and 81% weight retention all in soft tissue with a 140 gr. Accubond.  I am really impressed with that bullet.

[BOWHUNTER45]

yeah alot of guys talk about how good the accubond is So I guess they are alright 

[scudmaster]

You only mentioned finding the jacket?  Where did the core go?  Jackets generally do not penetrate far once separated?  If the core was not found then I suspect it performed as SSTs are designed to; a near explosive expansion and fragmentation of the core.  They are not designed for deep penetration.  You may want to try a bonded heavy jacket bullet to accomplish that. 
 

[hendog]

The core did exit.

 Also seen a pic the butcher took of the bullets travel. Not only did it take out a neck bone, it travel along the rib cage and took out six ribs.

[Biggerhammer]

The core did exit.

 Also seen a pic the butcher took of the bullets travel. Not only did it take out a neck bone, it travel along the rib cage and took out six ribs.

The core exited? Traveled 24" and broke 6 ribs and it FAILED???

WoW!!!!!

[scudmaster]

The core did exit.

 Also seen a pic the butcher took of the bullets travel. Not only did it take out a neck bone, it travel along the rib cage and took out six ribs.

I am thinking that sounds pretty good.  And actually deep penetration for an SST.

[coachcw]

I shoot the fedral premium with 165 barnes x pricey but the drive nails .