The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old October 2, 2013, 04:48 PM   #1
Reloader2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 18, 2013
Posts: 263
Nosler E-tip on deer

I shot this buck yesterday. Nosler 150 grain E-tip 4350 powder 280 Remington
Deer was quartering to. Clipped right front leg, entered ribs and destroyed the heart and lungs. No exit wound and bullet wasn't recovered. I lost the shoulder and ribs on the right side.
The bottom 1/2 of the heart was gone and the rest was turned mush and this deer still made it into the timber over some downed logs and went 70 yards before piling up.
Reloader2 is offline  
Old October 2, 2013, 05:13 PM   #2
pathdoc
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 12, 2013
Posts: 669
You can blow the heart to shreds and the lungs to soup, but what matters is how much oxygen the muscles have on board. Unless you blow the brains to grey-red goo, you're not guaranteed an instantaneous drop. (If you get one, all well and good.)

That being said, almost everything I've read on big game hunting has hammered home the same point: DO NOT take the head shot; take the guaranteed killing thoracic shot. Which you did. Blowing the heart half to bits and wrecking both lungs is about as much as you can ask for from any bullet. With damage like that, it's academic whether it makes it out the other side or how much weight, jacket or core it sheds. It's done its job perfectly.
pathdoc is offline  
Old October 2, 2013, 05:15 PM   #3
AllenJ
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 11, 2009
Location: Northern California
Posts: 1,766
Nice job and congrats. Wish you could have recovered the bullet, would have been interesting to see how much weight it retained.
AllenJ is offline  
Old October 2, 2013, 07:04 PM   #4
lamarw
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 12, 2010
Location: Lake Martin, AL
Posts: 3,311
Interesting article in the Nov. Issue of Guns & Ammo on the subject. Here are a couple of quotes from the article: "A polymer tip remains in place until impact and is practically impervious to battering. Upon impact, it initiates expansion as it is driven down into the nose of the bullet." In another paragraph it states: "They usually won't exit". Overall, it seemed the author considered it a good deer bullet. The article was not on reloading, but was entitled "DEER BULLETS 101".

Congrats on your first deer of this season.
lamarw is offline  
Old October 2, 2013, 09:09 PM   #5
myfriendis410
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 30, 2011
Location: Lompoc California
Posts: 274
The E-tip is a good bullet but you do lose some velocity due to it's gilding metal construction. I have focused on the Barnes and it has done well for everything. Usually you don't recover the bullet, but when you do it's like an advertisement from Barnes.
myfriendis410 is offline  
Old October 2, 2013, 10:08 PM   #6
Boomer58cal
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 18, 2013
Location: closer than you think
Posts: 967
I've used Nosler Accu-bond in several calibers with good success. Generally speaking the front third of the bullet breaks in to 3-4 small fragments, the center rolls back into a perfect mushroom and the base remains mostly intact.

Lately I prefer the SST because in my experience the SST is a bit tougher and holds together a little better. I'd put the Accu-bond between the SST and the V-max in terms of expansion.

I haven't tested the E-tip but I read they have better weight retention than the Accu-bond. I guess the gilding metal holds together better than traditional Core and Jacket bullets.

Nice dear.

Boomer
__________________
The number one cause of death in the 20th century. 290,000,000 citizens were first disarmed and then murdered by their own governments. This number does not include those killed in war.
We're from the government, we're here to help
Boomer58cal is offline  
Old October 2, 2013, 10:42 PM   #7
BuckRub
Junior member
 
Join Date: October 3, 2012
Location: Central Texas
Posts: 1,046
Yea I used them too. They're good but since I started with the SSTs, that's all I use now. That's been about 14 years ago and I've killed anything from buzzards to hogs to deer. My opinion they're the best that I've ever seen.
BuckRub is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 08:29 AM   #8
Rifleman1776
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 25, 2010
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 3,309
My experience is different that what I see posted here and other forums.
Most of my deer have been taken with a traditional muzzle loader using a soft lead. .45 cal. ball and moderate charges.
Several have been taken with a 30-06 using Nosler Ballistic Tip or Partitions.
All, both the muzzle loader and '06 dropped where they stood. There was very little meat damage or loss from hydro shock. Internal damage was impressive but not 'explosive'.
The two with the '06 were fairly close ranges. e.g. 10 yards and 50 yards.
Personally, I do not favor high velocity modern rifles for deer due to the excessvive meat damage.
Plus there is no need. Maybe that is why the old 'thuty-thuty' with round nose bullets was so popular for so many years. Works and brings home the meat.
Rifleman1776 is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 08:52 AM   #9
Boomer58cal
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 18, 2013
Location: closer than you think
Posts: 967
Quote:
Personally, I do not favor high velocity modern rifles for deer due to the excessvive meat damage. Plus there is no need. Maybe that is why the old 'thuty-thuty' with round nose bullets was so popular for so many years. Works and brings home the meat.
Me too. I mostly hunt with muzzleloaders, but my 30-30 is my favorite deer cartridge.

Boomer
__________________
The number one cause of death in the 20th century. 290,000,000 citizens were first disarmed and then murdered by their own governments. This number does not include those killed in war.
We're from the government, we're here to help
Boomer58cal is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 11:45 AM   #10
Sure Shot Mc Gee
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 2, 2012
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 3,876
Looks like someone is eating fresh venison. The rest of us can only hope. {including me for another month yet.} Looks like that E-Tip did what it was suppose to do. Good shot there Reloader 2. _
Sure Shot Mc Gee is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 02:22 PM   #11
snuffy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 20, 2001
Location: Oshkosh wi.
Posts: 3,055
Quote:
Yea I used them too. They're good but since I started with the SSTs, that's all I use now. That's been about 14 years ago and I've killed anything from buzzards to hogs to deer. My opinion they're the best that I've ever seen.
The Nosler E-tip has only been around for a couple of years. Same with the Hornady G-MAX.

Quote:
The E-tip is a good bullet but you do loose some velocity due to it's gilding metal construction. I have focused on the Barnes and it has done well for everything. Usually you don't recover the bullet, but when you do it's like an advertisement from Barnes.
Huh? What makes you think the guilding metal construction causes lower velocity?

I'm surprised the E-tip didn't exit. It should retain most of it's weight. It would have looked like these GMX bullets I tested in water jugs from a 300 WSM.







Notice the 2 numbers next to the bullets, that's retained weight of 165 grain bullets. I'd bet the bullet is in the gut pile.
__________________
The more people I meet, the more I love my dog

They're going to get their butts kicked over there this election. How come people can't spell and use words correctly?
snuffy is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 06:30 PM   #12
lamarw
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 12, 2010
Location: Lake Martin, AL
Posts: 3,311
"Looks like someone is eating fresh venison."

"I've killed everything from buzzards to hogs to deer."

How did that buzzard taste? LOL

In Alabama, buzzards are employees of the State Department of Transportation. They are the clean-up crew and take their job very seriously.
lamarw is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 06:42 PM   #13
BuckRub
Junior member
 
Join Date: October 3, 2012
Location: Central Texas
Posts: 1,046
Cooked in a pressure cooker. Tender but alittle rank.
BuckRub is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 07:26 PM   #14
griz
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 31, 2000
Location: Middle Peninsula, VA
Posts: 1,588
I'm also surprised it didn't exit. I've shot three deer with E-tips in 243. All were broadside but all sailed through. I had the impression that if anything they were a bit stout for our smallish whitetails.
griz is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 09:39 PM   #15
Savage99
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 17, 2004
Posts: 567
Congrats on getting the deer.

Why did you post on a bullet performance when the bullet stayed in the deer, left no exit wound or blood trail and not bother to recover the bullet?

A gunwriter observed that the old Barnes bullets did not fragment and were slow killers of deer. Looks like your bullet is the same.
Savage99 is offline  
Old October 3, 2013, 11:13 PM   #16
Reloader2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 18, 2013
Posts: 263
Nosler E-tip on deer

Quote:
Originally Posted by Savage99 View Post
Congrats on getting the deer.

Why did you post on a bullet performance when the bullet stayed in the deer, left no exit wound or blood trail and not bother to recover the bullet?

A gunwriter observed that the old Barnes bullets did not fragment and were slow killers of deer. Looks like your bullet is the same.
I was reporting what I observed and looking for other's experiences with this bullet.
Reloader2 is offline  
Old October 4, 2013, 12:24 AM   #17
BuckRub
Junior member
 
Join Date: October 3, 2012
Location: Central Texas
Posts: 1,046
As far as performance goes - I think it did great. It dumped all its energy into the deer and didn't come out. That's what I want. I use SSTs and I get same results. Performance is excellent - turns everything inside to mush. May or may not exit.
BuckRub is offline  
Old October 4, 2013, 09:41 AM   #18
TimSr
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 8, 2013
Location: Rittman, Ohio
Posts: 2,074
I can't argue with your success, but for me, total disintegration of a bullet without exiting while desireable in a self defense round, its not something I look for in a hunting bullet for deer and larger game. Bullets that come apart after entry can do the same if the hit heavy bone before entry.
TimSr is offline  
Old October 4, 2013, 01:08 PM   #19
Reloader2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 18, 2013
Posts: 263
Nosler E-tip on deer

I didn't recover the bullet so I have no idea if it came apart or not. I highly doubt that it disintegrated but have no proof that it didn't either.
But I've seen bullets do some strange things.
We once recovered a bullet that went from the front to the back of an elk and it looked like it could be reloaded except for the rifling marks and a bit of a bend in the shape.
Reloader2 is offline  
Old October 4, 2013, 04:39 PM   #20
AllenJ
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 11, 2009
Location: Northern California
Posts: 1,766
Quote:
I highly doubt that it disintegrated
I agree, solid gliding metal bullets are tough to do that to.

How far was your shot?
AllenJ is offline  
Old October 4, 2013, 05:34 PM   #21
snuffy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 20, 2001
Location: Oshkosh wi.
Posts: 3,055
Have you butchered the deer yet? I'd bet that bullet is embedded in the back or off side back leg.

My nephew took a nice buck with his .280 while using my handloaded 139 Hornady interbonds. Hit was straight on the brisket, bullet was half-way through the back leg round/ham area. Nicely expanded, while making a mess of the heart and lungs.
__________________
The more people I meet, the more I love my dog

They're going to get their butts kicked over there this election. How come people can't spell and use words correctly?
snuffy is offline  
Old October 4, 2013, 11:58 PM   #22
Bezoar
Junior member
 
Join Date: October 19, 2004
Location: michigan
Posts: 578
strange, the reports of actual use we get on these solid copper rifle bullets.

manufactureres claim complete pass through, nosler for one admits on their website they physically havenot been able to make one explode or disintegrate.
have seen a few tales of shed petals in game.
Bezoar is offline  
Old October 5, 2013, 11:29 AM   #23
Boomer58cal
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 18, 2013
Location: closer than you think
Posts: 967
Quote:
Huh? What makes you think the guilding metal construction causes lower velocity?
Gilding metel is not as dense as lead, so the bullets are longer and have more surface area in contact with the bore than traditional lead core/copper jacket bullets of the same weight. The added fraction of the increased surface area decreases peak velocity and slightly increases pressure.

The load data in all my manuals shows gilding metal bullets generally lose 50-100 fps compared to conventional bullets.

Boomer
__________________
The number one cause of death in the 20th century. 290,000,000 citizens were first disarmed and then murdered by their own governments. This number does not include those killed in war.
We're from the government, we're here to help
Boomer58cal is offline  
Old October 5, 2013, 07:22 PM   #24
reynolds357
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 10, 2012
Posts: 6,161
That is why they started cutting grooves in the bullets. The bearing surface of a triple shock is about the same as a traditional lead jacketed.
reynolds357 is offline  
Old October 5, 2013, 07:24 PM   #25
reynolds357
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 10, 2012
Posts: 6,161
Bezoar, many of the earlier Barnes X bullets did shed their petals. They remidied that problem a couple of years after first hitting the market.
reynolds357 is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:01 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.11671 seconds with 10 queries