Remington Bronze Points?

Shooter 973 · May 30, 2005, 05:03 PM

I just picked up about 1,300 30 caliber Rem. Bronze points at a very cheap price. They look like a pretty good bullet, like an early Ballistic tip, if anything. How do they shoot in a 308, or 30-06 as far as a hunting bullet? I'd like to hear from fellow shooters that have some experience with these bullets.

Oldphart · May 31, 2005, 01:00 AM

I remember using them once when I was younger. I wasn't interested in extreme accuracy then, only hitting the deer. They seemed to do that well enough but once they hit, the bronze point was driven back into the body of the bullet, making the whole thing explode. One shot in a small deer resulted in a lot of blood and very little meat. YMMV.

Superhornet · May 31, 2005, 09:04 AM

Good for 30-06 if you take lung and heart shots. Hit this area and its very little damaged meat. To me, they do not shoot as accurate as the Accubonds, but will do the job. They also used to be made in .277, but have not seen any for a while...IMHO

Sturm · May 31, 2005, 04:03 PM

This is a good point to consider. Bronze points can be quite accurate, as with NOSLER Ballistic tips, but some people believe that neither of their jackets are heavily enough constructed to counteract the conditions described by Oldphart. Hornady went to a heavier jacket with the SST and the early ones were a little lighter in construction than they should have been, but this is an issue Hornady addressed. I like the tipped bullets because of the high Ballistic Coefficients, but if one is to be used for hunting, it must also have jacket construction that will control expansion. Because once you get into bonding core to jacket a significant increase in price comes with it. I.E. Accu-Bond. I probably wouldn't use the SST for Game larger than Whitetail until someone here jumps on with a specific case where it is working for them. Then again, hunting anything other than Whitetail has it's own unique cost factor to consider and going to a Partition or whatever doesn't seem expensive by comparison. The SST does use the Interlock concept and bullets have a crimp ring that also "Bite" the lead core, so I do plan to look into it further.

Smokey Joe · June 1, 2005, 12:41 PM

Shooter 973--You called it right on the money--Rem Bronze Points ARE an early "Ballistic Tip," exactly! They were invented before our current plastics technology. They have been reported to give XLNT accuracy. They have also been reported to "blow up" inside deer. Hey, I thought that was the whole idea!! Hit 'em in the boiler room and wreck the boilers!

I'd try 'em in my gun if I had a mess of 'em, and use 'em without hesitation on deer, pronghorns, or anything of that size, having developed an accurate load for my gun for them. But I'd PRACTICE ENOUGH to be able to place 'em for a good heart/lung shot.

That's what we're supposed to be after, anyhow, is it not--a quick, clean, humane kill???

Lycanthrope · June 1, 2005, 04:17 PM

The new Nosler BT bullets are a lot tougher than the first lots. .284 140's poke right through whitetails at 3450fps.

In contrast, the Partitions can't take a lot of velocity. At 3200 fps they grenade, even in the .284 160gr offerring. Here is a link to a graphic pic of a deer shot with the 160 Partition. What you are seeing is an entry hole and there was no exit. Partition

It goes against "Internet/Gun rag philosophy", but I'll stand behind real world testing. Find a bullet that shoots tight first, and then assess it's ability to do what you want it to out of your own gun.

Ben Shepherd · June 1, 2005, 06:37 PM

My grandfather used to hunt with them exclusively. They were designed for taking that long carefully placed shot. Accuracy was excellent.

As others have noted-VERY explosive!!!! But if you impact between 3-500 yards, instead of 50-150 much less velocity, much less meat damage.

The deer I've seen hit with them usually go down "right now"-but there is a lot more meat damage then with something like a core-lockt slug.

Edward429451 · June 1, 2005, 07:08 PM

That deer's wound looks almost exactly like the wound on the elk my son took with a .308 180g NP at about 75 yds. It basically blew a 2" hole through his shoulder and a .30 cal exit wound on the far side, it did exit. It sure stopped him but lost some meat from it too.

I wondered what happened considering all the NP hype. They're auful accurate but shouldn't have blown up like that. I guesstimated the 180 NP was at about 2400 -2500 fps with 41.5g IMR-4064. Extrapolating from the book data.

So do NP's have a velocity/performance window that allows them to perform as designed & intended? We don't take those 3 to 500 yd shots. What bullets will do the right job at <150 yds regarless of speed? Do GameKings blow up like that too? They shoot real well for us on paper but have not had the oppurtunity to see their performance on game yet.

(Come to think of it, I have almost a full box of bronzepoints down there that someone gave me. I should load some up and try them for accuracy...)

Lycanthrope · June 1, 2005, 08:19 PM

Quote:

So do NP's have a velocity/performance window that allows them to perform as designed & intended? We don't take those 3 to 500 yd shots. What bullets will do the right job at <150 yds regarless of speed?

Perform as intended? I think it's best to say perform as "expected" because the hype and the real world testing often don't match. From my experience the front half of the Partition will shroom up or fragment and the back half will carry through. I think they went for the best of both worlds, but it's not real consistent based on a few hundred fps difference. On Whitetails they work well, but I have learned to doubt them for elk.

The bonded bullets are indeed tough and hang together pretty well. They won't petal back very well if velocity gets low. I watched a whitetail shot with a .300 win mag and a 180gr Swift Scirroco (420 yards). Hardly any expansion. The deer never bled and ran quite a ways. If you need penetration the Barnes X is darn near armor piercing and will petal, but once again the animal will run 50% of the time. Elk can make you pay for that (I know). When using these I usually use a lighter bullet than normal, because the extra weight isn't necessary and the lighter bullet will expand better out deeper.

As I've said before, the newer Nosler BT bullets are tougher than people give them credit for. Boat tails tend to hang together a bit better than the flat based. I use them out to 500 yards for whitetails.

The Hornady bullets always expand and will grenade if pushed too fast below 140gr. Above 150gr they are an excellent deer round and usually ANCHOR the animal.

So..I suppose the long answer is that they all have windows save for the bonded bullets and the X which give you pretty much the same results (LOTS of penetration) every time.

Edward429451 · June 1, 2005, 08:48 PM

Hmmm. Ok thanks. Sounds like I'll be trying some X bullets this summer.

May 30, 2005, 05:03 PM	#1
Shooter 973 Senior Member Join Date: February 3, 2001 Location: Home town of John M. Browning, Utah Posts: 499	Remington Bronze Points? I just picked up about 1,300 30 caliber Rem. Bronze points at a very cheap price. They look like a pretty good bullet, like an early Ballistic tip, if anything. How do they shoot in a 308, or 30-06 as far as a hunting bullet? I'd like to hear from fellow shooters that have some experience with these bullets. __________________ The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?

June 1, 2005, 12:41 PM	#5
Smokey Joe Senior Member Join Date: July 14, 2001 Location: State of Confusion Posts: 2,106	Rem Bronze Points Shooter 973--You called it right on the money--Rem Bronze Points ARE an early "Ballistic Tip," exactly! They were invented before our current plastics technology. They have been reported to give XLNT accuracy. They have also been reported to "blow up" inside deer. Hey, I thought that was the whole idea!! Hit 'em in the boiler room and wreck the boilers! I'd try 'em in my gun if I had a mess of 'em, and use 'em without hesitation on deer, pronghorns, or anything of that size, having developed an accurate load for my gun for them. But I'd PRACTICE ENOUGH to be able to place 'em for a good heart/lung shot. That's what we're supposed to be after, anyhow, is it not--a quick, clean, humane kill??? __________________ God Bless America --Smokey Joe

June 1, 2005, 06:37 PM	#7
Ben Shepherd Senior Member Join Date: August 11, 2001 Location: Utah Posts: 1,462	My grandfather used to hunt with them exclusively. They were designed for taking that long carefully placed shot. Accuracy was excellent. As others have noted-VERY explosive!!!! But if you impact between 3-500 yards, instead of 50-150 much less velocity, much less meat damage. The deer I've seen hit with them usually go down "right now"-but there is a lot more meat damage then with something like a core-lockt slug. __________________ From my cold dead hands......... NRA certified rifle, pistol and shotgun instructor. Hunter education instructor

May 31, 2005, 01:00 AM	#2
Oldphart Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 2004 Posts: 375	I remember using them once when I was younger. I wasn't interested in extreme accuracy then, only hitting the deer. They seemed to do that well enough but once they hit, the bronze point was driven back into the body of the bullet, making the whole thing explode. One shot in a small deer resulted in a lot of blood and very little meat. YMMV.

May 31, 2005, 09:04 AM	#3
Superhornet Senior Member Join Date: March 24, 2005 Location: florida Posts: 292	Good for 30-06 if you take lung and heart shots. Hit this area and its very little damaged meat. To me, they do not shoot as accurate as the Accubonds, but will do the job. They also used to be made in .277, but have not seen any for a while...IMHO

May 31, 2005, 04:03 PM	#4
Sturm Junior member Join Date: March 2, 2005 Location: Central Texas Posts: 584	This is a good point to consider. Bronze points can be quite accurate, as with NOSLER Ballistic tips, but some people believe that neither of their jackets are heavily enough constructed to counteract the conditions described by Oldphart. Hornady went to a heavier jacket with the SST and the early ones were a little lighter in construction than they should have been, but this is an issue Hornady addressed. I like the tipped bullets because of the high Ballistic Coefficients, but if one is to be used for hunting, it must also have jacket construction that will control expansion. Because once you get into bonding core to jacket a significant increase in price comes with it. I.E. Accu-Bond. I probably wouldn't use the SST for Game larger than Whitetail until someone here jumps on with a specific case where it is working for them. Then again, hunting anything other than Whitetail has it's own unique cost factor to consider and going to a Partition or whatever doesn't seem expensive by comparison. The SST does use the Interlock concept and bullets have a crimp ring that also "Bite" the lead core, so I do plan to look into it further.

June 1, 2005, 04:17 PM	#6
Lycanthrope Senior Member Join Date: October 1, 2001 Location: PA Posts: 1,752	The new Nosler BT bullets are a lot tougher than the first lots. .284 140's poke right through whitetails at 3450fps. In contrast, the Partitions can't take a lot of velocity. At 3200 fps they grenade, even in the .284 160gr offerring. Here is a link to a graphic pic of a deer shot with the 160 Partition. What you are seeing is an entry hole and there was no exit. Partition It goes against "Internet/Gun rag philosophy", but I'll stand behind real world testing. Find a bullet that shoots tight first, and then assess it's ability to do what you want it to out of your own gun.

June 1, 2005, 07:08 PM	#8
Edward429451 Junior member Join Date: November 12, 2000 Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado Posts: 9,494	That deer's wound looks almost exactly like the wound on the elk my son took with a .308 180g NP at about 75 yds. It basically blew a 2" hole through his shoulder and a .30 cal exit wound on the far side, it did exit. It sure stopped him but lost some meat from it too. I wondered what happened considering all the NP hype. They're auful accurate but shouldn't have blown up like that. I guesstimated the 180 NP was at about 2400 -2500 fps with 41.5g IMR-4064. Extrapolating from the book data. So do NP's have a velocity/performance window that allows them to perform as designed & intended? We don't take those 3 to 500 yd shots. What bullets will do the right job at <150 yds regarless of speed? Do GameKings blow up like that too? They shoot real well for us on paper but have not had the oppurtunity to see their performance on game yet. (Come to think of it, I have almost a full box of bronzepoints down there that someone gave me. I should load some up and try them for accuracy...)

June 1, 2005, 08:48 PM	#10
Edward429451 Junior member Join Date: November 12, 2000 Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado Posts: 9,494	Hmmm. Ok thanks. Sounds like I'll be trying some X bullets this summer.