Close Range Whitetail Bullets

[Long Cut]

600 is a heck of a long ways…bordering on totally unrealistic for most people. I only said “not crazy long” in that most lead bullets still traveling fast enough to expand fine and you are not as much into the zone of “bullets designed specifically for LR”. My point was that if a 16” 6.5cm with 2500fps mv is the tool, close range performance is kind of easy and theres not really a huge reason to use different ammo on a day when a longer shot “could” happen. Ie even with our new situation, k.i.s.s.

Thanks for the input and I’m now in agreement with this mindset.

I just over complicated something I didn’t have to.
I’ll probably just stick to the 140 Nosler BT’s or try out Hornady’s 143 ELDX for both guns and call it a day.

For the record I would never try shooting an animal with a 16.5” barreled 6.5 at 600 yards.

 

[Rich M]

Where did you get .308 from???

Granted, I have mentioned 100 yards to 600 but I mentioned in that post this is for 2 separate rifles … one for a 0-200 yards AND 200-600 yards.

Either way, I apologize for my rambling and appreciate the help.

Post 1 says 0-100 yds, post 6 says 120 yds, 308.

No issues.

I missed the 2 rifles part after that and then saw out to 600 yards. That’s outta my league, cant help w 6.5 either. Man bun was just being funny, the one 6.5 cm i shot as a 1-hole gun at 250 yards.

used to hunt GA leases in central part of state. Was always nice to see so many deer.

I wear flip flops!

 

[Huntsalot]

Where did you hit your buck?

A bullet dumping all of its energy means that you’re not getting a pass through. The conundrum with that is that two holes will bleed better than one most of the time.

If you want DRT, aim for the high shoulder area and hit the spine. That’s the only way to consistently get them to drop.

The lack of blood has a lot to do with where you hit them. High lung shot don’t bleed much because they have to fill up, hearts shots don’t always bleed great because there’s nothing pumping blood out.

Your scenario sounds a lot like hunting Pennsylvania. Honestly most mushrooming bullets are gonna work great, I’d start with a hot-cor or a partition.

 

[35WhelenAI]

Partition will work open up quick and still drive through with the back half. I've come to understand a quicker initial expansion does create more interference with the CNS, which causes them to drop many times versus taking a sprint. If they do take a sprint, the rear core will exit but it will be a small exit. From experience, the bullet is basically original diameter at that point with a Partition.

With that being the case, a Cor Lokt or other bullet that is designed to hold a mushroom better than a partition is probably a good idea as I would expect it to exit on most broadside or similar angle shots on deer as well.

 

[TheHammer]

How are you liking the .450 BM?

I enjoy shooting it, my largest whitetail with a gun fell to it so that creates a soft spot of biases. It hammers hogs. No shortage of ammo options, until recently I hadn’t paid more than 28$ a box. Rifle selections are not as abundant, I’d like one in a lever.

 

[KenLee]

I enjoy shooting it, my largest whitetail with a gun fell to it so that creates a soft spot of biases. It hammers hogs. No shortage of ammo options, until recently I hadn’t paid more than 28$ a box. Rifle selections are not as abundant, I’d like one in a lever.

I'd want one in a lever if I didn't already have a 45-70 gbl. The Ruger cheap bolt action 450BM is alot of goody for the $ though.

 

[TheHammer]

I'd want one in a lever if I didn't already have a 45-70 gbl. The Ruger cheap bolt action 450BM is alot of goody for the $ though.

I have a savage 110, trying to find out if I can turn one of my Griffin sportsman’s into a 46 cal to slap on it.

 

[KenLee]

I have a savage 110, trying to find out if I can turn one of my Griffin sportsman’s into a 46 cal to slap on it.

Ooooh yeah that's alot of hammer from an AR15.

 

[Choupique]

I use norma oryx. Out of a 338 win mag. Works great! I get meat and bone chunk trails!

 

[KenLee]

I use norma oryx. Out of a 338 win mag. Works great! I get meat and bone chunk trails!

I low gut shot a buck hot after a doe last season with 300wsm NBT. 40 yard trail of stomach and intestines. Shot and field dressed in a few seconds

 

[ddd-shooter]

With the ability to hand load, I’m going to try:

Nosler BT’s
Nosler Partitions
Barnes TTSX’s

Possibly:
Hammer Hunter/Absolute Hammer ?
Sierra TMK/GK

Love partitions.
Can’t go wrong with then imo

 

[KenLee]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Right now my main platform is 6.5 CM utilizing a 20” & 21” barrels. The one rifle will be cut down and suppressed at 16.5” BL.

Right now I believe my “long range” setup will use either ELDM’s, TMK’s or Partitions. “Long range” in Georgia looks like 200-600 yard engagements. FPS will be roughly 2,700 at the muzzle.

My “short range” setup I’m still unsure, considering Nosler BT’s, TTSX’s, Hammer Hunters. “Short range” in Georgia will be 0-200 yards, with most in that 50-120 yard area. FPS will be 2,500 at the muzzle @ 16.5”

I understand the “any bullet will do” argument and you’re right, but I’m looking for the BEST bullet for the given platform, circumstances and yardages.

Reading back through and seeing you have two 6.5 Creeds for the 2 different ranges, I'll add that I love the NBT to the neck if I have a good look fairly close in. That will flat out drop em. The Partitions will be good for all your ranges. I don't like the performance of a TTSX after speed drops off. The lack of expansion won't make you happy.
I shoot the 120 gr NBT in 6.5 and 7mm-08 from close in to 375 yards and am happy with their performance. For the longer range, you'd likely prefer the 140 gr NBT, so I'd just load the 140s for all ranges.
For kids and newbie females, we use the 120gr TTSX from a 7mm-08 close in to 200 yards, as they will generally have a good exit hole at that range no matter the good or awful shot they make.
I don't have a short stocked Creedmoor to be using with newbies, just 243s and 7mm-08.
Another bullet which I think you would be happy with is the 140 gr Federal Fusion. That was the only factory round I could find when I bought my first 6.5 Ceed about 5 years ago. The performance is good and they are usually cheap. I'm just a sucker for the devastation from a NBT.

 

[coronagold]

I’m not looking for anything that will do.

I’m looking for a bullet that’s going to either DRT or dump a lot of blood on the ground for me to follow.

Shot placement is a big factor, as is bullet selection.

I read an article by some military types. They said something magical happens above 2200fps. The wound channel behaves like a laceration, and bleeds profusely. Maintain velocity above 2200 fps through the exit wound and you should have an exceptional blood trail to follow. If I tried this approach i would use something that retains weight and does not over-expand or fragment, so Corelokt, Partition, or maybe a solid copper. Probably a 270 Winchester. Maybe a 140 grain. I live in a straight-wall state and hunt in brush, so I use a hard cast 45-70 or a 12 gauge slug.

 

[Prairiekid]

I have mostly used .284 120 TTSX and .257 100 TTSX with a lot of success. I used a 180 Accubond out of my 300 wsm once and it didn't perform any better than those. With monometal bullets, speed is important and it's pretty easy to have a high speed of impact within 100 meters.

 

[browning2480]

My family uses Hornady SSTs. I am color blind so have always tried to shoot a bullet that I know will drop them quick. These have always done the job. My boys have killed a truckload of deer in all sizes with the .243. Then they graduated to the .308. I have always used the .30-06

.243 95gr SST

.308 150gr SST

.30-06 165gr SST

 

[3855WIN]

Love partitions.
Can’t go wrong with then imo

Partitions
Accubonds
Whatever Buffalo Bore loads in 255 grain for my .38-55
Barnes X

 

[Puppy]

You didn't specific the cartridge you are using, if you are pushing them at hyper speeds out of a magnum then a mono is great to keep from blowing the bullet up and not getting an exit wound for a good blood trail. For normal speeds cup and core bullets work well. Best option for DRT is the high shoulder shot regardless of the bullet and at 0-100 yds unless deer is moving shouldn't be a problem. Also, I don't buy into the "brush gun/bullet" argument, the best brush shot is not to hit any brush and an accurate rifle is required to do this.

 

[Rich M]

You didn't specific the cartridge you are using, if you are pushing them at hyper speeds out of a magnum then a mono is great to keep from blowing the bullet up and not getting an exit wound for a good blood trail. For normal speeds cup and core bullets work well. Best option for DRT is the high shoulder shot regardless of the bullet and at 0-100 yds unless deer is moving shouldn't be a problem. Also, I don't buy into the "brush gun/bullet" argument, the best brush shot is not to hit any brush and an accurate rifle is required to do this.

Somewhere along the way, it comes out that the gun is 6.5 CM.

 

[Bucsfan69]

Ranges under 80 ish, SSTs have worked best for me.. All other it’s TTSX, Accubond, or ELDX

 

[prm]

I'll go contrarian. Monos are at their absolute best at close range. A light for cartridge mono will open very wide, penetrate from any angle and perform very consistently. I've never had to track an animal shooting a .338 Barnes 160 TTSX at ~3k fps. The fatter the bullet the better for what you describe.