What happened to Mono bullets

[FredH]

Now that we have gotten so deep into various match bullets for game with emphasis on smaller diameters has interest in Mono metal bullets gone away? At one time they were supposed to be the answer.

 

[Jason Snyder]

I’ve been killing animals for 25 years with them. I’ve had very good luck with Hammers out of my 6.5CM.

 

[180ls1]

It's mostly just this forum.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

At one time they were supposed to be the answer.

I hunt monos but don’t think they were ever supposed to be THE answer, they are an option and always were.

 

[waspocrew]

I found Barnes .284 145 gr LRX on clearance for $24/box this summer. For the price, thought it was worth trying in my 7 SAUM. Killed a bull elk at 415 yards and whitetail buck at 350 yards a couple of weeks ago. Worked great on both animals.

I’m not a mono guy at all, but I would keep using after this season.

 

[z987k]

They're just not ideal. I've used a lot of them and they work if you use them right. But it's just not quite ideal under almost any circumstances. That said, I'll take their downsides over putting lead into anything I eat. Luckily DRT and RWS exist so I don't use monos anymore.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

They're just not ideal. I've used a lot of them and they work if you use them right. But it's just not quite ideal under almost any circumstances. That said, I'll take their downsides over putting lead into anything I eat. Luckily DRT and RWS exist so I don't use monos anymore.

Depends what ideal is to you / the situation though. For example a highly fragmenting match bullet that if placed on a shoulder thrashes a bunch of meat also isn't ideal, but placed in the lungs its a different story. Ideal is relative.

Know how your chosen bullet works and deploy it accordingly.

 

[wyosam]

Lots of good monos out there now. Just have some trade offs. They aren’t ever going to have really high BC. If you want to shoot game at long range, you’re going to have to push them harder and read wind better than you would with a lead core. Terminal performance is certainly different than match bullets, which some will argue is a good thing and of course others will call that performance horrible. Pretty easy to keep them within good performance windows to 500 with moderate cartridges though, so it’s not like you’re resigning yourself to muzzleloader range.


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[Kurts86]

They always were and still are a material science trade off. They are less dense and harder than lead but they have some advantages being they are a single homogeneous material rather than bonded dissimilar materials.

Mono performance has steadily improved over time. If you look at the Barnes evolution from TSX to TTSX to LRX they have gotten better with each generation with better BC’s and lower opening velocities.

The push towards smaller calibers really requires excellent terminal bullet performance which mono’s are a second tier option at producing.

 

[z987k]

Lots of good monos out there now. Just have some trade offs. They aren’t ever going to have really high BC.

This isn't true at all. Badlands bullets had a higher BC than any lead bullet for the same weight. Apex bullets aren't quite there but they're close.
Those bands on most copper bullets create a tremendous amount of drag. And for a copper bullet to have a high BC it needs to be really long for caliber. Most approaching 6x, and you need a really fast twist rate to stabilize those. So you're in custom barrel territory. But they can have a high BC, it's just that most copper bullet companies don't design them that way for limitations in most rifles and cartridges.

 

[Bubblehide]

Monos came to be directly due to the push to ban lead bullets in some states. I live in a state with a ban. We have 3 basic options for mono bullets, fragmenting, petal, and tumble on impact. All 3 will kill. But, they simply do not do the amount of tissue damage as a lead bullet designed for hunting; many that use mono bullets like less dammaged meat. Mono is obviously still being made and available. They just aren't a preferred choice for most, as shot placement is a critical factor in recovering the animal.

Additionally. IMNSHO, compared to a good lead bullet, they are limited on effective distance. Meaning to open petals, fragment, they need a minimum velocity which limits effective range. That may not be an issue for many, but for those shooting long range, it is. Monos certainly are not going away.

 

[Felix40]

I’ve been watching family and friends use them for 20 years. I’ve never seen terminal performance that excited me at all.

 

[wyosam]

This isn't true at all. Badlands bullets had a higher BC than any lead bullet for the same weight. Apex bullets aren't quite there but they're close.
Those bands on most copper bullets create a tremendous amount of drag. And for a copper bullet to have a high BC it needs to be really long for caliber. Most approaching 6x, and you need a really fast twist rate to stabilize those. So you're in custom barrel territory. But they can have a high BC, it's just that most copper bullet companies don't design them that way for limitations in most rifles and cartridges.

I should have said that different- for whatever you choose to do to get the BC higher with a mono, if you made a lead bullet to shoot with that same throat and twist, it’s going to have a far higher BC. Companies are making efforts to improve BCs by adding tips and changing drive band profiles, but the limitations are there. The weight/volume compared to lead is always going to be a challenge.


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[MThuntr]

I'm still heavily using Hammer bullets...they're easy to get to shoot but they have meh BCs though within my abilities they're still traveling fast enough and kill everything I've hit. I haven't experienced any of the "failures" that people have mentioned for why they use match bullets. My sample size may not be as large as others but Hammer bullets have taken probably 40 animals (with some users shooting my rifles) since I started using them.

That being said on my newer cartridges, I using going to stick with ELD-M and SST bullets mostly because I'm wanting to do volume shooting and spending $1-3 per bullet isn't going to work for me.

 

[wyosam]

I'm still heavily using Hammer bullets...they're easy to get to shoot but they have meh BCs though within my abilities they're still traveling fast enough and kill everything I've hit. I haven't experienced any of the "failures" that people have mentioned for why they use match bullets. My sample size may not be as large as others but Hammer bullets have taken probably 40 animals (with some users shooting my rifles) since I started using them.

That being said on my newer cartridges, I using going to stick with ELD-M and SST bullets mostly because I'm wanting to do volume shooting and spending $1-3 per bullet isn't going to work for me.

I hunt with hammers and 90% of the rest of my shooting is with lead primarily due to cost


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[General RE LEE]

I have a 308 pet load 130 TTSX over 49 grains of TAC 3098 FPS.

50 yard zero and its point and shoot out to 250 with a little hold at 300 yards. Light recoil and kills deer like lightning.

I was shooting this load at range yesterday and its what I will be hunting with.

 

[D Lee]

Just my humble opinion..........

Indeed blessed - I've already killed my share of BG.

Maybe a bit unrealistically at times - I "personally" have always made DRT a very high priority in my choice of a bullet. DRT guaranteed? Of course not. Yes - today's mono BG bullets are indeed better. And dead is dead. That said - agree with me or not - some bullets do help us get closer to a DRT - if a DRT is a priority for you? And NO - I'm not talking about deliberately taking head or spine shots.

And why I've shied away from monos.

Cheers!

 

[z987k]

I should have said that different- for whatever you choose to do to get the BC higher with a mono, if you made a lead bullet to shoot with that same throat and twist, it’s going to have a far higher BC. Companies are making efforts to improve BCs by adding tips and changing drive band profiles, but the limitations are there. The weight/volume compared to lead is always going to be a challenge.


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While that's true, if you make a lead bullet 6x caliber in length it'll be so heavy you're going to need a very big cartridge to have enough powder to push it at the velocities you want. Recoil will have to go up significantly.
IMO a 150gr copper bullet with a .71G1 is a way better bullet from an external ballistics standpoint than a 190gr lead bullet with that same BC, which is about the weight difference it takes to match BC's.

 

[Ens Entium]

Monos came to be directly due to the push to ban lead bullets in some states. I live in a state with a ban. We have 3 basic options for mono bullets, fragmenting, petal, and tumble on impact. All 3 will kill. But, they simply do not do the amount of tissue damage as a lead bullet designed for hunting; many that use mono bullets like less dammaged meat. Mono is obviously still being made and available. They just aren't a preferred choice for most, as shot placement is a critical factor in recovering the animal.

Additionally. IMNSHO, compared to a good lead bullet, they are limited on effective distance. Meaning to open petals, fragment, they need a minimum velocity which limits effective range. That may not be an issue for many, but for those shooting long range, it is. Monos certainly are not going away.

I agree completely. Less than impressed with terminal performance.

I am going to give the DRT Terminal Shock a try for next year and whenever in a friendly state go back to lead. Sucks to have two loads and zeros but I'll take an advantage when I can.

 

[Bubblehide]

I agree completely. Less than impressed with terminal performance.

I am going to give the DRT Terminal Shock a try for next year and whenever in a friendly state go back to lead. Sucks to have two loads and zeros but I'll take an advantage when I can.

I've been very fortunate with monos in Ca. Typically on cervids I take a heart shot, on pigs, a shot just behind the ear. Thus far, 99% have been DRT, or dead within a couple seconds. But yes, in states that permit lead, lead is the way to go. Either 2 zeros, or 2 guns, 1 for mono, 1 for lead.