Best bullets big game hunting

Even if the narrower one is carrying more energy? Tough call. At any rate, the 6. It is legal in most jurisdictions. Its precision bullets, rifles, and low recoil make it deadly accurate for most shooters. And one thing is certain. The right bullet in the right place beats the wrong bullet in the wrong place.

It pains me to list this one because I know the 7mm,. It throws the same bullets as the. Arguing in the boring. Maximum Cartridge Overall Length is just 2. Properly loaded, the. It handles those heavier than about grains more efficiently. Nevertheless, when it comes to taking game, I have to admit the. But even when pushing grain slugs a mere 2, fps, it cranks out 2, f-p energy and retains 1, f-p at yards. Not many moose are going to shrug that off. And many factory loads and handloads can boost that muzzle velocity by fps or so.

Another nice. The short-action should cut a half-inch of length and 4 ounces of weight from the typical hunting rifle. The grains or so of powder in a. In a 7-pound rifle, then, a grain bullet at 2, fps would hit you with about 21 f-p of recoil energy at a velocity of 14 fps. Zero the above load for its maximum point blank range on an 8-inch target and you can hold dead-center out to yards and hit the vitals.

Pretty accommodating. As for that yard measuring stick, this grain bullet should still be carrying 1, f-p energy at 1, fps. Other factors arguing in the. Most rifle actions including lever, pump, break, falling block, auto-loading, and bolt are chambered for. Ditto the 7mm, which actually outperforms the. The truth is there are a lot of cartridges in this general class that match or beat the. They might be better in one small category: legality. In a few countries the.

Despite unrelenting competition from new and ever more powerful or convenient. It pushes the same. That speed reduces drop and wind deflection dramatically while adding piles of punch at all distances.

At 50 yards the TTSX I shot into gelatin expanded immediately and produced a dramatic, classic football-shaped temporary cavity the really destructive path within the first foot or so of after-impact travel and penetrated an admirable The recovered bullet averaged 0. In essence the bullet lost only the polymer tip. Great performance in every aspect. Impact performance at yards was similar, with the exception of somewhat less expansion 0. The TTSX surpassed the next deepest-penetrating bullet by 5.

Weight retention was again 99 percent. For steeply quartering-shot presentations that require deep penetration to reach the vitals, there is no better choice than the TTSX. It's also known for exceptional, forgiving accuracy. Federal Trophy Bonded Tip A unique crossover design featuring a solid copper base and a bonded, lead-core front half, the Federal Trophy Bonded Tip is known for dramatic expansion coupled with the deep-penetrating characteristics of high weight retention. A boattail and a polymer tip aid aerodynamics; the tip also reduces the likelihood of deformation from recoil while in the magazine and during travel up the feed ramp into the chamber.

Penetration at 50 yards was slightly above average among the eight bullets tested; the Trophy Bonded Tip traveled perfectly straight through The recovered bullet exhibited picture-perfect expansion to well over double the original diameter, with the rear all-copper portion perfectly intact behind the lovely, deadly lead mushroom.

It weighed Interestingly, the Trophy Bonded Tip was the only bullet that penetrated less Weight retention Granted, the bullet lost more weight at the closer range, which indicates that at some point during its most destructive period in the temporary cavity it was likely rather bigger than the final diameter which was probably true of most of the bullets tested.

It's one of those remarkable bullets that you just can't go wrong with, whatever the game. It hits like a runaway freight train and creates a dramatically broad, deep wound.

I particularly like it when shooting through massive bone is likely, as when hunting moose or large bears. Hornady InterBond One of three boattail, polymer-tipped, bonded bullets included in this test, the Hornady InterBond is an accurate, aerodynamic projectile that falls right in the middle in regards to retained weight.

At 50 yards the InterBond expanded immediately and violently, leaving particles of jacket material, lead and even the red polymer tip visible in the massive temporary cavity just inside the gel block. The recovered bullet weighed Penetration and weight retention 90 percent at yards were both remarkable, at 24 inches and The recovered projectile measured 0.

It seems to me that the InterBond jacket clings to its lead guts a bit better than either the Nosler AccuBond or Swift Scirocco II, resisting the weight loss due to what I think of as the 'smear ' effect. But it also has a slightly thinner jacket at the base, so it retains less of its base in shank-like form. Since all will perform admirably on heavy game, choosing between the three super-aerodynamic projectiles really comes down to which shoots the best out of your rifle.

Nosler AccuBond Known for superb accuracy and dramatic on-game performance, the Nosler AccuBond was an early leader in the aerodynamic, bonded, polymer-tipped bullet race, and it's still a leader in many respects.

In my tests it lost more weight on impact than the similar Swift and Hornady bullets, but interestingly it also penetrated more than either at 50 yards 25 inches and scored in the middle at 27 inches. The fragmenting effect on impact makes for dramatic tissue damage, and the fact that fragments strip off reduces final impact diameter 0.

Weight retention at 50 yards was Even though it had the lowest weight retention, only two other bullets out-penetrated it. The bullet I shot into gel at yards weighed Only one other bullet — the Nosler Partition — lost more weight. Penetration was admirable but not remarkable at 27 inches. Raking shots are best avoided in any case! These bullets that follow expand rapidly enough to be reliable on Class 2 game and yet typically retain a substantial percentage of core for deep penetration after expansion.

Some of them may appear on both the Class 2 and Class 3 lists. Class 3 game includes such species as wild boar, red stag, elk, moose, kudu, eland, oryx and other large game weighing in excess of pounds live weight. Greater penetration is generally preferred for large animals and premium bullets, often constructed with lead cores bonded to gilding metal jackets or partitioned cores, are quite popular.

The Nosler Partition is the original American premium bullet and it remains a favorite of experienced hunters around the world. Many of the bullets listed for Class 3 game would also be good choices for hunting large, potentially dangerous predators, such as leopard, jaguar, lion, grizzly bear, brown bear and polar bear. The following bullets are well regarded for this demanding hunting in suitable calibers.

The polar and Alaskan brown bears are the world's largest predators. Medium bore rifles. Class 4 animals are heavy, thick-skinned game and the 9. The Ballistic Tip was the first plastic tipped bullet and so it set the rules for long range ballistics. The plastic tip solved the problem of bullet tip deformation and the resulting vertical stringing at long range. I love this bullet when hunting over southern greenfields where the shots can be long.

It simply turns off the switches and the deer fall in a puddle. This is the bullet I used to take the best whitetail of my life so far.

This bullet uses a tapered gilding metal jacket with a bonded lead core for controlled expansion, deep penetration and excellent weight retention. One of the first things I killed with this bullet was indeed an Oryx. It was a long shot made from high up on a kopje in Namibia. I have also used Oryx bullets to take a mountain zebra and a blue wildebeest on that same trip. A few years back I used the grain Oryx bullet in a.

I have also shot a bunch of whitetails with the Oryx; it is an extremely versatile bullet. After a short hiatus, Benelli brought the Cordoba back. This new compact 10mm is a pistol that can hold its own as an every-day carry gun, backcountry defense, or a crossover for both. Nosler Ballistic Tip. Bryce M. Here are my top ten picks for hunting big game.

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