220 gr. results on critters

[HUNTER2]

Tried some 220 rbt sent to me from Matrix Ballistics in Canada..Had a .232 meplat. Looks and shoots good. Sadly to say same result as smk on deer size animals..Straight through - no expansion....Next Diamondback Custom Bullets...He made up 4 designs to choose from. Chose RBTHP with a .190 HP. Same as above - no expansion..He sent a sample of each. One has a very short ogave with about a .280 HP. Will give them a try next..Have tried 180 btsp Speer backwards. Could not any difference in any of the above. Straight through - even shoulder, no trail. Makes a loud poping sound when a coyote is hit with one... Very satisfying!! Still have heard nothing from Hawk...Leheigh did say they would have a .338 on their subsonic version out soon........FYI

[egraham]

That has been my experience also. I wasted a lot of time and money realizing that the 208 grain amax load I have shoots the best and does the same amount of damage as anything else.

There is simply not enough velocity to get a 30 cal bullet to expand when shooting subsonic.

[mooster1223]

I thought that the 220's tumbled and created knife or broadhead type wounds when they hit.

[HUNTER2]

So far everything goes straight through like a pencil. I hear different things on the 240"s. Was hoping to find something to open up the tip to 1.5 dia.. Trying to talk to Hornady. If they can get a 380 90 gr. to open up at that slow speed - maybe they can with this.....

[redtazdog]

Originally Posted by mooster1223

I thought that the 220's tumbled and created knife or broadhead type wounds when they hit.

.
The 220 rn tumble when they hit with my 1:8 twist SSK barrel.
What barrel and twist do you have ?

[HUNTER2]

A. Brown ,1:8,16.5", suppressed....One thing I forgot to mention before - If you load cast- the case mouth has to be flared or you will shave lead, and that bullet will hit nowhere near the others!!!! And make sure the seating stem is the right one ( nose shape ). Have worked up a jig using Bernzomatic torches that you can buy in wall-mart, and pvc pipe 45 couplings to anneal necks about every third firing - heat-dunk-dry off with hair dryer...Have a wildcat longggg neck 22 clark that has 20 on them so far by annealing them.....75 gr. A-Max at 3600'....

[rumlover]

The Matchking style hollowpoints will commonly tumble, but it's not assured. I shot two 'yotes over Christmas with some 240 SMKs; one round tumbled out leaving a exit in the exact shape of the bullet--sideways; the other zipped straight through. The difference was one hitting a rib and deforming at the tip, the other went through the liver/ponch and didn't deform. I had similar mixed results with deer and hogs over the years. In retrospect, it's no different than with a highpower load. Even with the same bullet, some perform as expected, some don't. It all depends on what they hit when they enter and what they cut as they pass through.

At the end of the day, I don't care if the bullet expands as long as it goes where I want it and exits the same. I think it's more important to let blood out on both sides of the body so you can track the animal down. Arrows deliver around 340 ft/lbs and a 240 smk at 1050 will deliver around 600 ft/lb (maybe more, it's been years since I ran it through datapack). No one can argue that arrows don't put game on the ground. Just focus on a well placed shot and carry on.