JackstrawIII Posted September 21, 2022 Share Posted September 21, 2022 I posted this on TFL, but figured I'd share it here too for anyone who's wondering. I have a lot more experience in the hunting/shooting sports than fishing, so maybe I can help someone out with deer, as I try to learn more about bass! After much deliberation, I decided to make the switch to copper bullets for my deer hunting and was able to take two deer with them this year. Was really pleased with the results and figured I'd pass it along. Cartridge: 308 Winchester Bullet: Cavity Back MKZ 125 Grain Velocity: 3200 fps at the barrel, probably around 3000 at impact (80 yards or so average) Both deer were broadside and hit double lung. The first one ran about 35 yards and went down, the other dropped in its tracks. Damage was adequate but not overly dramatic (I was concerned about getting tons of blood shot meat because of the high speed, but the entrance and exit holes both looked pretty good once the skin came off). Why did I want to use copper? - No lead in the meat. My kids eat it and, while this may not actually be a concern, it's concerning to me. - I like an entrance and exit hole. Copper gives me a higher probability of full penetration. I was concerned that the "harder" copper wouldn't expand enough for quick wounding on the lung shots I prefer to take, but these two worked great. One dropped and the other had a very nice (short) blood trail. Can't argue with those results. Anyways, wanted to pass along my experience for those who are debating making the switch. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User gimruis Posted September 21, 2022 Super User Share Posted September 21, 2022 12 minutes ago, JackstrawIII said: and was able to take two deer with them this year. Dang. You guys can already shoot deer via firearms this fall? That's an early season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User AlabamaSpothunter Posted September 21, 2022 Super User Share Posted September 21, 2022 Fellow big 2A guy, copper is not just for hunters of 4 legged critters. While you may like them for their penetration qualities, their expansion rate, and retention weight once expanded is what makes all copper bullets do lethal in terms of wounding mechanism. The only downside to all copper bullets is you can push them too fast, and the pedals will sheer off upon impact rather than expanding and remaining intact being non bonded and more brittle, and the other thing is they won't expand at lower velocities as well as a bonded bullet will. 2000-220fps is the threshold for Barnes all copper TSX IIrc, whereas Federal's Gold Dot bonded bullet can expand down to 1600-1800fps Some of the finest ammunition loaded for personal defense/home defense/PD use terminal ballistically speaking incorporates all copper bullets. The 50-70gr Barnes TSX bullets are among the best tested bullets for .223/5.56 in ballistic gel. For a handgun though I still prefer bonded bullets like Federal's HST lineup in terms of the best money can buy for terminal ballistic performance in your handgun, whatever caliber you carry. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackstrawIII Posted September 21, 2022 Author Share Posted September 21, 2022 9 hours ago, gimruis said: You guys can already shoot deer via firearms this fall? That's an early season. Yeah, NY is trying out a new “early antlerless season” in certain zones (wildlife management units) to try to lower the population a bit. I happen to live in one of those areas. We get 8 days with a rifle in early September to fill doe tags if we can get them in the lottery. You can apply for 2 doe tags anytime before Nov 1st (I always get them in my zone) and 2 doe tags after Nov 1st. They release the second round of doe tags based on the reported harvest from the first round. A buck tag can be filled with a bow starting on October 1st, as can any doe tags you have. Regular rifle season begins the 3rd Saturday of November and lasts 3 weeks or so… followed by muzzleloader for a couple more weeks. That’s the basic gist. So yeah, the new early September antlerless season is good for those of us who try to fill the freezer with venison because the deer are feeding heavily this time of year and pretty easy to pattern. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User gimruis Posted September 21, 2022 Super User Share Posted September 21, 2022 4 hours ago, JackstrawIII said: NY is trying out a new “early antlerless season” in certain zones Interesting that its so early. We have a 4 day early anterless season too in certain zones but its not until the middle of October. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User clayton86 Posted September 22, 2022 Super User Share Posted September 22, 2022 I bought some Lehigh defense Xtreme defense bullets to load up for my 45acp. They are 190gr I haven’t done any loads with them yet I’m to lazy to switch over from doing my 9mm plinking ammo. Doing mass quantities plinking ammo with a single stage press is a lot of work especially when you shoot every week like I do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchy Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Barnes all the way! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Darth-Baiter Posted January 10, 2023 Super User Share Posted January 10, 2023 I have very little experience with Copper ammo. I tried it. I bought some for a 257 Weatherby magnum and it was a bit of a yard sale. total mess. I used the Barnes TSX. I remember shooting them down range and the guy next to me (total stranger) said.."where are you aiming?" hah..my rifle was very accurate with Weatherby ammo. it was like lightning (never hits the same place twice) with the copper. not only that, it seemed to really foul my barrel. it took some effort to clean it. my 30.06 is not finicky at all. I can go back and forth. weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Bird Posted January 12, 2023 Super User Share Posted January 12, 2023 I've never shot below a 150 gr with my 308 and up to 165. Shoot both copper and lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackstrawIII Posted January 17, 2023 Author Share Posted January 17, 2023 On 1/10/2023 at 6:50 PM, Darth-Baiter said: I have very little experience with Copper ammo. I tried it. I bought some for a 257 Weatherby magnum and it was a bit of a yard sale. total mess. I used the Barnes TSX. I remember shooting them down range and the guy next to me (total stranger) said.."where are you aiming?" hah..my rifle was very accurate with Weatherby ammo. it was like lightning (never hits the same place twice) with the copper. not only that, it seemed to really foul my barrel. it took some effort to clean it. my 30.06 is not finicky at all. I can go back and forth. weird. Ironically, people seem to have trouble with the TSX in the 257 Wby. On paper it should work great with all that speed, but I’ve heard several negative stories over the years regarding that combination. Over the winter I’ll be working on a new load for the 6.5 PRC using a 118 grain CBB copper bullet. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to use it next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribouhunter Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Lehigh Defense makes some wonderful rounds for the 450 Bushmaster, especially the controlled fracturing. I was not a fan of copper before finding these, now these are in the mix for hunting loads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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