Why are target bullets not good for hunting?

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Why are target bullets not good for hunting?

Post by Kelix » 10 Sep 2013, 5:47 pm

As the title says...

What's the problem with "target" bullets when hunting?

I visited my local gun store earlier for a browse and there were a pair of guys there talking ammo and looking at some Berger brand bullets.

They had out some projectiles from their "target" and "hunting" bullets and as far as I could tell they were identical :?

What's the story?

I'm new to the shooting scene and still learning... Thanks for the info.
Last edited by Kelix on 11 Sep 2013, 2:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Why are target bullets not good for hunting?

Post by Norton » 11 Sep 2013, 9:03 am

Hunting bullets are designed for various purposes like retaining weight upon impact, mushrooming, other features which cause maximum damage on the target.

Target bullets are designed to reach the target with maximum accuracy and nothing else. What happens after it this the target is of zero importance, so no consideration is given to this.
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Re: Why are target bullets not good for hunting?

Post by Vati » 11 Sep 2013, 11:48 am

Weight retention is a big part of it, like Norton said...

Bullets like the Nosler Accubond for example are designed to hold together and mushroom so that maximum energy is transferred into the target causing maximum damage.

Target bullets often shatter into shrapnel if they hit bone and lose all their energy, just causing a nasty would on the target game.
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Re: Why are target bullets not good for hunting?

Post by Lorgar » 11 Sep 2013, 2:29 pm

Vati wrote:Target bullets often shatter into shrapnel if they hit bone and lose all their energy, just causing a nasty would on the target game.


Or pierce straight through in a narrow would channel which doesn't kill the animal quickly.
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Re: Why are target bullets not good for hunting?

Post by Lorgar » 11 Sep 2013, 2:38 pm

Kelix wrote:I visited my local gun store earlier for a browse and there was a pair of guys there talking ammo and looking at some Berger brand bullets.

They had out some projectiles from their "target" and "hunting" bullets and as far as I could tell they were identical :?


Berger is actually a perfect example of this...

I can't remember where I saw it... Either on the Berger Bullets website or Youtube maybe... but there is a video where Berger give a talk on their ammo types and compare them. Try both places and I'm sure you'll find it...

According to the video, their target and hunting bullets are the same, except that they target bullets have a very thin jacket, while the hunting bullets have a much thicker jacket so they hold together better.

That's only Berger though and other brands and types of bullets won't be done the same way.

The jacket, type of tip, core, bonding and half a dozen other things are used in different combinations for different results. Some will be well suited to hunting, others will not.
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Re: Why are target bullets not good for hunting?

Post by inervate » 12 Sep 2013, 3:04 pm

Plenty of people do use target bullets for hunting though.

Match grade hollow points and so on...
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Re: Why are target bullets not good for hunting?

Post by Aster » 12 Sep 2013, 3:34 pm

inervate wrote:Plenty of people do use target bullets for hunting though.

Match grade hollow points and so on...


Yes they do, but in most cases they shouldn't be.

There are more than enough high quality hunting bullets than anyone should be able to find one that shoots accurately in there rifle. There is no reason anyone should "need" to use a match grade bullet for accuracy when hunting.

If you're sitting on a hill busting small critters like rabbits or foxes with your .308, then yeah, on such a small target any bullet (still talking about .308 here) will have enough energy that penetration, expansion, weight retention and so on won't matter as the rabbit will get turned to mist regardless.

When you're hunting actual game though - deer, pigs... anything with serious bones and/or a thick hide, target bullets are too unpredictable for consistently clean kills IMO.
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Re: Why are target bullets not good for hunting?

Post by Kelix » 12 Sep 2013, 3:36 pm

Aster wrote:...anything with serious bones and/or a thick hide, target bullets are too unpredictable for consistently clean kills IMO.


Inconsistent? How so?
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Re: Why are target bullets not good for hunting?

Post by Streamline » 17 Sep 2013, 10:47 am

Kelix wrote:
Aster wrote:...anything with serious bones and/or a thick hide, target bullets are too unpredictable for consistently clean kills IMO.


Inconsistent? How so?


A typical hunting bullets is typically designed to penetrate slightly then begin expanding immediately.

Regardless of whether it hits thick hide, dense or soft muscle, bone, or whatever else, it will still hold together and expand to transfer its energy into your target.

A target bullet could shatter when it hits hide and cause a superficial wound only. It could shoot straight in a narrow hole, missing anything vital and again just causing a wound. Could bounce off bone. And so on...

If you're hunting buy hunting bullets. There are plenty of accurate ones.
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Re: Why are target bullets not good for hunting?

Post by Weepy » 17 Sep 2013, 11:10 am

Streamline wrote:If you're hunting buy hunting bullets. There are plenty of accurate ones.


Not to mention you don't need competition accuracy for hunting.

There's always someone banging on about 1" groups not being good enough, and how they will only keep a rifle if it shoots 1/4 MOA blah blah blah...

The boiler room on an average deer is 8" - 10" or whatever, as if shooting a 1" group isn't enough :roll:

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Re: Why are target bullets not good for hunting?

Post by Lorgar » 17 Sep 2013, 2:16 pm

Streamline wrote:If you're hunting buy hunting bullets. There are plenty of accurate ones.


Exactly.

Up until recently I was using Sierra Pro-hunters as my regular load which shot 1" - 1.2" groups for me.

Recently tried Hornady SST's and my best group was 0.61"

This is shooting a Ruger Hawkeye Standard. Front and rear lugs bedded but other than that it's stock.

Who needs fancy competition stuff, hey?
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Re: Why are target bullets not good for hunting?

Post by Don10 » 12 Oct 2013, 3:46 pm

Kelix

That is a good question for someone new to the discipline. Your question has been answered but just to help you some more what you are talking about comes under the guise of "terminal ballistics" (in case you want to search for more info).

Basically when we look at what is happening when the projectile has been fired, jumped in to the barrel and is progressing up the barrel we are talking about "internal ballistics". So in this area burning powders etc have an impact, how the projectile interacts with rifling, how fast it will spin up etc.

What happens to the projectile as soon as it leaves the barrel is "intermediate ballistics" (sometimes referred to as transitional ballistics). a bad crown on a barrel as an example can affect this area. The projectile has to leave the barrel in a symmetrical manner otherwise the expanding gases will not break the seal uniformly. There is a lot in this area and it can be quite complex

The next area is once the projectile has transitioned from the barrel and the gases have equalised we are looking at "external ballistics" So the wind the ballistic coefficient of the projectile come into play.

So given these four areas you can understand that a person wanting to put tight groups on to a piece of paper really are concerned with the internal, intermediate and external ballistics of their projectile. It doesn't have to be efficient in how it puts that hole in a paper. On the other hand a hunter has a greater concern in what that projectile will do or how it will act, at the terminal stage, given an animal's body structure.

Just wanting to break it down for you and give you some terms that may help you in any further research.
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Re: Why are target bullets not good for hunting?

Post by Kelix » 12 Oct 2013, 7:24 pm

Don10 wrote:Just wanting to break it down for you and give you some terms that may help you in any further research.


Thanks Don,

I appreciate the extra info.
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