Best bullet for deer in NM

Elkextreme · May 14, 2016

Last year I shot hornaday SST low drag 300 for elk, the penetration was awful, I hit my bull but now blood trail, never recovered, this year I'm thinking of switching to Barnes 250EZ.
What are you all using and experiences.

NJ_CLAD · May 14, 2016

I would think the Barnes 250 would be enough to give adequate penetration on a deer. They shoot accurately in my rifle, but I've never punched a deer with one. If you need more penetration on elk, go to .458 bullets. You can purchase sabots from MMP.

FrontierGander · May 14, 2016

290gr barnes.

If you didn't recover the elk, why do you think the bullet is the blame? No blood trail, no elk, no real known reason as to what the real problem was IMO.

One hole normally bleeds fine, especially the elk I shot with patched round ball which never exited.

www.FrontierMuzzleloading.com

Elkextreme · May 14, 2016

FrontierGainder, well there was 3-5 drops of blood, I hit him 2 different times, my buddy saw him spin around gave the bull a few hours to lay down still no bull after 2 days of tracking, found his tracks but no blood trail.

hntbambi · May 14, 2016

It was not the bullet's fault. The SST will indeed do the trick when placed properly. Don't expect blood right off the bat as the chest cavity has to fill up to the hole before it starts to leak out. I have killed a lot of critters with the SST pushed anywhere from 2000 fps to 3000 fps and it works just fine. While the Barnes is also a good bullet, it will not make up for bad shot placement or bad tracking skills.

hoytarcheryrocks · May 20, 2016

I had luck with 135 gr.pyrodex w/ a heavy t/c maxie hunter,65 yards .. pass both ribs..fell n his tracks...

Elkextreme · May 21, 2016

Hntbambi,
I've been hunting for over 40 years, I know how to track animals, so my tracking skills are pretty good I say, I also know how to shoot, I can hit my target area most of the time with great success. I suppose your one of this so called expert or amazing hunter where you can do no wrong, and if something goes wrong it's always the other guys fault never yours. I'm I right, I wasn't asking for smart as# remarks, just for honest opinions.

AZMZHunter · May 22, 2016

I have used the 250 grain Barnes EZ on 2 Deer, 1 Antelope and two elk. The bullet has killed each of these animals in thier tracks. I would recommend this bullet for bull elk as long as you are shooting within 100 yards and are hitting him in the proper place. Good luck.

kdinkel · May 22, 2016

I am 3 for 3 with barnes 250 tez on mulies. Single shot on all 3. 2 went about 50 yrds, one dropped where it stood. Love the bullet!

hank4elk · May 23, 2016

250 TEZ,elk or deer here.

Cahunter805 · May 25, 2016

Elkextreme
What kind of muzzleloader are you shooting? 290gr TMZ and BH209 is a deadly combo for sure!

Elkextreme · May 27, 2016

Cahunter, I'm shooting CVA Ootima V2, just switched to BH 209 powder with SST Lowdrag 300 gr, some pretty amazing grouping up to 200 yards. I'm looking forward to trying the Barnes EZ.

RabidRattleSnake1 · Jun 2, 2016

Elk don't bleed. It amazes me when guys pop an elk and don't see a blood trail they assume they either missed or the bullet or arrow failed. I shot a 350 class bull about 10 years ago at 30 yards with my bow. I saw the arrow fly hit really tight to the shoulder and only go in two or three inches. I heard that bull crash down the hill. We looked for that bull for 4 hours. I literally only found 3 or four pin drops of blood. Finally found him by smelling him. when I opened him up it was a scene from a horror movie. Blood everywhere. What happened was the arrow hit right behind the left shoulder, hit the right shoulder, broke off the broad head, and then slipped back out the left side. That is why I thought I only got 2 or 3 inches of penetration. When we pulled out the lungs I saw that I couldn't have hit him more square in the middle if I tried fifty more times. His chest cavity just held all the blood. Since then I have killed several more bulls with my bow and one with a smoke pole. With the exception of one bow kill none left much if any blood trail.

I can virtually guarantee your bullet did it's job on that bull. They are tough animals and can go a long way before dropping. I would bet he was dead and you walked no more than 100 yards from where he dropped at some point in your searching. They are hard to spot when they die in brush or in a tree and when there are multiple tracks which there usually are it is hard to track them.

If your original bullet gives you good groups I do not see a reason to change. If a new bullet will give you more confidence then I would switch. Muzzle loader bullets are big chunks of lead or copper. I don't see them failing if the distance is reasonable.

mossback50cal · Aug 8, 2016

I actually was shooting the hornadays until i did some research on the. They have a lot of reviews where they do not expand. I have since decided to switch back to barnes, as i have killed deer and elk with them since the original xpanders. I am just not sure if im going with the tmz or tez. Will buy a box of each and see which shoots better out of my gun.

two7D · Aug 9, 2016

I have killed 4 deer with the 250 grain barnes tez from 50-210 yards. one deer went approx. 30 yards before falling over. one fell dead in it's tracks the other two went approx. 10 yards. I recovered one bullet which was expanded perfectly. In my experience it shoots extremely accurate and is deadly. If I ever draw an elk tag I'll probably shoot the same bullet.

efnm · Aug 23, 2016

Do people really think that a 250 TEZ won't work on elk past 100 yards? I am planning on shooting it out to 200 this year at a cow.

And man does it give me good groups with 76g (weight) of BH209.

two7D · Aug 23, 2016

I'm sure it would kill a cow elk past 100 yards. on a broadside rib shot 200 yards won't be a problem either. Overall the 290 grain version would be a little better for elk though especially on angled shots or in the shoulder

DIYhunter · Aug 23, 2016

parkerproductionsinc.com

I'm a fan of the Parker bullets. I shoot the 275 grain match hunters in the ultimate. Prior to that I shot 300 grain ballistic extreme in an Encore and had great results in NM from Ibex to elk. Good luck on your hunt.