the perfect bullet

marley

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I am convinced that the perfect bullet still has not been made. I realize that everyone has a different opinion about what the perfect hunting bullet should do but here's mine for discussion sake.

The perfect bullet for me would be one that is bonded like an accubond, the stouter copper walls of the accubond, the rear compartmentalized lead like a nosler partition, but shaped like and fly like an ELDX. Somebody make it and I'll buy the crap out of em.

I get the theory that you want all the energy expended in the animal but that seems to come at the expense of splattering at the closer range shots. I still like the penetration I got from an accubond or partition for those heavily quartering to or from shots.

So there's my perfect bullet. Accuracy and forgiveness of an ELDX or Berger that stays together like an Accubond that retains its weight like a partition. I'm not picky.
 
I whole heartedly agree that it CAN be made but when they do, let's hope it measure out more consistently than the eld-x's that I've measured. Those things are all over the board (bullet base to ogive and OAL etc).... like they swept the floor and sent me a mix of various lots. I've killed a couple elk and a couple deer with them but went back to Accubond's.

The BEST bullet, when measured, are Hammer Bullets. Shoot well and kill well from 133 yards to 717 yards.

Zeke
 
I whole heartedly agree that it CAN be made but when they do, let's hope it measure out more consistently than the eld-x's that I've measured. Those things are all over the board (bullet base to ogive and OAL etc).... like they swept the floor and sent me a mix of various lots. I've killed a couple elk and a couple deer with them but went back to Accubond's.

The BEST bullet, when measured, are Hammer Bullets. Shoot well and kill well from 133 yards to 717 yards.

Zeke
I looked at the hammer bullets too but I don't like that they are designed to drop their petals 4 inches in and then the base continues on with pencil sized hole
 
haha maybe I should've stated that it needs to have a better ballistic coefficient of a flying beer can as well.
We call those low(er) BC bullets "flying ashtrays". haha
Some are incredible shooters at "normal" distances but it take a better BC to reach out there a ways and buck the wind etc.

Zeke
 
I looked at the hammer bullets too but I don't like that they are designed to drop their petals 4 inches in and then the base continues on with pencil sized hole
I am not really impressed with hammer, the copper compound seems inconsistent.
but they do live up to the HL Mencken quot “”People can easily be persuaded to accept the most inferior ideas or useless products”
 
I've killed quite a few animals, or my daughter has with Speer Hot core, Sierra Pro Hunter, Hornady Spire point, core lokt, game kings, etc. Lots of dead animals. Lots of bloodshot meat.

My dad has killed his last two animals with Ballistic tips, my daughter killed a deer this year with a Hammer Hunter and I killed a sheep last year with Hammer hunter as well.

With all of those different bullets, it has been clear to me...

Hit the vitals, they die fast. Miss the vitals, its a long day.

The Hammers have provided the cleanest meat in regards to bloodshot. With almost all others there seemed to be a lot more bloodshot, even for shots cleanly in the ribs.

Is Hammer perfect? I don't believe so, but that's where I'm going for big game for now.
 
Can't argue with you Homer hence why I shoot all copper now. Just not completely thrilled with the selection. Barnes LRX is the latest bullet that's up to bat this season in the 6.5 caliber in the 127gr. So far nothing has walked away but the biggest is yet to come with elk. We'll see...
 
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We all know that any bullet placed in the right spot at certain velocities is going to work. What I’m talking about is the perfect all around bullet. High BC, still mushrooms at lower velocities for long range yet doesn’t splatter at high velocities at close range, stays together for the Not so perfect shot (hitting bone), penetrates deep for those imperfect situations like heavy quartering shot where you need that bullet to stay together long enough to penetrate up to the vitals. I think what I described in my original post, pulling technology from several different bullets and mixing the best thing of each could create the perfect bullet. Maybe I’ll get on it.
 
I really like the Barnes LRX bullets for hunting big game. I generally limit my shots to under 500 yards and keep the velocity high, so I have had great performance from them. I wouldn't count on these to perform very well at extreme range but, like I said, I don't take those shots.
I shoot ELDX bullets in one rifle that absolutely loves them, and I have shot very well at extreme ranges with these bullets. They also detonate anything under 300 yards, and I have made some embarrassing messes with them although they have killed everything up to elk very cleanly.
I shot Nosler Accubonds for a decade out of my 7MM Dakota and they always performed very well. I gave that rifle to my brother and he still kills stuff every year with them up in Wyoming.

I've never shot Hammers and I reserve Bergers for target work and varmints.

If I had to pick one right now, it would be the LRX. ----SS
 
I've had great luck with Barnes TSX's. I wanted something with a higher BC so I've been working up some loads with Hammers. I have what I consider to be a true 1000 yd elk load (sufficient retained energy and velocity), having said that, the longest shot I've ever made on big game was an antelope at just under 300. My wife and 14yr old have killed animals at longer distances than I have. lol.

338 Lapua, 104gr H1000, 213gr Hammer Hunter

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I looked at the hammer bullets too but I don't like that they are designed to drop their petals 4 inches in and then the base continues on with pencil sized hole
when I had a 6.5rum the Barnes tsx would drop petals as well but it was doing 3,700fps?
 
I know Berger attempted a bonded bullet many years ago but the result wouldn't meet their accuracy standards and the whole project was scrapped.
 
I am not really impressed with hammer, the copper compound seems inconsistent.
but they do live up to the HL Mencken quot “”People can easily be persuaded to accept the most inferior ideas or useless products”
You ever used them? You go on and on about things, but somehow don't seem to know much. mtmuley
 
Only the 174gr HH , and the two of us testing them didn’t have a positive when expansion
was a factor, test where on nilgai antelope,
 
Like Homer said, lead is on its way out...find a copper bullet that shoots and use it. I'm a big fan of the Hammer bullets for my 280 ai. It'll shoot their 143 gr HH at 3100 fps in 3/4 inch groups at 300 yards.
 
Like Homer said, lead is on its way out...find a copper bullet that shoots and use it. I'm a big fan of the Hammer bullets for my 280 ai. It'll shoot their 143 gr HH at 3100 fps in 3/4 inch groups at 300 yards.
My bro shoots the same bullet in his and his accuracy is stellar.
I'm not positive what powder he uses but I think it's RL-23 but that stuff is nowhere to be found except at his house and mine.

Zeke
 
My bro shoots the same bullet in his and his accuracy is stellar.
I'm not positive what powder he uses but I think it's RL-23 but that stuff is nowhere to be found except at his house and mine.

Zeke
I'm shooting H4831SC with the Hammers out of my 280 ai. I have a bunch of that powder (I think 10 lbs) so it'll be my go to powder for the next decade, ha!
 
I've never used corelokts but I watched my friend shoot a big bull 7 times with a 300 WM at 250 yards all in the shoulder except one before he laid down. That was enough evidence for me to not try them.
 
Isn't Federal's Terminal Ascent supposed to be the perfect modern day long range bullet? I don't know anyone that has used them, but when you look at them they would seem to fit the bill for a perfect modern bullet. Who knows if they're with a darn, but they are intriguing.
 
Isn't Federal's Terminal Ascent supposed to be the perfect modern day long range bullet? I don't know anyone that has used them, but when you look at them they would seem to fit the bill for a perfect modern bullet. Who knows if they're with a darn, but they are intriguing.
I don't know anything about them since they seem to skip past the reload crowd.....but I suppose everyone skips us nowadays because its all hard to find.

Zeke
 
Isn't Federal's Terminal Ascent supposed to be the perfect modern day long range bullet? I don't know anyone that has used them, but when you look at them they would seem to fit the bill for a perfect modern bullet. Who knows if they're with a darn, but they are intriguing.
has federal ever made their own bullets??.....they are probably one of the same bullets mentioned already here....
 
I've never used corelokts but I watched my friend shoot a big bull 7 times with a 300 WM at 250 yards all in the shoulder except one before he laid down. That was enough evidence for me to not try them.
Why shoot it in the shoulder and waste meat?
 
I've never used corelokts but I watched my friend shoot a big bull 7 times with a 300 WM at 250 yards all in the shoulder except one before he laid down. That was enough evidence for me to not try them.
What did his plans appear to be before the next 6 shots??
 
I have heard a lot of people who love corelokts for animals up to elk and can’t argue with their success.

That said, I have killed a LOT of Texas whitetail, axis, antelope, pigs, ect with corelokts and never felt they failed me. But I wouldn’t try them on an elk. With a perfect double lung shot, it would be as good as any other. But it is the not so perfect shots Marley mentions where they could fail. Won’t ever use them on an elk. Even though we may not have the “perfect” bullet yet, we def have improved on the corelokt for bigger, tougher game.

Currently use the 130 gr GMX in my 270 for muleys and the 150 gr TTSX in my 7mm rem mag for elk
 
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I've never used corelokts but I watched my friend shoot a big bull 7 times with a 300 WM at 250 yards all in the shoulder except one before he laid down. That was enough evidence for me to not try them.
That is the biggest bull $h!t story I have ever heard!! 6 shots in the shoulder and still going? C'mon man let's be friggn real hear. And NO I don't believe you!!! There have probably been Millions of elk shot deader than dead with that bullet over the years.
 
160 gr accubonds out of my 7mm rem mag and 199 gr hammers out of my 300 win mag have both been accurate and deadly. I hand load until I get my recipes dialed, so that helps. Used on moose, deer, elk, antelope, coyotes and more. All of the above critters die quickly with the 2 combos above, from my experience.

And yes, good shooting in the vitals plays a big part in that.
 
I've never used corelokts but I watched my friend shoot a big bull 7 times with a 300 WM at 250 yards all in the shoulder except one before he laid down. That was enough evidence for me to not try them.
When I was a kid and growing up, myself, brother, Father and Grandfather killed a lot of elk with Core-Lokts. That was before the internet so I didn't know they weren't supposed to kill stuff. mtmuley
 
The Only Time I Ever Seen An Elk Shot 8 Times & Was Still up-Right!

Yup!

Core-Lokts!

Granted,Not Every Shot Was Placed Just Right!

But Half of Them Were!

This Is a One Shot Kill Right Here!

HINT:This Wasn't a F'N CORE-LOKT!

damage-1.jpg
 
For the guys who have used the corelokt effectively, power to you. But if you are saying it is the “perfect bullet” asked about in the beginning of thread, then you are being dishonest. Does it meet the standard of “good enough” in your hands? Maybe. But it doesn’t measure up to the standards set by Marley. That is not conjecture. That is a fact.
 
For the guys who have used the corelokt effectively, power to you. But if you are saying it is the “perfect bullet” asked about in the beginning of thread, then you are being dishonest. Does it meet the standard of “good enough” in your hands? Maybe. But it doesn’t measure up to the standards set by Marley. That is not conjecture. That is a fact.
This coming from a guy who hunts over a corn feeder. NEXT.
 
For the guys who have used the corelokt effectively, power to you. But if you are saying it is the “perfect bullet” asked about in the beginning of thread, then you are being dishonest. Does it meet the standard of “good enough” in your hands? Maybe. But it doesn’t measure up to the standards set by Marley. That is not conjecture. That is a fact.
exactly....we all used it along with winchester silver tips for years and did pretty well....IT WAS OUR ONLY CHOICE
 
Anyone have experience with the Swift Scirocco bonded bullet ? I never have tried them.
Very good bullet. 150 gr is my favorite bullet in my 7mm RM. Killed a muley and two antelopes with them. Perfect performance, accurate, exit wounds, and hold together.
 
My latest flying beer can. 350 gr Federal BOR lok, 50 cal knight muzzleloader! Did the job very well! He went down in 5 yards! But still looking for a better bullet.
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249F35AA-C547-40A8-B164-52178916C554.jpeg

That is what keeps it fresh and interesting. To keep looking for ways to do it better.
 
That is the biggest bull $h!t story I have ever heard!! 6 shots in the shoulder and still going? C'mon man let's be friggn real hear. And NO I don't believe you!!! There have probably been Millions of elk shot deader than dead with that bullet over the years.
Oh crap guys 270whatelse doesn’t believe me. Do you have any suggestions on how to get over that?

The fact that you think the 270 and corelokts is the end-all be-all tells me enough about you to know that you’ve stepped into a conversation that’s over your head. Move along.
 
The swift Scirocco bullets have been very difficult to find but I have seen some factory ammo loaded with the sciroccos on the shelves lately so hopefully the bullets will start showing up pretty soon
 
Oh crap guys 270whatelse doesn’t believe me. Do you have any suggestions on how to get over that?

The fact that you think the 270 and corelokts is the end-all be-all tells me enough about you to know that you’ve stepped into a conversation that’s over your head. Move along.
It isn't the end-all be-all, but if I can't kill an elk with a .270 and a Core-Lokt, I might as well stay home. mtmuley
 
It isn't the end-all be-all, but if I can't kill an elk with a .270 and a Core-Lokt, I might as well stay home. mtmuley
I shared my one time experience with corelokts and the reason I will never use them and he called me a liar. I may be a lot of different things to a lot of people but one thing I am not to anyone is a liar. There were six pencil holes going in and six pencil holes going out of that bull and one through his G2 as he was still going. Granted he wasn’t going fast but he was still on his feet trying to follow his cows. Don’t believe me, I don’t give a crap. My birthday will still come and my wife is still hot.
 
I shared my one time experience with corelokts and the reason I will never use them and he called me a liar. I may be a lot of different things to a lot of people but one thing I am not to anyone is a liar. There were six pencil holes going in and six pencil holes going out of that bull and one through his G2 as he was still going. Granted he wasn’t going fast but he was still on his feet trying to follow his cows. Don’t believe me, I don’t give a crap. My birthday will still come and my wife is still hot.

Just don't speculate what the bullet did or didn't do.

Mercy...
 
It isn't the end-all be-all, but if I can't kill an elk with a .270 and a Core-Lokt, I might as well stay home. mtmuley
You say it in your first 7 words. But this thread IS asking about “the end-all be-all” bullet. Nothing wrong with chasing that.

The old mouse trap is pretty darn good, but if you can build a better one…..
 
Anyone have experience with the Swift Scirocco bonded bullet ? I never have tried them.
My dad has been shooting this bullet out of his 300 RUM for 15 years or so. We've killed a lot of stuff with it all the way out to 920 yards. They are very accurate and have been very deadly at all ranges. I do feel like they do quite a bit of damage at close ranges but most bullets do so that's not surprising. But they kill everything we shoot with them and that has probably been close to 100 big game animals over the years. Yes they are hard to find, but they are a great bullet.
 
Looks like there are some 30 cal in stock in 165 and 180 gr


And here:

https://www.midwayusa.com/s?searchTerm=Scirocco®+II
 
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I shared my one time experience with corelokts and the reason I will never use them and he called me a liar. I may be a lot of different things to a lot of people but one thing I am not to anyone is a liar. There were six pencil holes going in and six pencil holes going out of that bull and one through his G2 as he was still going. Granted he wasn’t going fast but he was still on his feet trying to follow his cows. Don’t believe me, I don’t give a crap. My birthday will still come and my wife is still hot.
Jesus calm down. Just said I could kill any elk walking with a .270 and a Core-Lokt. I know the bullets I use work. Don't need a "perfect" one. mtmuley
 
All the bucks in my trophy room were killed with Core Lokts.
And most of the other big game I’ve taken.
Have you seen them?
Please don’t let the secret out that Core Lokt is junk.
Wouldn’t want all those dead animals to come back to life or something lol.
I have been loading Bergers lately in my long range rifle and killed a few Bucks with them.
 
All the bucks in my trophy room were killed with Core Lokts.
And most of the other big game I’ve taken.
Have you seen them?
Please don’t let the secret out that Core Lokt is junk.
Wouldn’t want all those dead animals to come back to life or something lol.
I have been loading Bergers lately in my long range rifle and killed a few Bucks with them.
I have also killed several bull elk and a bull moose with Core Lokts. None of those animals would agree that Core Lokts are junk.
I am not saying they’re the perfect bullet but they are a proven reliable killer.
 
You say it in your first 7 words. But this thread IS asking about “the end-all be-all” bullet. Nothing wrong with chasing that.

The old mouse trap is pretty darn good, but if you can build a better one…..
These days I shoot better bullets. Those days I used what was available. And it worked. Bullet threads are awesome. mtmuley
 
Pretty sure every bullet out there has killed someone’s animal that is now on their wall. That’s great. I’ve tried just about every bullet out there and I’ve never lost an animal (84). But my original post isn’t about what has worked for everyone. It’s about developing a superior bullet to what’s available today. Take the best part of every bullet and make the ultimate bullet. I don’t think it’s been made yet.
 
I have switched to copper in my 270 and 7 mm mag. GMX in 270 (discontinued) and TTSX in my 7 mm. I have never shot anything past 400 yards with them and feel very comfortable with them up to that point. That said, I still worry about them opening up as their velocity decreases at longer ranges. The more I read about the Swift Scirocco bonded bullet, the better it looks. Although the accubond has a slightly better BC.

The biggest advance in my lifetime was the nosler partition. It is still a great bullet. Wouldn't hesitate to shoot it at anything that walks. The copper monoliths, accubonds, and Swift Scirocco bonded bullets all are trying to improve on that design/ physics.
 
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I have switched to copper in my 270 and 7 mm mag. GMX in 270 (discontinued) and TTSX in my 7 mm. I have never shot anything past 400 yards with them and feel very comfortable with them up to that point. That said, I still worry about them opening up as their velocity decreases at longer ranges. The more I read about the Swift Scirocco bonded bullet, the better it looks. Although the accubond has a slightly better BC.

The biggest advance in my lifetime was the nosler partition. It is still a great bullet. Wouldn't hesitate to shoot it at anything that walks. The copper monoliths, accubonds, and Swift Scirocco bonded bullets all are trying to improve on that design/ physics.
That’s why they make the LRX
 
How do they do at 50 yards. And and what distance/velocity gets reliable expansion?
 
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277 129 gr. LRX- 1400 fps

.284 120 gr TTSX- 1700 fps
.284 139 gr. LRX- 1400 fps
.284 145 gr. LRX- 1500 fps

.308 150 gr. TTSX- 2000 fps
.308 168 gr. TTSX- 1500 fps
.308 175 gr. LRX- 1500 fps
.308 180 gr TTSX- 1500 fps

This is per Barnes. I shoot the 175 LRX out of a 300 WM. And with my muzzle velocity and going by these numbers I would get reliable expansion out to 1000 yards. And that’s with a safety factor of almost 200 FPS (which they recommend) here is one recovered from a bull elk shot at 405 yards this fall. Bullet traveled through both shoulders and was recovered under the offside hide. As to how they do at 50 yards? I can’t speak to that. But I suppose I could set up some wet newspaper and fire one into that and report back.

EF9B136D-1B8B-4401-9358-17F0C7169A53.jpeg


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Impressive. But then I worry at 50
Yds the petals might come off and the monolith keeps traveling? Hopefully someone can answer that question
 
Ttsx 180 at 50 yards out of a 300 win mag is awesome. Probably my favorite bullets for velocities over 3000 fps. if only the bc was higher
 
1860fps shot was 100 yards. I have had very consistent performance from the Thors. Love them.
I’m sitting here realizing I’ve never chrono’d my ML. I’ve chrono’d about everything but the dog, but not my ml. :ROFLMAO:

Its a light load - 95 gr (vol) bh209.
 

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