Speer 90gr TNT

[hm2 clark]

Hellcat360, did you hit any bone on the way in or out?

[hellcat370]

O yea! Bullet went through both shoulder blades just forward of dead center. Took out the front of both lungs, but hit so hard that the liver was bloodshot. I'd never heard a bullet hit a deer like that at that distance, and I've shot a few with 30-06's around 250-300yds. Had the shot been 4 inches back, her entire chest cavity would have been destroyed. Sadly, I cleaned her out in the dark, and flew out the next day, so no real time to pick apart the effects, just what I saw by flashlight. I'm going to try it again next year, hopefully at a closer range though.

[JASmith]

Hellcat,

The 90 grain bullet is exciting, and your experience is intriguing. From all that I've seen and read, however, everything came together just right to make that shot as effective as it was. The range is one. The shoulder blade is not particularly thick in the middle is another.

For your next hunting trip, there is wisdom in taking a close look at either the 120gr Ballistic tip and the 129 gr SST factory loads if you don't want to reload. If you are reloading and want an inexpensive light weight bullet for medium game, then look at the Hornady 100 gr Interlock. It may be easy enough of the pocket to allow you to do all your shooting with it.

Alternative but more expensive options are the 100 gr Nosler Partition, the 100 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip, and the 100 gr Barnes TTSX. Of these, these the Ballistic Tip is occasionally reported to come apart too easily but is likely to hang together a lot better than the 90gr TNT. The rest should give you far more reliable performance on medium game.

[hellcat370]

This wasn't my first deer with the Grendel. I've killed more than half a dozen using Wolf's 120 MPT, and that is my standard load, though I did pick up some Hornady 123 Amax's to see how my gun liked them. Being I was hunting open fields where longer shots were likely, I decided to try the 90 TNT's because of its flatter trajectory, and to see thier effectiveness. While the shoulder blade is not overly thick, it did blow holes slightly larger than a quarter through both sides of the ribcage, and left a small exit hole in the offside shoulder. Had it not gone through both shoulders, but entered behind them, I'm quite sure the exit hole would have been far bigger, having less bone and muscle to go through. My buddy's dad made the comment that it looked like I blew part of her lungs out her nose because of the lung matter around her nostrils. I really wish I would have gotten some good pics to show yall!

[Deer Hunter]

Hellcat,

The 90 grain bullet is exciting, and your experience is intriguing. From all that I've seen and read, however, everything came together just right to make that shot as effective as it was. The range is one. The shoulder blade is not particularly thick in the middle is another.

For your next hunting trip, there is wisdom in taking a close look at either the 120gr Ballistic tip and the 129 gr SST factory loads if you don't want to reload. If you are reloading and want an inexpensive light weight bullet for medium game, then look at the Hornady 100 gr Interlock. It may be easy enough of the pocket to allow you to do all your shooting with it.

Alternative but more expensive options are the 100 gr Nosler Partition, the 100 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip, and the 100 gr Barnes TTSX. Of these, these the Ballistic Tip is occasionally reported to come apart too easily but is likely to hang together a lot better than the 90gr TNT. The rest should give you far more reliable performance on medium game.

This is good advice, get the TSX or my personal favorite the Hornady 123 gr Amax for deer. Most of us here can probably head shoot one with a .22 but why risk it when youre shooting one of the beet guns on the market with the right bullet weight. Go with a bigger bullet, but thats just my opiniin.

[Deer Hunter]

This wasn't my first deer with the Grendel. I've killed more than half a dozen using Wolf's 120 MPT, and that is my standard load, though I did pick up some Hornady 123 Amax's to see how my gun liked them. Being I was hunting open fields where longer shots were likely, I decided to try the 90 TNT's because of its flatter trajectory, and to see thier effectiveness. While the shoulder blade is not overly thick, it did blow holes slightly larger than a quarter through both sides of the ribcage, and left a small exit hole in the offside shoulder. Had it not gone through both shoulders, but entered behind them, I'm quite sure the exit hole would have been far bigger, having less bone and muscle to go through. My buddy's dad made the comment that it looked like I blew part of her lungs out her nose because of the lung matter around her nostrils. I really wish I would have gotten some good pics to show yall!

Ooops i should have read a little a little further, 123 gr Amax is good choice. I am curious how the Wolf ammo worked out at distance, wound channel etc......

[hellcat370]

Since its been a couple years, I don't remember exactly how the wound channel was on shots past 200yds. One was a head shot, the other I believe was a liver shot that dropped the deer on the spot. Theres another thread where I talk about it, but it might be kinda old.