I use pointed Winchester power points in my bolt action Savage 30-30. I am pushing them at 2400 fps, and I can not ask for better performance. The first whitetail I shot with this bullet was at 50 yards, through the brisket taking the heart and exiting out a hole big enough to put your fist in. I have shot 3 other deer with this bullet, 2 neck shots and a bad angle shot at a wounded animal. They all dropped on the spot. The Winchester 150 gr pp expands very well at the lower velocity and still retains it's weight nicely. I like them so much I picked up 400, because every time I find something I like they quit selling them.
I had some 150's that I loaded for my wife in her 06 at about 2700 she has shot a few deer with them out to about 150yds no trouble dead deer no bullets recoverd. They seem to work just fine.
Posts: 19390 | Location: wis | Registered: 21 April 2001
Win PPs suck for bull elk. A friend put 3 175gr out of his 7REM mag into a nice 6pt bull right behind the shoulder at about 300yds. The bull just sucked em up and kept on going over the hill. They found him dead on the other side another 200yds down in the thick pines. My friend knocked the 7mag for elk, I told him to shoot Nosler Partitions next time. sure-shot
Sure shot a lot of game just hit in the lungs well travel 100 or more plus yards. If you want to drop them in their tracks you have to break major bones,spine or brain them. Dosen't sound like bullet failure to me. The elk died with in a reasonable distance of being lung shot only.
Posts: 19390 | Location: wis | Registered: 21 April 2001
P dog, c'mon now. That bull took 3 solid hits, the outfitter watched each shot as it was placed. The bull walked up hill and over. This took place at twilight on the last weekend of the season. If it were not for the snow that bull may not have been recovered or until the next morning after the yotes chewed on him. Elk killing is a touchy subject on these threads. I shoot partitions for elk and have never been let down. Maybe I just been on too many wounded game safaris with people using cheap bullets. I like the construction of the new Moly Free Partition Gold bullets, it may be a good one. Just my thoughts, sure-shot
Gentlemen, I have had experience with the Winchester power points in two calibers..
1.) 175 gr. 7mm Rem Mag. This worked great on deer and black bear at moderate ranges. I wouldn't want to use it on elk up close, as I am not sure if it would handle the velocity. I will stick with my 175 gr. partitions for that.
2.) .303 British 180 gr. This round works predictably every time for me on game up to and including elk. The moderate velocity of the cartridge ensures bullet performance without failure. It has been an excellent choice in that particular rifle.
I like the power points in the 308, 30-06, 7x57 and they have performed for me par excellance, the silvertips have not....In the 300's I go with Nolsers...
Sure shot having seen hundreds of lung shot anmials. Most of the time they run aways after being shot. To drop them you have to break them down. As I said break their shoulders or spine then they well drop on the spot but you cannot expect a lung or heart shot critter to do so all the time. Some times it happens most of the time they run a ways.
Posts: 19390 | Location: wis | Registered: 21 April 2001
I've shot many whitetails, a few muleys, and one elk with 175 Gr.PP from my 7 MM Mag. All of them went down instantly, except the elk. All were heart/lung shot except the elk, which was shot in the shoulder at spitting distance.
Sureshot: I have shot,seen or know guys who have shot elk with 7 MM Mags in the lungs with every type of bullet. The elk always go 100 yards or further.
The bull elk I shot with my 7mm all went less than 100yds. But in truth I broke a shoulder on all except one. I'm hooked on the partition of course so maybe I am too hard on the WW Power Points. I figured with at least 3 holes in the lungs a bull should drop alot sooner. A partition might have punched thru - more holes = quicker death?
I agree with Ray, Power Points seem to work ok if impact velocities are moderate. I've used them on deer in 30-06 180 and caribou in 338 225 years ago. I've switched to premiums and haven't looked back!
Sureshot, I think your smart in choosing the Nosler over the Power Point, it is a better bullet, but I suggest had you been using Noslers the results under the same set of circumstance would have been about the same, it just happens and 100 yd. run for an elk is pretty common stuff....
the Noslers have more penitration, thus exit holes, the Power Points will probably do more internal damage if the stay together, and they normally do, but Noslers allways stay together, other than ocassionally blowing the front off and that just makes them kill better..
I took a doe this weekend with a 180grain PP using a .300 WSM. She ran 90+ feet with a good lung shot. No bullet recovered.
There are only 3 factory loads available for the WSM, a Ballistic Tip (150 grain), PP (180 grain) & FailSafes (180 grain). I've had no luck finding the FailSafes in Dallas.
I guess I've become so spoiled by the Partiton's performance that I tend to judge other bullets by it. This is not fair I admit, two different classes of bullets. I've had lots of one-shot kills including elk using Partitions but I do shoot for the shoulder. I do lose some meat but game hits the dirt real fast most of the time. My friend had purchased an entire case of the WW 7Rem Mag 175gr PP from Wal-Mart(these shot well in his Ruger), he sold this ammo at the next gun show. sure-shot
Aaron, my friend went to a different brand of ammo for his 7mag. He shoots factory ammo for all his hunting. I forgot to mention his daughter shot a nice black bear in S.E Alaska that previous spring with the same rifle(7mag) and ammo(WW PPs), the bear ran a short distance before piling up. I don't mean to sound so hard on the PPs as I realize shot placement has everything to do with killing game. I must point out my friend is an accomplished big game hunter with far more experience than me(he's 51 and in a lot higher income bracket). He is fond of his 7mag for deer but says he will go back to his 338 for elk. sure-shot
quote:Originally posted by sure-shot: My friend had purchased an entire case of the WW 7Rem Mag 175gr PP from Wal-Mart(these shot well in his Ruger), he sold this ammo at the next gun show.
Too bad i didn't know... I would have bought the whole case of that "bum" ammo from him cheap. It's a great load from deer to bear to elk to moose. One odd experience doesn't count for much.
Posts: 380 | Location: America the Beautiful | Registered: 23 May 2001
My only experience with the power points was in a Thomson Center TCR/87 in 308 (150 gr)that I used while visiting New Zealand last year. I only shot a deer and two hogs with it(and some 40-50 goats and sheep). Most of the animals went down almost instantly with the bullet passing through except on the hogs on which the bullet stayed inside of the hide on the opposite side. The only one to move more than a step or two was a ca 200 pound hog that went some 30 meters.
I hit a Mule deer at 200 yds near the last rib right side and broke his left shoulder and kept on going with a 150gr PP in a 30-06.This was in 1978. I don't know if they have changed the design since then but it worked for me.
Posts: 1111 | Location: Edmond,OK | Registered: 14 March 2001
Power Point bullets are good performers--at moderate velocities, say 2700 fps & below. Regardless of that elk that went 200 yards, that's what large lung-shot animals due. My question is, did you recover the bullets? did they achieve full pass through or did they stop short of the vitals? Personally, I limit Power Points to deer sized game and below. jorge
Posts: 7145 | Location: Orange Park, Florida. USA | Registered: 22 March 2001
The only animal I've shot with any factory ammo was a doe I got yesterday with Winchester PP 180gr in a 30-06. She was about 300 yards away up hill and she dropped like she'd been hit by a Mack truck. The bullet passed completely through and did lots of damage to the internal organs.
------------------ When in doubt, empty the magazine.
Back in the late 80's and early 90's I used the .375 H&H with WW 270 grain power points quite a bit. I've still got half a case of em. I used em on everything from animals as small as reedbuck and bushbuck to larger stuff like greater kudu and oryx. They always gave the perfect mushroom. I know this because they never, ever exited. Some would say this is inadequate penetration and they may be right. I can't remember anything getting away after being hit with that bullet. Of course, what Ray says about the 300 grain .375 bullet in any make would also apply to 270 grains. There's a lot of lead in that bullet to fail. Rich Elliott
------------------ Ethiopian Rift Valley Safaris
Posts: 2013 | Location: Crossville, IL 62827 USA | Registered: 07 February 2001
Rich, I used that bullet a lot in the eary years and your spot on, it always worked fine for me..It kills very fast, as expansion is violent and reliable..I still prefer the 300 gr. premium for the bigger stuff, I suppose.
I allways liked the PP in the 06, it never let me down on the lighter plainsgame up to but not including Eland or Zebra.
