nonnieselman has recoverd a 105 MKZ from a hog so I've included his pictures to show how the bullet expands.
Thru a shoulder and 7 ribs. 18-19" penetration
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Elk Harvested with Cavity Back Bullet
Thought I would start a thread about hunting with the Cavity Back Bullets since most of the information so far is in the reloading section. I want to say up front, thanks Yamaraja for providing the 6.8 community with an excellent hunting bullet.
I was fortunate to harvest a 500-lbs cow elk this past weekend in Western New Mexico. It was a broadside double-lung shot at 196 yards with a 105 MKZ Cavity Back Bullet (CBB). The elk went 20 feet and dropped. The bullet was a complete pass through. There was a large pooling of blood around both the exit wound and mouth. I could follow the blood trail back to the point of impact. The picture below of the elk with the 6.8 was taken back at camp not where the elk went down so it doesn't show the blood loss. This harvest was with the 105 MKZ prototype which had a 1900 fps min expansion velocity. The production version's minimum expansion velocity was improved to 1600 fps.
I was fortunate to harvest a 500-lbs cow elk this past weekend in Western New Mexico. It was a broadside double-lung shot at 196 yards with a 105 MKZ Cavity Back Bullet (CBB). The elk went 20 feet and dropped. The bullet was a complete pass through. There was a large pooling of blood around both the exit wound and mouth. I could follow the blood trail back to the point of impact. The picture below of the elk with the 6.8 was taken back at camp not where the elk went down so it doesn't show the blood loss. This harvest was with the 105 MKZ prototype which had a 1900 fps min expansion velocity. The production version's minimum expansion velocity was improved to 1600 fps.
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MKZ Wound Channel
After fielding dressing, you could see the bullet was fully expanded before entering the chest cavity by the 2.5-inch entry wound between two ribs. The exit wound was the same size and broke a rib going out. The lungs clearly showed the wound channel with the off-side wound looking like a 3-pointed star - maybe a result of the 3 pedals of the expanded MKZ. There were no indications that the bullet lost any of its pedals thus retained 100% of its weight during the terminal phase.
After fielding dressing, you could see the bullet was fully expanded before entering the chest cavity by the 2.5-inch entry wound between two ribs. The exit wound was the same size and broke a rib going out. The lungs clearly showed the wound channel with the off-side wound looking like a 3-pointed star - maybe a result of the 3 pedals of the expanded MKZ. There were no indications that the bullet lost any of its pedals thus retained 100% of its weight during the terminal phase.
My hunting partner had stopped his cow elk with a shot from a 300 WM 165 GMX that hit the spine while the cow was on the move. But he had left his box of ammo at the cabin so only had the one round in his pocket to start with. Thus we used the 6.8 to put the elk down with a shot to the neck (118 yards). We ended up throwing his neck meat away because the 105 MKZ's expansion and resultant wound channel with bone fragments didn't make it worth the effort to butcher.
I was pleased and impressed with the 105 MKZ's performance. I've shot cow elk with my .270 Win using 130 GMX and 129 LRX bullets at 275, 325, 350 and 400 yards. Yes, this was a closer 200-yard shot and only a sample of one, however, the entry and exit wounds from the 105 MKZ matched or bettered my prior harvests with a more powerful cartridge plus this elk was down as quick or quicker with more blood loss.
I was pleased and impressed with the 105 MKZ's performance. I've shot cow elk with my .270 Win using 130 GMX and 129 LRX bullets at 275, 325, 350 and 400 yards. Yes, this was a closer 200-yard shot and only a sample of one, however, the entry and exit wounds from the 105 MKZ matched or bettered my prior harvests with a more powerful cartridge plus this elk was down as quick or quicker with more blood loss.
Repost of the entrance wound 105 gr. CBB on whitetail buck. If you look closely you can see where all 3 petals expanded.
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rvrrat14, here is my load data for mag-length COALs with the 105 MKZ. I shoot single powder charge vs velocity ladders when I first get a new bullet to find the performance boundaries and look for indications of the accuracy node. In this load ladder, I used 0.5 grain increments. Note I load longer than mag length frequently to look for better accuracy. I found the node for my rifle 18" ARP. I have continued to maintain 0.5 MOA groupings with the 105 MKZ in my 18" ARP. The freebore in my 20" ARP that I used on this hunt is 0.035 longer.
Note, Hornady and Federal brass has less capacity so you will need to reduce your starting load at least another 0.5 grains to compensate.
Gotcha! So which loads were which shots on target? Is the 29.5 the far right on the 2.295? Like that velocity from a 18" ARP, too. Same as I shoot for main hunting weapon.rvrrat14, here is my load data for mag-length COALs with the 105 MKZ. I shoot single powder charge vs velocity ladders when I first get a new bullet to find the performance boundaries and look for indications of the accuracy node. In this load ladder, I used 0.5 grain increments. Note I load longer than mag length frequently to look for better accuracy. I found the node for my rifle 18" ARP. I have continued to maintain 0.5 MOA groupings with the 105 MKZ in my 18" ARP. The freebore in my 20" ARP that I used on this hunt is 0.035 longer.
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