Slower may be better.??

[Jake in NC]

.. Could it really be that velocity may not be "all-that" in non-varmint weight bullets..??

..For example:
.. What good is 2400foot#'s and "x" amount of velocity if it's expended in the ground behind your intended target..? My particular targets of interest being groundhogs and Whitetails.. There's no shortage of "VLD bullets passing straight thru" stories on the boards.. And I've seen it myself on various varmints and deer.. My recent toying with this .308 at the club got me to thinking about it.. Could it possibly be that a bullet with a larger "frontal area" going slower but still with good ballistics could be an option.?? Just thinking and now seeking someone to bounce it off of..

What have your experiences been with this.?? d:^) JiNC

I believe that was Elmer Keiths whole theory was to have a big bullet to start out with.

try loading some Speer 125gr TNT bullets in that new 308 of yours , way big splat factor and their not going nearly as fast as a 75gr out of a 25-05 or a 50gr out of a 220Swift.

[Brian Rybicky]

Jake,

Ive shot water bottles with my 30/30 with big heavy flat nosed bullets and they ripped those water bottles apart, but your going to get a very (edited by Len) trajectory, or you can run a 125gr nos bt at 3200fps and get fairly flat trajectory and huge holes in critters.

[ 03-16-2004: Message edited by: Len Backus ]

When, I saw this topic title, it caught my eye right away. This has always been a topic of interest.

As far as slower velocity to avoid non-lethal pass-thru, I think it depends on the bullet. If a particular brand of bullet or certain weights within a brand has a reputation for pass-thru, I'd avoid it like the plague. If you like VLD's look up the topics regarding Cauterucio bullets. He makes VLD's up to 7mm. You wont get pass-thru! He does not make a 30 cal VLD so your out of luck for the 308. I wish he made them these cauterucios are great hunting bullets.

I'm an "ex" velocity freak. I used to look for the fastest flattest shooting bullets I could put in the rifle. I had some p*ss poor results. Aside from the results from bullets that were too light, the accuracy suffers.
I hear a lot of guys talking about the high velocities they get and shooting super small groups. I just don't buy it. I have always found accuracy to decrease when velocity is pushed past the point of diminishing returns. I like to max out the speed right at that sweet spot.

[COBrad]

Every rifle I've reloaded for, with one exception, shot more accurately at the lower end of the scale than at the high end. I'm currently experimenting with a new Cooper 22-250. The factory test load of 36.5 gr. H380, with 50 gr. Sbk's, is giving me consistent groups in the mid .3's at 100. Shooting nodes at 39.1 gr, 40.1 and 40.7 gr yields progessively larger groups, opening up to the .6's. In going for velocity, I skipped shooting a node at 38.4 gr. I'm going to shoot that one tomorrow. Testing the 40.1 charge I shot the first group of 3 into .068, that's the best group I've ever shot! But subsequent groups opened into the .5 range. The one exception is the .300 Jarrett I shoot for big game. That rifle shoots 200 gr SMK's at around .5, if I do my part, with max charges of 78gr RL22. SGK's at 1".

[COBrad]

Hmmm... after posting and rereading, I guess I was kinda off topic. My wife tells me I'm a little carried away with this new rifle, Hmmm...

[Pahunter]

why dont you want bullets to "pass thru" ?