Right now I'm looking at the results of testing a guy did on 180 grain .30 caliber bullets shot between 1400 and 3100 fps in deer. He shot up a LOT of road-kill deer on these test, and the results are surprising in many ways, but follow a lot of field experience people have had. He compiled data on over 1700 shots. He tested up to where the bullet basically loses all of its weight, and tested down to where the bullet stopped opening up. Besides showing the tabulated data, he also shos pictures of the bullets. Three bullets per type per velocity. The velocity was run in 100 fps steps.
At 3100 fps a LOT of the bullets shed a LOT of their weight. Unless the bullet is of a partition or a bonded design, the bullet loses most all of it's weight.
For instance, at 2600 fps the Matchking is down to 66 grains, it basically falls apart starting at 2400 or 2500 fps. Penetration was 17" It needs at least 2000 fps to reliably open up. It'd be fine hunting at long ranges, but don't expect a lot of penetration at close ranges with your cannon. The Nosler Partition held together up through 3100 fps, retaining 125 grains, and had 17" of penetration. At 2700 fps it weighed 129 grains and had 19.7" of penetration. The Nosler needs at least 1800 fps to open up. This supports the great reputation this "old standby" has.
It appeareed that the overall winner for high-velocity weight retention and deep penetration was the Swift A-Frame which retained 167 grains. Not surprising based upon its reputation. Other good performers of commonly available bullets were the Barnes X, Nosler Partition, Remington Core-Lokt (gasp!), Trophy Bear Claw, and the Winchester Fail Safe. For lighter whitetails, exploding bullets and deep penetration are less of a concern.
Mark in Utah
