Roy, do you think it's just the Berger design that's causing those results (looks like a bomb went off) or is it possible a similar weight/design bullet would yield the same bomb affect?
Where am I going to get a "similar weight/design" bullet. I think the 338 Hybrid is in its own class. Comparing with an SMK would be a bit like testing a apple against an orange.
Disclaimer: this paragraph contains my own opinion(s).
Both the 300 SMK and 300 Hybrid have the same beginnings. Both were designed as a "match" bullet. The effectiveness of the SMK for hunting was serendipitous. The Hybrid was designed to achieve a very high bc (success) accurate (success) and maintain the "Berger" terminal performance (success). The Berger 300 Hybrid will find its niche very quickly.
Regarding the "bomb affect" I think the shear mass of a 338 - 300 gr bullet is a rung or two above sub-caliber offerings (.308 and below). When I loaded down a 300 SMK to achieve 1k velocity at the muzzle and tested it on my wooden fixture creation the first experiment blew the fixture apart resulting a major redesign while it handled the 270 170gr quite well.
Using a MV of 2700 FPS calculate the foot-pounds @ 300 yds and dissipate that energy in 21 inches w/o hitting bone and 15.5 inches penetrating bone first. The empirical experience says somethings gotta give.
As much as I like to blow thing up this deal isn't enjoyable.
I'll redesign (have some great ideas
) and do another 300 yd test with both Hybrids and SMKs. Hopefully this will result in a bullet test instead of a bullet performance AND fixture test.
I'd like to see the high speed video of the Hybrid shot into that jello stuff with jello stuff fully contained instead of free standing. Either way I bet it better be done outdoors.
As in Antlers on the ceiling! Who goosed the Moose.
