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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Rifles, Bullets, Barrels & Ballistics
Bullet lethality: energy and velocity
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<blockquote data-quote="Muddyboots" data-source="post: 1903399" data-attributes="member: 63925"><p>This is one heck of a thoughtful thread to consider when pulling the trigger on an animal based upon your choice of caliber. I agree with a lot of the replies there are far too many variables to result in a definitive answer for minimal energy in all situations.</p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">the minimum velocity to reliably expand the bullet for enough expansion to provide sufficient hydrostatic/hydraulic (take your pick) shock to disrupt/destroy vital tissue for quick humane kill may not be similar to the bullet manufacturer's stated performance depending upon scenario.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">we like to think there is consistent bullet construction that is repeatable for expected minimal velocity expansion.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">bullet design on secant, cup and core, bonded, mono, partitioned style, tipped, hollow point, soft point, boattail, flat base and so on will all have different results to certain degree on an animal under different shot scenarios.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">bullet location on animal cannot be expected to be same results shot to shot.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">hard to have one bullet meet all hunting scenarios for reliable expansion and penetration for all distances for all types of animals. What may work for a whitetail or muley may not for a moose or an elk within the scenario you are within.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">was the animal calm, alert, on edge, possibly on adrenalin or hormoned up chasing his ladies? Sometimes they act like a crackhead and take multiple lethal hits without effect.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">some animals are just tougher than others which is why a smaller buck/bull knocks the snot out of a larger bigger rack just because of their built in attitude. I've seen does run from a coyote and others stand ground and go after them. Why does one buck run 250 yards after a 12X hit with a 300WM 200 AB hit at 200 yards and another go down hit like lightening? Same location of hit within similar hunting scenario with both bullets performed as expected and desired.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">I always autopsy the animal I killed to visibly inspect the wound channel to provide feedback on bullet placement, organ damage, blood loss, and even bone damage. Was I able to recover the bullet and did the bullet look like it performed as designed?</li> </ol><p>Hunting either with bow or rifle is a summation of your experiences of how animals react to certain hits based upon the variables within the kill scenario. You make shot/no shot decisions based upon your success or failure within the hunting scenario you are experiencing which encapsulates all the variables that you have encountered. Animals can be killed with virtually anything we shoot but it is our responsibility to strongly believe that when we pull the trigger we are HIGHLY confident the end result will be a quick humane kill no matter what caliber, bullet, animal or distance we are shooting. So from my perspective, I take the shot based upon my experiences (which includes all the variables that I have encountered) for minimal energy/velocity within a certain degree of confidence that I will kill the animal quickly and humanely. I do not believe there is a standard answer based upon this thought.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Muddyboots, post: 1903399, member: 63925"] This is one heck of a thoughtful thread to consider when pulling the trigger on an animal based upon your choice of caliber. I agree with a lot of the replies there are far too many variables to result in a definitive answer for minimal energy in all situations. [LIST=1] [*]the minimum velocity to reliably expand the bullet for enough expansion to provide sufficient hydrostatic/hydraulic (take your pick) shock to disrupt/destroy vital tissue for quick humane kill may not be similar to the bullet manufacturer's stated performance depending upon scenario. [*]we like to think there is consistent bullet construction that is repeatable for expected minimal velocity expansion. [*]bullet design on secant, cup and core, bonded, mono, partitioned style, tipped, hollow point, soft point, boattail, flat base and so on will all have different results to certain degree on an animal under different shot scenarios. [*]bullet location on animal cannot be expected to be same results shot to shot. [*]hard to have one bullet meet all hunting scenarios for reliable expansion and penetration for all distances for all types of animals. What may work for a whitetail or muley may not for a moose or an elk within the scenario you are within. [*]was the animal calm, alert, on edge, possibly on adrenalin or hormoned up chasing his ladies? Sometimes they act like a crackhead and take multiple lethal hits without effect. [*]some animals are just tougher than others which is why a smaller buck/bull knocks the snot out of a larger bigger rack just because of their built in attitude. I've seen does run from a coyote and others stand ground and go after them. Why does one buck run 250 yards after a 12X hit with a 300WM 200 AB hit at 200 yards and another go down hit like lightening? Same location of hit within similar hunting scenario with both bullets performed as expected and desired. [*]I always autopsy the animal I killed to visibly inspect the wound channel to provide feedback on bullet placement, organ damage, blood loss, and even bone damage. Was I able to recover the bullet and did the bullet look like it performed as designed? [/LIST] Hunting either with bow or rifle is a summation of your experiences of how animals react to certain hits based upon the variables within the kill scenario. You make shot/no shot decisions based upon your success or failure within the hunting scenario you are experiencing which encapsulates all the variables that you have encountered. Animals can be killed with virtually anything we shoot but it is our responsibility to strongly believe that when we pull the trigger we are HIGHLY confident the end result will be a quick humane kill no matter what caliber, bullet, animal or distance we are shooting. So from my perspective, I take the shot based upon my experiences (which includes all the variables that I have encountered) for minimal energy/velocity within a certain degree of confidence that I will kill the animal quickly and humanely. I do not believe there is a standard answer based upon this thought. [/QUOTE]
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Bullet lethality: energy and velocity
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