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Hunting
The Basics, Starting Out
Generalized bullet selection for hunting….
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<blockquote data-quote="Petey308" data-source="post: 2569073" data-attributes="member: 106845"><p>No. In general, when it comes to bullets, slower results in more penetration and less expansion. So just because impact velocity might be slow, as well as the kinetic energy low, it doesn't mean it doesn't have enough power to make it all the way through.</p><p></p><p>A 55gr VMAX, as an example, impacting at 3200fps is highly unlikely to exit. It has a very low amount of SD (mass) and is constructed soft and to come apart. However, that same bullet impacting at say 1200fps has a really good chance of exiting due to it not expanding as much at that velocity. Obviously it's still not likely to exit on wide bodied game, but that's not my point.</p><p></p><p>That same concept transfers to larger bullets like TMKs, ELDMs, Bergers, etc. By impacting within those ranges I gave in my rules of thumb post above, they will balance out much better regarding expansion versus penetration, particularly regarding certain shot placements.</p><p></p><p>A higher impact velocity would not necessarily mean more of a chance that it'll have the power to punch through, but rather it'll have more of a likelihood of expanding to the point of meeting the resistance required to arrest its forward momentum and not exit. Again, that's not necessary a bad thing, as long as it did its job by destroying the vitals and creating sufficient blood loss for a quick and clean kill.</p><p></p><p>So again, this is why having adequate sectional density with soft/frangible bullets is so important. It'll ensure proper terminal performance. Conversely, you <strong>DO NOT </strong>want a high SD with tougher constructed bullets because then you'll experience the opposite regarding expansion versus expansion. You'll have more penetration than expansion and before the bullet can inflict a massive amount of internal damage, it'll have already exited.</p><p></p><p>Even large calibers (like .338 and up) with soft/frangible bullets can have this problem due to the sheer mass alone. The bullet can't expand fast enough before it exits the animal. Lower impact velocities can help with those large calibers, but with those and others of the tougher construction, you also don't want to dip below an impact velocity of 1800fps because then there's not going to be enough opposing force to create adequate expansion from the bullet. The large caliber bullets tend to have a smaller window in regards to ideal impact velocity range.</p><p></p><p>Hopefully that's not confusing lol.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Petey308, post: 2569073, member: 106845"] No. In general, when it comes to bullets, slower results in more penetration and less expansion. So just because impact velocity might be slow, as well as the kinetic energy low, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have enough power to make it all the way through. A 55gr VMAX, as an example, impacting at 3200fps is highly unlikely to exit. It has a very low amount of SD (mass) and is constructed soft and to come apart. However, that same bullet impacting at say 1200fps has a really good chance of exiting due to it not expanding as much at that velocity. Obviously it’s still not likely to exit on wide bodied game, but that’s not my point. That same concept transfers to larger bullets like TMKs, ELDMs, Bergers, etc. By impacting within those ranges I gave in my rules of thumb post above, they will balance out much better regarding expansion versus penetration, particularly regarding certain shot placements. A higher impact velocity would not necessarily mean more of a chance that it’ll have the power to punch through, but rather it’ll have more of a likelihood of expanding to the point of meeting the resistance required to arrest its forward momentum and not exit. Again, that’s not necessary a bad thing, as long as it did its job by destroying the vitals and creating sufficient blood loss for a quick and clean kill. So again, this is why having adequate sectional density with soft/frangible bullets is so important. It’ll ensure proper terminal performance. Conversely, you [B]DO NOT [/B]want a high SD with tougher constructed bullets because then you’ll experience the opposite regarding expansion versus expansion. You’ll have more penetration than expansion and before the bullet can inflict a massive amount of internal damage, it’ll have already exited. Even large calibers (like .338 and up) with soft/frangible bullets can have this problem due to the sheer mass alone. The bullet can’t expand fast enough before it exits the animal. Lower impact velocities can help with those large calibers, but with those and others of the tougher construction, you also don’t want to dip below an impact velocity of 1800fps because then there’s not going to be enough opposing force to create adequate expansion from the bullet. The large caliber bullets tend to have a smaller window in regards to ideal impact velocity range. Hopefully that’s not confusing lol. [/QUOTE]
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The Basics, Starting Out
Generalized bullet selection for hunting….
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