Preferred impact velocity?

Edd,

Correct! I am not exactly looking for an exact speed, however, I am looking for a much narrow span or estimate.

For example a mono won't explode, so I expect those shooters to have high impact speeds for preference.

However, for say a .308 diameter Berger 168 Classic Hunter....is it 2300 fps or 2600 fps for "best" bullet performance?

That is what I'm looking for.

Thanks,
Steve
 
Edd,

Correct! I am not exactly looking for an exact speed, however, I am looking for a much narrow span or estimate.

For example a mono won't explode, so I expect those shooters to have high impact speeds for preference.

However, for say a .308 diameter Berger 168 Classic Hunter....is it 2300 fps or 2600 fps for "best" bullet performance?

That is what I'm looking for.

Thanks,
Steve

What bullet do you want to use and what cartridge and for what distance? I think knowing this then you'll get the best info, because a 7mm or .284 caliber bullet will work differently depending on the cartridge. A 139gr SST will work great on the 7mm-08 but be a disaster on the 7mm Rem Mag. The 162gr SST will work great on the 7mm Rem Mag out to 800 yds but on the 7mm-08 only work out to 300 yds. It will vary, but here its a little simpler I think.

All 7mm bullets:
120gr BT = 2,600fps
139gr SST & 139gr Interlock = 2,500 fps
140gr BT & 140gr BST = 2,500 fps
140gr Accubond and 139gr Interbond = 2,800 fps
150gr BST = 2,700 fps
154 gr SST and 154gr Interlock = 2,700 fps
154gr Interbond and 160gr Accubond = 2,600
162gr Amax = 2,400
162gr SST and 162gr Interlock = 2,400 fps

I've haven't used mono's but if I did I would use a Hammer and want it at 3,000 fps or higher regardless of bullet weight.
 
Thanks LVJ76

I use a 7mm-08 and 308 Win for deer. I want very large expansion but ability to get through a shoulder of a big WI whitetail buck if needed. Don't care which cartridge I need to use to get that. Most shorts are fairly close. I don't seem to get much expansion with the -08 with 139 gr Interlock.

Thank you
Steve
 
Thanks LVJ76

I use a 7mm-08 and 308 Win for deer. I want very large expansion but ability to get through a shoulder of a big WI whitetail buck if needed. Don't care which cartridge I need to use to get that. Most shorts are fairly close. I don't seem to get much expansion with the -08 with 139 gr Interlock.

Thank you
Steve
Honestly nearly any bullet from those two will get through a white tails shoulder, withy the exception of varmint bullets.
In the 308 I think I've said this, if you want massive expansion, the 168eldm is what you're looking for. A couple years ago I shot a wt through the shoulder at 450. Worked well no problem
 
Thanks LVJ76

I use a 7mm-08 and 308 Win for deer. I want very large expansion but ability to get through a shoulder of a big WI whitetail buck if needed. Don't care which cartridge I need to use to get that. Most shorts are fairly close. I don't seem to get much expansion with the -08 with 139 gr Interlock.

Thank you
Steve


How about this.
For the 7/08 use a 120 grain ballistic tip with a muzzle velocity starting @ 3000 ft/sec.

For the 308 win use a 150 grain ballistic tip @ 2900 ft/sec.

Both bullets will expand well at 7/08 and 308 achievable velocities.
However, if you hit the shoulder blade you may have more expansion than desired. A heart lung shot is preferred with these bullets. Results will be DRT.

Both Bullets perform well beyond 500 yards and stay within the designed performance impact velocity so they should fill your needs.

Note: This is only for your stated needs, using the cartridges you listed, not for other cartridges

J E CUSTOM
 
Thanks LVJ76

I use a 7mm-08 and 308 Win for deer. I want very large expansion but ability to get through a shoulder of a big WI whitetail buck if needed. Don't care which cartridge I need to use to get that. Most shorts are fairly close. I don't seem to get much expansion with the -08 with 139 gr Interlock.

Thank you
Steve

No problem, I've gotten good expansion with the 139gr SST, which also has the interlock that helps keep the bullet together, I get exit holes every time.
 
I shoot the Nosler BT in various cartridges and my best results have been from 2k to 2500 for deer and elk. Around 3140 I had a failure on a elk shoulder at about 50 ft. Never got past the ribs with a 300 Win 165. That being said, it is extremely important to stay above the minimum 1800 as I have recovered specimens from those velocities and they expanded some but not what you would want.

As for the accubonds, hard and fast as I hav not seen a failure And have put them through elk and deer at many distances. Only recovered 1 and it was from a bull elk shot quartering towards us shot in the neck at 75 yards from a 270. Perfect mushroom bull drt.

A lot of good info in these posts with the best being staying above minimums.
 
Since this thread is now 5 pages long you can probably guess that there are a lot of varied opinions on the subject. I'd suggest that you read some of the stuff by Nathan Foster at ballisticstudies.com. That guy has published A LOT of stuff on tons of different bullets, calibers, cartridges.

The answer to your question really depends on how a bullet is constructed and how it is designed to perform.

In general, bullets which fragment by design typically will perform down to 1800fps, classic soft point lead/copper designs down to 2200-2400fps, and monolithic bullets ~2400fps (however to be optimally effective they need an impact velocity of 2600-2700fps).
——————————————————

Bergers for instance will perform down to 1800fps. This is the speed at which the bullet will completely fragment and why they are so effective at long range. They typically transfer 100% of their energy to the target, have multiple wound channels from fragmentation, and create a large permanent wound channel even with the relatively small amount of hydrostatic shock generated at that impact velocity. The same can be said for SMK/TMK/ELDM/Amax. Barnes on the other hand don't expand well below 2400fps and furthermore in order to generate significant hydrostatic shock (critical for fast killing especially with a monolithic bullet) ideally impact velocity needs to be >2600-2700fps.

More classic designs are typically somewhere in the middle, and while not as sleek as modern long range designs something like an A-Frame/Woodleigh Weldcore/Nosler partition when used at appropriate ranges/velocities performs extremely reliably.

You also need to consider what kind of tissue damage is acceptable to you. If you're of the mindset that dead is dead then fragmenting bullets work extremely well. If you prefer less tissue damage/bloodshot meat, prefer complete pass throughs, and are better at tracking then monolithics are a better choice because comparatively they tend to have somewhat delayed killing. That being said they both are effective so long as you can put it through a vital structure.

Personally, for long range, I like a bullet that performs like a Berger, dumping everything into the animal at a relatively low impact velocity. The multiple wound channels and large permanent wound cavity make up for the lack of hydrostatic shock at that impact velocity.

However, that being said, I'd like a bullet which performs like a hybrid of the two. Dumping a ton of energy by fragmentation but then having a monolithic base which will penetrate for a pass through. That extra hole allows for much faster exsanguination. Lehigh Defense makes the monolithic Controlled Chaos and Controlled Fracturing rounds which are advertised to do just that. The downside to them is that they have a relatively low BC and so they won't work well at what are formally considered long range distances (beyond 750). Inside of that though they seem to be extremely lethal.

I know that brings up a lot of things to think about but if you want your bullets to perform as advertised then you need to think about them.
 
In my 7mm08s, I run the little 120 gr NBT at 3120 and have killed several whitetails and antelope beyond 500 yards. None required a second shot and none went more than 2-3 steps post impact.
Running my .280 Rems with 140 gr Accubonds at 3040 fps has yielded very impressive results from 30 yds to 300 yds. No deer sized animals have left their footprints as of yet when hit with this load.
 
Thanks LVJ76

I use a 7mm-08 and 308 Win for deer. I want very large expansion but ability to get through a shoulder of a big WI whitetail buck if needed. Don't care which cartridge I need to use to get that. Most shorts are fairly close. I don't seem to get much expansion with the -08 with 139 gr Interlock.

Thank you
Steve
For the scenario you described, no traditional bullet will work better than a 150 gr Nosler Partition in the 308 and a 140 gr for the 7mm-08.

If you are wanting something different, you might consider the 113 Sledge Hammer in your 7mm-08 and the 143 gr Lever Hammer in your 308.
 

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