Very interesting thread
There are many different bullet designs. Each with a specific purpose in mind.
I have shot animals from mice to moose in size.
There are many hunters who don't know there is a difference in bullet designs.
There are several schools of thought about terminal bullet performance.
First let me say there are many who will disagree with what I am saying.
There are bullets designed for target shooting and bullets designed for hunting thought there may be some overlap neither does a superior performance in both jobs.
There are thin skinned bullets, ie: J-4 jackets.
There are thicker skinned bullets.
There are tapered skinned and bonded bullets.
There are partition type bullets.
There are monolythic bullerts.
There are boat tailed, solid based, hollow based, and flat bassed bullets.
There are lead tipped, polymer tipped, hollow pointed, etc.
There are fast expanding bullets, controlled expansion bullets, full metal jacketed, and solid bullets.
I am a firm believer in using the right bullet for the right situation.
For varmints I like an extremely explosive bullet. Because most varmints are thin skinned and shot at long distances.Quick kills is only one reason for explosive bullets. Ricochet factor is the primary reason for explosive bullets.
For thin skinned game deer, antelope, goat, sheep, wolf, I preferr a controlled expansion bullet. I like limited damage to meat and a exit wound for more blood loss.
I like a bullet that will exit from any driection.
For thick skinned game and heavy boned game I like controlled expansion with bone crushing performance.
If you ever hunt with an experienced outfitter or PH he will tell you pretty much the same thing. Using the right bullet choice provides an ethical humane harvest and a safer hunt.
When I go on a hunt with others I can quickly sum up their hunting experience by their caliber and bullet choice.
Watching the bullets strike the metal unter a high speed camera is very telling. Most will say shooting metal is not like shooting skinned game. Then most don't think about a bullet traveling at 3000 fps. Water struck at 3000 fps is almost like stricking a metal surface. Most skinned animals are about 70% water. Thin skinned bullets do the most hydrostatic shock upon entry. Controlled expansion bullets do about equal amount of hyrostatic shock in the entry and exit would channels. Bullet placement has an extreme factor in how fast game goes down. I have heart/ lung shot animals wit a 300 Win mag at 10 feet and they run 100 yards. I have head and lung shot animals and they drop in their tracks. Bullet performance at different velocities and ranges is another extreme factor.
There are several bullet makers who market bullets for hunting that will kill. But there are the some bullets that work better than others. I feel these bullet makers do a disservice to the novice hunter.
Nat Lambeth
