marksman1941
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 20, 2013
- Messages
- 1,005
To pile on here…
Energy is a handy metric but by itself doesn't mean anything when the bullet construction is not taken into account. A soft frangible bullet with 4,000 ftlbs of energy won't get you the result you want, and increasing energy still won't get you there.
Bullets have an operational window for optimal terminal performance. Some can open up low (like the nosler LRAB or the Barnes LRX) but will splash if impacting at too high of velocity. Some bullets are tougher (any of the bonded, like Scirocco II, trophy bond, woodleigh, etc) and will hold together at any attainable velocity but won't open as low as others.
A bullet with a terminal window of 1800-3000 fps that impacts at 3200 (like most ballistic tips) will grenade and cause more meat damage and less internal damage because the penetration wasn't there. So energy, and more of it, isn't always the answer. Energy is simply mass times velocity squared, and is a handy way to compare loads and get a baseline.
I've found it to be much more beneficial to ignore energy and look at
1) what is my self imposed range limitation
2) what velocity will each load be going between the muzzle and the outer limit of my range limitation
3) what bullets have published terminal windows that fall into those velocity ranges.
The bullet weight is inconsequential by itself; the bullet construction and velocity matter more. So look at each bullet you're interested in, regardless of weight, and see if it falls within operational parameters given your expected velocity and your range limits.
Energy is a handy metric but by itself doesn't mean anything when the bullet construction is not taken into account. A soft frangible bullet with 4,000 ftlbs of energy won't get you the result you want, and increasing energy still won't get you there.
Bullets have an operational window for optimal terminal performance. Some can open up low (like the nosler LRAB or the Barnes LRX) but will splash if impacting at too high of velocity. Some bullets are tougher (any of the bonded, like Scirocco II, trophy bond, woodleigh, etc) and will hold together at any attainable velocity but won't open as low as others.
A bullet with a terminal window of 1800-3000 fps that impacts at 3200 (like most ballistic tips) will grenade and cause more meat damage and less internal damage because the penetration wasn't there. So energy, and more of it, isn't always the answer. Energy is simply mass times velocity squared, and is a handy way to compare loads and get a baseline.
I've found it to be much more beneficial to ignore energy and look at
1) what is my self imposed range limitation
2) what velocity will each load be going between the muzzle and the outer limit of my range limitation
3) what bullets have published terminal windows that fall into those velocity ranges.
The bullet weight is inconsequential by itself; the bullet construction and velocity matter more. So look at each bullet you're interested in, regardless of weight, and see if it falls within operational parameters given your expected velocity and your range limits.
