• If you are being asked to change your password, and unsure how to do it, follow these instructions. Click here

How Much energy is too little?

There nothing without some form of energy.
All forms of energy are associated with motion. For example, any given body has kinetic energy if it is in motion. A tensioned device such as a bow or spring, though at rest, has the potential for creating motion; it contains potential energy because of its configuration.
It's KE i have issues with. It can't be disputed as a calculation, how that energy is transferred to the vitals is the rub.

How much of that KE is used deforming the bullet matters.
 
Me? I expect my bullet to look like this hitting game.

IMG_3799.gif
 
In animals, I disagree. Expansion, fragmentation and crushing of tissue and destruction of the CNS or vascular system is what kills animals.

Velocity is the driving factor for bullet upset, not energy.
There is nothing to disagree with. It is what it is. The min velocity is simply when a bullet starts expanding and there is no secret why it is similar across different cartridges. It is because they are using similar materials which require similar dynamic pressures to deform.

Once a bullet expands, fragments, and crushes tissue this is energy transfer from the bullet to the animal. Basically, an equal and opposite force to what is causing the bullet to deform and slowdown. Velocity nor energy are driving anything. They are a magnitude describing something different.

When people say you need a certain amount of velocity to expand that is reasonably easy to quantify. When somebody says you need a certain amount of energy to kill something that is a lot more complex act to quantify but it is still transfer of energy that does the work

Lou
 
I don't look too hard at calculated energy since it is just a calculation from the physics of the shot. I demand evidential terminal performance from any bullet I use to exert the most tissue damage while driving through the animal. I perform post mortem on every animal I kill even with bow to understand how and why the animal died. If you are not performing a post mortem, you really need to better understand the terminal performance relative to the animal. Energy is absolutely WORTHLESS without terminal performance.
 
Rules of thumb and min requirement game laws are mostly there to keep people from doing something dumb. By default they tend to be at least a little conservative to weed out most of the stunt shooters and ignorant/inexperienced. The ultimate goal is to not just kill an animal but do so as fast as possible and minimize waste.

Lou


It's all about control. Nothing else.
 
Me? I expect my bullet to look like this hitting game.

View attachment 556800
YUP,. THAT'S, a 140 grain Hunting version Berger, Launched at, 3,200 FPS from,.. a .270 Wby or, .270 WSM !
Kill's Elk as, Quickly as,.. a .338 Win. Mag. ( Used Both on Elk, so I have, some experience at,.. THIS ! )
Agree with Dogz post # 84 ! No need of MORE, Recoil or, Power than, a fast, .270 Bullet.
A well "Expanded" Bullet, thru the Lungs,.. gets the Job,.. DONE !
 
Last edited:
I don't know if this anwers your question, however, a few decades ago when I was in college, one of my engineering courses was in applied energy. We calculated that based upon density and mass, it would take approximately 1000ftlbs of force to be lethal to an animal the size of a deer.

Now that said, I retired 7 years ago and now I can barely amass enough energy to take a nap! 😂
 
Top