I'm hearing what all the guys are saying, kinda all the same but different. All depends on what you wanna shoot at. Are you gonna go to the range and shoot all day or are you wanting to shoot an elk at 1000 yards. That's the question. Depending on which, the answer will be different. Myself I'm wanting to kill an elk at 1000 yards. That means one more variable... Kinetic energy. Velocity, BC and bullet weight all make up the kinetic energy. Basically a heavy bullet fast that flies good = lots of ft lbs. I shoot a 338-378 with a 300 grain nosler bullet with 107 grains of IMR 8133. Heavy fast and flies good through the air. BUT... if you wanna set on the range all day plinking steel then there's no need for kinetic energy, which in turn means you won't have the recoil from the heavy bullet with a heavy powder charge.
Is faster better?
- Thread starter WyoRifleman
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
msilbernagel
Active Member
Enjoy the journey. 
X-2
Kinetic Energy, This is not a static number and IMO folks put to much faith in it
You, Sir, are a better man than most for doing so.
yobuck
Well-Known Member
Bloodshot meat trumps Coyote meat every time.
xsn10s
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2016
- Messages
- 7,626
If those were the only options. I'm glad that's not the case.
The reason I am more for velocity than BC is that in the begining I could not afford good glass.
I would count the clicks but they were never even or reliable and would never return to zero.
Then I discovered that once you break the 4000FPS threshold It's a hole new world.
So I would sight in and just leave it there, I knew the terrain and began to pay attention to distances "this was before affordable range finders" when I did miss I realised that I always over shot my target. So from there on if I was unsure I would just put they horizontal retical even with the spine, and that would give me from one inch to two feet of drop depending on they animal.
They impact was always higher than I would have expected, I soon learned that they only thing better than 4000FPS was anything over 4000fps. I have also found that the recoil is a lot less and I can keep my eye on the target even after a shot is fired, or at least reacquire it faster than with one with violent recoil in the rare case that I would need a follow up shot. I have also learned over the years that if a shot does not hit the target in an optimum place the chances of that animal walking away or suffering is less with a high velocity shot than one hit with a heavyier slower bullet. This is due to what is called Hydostatic shock, what that is is when the bullet hits the target at high velocity. The chain reaction internally is so violent that even if a vital organ is not hit or enough to kill or disable they animal, the chain reaction of they other organs or bones being displaced will. That and as always the time of flight is always important especially when they animal is fleeing or moves slightly from the laps in time when you finally decide to pull the trigger.
Dean
PS: These are my findings from years of trial and error.
I would count the clicks but they were never even or reliable and would never return to zero.
Then I discovered that once you break the 4000FPS threshold It's a hole new world.
So I would sight in and just leave it there, I knew the terrain and began to pay attention to distances "this was before affordable range finders" when I did miss I realised that I always over shot my target. So from there on if I was unsure I would just put they horizontal retical even with the spine, and that would give me from one inch to two feet of drop depending on they animal.
They impact was always higher than I would have expected, I soon learned that they only thing better than 4000FPS was anything over 4000fps. I have also found that the recoil is a lot less and I can keep my eye on the target even after a shot is fired, or at least reacquire it faster than with one with violent recoil in the rare case that I would need a follow up shot. I have also learned over the years that if a shot does not hit the target in an optimum place the chances of that animal walking away or suffering is less with a high velocity shot than one hit with a heavyier slower bullet. This is due to what is called Hydostatic shock, what that is is when the bullet hits the target at high velocity. The chain reaction internally is so violent that even if a vital organ is not hit or enough to kill or disable they animal, the chain reaction of they other organs or bones being displaced will. That and as always the time of flight is always important especially when they animal is fleeing or moves slightly from the laps in time when you finally decide to pull the trigger.
Dean
PS: These are my findings from years of trial and error.
Last edited:
yobuck
Well-Known Member
Write those words down, so you dont forget who said them.
In most cases yes but twist rate and bullet selection can create issues if pushing a bullet too fast in too fast of a twist rate you can get jacket separation.
Opinions vary. Anecdotes can be helpful. If you really want a deeper understanding in this time of component drought make some coffee, turn on the reading lamp
bergerbullets.com
Bryan Litz Books
Bryan Litz' books take his highly complex ideas and explain them in layman terms. Here you can find a list of his current books as well as a description.
bergerbullets.com
xsn10s
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2016
- Messages
- 7,626
Probably add some Dr Martin Fackler to the reading list too.Opinions vary. Anecdotes can be helpful. If you really want a deeper understanding in this time of component drought make some coffee, turn on the reading lamp
Bryan Litz Books
Bryan Litz' books take his highly complex ideas and explain them in layman terms. Here you can find a list of his current books as well as a description.
Sealesniper
Well-Known Member
Accuracy is KING. Speed is not nearly as important as accuracy, that is why you have drop charts. Don't try to push a bullet faster just to get more speed. You want to push the bullet as fast as you can as it reduces the effects of gravity, spin drift and other outside forces as the time to target is reduced, but too much speed can be a negative as well.
Last edited:
