ORIGINAL: gt2003
It looks like what it comes down to is good penetration coupled with proper/controlled expansion. Both seem to be pretty much equally important. If the bullet mushrooms to the size of a football but only penetrates 2 inches, no good. Or, if the bullet hits and doesn't expand any at all and does very little damage, no good either. So, mushrooming is good but its only 1 part of theequation. If the bullet gradually expands and goes through the vitalsand does adequate damage then we've got a winner. And, from the looks of the photos and the stories, we've got a bunch of winners out there. Thanks for all the input.This thread just gets better and better, Greg
Greg, Amen, you got it, exactly. "Cast bullets" shoot thru and penetrate deeply, but they are not best for hunting since they don't expand and cause large wound channel. Powerbelts start expanding 1" into media (flesh, clay, ballisticgel, whatever) and therefore pancake out very quickly, large wound channel 1" into the animal, butthe pancake then leads to bullet fragmentation, especially if drive by 150g of powder. If you drop the PB down to 70 or 80g you get the controlled expansion that Frontier Gander showed on his doe mule deer, I say perfect there also, but FG knows how to shoot them. Most folks don't because of advertising of gun makers that you can shoot 150g in their guns. So controlled expansion is the key, along with deep penetration. look at the Nosler I showed again, it is perfect expansion, right down to the steel bar separating the head of the bullet from the lead tail of the bullet. I consider that perfect, and so does Barnes and Nosler. Why did Swift model their A-frame after Nosler? Same reason, controlled expansion, near 100% weight retention. Why are the bullet manufacturers making "Fusion" ammo now that is perfect controlled expansion? Why? It kills better because of deeper penetration and large wound channel.
Chap