ORIGINAL: salukipv1
Does anyone out there believe there's some truth to the idea that a high velocity round will make an animal drop dead on the spot more likely than a slower / avg round? Many standard rounds shoot around 3000fps or slower....nowadays and weatherby years ago love high velocity rounds, some now are 3200, or 3400+ fps ? Do you think for an animal that there's a velocity threshold that once passed will cause death immediatly? I think some call this hydrostatic shock? Do you think a 180gr going 3400fps will drop a deer/elk better than a 180gr going 2900fps?
This one can be argued ad nauseum, and it will always come down to what you're comfortable with.
For the tinkerers out there, there's always the newest case, that will hold ever the smallest bit more powder, & get the chronograph to measure those precious extra few fps that will make their heart dance with joy. For me, it usually comes back to a decently constructed bullet, not too light for caliber, at 2,400 to 2,900 fps. I can get factory loads in this range for little $$$ (in the calibers I shoot), that group wonderfully, and that seem to get the critters as dead as I need 'em.
To (mis)quote a poster from another site, "It aint energy kills animals, it's holes!".
Then there's the one about, "the squashed bugs on my truck's windshield proves the 'heavy projectile at a low velocity' theory."
In the words o' Forrest Gump, "That's all I have to say about that."
FC