ORIGINAL: nchawkeye
If anything, the Shockwave is a little "hard"...With lung shots,they run 80-125 yards, almost always exit, but the blood trail can be sparse...
The pics that Chapman put up show a velocity of 2400fps...I'm assuming that's out of a Savage, with smokeless powder to reach that velociity...
btw...My deer don't usually run...I pop them in the shoulder and don't have to worry about the blood trail...
Blood trail can be sparse is not good for many, I hunt properties near horse farms and can't risk a nice buck jumping the fence and dying in the middle of that horse farm.
Your correct on the Savage, your corrected on FPS of mine with 4198, however back east here I like 5744 which is about 2000 fps. The hardness of the head is the issue, it doesn't open on lungs, kills them no doubt, but sparce blood trails is not good.
You know exactly how to hunt with that bullet, just like Frontieer Gander know how to hunt with PBs, normal guys buying a Triumph and shooting 3 pellets are going to loose deer on bow shots with the SW. The are a most accurate bullet, but I believe they have the two issues I mentioned above. You yourself said they are "hard", that is not good on bow shots, which is where mosts normal guys shoot for. Chap