ORIGINAL: Grouse45
I see and read people talking about fragmenting bullets. What is actually in that classification and why. Is a bullet that does not retain it's original weight considered a fragmenting bullet? Or to what weight can it loose and not be considered a fragmenting bullet?
I have noticed a few people put Lehigh bullets in this same category as fragmenting bullets. At the end of the day, are they really? The Lehigh will for the most part be very consistent. I look at them more as a fracturing bullet.
The petals are going to shear off by design and cut and damage vital organs in the chest cavity. Some will even say fragment. That's okay, here's were i seperate the two. The 250grn Lehigh will then become a 175grn bullet that blows right thru the animal with know mushrooming/expansion or anything to slow it down. If needed, a blood trail for sure.
So here's my take. It's semantics. Fracture, fragment, both mean coming apart. Yes, you can argue to what degree and with what consistency but it's coming apart. Sabotloader gives one extreme in the V-max, a truly horrific bullet on game (especially out of my 300WM at 3800fps!). While devastating on whatever it hits for the first foot or so, usually when I shoot a milk jug with them there is no exit hole, just a few shraphnel holes. Most other bullets fall in the middle with the Barnes probably being the only one to routinely average in the upper-90s of percent weight retained.
Honestly, I see zero advantage in the Leigh design conceptually. The petals that sheer off weigh just a few grains apiece and therefore have very limited energy to further penetrate on their own. I am curious if you hit the shoulder blade if they remain on the outside or sheer off inside -- that would be an interesting test shot to think about this fall when you hunt with them.
As for the large meplat argument, the necessary corrollary to that argument is the insinuation that conventional bullets lack such a thing. However, they do not, an opened mushroom is a large meplat! Also an insinuation in that argument is that mushrooming impedes penatration to the point that it comprimises penetration. Now I recently discussed with Sabotloader that I am concerned that this is the case with Barnes bullets, but I've go to tell you I've shot DOZENS of deer with Shockwaves at ranges from 15 to 338 yards and I can count on one hand the number that did not exit. So the argument is invalid on both the meplat and impeded penetration counts.
Now this doesn't mean that the Leigh is an inferior bullet -- they probably work about as well as anything else. There is more than one path to the same destination. Apparently I'm going to try some soon and I look forward to getting a look at them. Honestly I just think your arguments to elevate them above everything else are inflated.