Pavomesa

I don't think any here will argue shot placement is of great importance. But it is not the be all and end all necessarily and works vastly better when it is accompanied by other factors.

Like most things in shooting, the answer is more an essay than a true false question.

stubblejumper

Bullet performance has a lot to do with it,though not as much as bullet placement.

I am very well acquainted with the effect of barrel length on velocity.I am also aware that chamber dimensions are also very important as far as the velocity produced by a given load is concerned.A rifle with a 24" barrel can produce more velocity than the same load in a 26" barrel if the shorter barrelled gun has a smaller chamber and therefore produces more pressure with the same load.

Barrel length in loading manuals is provided to give an idea of the velocity that one might expect when the load is fired from a gun with that length of barrel.The particular loads listed in a manual are not necessarily designed specifically to be used in a gun with that barrel length.

For some cartridges perhaps,but that does depend on the specific cartridge.When considering small capacity cartridges such as the 357 magnum or 44 magnum,the velocity difference will not be nearly as significant as with a large capacity cartridge such as a 30-378 wby.With a 30-30,the velocity difference between a 16" barrel and a 26" barrel will likely be less than 200fps.In the case of cartridges like the 30-378,almost all loads published will be with a 26" barrel.Even if you cut that 26" barrel down to 24",the difference in velocity will be 100fps or less.How many 30-378 rifles have you seen with 24" barrels?Mid range cartridges like the 30-06 usually have barrels between 22" and 24",with occasional 18" barrels or 26" barrels.Even using the 18" barrel and 26" barrel,the velocity difference will be in the 250fps or less range.
So barrel length would normally effect velocity by 100fps up to at most 250fps.
Now lets compare average velocities for those three cartridges with a 150gr bullet.The 30-30 will on average produce 2300fps,while the 30-06 will produce on average 2900fps,with the 30-378 producing on average 3600fps with a 150gr bullet.The difference being 1300fps.
Comparing that to the difference in barrel length being at most 250fps and normally 150fps or less,the difference in barrel length is very insignificant.When a company is designing a bullet,do you think that they even bother considering barrel lengths when the velocity difference between the particular cartridges is so ,much more of a factor?I doubt it.

The bottom line is that bullets are designed to operate within a certain velocity range,regardless of whether that velocity is produced by a short barreled high capacity cartridge or a long barreled lesser capacity cartridge.Velocity is the key factor in bullet design,not barrel length.

And by the way,why would a person be concerned with a difference of only 150fps to 250fps due to a difference in barrel length when someone whose wisdom you value so much posted;

oldreloader

Roy Weatherby built his business on the theory velocity kills.

Pavomesa

Mostly he built it on the ignorance of a lot of shooters that bought into all his hype.[&o]

SwampCollie

But I will give him this.... he started as a car insurance salesman, followed his dream... died a multi-millionaire... and got to spend the latter part of his life doing what he loved to do.

Agree with him or not (I tend not to), you cannot deny his business savvy.... he built (and his company now continues to build) a very well made product.

JagMagMan

Wow! 9 pages of controversy! I doubt that either side will change, but heres my .02:
1. Speed kills! Not that slow bullets don't, but I do subscribe to the hydrostatic theory!
2. Shot placement is one important factor. However, no one is perfect and there are many other things that factor into where the bullet strikes. So,
3. Aim for the target with the largest margin for error! (Head shots are legal, and some people will continue to use this shot.If you continue to take this shot, please don't recomend it to everyone you meet! Thats the real unethical part!)
Back to bullets and velocity,
4. FMJ bullets are unethical for sport hunting!
5. Far more important than shot placement is a bullet's construction that is matched to the velocity and the game it is used on!
6. A bullet designed for 2000-3000 fps will preform better at the higher end of the spectrum.
7.Pushing a particular bulletultra-fast will lead to deminishing returns! This leads to a whole other debate of which is better, a bullet thatsheads all its energy in the animal or one that exits!There is no perfect answer or perfect bullet! I prefer one that exits! A super fast bullet of poor construction is as useless as a FMJ!
So my conclusion is thattotal accuracyonly ends up being 1/3of the answer at most! Speed aids accuracy in most cases, and choosing the proper bullet construction is the most important of all factors!
Further, there are just too many factors in DRT preformance! Pure "knockdown" is a myth, with the exception of a brain/spine shot! I've seen deer drop with a 100 gr. .243 and run after being hit with .300 mags!
The best advice I could end up giving is "choose a cartridge that you can shoot well, pick a good bullet for it and aim for the area with the most room for error, with a sure humane kill!"
I have yet to see B&C award extra points for biggest bullet, smallest bullet or putting the bullet exactly between the eye balls!

CommonSense

I believe in putting the bullet where it needs to go, everything else is horse puckey, and well wishing.

zrexpilot

Then why do they choose solids for dangerous game.
If a .375 solid will bring down a cape buffalo, I think a .30 solid would bring a deer down.

Jeff Ovington

Oh lets see here..CAPE BUFFALO....
6-8 inches of caked on mud before you even reach the hide than you have to penatrate to the vitals which is what another 15". By than that solid ain't no solid.. Its pancaked....
Do that to a deer, its gonna pencil through no if ands or buts...Sure it will probably bring a deer down but chances are its gonna get back up and run a long ways before it expires..
Thats unethical.. hunters are suppoose to be responsible and make a kill quickly and cleanly as possible.Thats ethics..Bottem line....

zrexpilot

excuse my ignorance, I have no exp. with solids. But I thought it was just that, solid. I didnt know they mushroom, if they mushroom it's not a solid.