RE: bullet penetration
 

I can't remember a heart or lung shot deer goin' over 100 yards. I can scarcely imagine havin' to have a blood trail to track an animal that far.

RE: bullet penetration
 

energy is not what kills. The wound channel is. ie. Blood loss, hemoraging , loss of blood pressure, etc. So the more wound channel you have the faster the kill. So a given bullet will do more damage if it goes through. The bigger the bullet the better wound channell. A big bullet going all the way through with good expansion would be the best.

RE: bullet penetration
 

So zrexpilot, are you saying a .308 bullet fired from, lets say a .30-06 would be better than a .243 bullet fired from....the 243 Winchester?


Sorry, I could not resist....I have to agree that I prefer pass throughs with my arrows and bullets(muzzleloader and centerfire).

RE: bullet penetration
 

To an extent, yes. I never said a .243 was better than ( fill in the blank) My argument was always velocity over energy.
A .243 and 30-06 have relatively the same velocity with the 30-06 leaving a better hole. Not because of energy but because of the size of the bullet going the same speed. Push that 30-06 to 3500 fps and it would be even better , oh wait they already do that it's called a .300 mag. LOL.

RE: bullet penetration
 

I want a bullet to do BOTH, expand well AND go on through!!!

One look at the pictures should tell you why, it was of a average sized meat buck i shot last fall. The picture is how i found him and he fell on the side where the bullet entered him.

The bullet expanded really well inside and did plenty of damage,

Drilling Man


Entrance Side



Exit Side

RE: bullet penetration
 

I personally prefer the bullet to go completly through. Better chances of it doing the most damage if I know that the bullet will travel the whole way through hitting everything as it goes. This is of course if the bullet is expanding and doing what it was designed to do. FMJ's pass through, but don't do a heck of a lot of damage. It's already been said though, the bullet has to be placed in the right spot. I've never had a pass through on Elk or Moose with my .308 or 6.5. The rounds are always found up against the hide on the far side, but they've never gone far either, usually dropping in sight everytime because the bullets destroyed the vitals as they went.

RE: bullet penetration
 

I haven't recovered many bullets from deer.

RE: bullet penetration
 

Of the last 30 or so animals that I have killed,none had to be tracked so I really don't care if the bullet exits as long as it results in a quick kill.

RE: bullet penetration
 

I prefer complete pass throughs. Good luck.

RE: bullet penetration
 

I totally agree! Most bullets will pass through if the shot placement is good. The majority of the deer i've shot have fallen right there but i prefer two holes over one in the event the animal does run.