The biggest drawback of cup and core bullets on the larger antelope.

[TStone]

Tstone, with regards to the 180gr cup and cores. Would the non tipped versions, interlock, pro-amm etc. in 180gr, launched at 308 or 30-06 velocities have faired better in these scenarios? With the demand for high BC bullets, is that because people are taking longer shots these days or is it due to a bit of marketing they feel they must have them

They would probably have penetrated better, however, they probably would not have exited either.

[neilw]

Tstone, with regards to the 180gr cup and cores. Would the non tipped versions, interlock, pro-amm etc. in 180gr, launched at 308 or 30-06 velocities have faired better in these scenarios? With the demand for high BC bullets, is that because people are taking longer shots these days or is it due to a bit of marketing they feel they must have them

Granted that BC has a direct impact on longer range shooting but at ranges that most people hunt at in South Africa, it has very little bearing. I think as a result of good marketing people now think that if they not using the highest BC bullet possible they are going to miss or wound due to bullet drop.

I hunt with a 338 Sabi and use 220 grain Peregrine bullets with a sedate muzzle velocity of 2,500 fps. I use their VRG3 Bushmaster with a BC of 0.294 and their VRG4 Plainsmaster with a BC of 0.528. My self imposed maximum distance for taking a prone shot is 300 meters, for a sitting shoot 250 meters and a for standing shot 200 meters. I do not have the confidence nor the ability to shoot out of those parameters.

With both bullets zeroed at 150 meters, here is their respective bullet drops:

200 meters - VRG3 is -8.6 cm and VRG4 is -8.41 cm
250 meters - VRG3 is -23.6 cm and VRG4 is -22.52 cm
300 meters - VRG3 is -45.5 cm and VRG4 is -42.82

The difference at 500 meters are more pronounced with the VRG3 at -223.8 cm and the VRG4 at -196.88 cm.

These drops are calculated using the Swarovski Ballistics Calculator and the ballistic turret on my Z3 is set up accordingly and i have had no issues at all with bullet drop being more than the "firing solution".

Out to 300 meters, for practical hunting purposes there is no perceivable difference in the bullet performance.

[Pirate]

How much better would bonded lead core bullets generally have performed ito not fragmenting and providing through-and-through penetration at those velocities and distances?

Single data point, and not quite at the speeds TStone mentioned in the OP, but maybe some indication:
Shot a big black wildebeest bull today, with a 150gr Hornady Interbond. According to my ballistic app, impact speed should be around 2260fps. Bullet broke the right shoulder, penetrated through the chest cavity, broke some ribs on the LH side but did not exit. The SWB expired about 15m from where it was shot, after running in a half-circle.

A brief "feel around" on the LH side didn't yield the bullet, but I hope we'll find it tomorrow when it's slaughtered. I would be interested in weight retention, but what is obvious from the internal wounding is that it kept together sufficiently to at least break the ribs on the LH side. Thus, it did it's job admirably, as far as I'm concerned, but it didn't fully penetrate (confirming TStone's feeling, in a previous post). I'm quite certain if the shot was slightly further back, to miss the shoulder bone, that it would've fully penetrated, as my friend shot a somewhat smaller bull a short while later, nicely behind the front leg, using a 150gr SST, and that fully penetrated, taking a good chunk of the lungs with it.

[Messor]

Thus, it did it's job admirably, as far as I'm concerned, but it didn't fully penetrate (confirming TStone's feeling, in a previous post). I'm quite certain if the shot was slightly further back, to miss the shoulder bone, that it would've fully penetrated, as my friend shot a somewhat smaller bull a short while later, nicely behind the front leg, using a 150gr SST, and that fully penetrated, taking a good chunk of the lungs with it.

As if...shot placement.....matters...somehow.

Who knew.

[Pirate]

As if...shot placement.....matters...somehow.

Who knew.

Exactly. In my case, using the bonded bullet did give me the confidence of going for the "safer" shot, and the bullet did what I expected of it (it hit exactly where I intended, so one can probably argue in circles for a long time if shooting for the shoulder was "necessary")

He's got high confidence in putting SSTs where it matters, and did so again. He also knows not to shoot for thick bone with them. Our loads are ballistically identical, so of course I did get ragged about his "soft" bullet fully penetrating and my bonded not doing so