Bullet performance data base

[MyLani]

Forgive my ignorance, but isn't it the same diameter bullet?

Yep. Exact same

[jdpretorius]

Please remove if to graphic......
Exit wound of a shot taken at +/-100 yrds, 270 Win, 140 Gr SGK with MV of 2882 fps (impact velocity @ +/- 2722 fps)


IMG_20201003_114917.jpg

[TStone]

This morning I used the 6.5mm Creedmoor, loaded with a 120gr Hornady GMX bullet, to shoot an injured zebra stallion. Range was ±30m but as the animal was moving I shot it low on the shoulder, instead of going for a brain shot. The bullet broke both shoulders, put a hole in the heart, too low for the lungs, and stopped under the skin of the far shoulder.
The bullet hardly look like something from an advert for premium bullets but considering that it was a small bullet to start with, that impact velocity was still around 2800fps, the size of the bones it broke and the amount of penetration, I think it did pretty well. A cup and core bullet, even a bonded bullet without a partition would probably not have made it into the chest cavity. I base this on seeing two 6.5mm Nosler Accubonds over expand and fail to penetrate into the vitals of blue wildebeest bulls, on similar shots, despite having a far lower impact velocity than this bullet.

Retained weight was 68gr (56.7%).

[treeman]

T please tell us more about the accubonds over expansion.
I have always thought them to be reliable.

[TStone]

T please tell us more about the accubonds over expansion.
I have always thought them to be reliable.

A couple of years ago, I posted a picture of a 6.5mm Nosler Accubond LR bullet that failed to penetrate through the shoulder of a blue wildebeest bull on an angled frontal shot. During the previous hunting season, I saw the same thing happen with a 130gr 6.5mm Accubond on a low shoulder broadside shot on a large blue wildebeest bull.

I'm not saying that the bonded bullets are not reliable. Had the above mentioned bullets been a 250gr .338 caliber or a 300gr .375 Accubond I'm sure they would have penetrated sufficiently. But in the sub .308" calibers it is not a good idea to try and break thick bone in large antelope with any cup and core bullet, even a bonded bullet.

Realistically, there are not many shots on game where you need to shoot through thick bone. However, when you need to, a mono-metal bullet is the best choice.

[treeman]

A couple of years ago,.................................

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thank you

[Messor]

A couple of years ago, I posted a picture of a 6.5mm Nosler Accubond LR bullet that failed to penetrate through the shoulder of a blue wildebeest bull on an angled frontal shot. During the previous hunting season, I saw the same thing happen with a 130gr 6.5mm Accubond on a low shoulder broadside shot on a large blue wildebeest bull.

I still don't believe it's the bullet type, in my opinion it's the caliber.
6.5 bullets are just too long vs their weight, and weight distribution equals strength, it's like trying to break a long thin stick vs a short thick one.
A 130gr accubond from a 6.5 will be weaker than a 130gr accubond from a 270 for example, also why many folks in history found good performance in the stubby 150gr 308 bullets.

Take it this way, you can even use a mono in 6.5, it will always have a tendency to be weaker than a mono from a larger caliber, why, well it's simple the petal construction on the bigger bullet will be stronger.
If you look at it from the front of the bullet, the forces are spread over a larger area in a bigger bullet vs a thinner bullet if we assume for one moment the mantle sizes for cup and core are the same.

Mens kan nie bloed uit 'n klip tap nie.
In my opinion many people are trying to kill these days with BC instead of common sense.

[TStone]

I still don't believe it's the bullet type, in my opinion it's the caliber.
6.5 bullets are just too long vs their weight, and weight distribution equals strength, it's like trying to break a long thin stick vs a short thick one.
A 130gr accubond from a 6.5 will be weaker than a 130gr accubond from a 270 for example, also why many folks in history found good performance in the stubby 150gr 308 bullets.

Take it this way, you can even use a mono in 6.5, it will always have a tendency to be weaker than a mono from a larger caliber, why, well it's simple the petal construction on the bigger bullet will be stronger.
If you look at it from the front of the bullet, the forces are spread over a larger area in a bigger bullet vs a thinner bullet if we assume for one moment the mantle sizes for cup and core are the same.

Mens kan nie bloed uit 'n klip tap nie.
In my opinion many people are trying to kill these days with BC instead of common sense.

You have said this before and I have given it a lot of thought. Reading it, it sounds plausible but my personal experience contradicts it. Let us for the moment forget the 6.5mm's and look at your statement concerning the 150gr .308" bullets. I have killed a lot of animals using .308" bullets, for a long time my most used rifle was a .300 win mag. In my experience, the best performing cup and core bullet on the larger antelope in this calibre, by far, is the 220gr Hornady Interlock. It gave much better penetration than 150gr, 165gr and 180gr bullets by the same manufacturer. Similarly, the 220gr Nosler Partition outperformed the 180gr Nosler Partition by a considerable margin when it came to penetration in eland. A 220gr .308" bullet is a very long bullet, yet a very effective hunting bullet.

[treeman]

You have said this before and I have given it a lot of thought. Reading it, it sounds plausible but my personal experience contradicts it. Let us for the moment forget the 6.5mm's and look at your statement concerning the 150gr .308" bullets. I have killed a lot of animals using .308" bullets, for a long time my most used rifle was a .300 win mag. In my experience, the best performing cup and core bullet on the larger antelope in this calibre, by far, is the 220gr Hornady Interlock. It gave much better penetration than 150gr, 165gr and 180gr bullets by the same manufacturer. Similarly, the 220gr Nosler Partition outperformed the 180gr Nosler Partition by a considerable margin when it came to penetration in eland. A 220gr .308" bullet is a very long bullet, yet a very effective hunting bullet.

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I posted a question before that I did not know how to properly word, still do not know how too.
I tried to ask is there/what is the perfect equation of length over width and weight for a bullet.
What is the length ratio for a bullet before its too long or too short, there must be for every caliber the ultimate length.
What is the the perfect weight ration to caliber for a caliber, and would it be found by velocity or??

I know when you buy epoxy they state to achieve operating spec the application must be at 4 mm + or the epoxy does not obtain its inherent strength.

Surely for a bullet there is a certain weight x velocity that is the limit for each bullet material in each caliber.

[TStone]

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I posted a question before that I did not know how to properly word, still do not know how too.
I tried to ask is there/what is the perfect equation of length over width and weight for a bullet.
What is the length ratio for a bullet before its too long or too short, there must be for every caliber the ultimate length.
What is the the perfect weight ration to caliber for a caliber, and would it be found by velocity or??

I know when you buy epoxy they state to achieve operating spec the application must be at 4 mm + or the epoxy does not obtain its inherent strength.

Surely for a bullet there is a certain weight x velocity that is the limit for each bullet material in each caliber.

The term you are looking for is probably Sectional Density (SD), it was much used to predict the effectiveness of big game calibers in years gone by. While it is of some value when predicting the penetration capabilities of solid (non-expanding) bullets, it is meaningless when it comes to expanding bullets, which is what most hunters use these days.