VTbowman Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 What will expand faster upon impacting a deer sized animal: a light or heavy bullet? IE: 150 grain or 180 grain shot out of the same 300 ultra mag. Or is tip design more a factor then fps? (NP vs. poly tip) I am not asking about how deep or pass threw. Just expansion. The reason I ask is that it seems I have had complete pass threw on a deer neck area and really did not see signs of expansion by the lack of damage I saw, and the lack of any blood on the snow. No bone was hit. I could see where the bullet hit the snow afterwards too but never found it... To me it would seem the heavier bullet would. But not sure. Oh and why... Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimT Posted November 20, 2004 Report Share Posted November 20, 2004 Re: Bullet expansion vs size question. Bullet design has more to do with expansion for sure. A 180gr SST will expand way more than a 180gr Fail Safe. The problem you may be having is the bullet is going to fast, thus punching holes thru the game before it expands completley. This is another reason I am not a big fan of magnums on deer. But if it works for you stick with it I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted November 20, 2004 Report Share Posted November 20, 2004 Re: Bullet expansion vs size question. Really dont think on neck shots you will get much of any expansion with any deer bullets. What Jim says makes a lot of sense too, high velocity and lack of resistance may be a factor in the neck shots. Would think the heavier bullets would expand better than lighter bullets, but design surely has a lot to do with the expansion as well. Guess if you wanted to experiment with the different bullets, you could lineup milk jugs filled with water and shoot into them and see the difference in the expansion. Just make sure you have enough of them lined up. A .270 or 06 may require as many as 6 jugs at 100 yards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTbowman Posted November 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2004 Re: Bullet expansion vs size question. Man that would be a lot of empty milk jugs.. LOL One or two "tests" is about all the milk my house hold puts down in one year! LOL I realize the 300 UM is way more gun then "nessary" for deer. I had enough money for one new gun and scope at the time so I bought something I could hunt anything on the planet. LOL Well maybe not everything, but anything I would hunt... I just could not afford several different calibers for differnt game. As for being over kill? No way. Dead can't be any more the dead. LOL As for the neck shot, I normally shoot for the shoulder, but pulled it. The shot was 320 yards free standing... I assumed the deer should of just dropped but it did not so I shot again and then it dropped. The bullet hole threw the neck seemed like a pencil was pushed threw it it was so clean, but not large like I thought it would be. I see that the speed was to much to for expansion there... Just wondering the base line for weight:expansion if there is even a ratio. Given the exact same bullet design, out of the same caliber gun, what would expand better heavy or light? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimT Posted November 21, 2004 Report Share Posted November 21, 2004 Re: Bullet expansion vs size question. [ QUOTE ] Guess if you wanted to experiment with the different bullets, you could lineup milk jugs filled with water and shoot into them and see the difference in the expansion. Just make sure you have enough of them lined up. A .270 or 06 may require as many as 6 jugs at 100 yards. [/ QUOTE ] I do this as a hobby. Lots of fun. Instead of jugs you can also use a large plastic tote filled with water. Just have to J.B. Weld the hole to use the tote again. web page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 Re: Bullet expansion vs size question. On equally designed bullets, the lighter one will open faster as it will have higher velocity. Some shooters think the heavier the bullet the more damage to game, when in fact, its often just the opposite. When both bullets pass through, the heavier one will do less damage. A 220 grain .30-06 bullet will not "blow up" deer any worse than a 150 gr bullet. The slower velocity will reduce the hydrostatic shock wave that takes place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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