Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 30 cal bullet test, cow femurs and newspaper part 1

this is an amazing thread with lots of great info,pointing out the results of a good selection of hunting bullets many of us use, yet I can,t help looking back and pointing out that that 265 grain hard cast bullet, you might have listed partly, as a bit of humor, seems to produce a good deal better results than the vast majority of the far more expensive and faster production projectiles listed,
I hunt with a lee 310 grain hard cast bullet over 21 grains of H110 powder,in both my 44 mag marlin carbine and my 10" S&W revolver,and Ive tried the ranch dog 44 bullet referred too, and the LEE design in the 310 grain , cast from 95% WW alloy and 5% pure tin generally out performs that slightly lighter projectile.
yeah admittedly comparing a hard cast 310 grain launched at maybe 1500fps from a carbine vs a jacketed projectile that launched at 2700fps-3300fps is comparing apples to oranges.
but it also points out that higher projectile speed and lower projectile weight, used to flatten trajectory's may not be overly helpful when trying to maximize penetration.
yes, I.m sure theres a huge percentage of the guys reading this that are absolutely convinced their super fast caliber choice is ideal,and NO! I'm not suggesting your current choice or mine in elk rifles needs to be changed. and theres little doubt that a 270 win or 7mm mag or 300 mag can make hitting game out past 300 yards far easier.but like Ive stated before , Ive shot almost all my deer and elk over the last 45 years at well under 300 yards and the vast majority at probably 120 yards or LESS.
now Im not giving up my 30/06,375 H&H or 340 WBY, for my 44 mag carbine ,on any elk hunts, but the testing does make me think , that its hardly the handicap that most guys would have you believe, or that a 450 marlin pushing a 405 grain bullet at 1900 fps would be a bad choice either.