[quote=Coyote_Hunter]
Now let me ask you a couple of questions. Have you ever shot a bullet at 100 fps, or heard of anyone else who has? Does shooting a bullet at 100 fps make sense to you? Do you know of any bullet manufacturers that design centerfire bullets to perform properly at 100 fps and below?
Thanks!!
But I repeat myself.....
Have I ever shot a bullet at 100fps or heard of someone who has? No. But that only helps validate the point I was making by referencing 100fps. Nobody does it because velocity is an important factor (along with mass and bullet construction) in determining how the bullet will perform. Which is exactly the point I was making.
Shooting bullets at 100fps might be adequate for taking mice. For elk I use a rule of thumb of 1500fpe. It would take a 10-pound bullet at 100fps to generate 1500fpe. Not very practical and range would suck.
Do any manufacturers design centerfire bullets to "perform properly" at 100fps? One could argue the point since solids for DG and hardcast are designed not to expand or to do so minimally. They would perform pretty much that way if shot at 100fps, too.
When selecting big game bullets I look at a variety of factors:
1. For weight I tend to lean toward mid-range bullets for any given caliber. "Tend" being the keyword.
2. For velocity I look at the performance range of the bullet. For expanding lead-core bullets I tend to use 1800fps as the minimum impact velocity. For monos I tend to prefer more, about 2000fps. Again, "tend" and "prefer" are the key words. For most bullets I shoot, 1800fps retained much further downrange than I'm willing to shoot. Some start out much slower than 1800fps.
3. B.C. is important to me only because higher values helps the bullet retain velocity - and therefore energy - downrange. But it is the downrange energy that is important to me, not the B.C. a millisecond before impact.
4. Bullet construction is much more important to me than specific B.C. or velocity or energy minimums. I prefer bullets that will expand reliably but in a controlled and limited manner over as wide a velocity range as possible. North Fork SS bullets are great at that although B.C. suffers. Other favorites in terms of my use are Barnes TTSX, Nosler AccuBond, Speer Grand Slam, Swift A-Frame and Swift Scirocco II - pretty much in that order.
