Well, here's some more stuff to chew on:
Got out my collection of recovered bullets yesterday and measured the expansion of .30's and .338's. I measured the widest and narrowest part of the "mushroom" on each bullet, then averaged them--unless there was some anomaly like a missing "petal" on a bullet like a Barnes X, Fail Safe or E-Tip. With those I measured only the widest expansion.
There were more .30's in the collection than .338's, though not by a vast amount. Their original weight ranged from 150 to 180 grains, and they were shot from .308's, .30-06's, .300 WSM's and .300 Winchester Magnums. The brands included Barnes TSX; Federal Deep Shok; Hornady Interbond; Norma Oryx, Nosler AccuBond, E-Tip and Partition; Speer Hot-Cor and Winchester Fail Safe. The animals ranged in size from around 250 to 800 pounds.The average expansion was .659 inch.
The .338's all were fired from .338 Wiinchester Magnums, and originally weighed 200 to 225 grains. They included the Hornady Interlock Spire Point; Nosler AccuBond, Ballistic Tip and Partition; and Winchester Fail Safe. The animals ranged in size from around 200 pounds to 1300. The average expansion was .620 inch.
However, the .30's included several Hornady Interbond and Norma Oryx bullets, which like the Bitterroot Bonded Core noted by Beretz expand widely. These averaged .735 expansion, and none of the .338 bullets were Interbonds or Orxyxes. With those eliminated from the list the .30's averaged .631 expansion, very similar to the .338's.
The smallest mushrooms in both calibers were .571 inch, both bullets taken from blue wildebeest, a 180 Fail Safe .30 caliber, and a 225 AccuBond .338.
Since caribou have entered the discussion, here's a another list of field results from mature bulls taken from northern Quebec, central Canada and Alaska. The rounded-off ranges are estimated or paced, the precise ranges lasered. Caribou often "lock up" when hit, much like elk, standing there as if semi-paralyzed, but then after standing there often make a short death run, with their head getting lower and lower until their nose plows into the ground. In the notes, this is called a "nose-plow." About half the bulls were taken by me, the others by my hunting companions as I watched:
.280 Remington, 139 Hornady Interlock Spire Point @ 3100, range 100 yards. At the shot the bull trotted off in a semi-circle about 30 yards across before falling. The bullet went through both lungs behind the shoulder, and the only reaction to impact was a tuft of hair flying into the air.
.280 Remington, 160 Nosler Partition @ 2900, range 350 yards. The first shot landed behind the shoulder, going through both lungs, and the bull took a few steps and stopped. A second shot landed a couple inches from the first, and the bull fell. One bullet exited, but the other was recovered from under the hide on the far side.
.338 Winchester Magnum, 200 Nosler Ballistic Tip @3000, range 200 yards. The bull stood turned slightly away, and the bullet landed just behind the shoulder. It went through both lungs and broke the leg on the far side, just above the big joint. The bull dropped straight down, landing on his belly with legs folded, ready for the trophy photo.
.338 Winchester Magnum, 210 Nosler Partition @ 2900, range 300 yards. The bullet landed just behind the shoulder of the broadside bull. The only reaction was running 50-some yards before collapsing.
.30-06, 180 Federal Deep Shok @ 2750, range 400 yards. The bullet landed just behind the shoulder with the bull turned very slightly toward me. He locked up, and just as I was about to shoot again, fell. The bullet went through both lungs and exited.
.30-06, another 180 Deep Shok, range 450 yards. The first shot landed just behind the shoulder, through both lung and the top of the heart. The bull locked up, a few seconds later nose-plowing the tundra.
7mm Rem. SAUM, 140 Core-Lokt Ultra Bonded @ 3150, range 225 yards. The first shot went through both lungs behind the shoulder, and the bull took a few steps and stopped. A second shot went through both shoulders, dropping him.
Same 7mm SAUM load, range 90 yards. The bull was walking toward me, head and neck held parall to the ground. The bullet entered the lower part of the chest, and the bull locked up, a few seconds later doing a nose-plow.
Same 7mm SAUM and load, range 250 yards. This bull had been previously shot twice with a .300 SAUM and 150-grain CLU bullets, which landed too far back due to a howling wind, around the rear of the ribcage--then was missed with a third shot. The bull took a few steps after each shot, then stopped. The 7mm SAUM bullet went through both shoulders, dropping the bull.
.270 Winchester, 150-grain Hornady Interlock Spire Point, range 369 yards. The bullet landed just behind the shoulder, and the bull trotted a little way, then slowed before dropping, a total of about 40 feet.
.308 Winchester, 150-grain Nosler AccuBond @ 2850 fps, range 35 yards. The bull walked up a hill to me, where I sat with my rifle. Eventually he noticed me sitting there, and stopped, head up. The bullet entered the "dimple" at the base of the throat, clipping the bottom of the spine before penetrating through the chest and into the abdomen, where it couldn't be found. The bull dropped right there.
.270 WSM, 140-grain Nosler AccuBond @ 3200 fps, range 200 yards. The bull was standing in some willows up to the middle of his chest, and the bullet went through the top of the shoulders and the spine, dropping him.
.270 Winchester, 130-grain Nosler Partition @ 3100 fps, range 100 yards. The bullet went through both shoulders and the spine, dropping the bull.
.270 Winchester, same rifle and load, range 200 yards. The bullet went through both lungs, broadside, and the bull trotted about 30 feet and fell.
.300 Winchester Magnum, 180-grain Nosler Partition @ 3000 fps, range 100 yards. The bullet hit the spine just behind the shoulders, and the bull dropped.
.22-250 Remington, 55-grain Winchester factory load, range 250 yards. The bullet landed just behind the shoulders and went through both lungs, exiting. The bull dropped right there.
.30-06, 180-grain Nosler Partition @ 2700 fps, range 150 yards. The bullet went through both lungs and the bull dropped right there.
.300 Winchester Magnum, 180-grain Nosler Partition @ 3000 fps, range 300 yards. The bullet landed just behind the shoulders, and the bull locked up for a few seconds before doing a nose-plow.
.30-06, 165-grain Nosler Partition @ 2900 fps, range 250 yards. The bullet hit the base of the neck and the bull dropped.
.30-06, 180-grain Nosler Partition @ 2700 fps, range 325 and 350 yards. The first bullet landed low, due to a faulty range estimation on the part of my hunting partner's guide, breaking a front leg above the knee. The bull gimped around away about 25 yards, then stopped broadside. The second shot went through the lungs behind the shoulders, and the bull staggered about 50 feet before falling.
.280 Remington, 140-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip @ 3000 fps, range 200 yards. The bullet landed in the middle of the neck as the bull stood facing away, dropping him right there.
300 Rem. SAUM, 150-grain Core-Lokt Ultra Bonded @ 3200 fps, range 212 yards. The bullet landed in the lungs behind the shoulder, and the bull staggered 30 yards before falling.
7mm Rem. SAUM, 160-grain Core-Lokt Ultra Bonded @ 2900 fps, range 138 yards. The bull stood quartering toward the hunter, and the bullet landed in the shoulder, then passed through both lungs. The bull dropped right there.
7mm Rem. SAUM, same load, range 219 yards. The bullet landed in the lungs behind the shoulder, and the bull trotted 40 yards before dropping.
.270 Winchester, 140-grain Barnes TSX @ 3000 fps, range 162 yards. The bullet went through the top of the lungs and the bottom of both scapulas. The bull staggered 10 yards before falling.
.308 Winchester, 150-grain Remington factory, 175 yards. The hunter shot the bull three times around the rear of the lungs before finally centering them. The bull moved a few yards after each of the first three shots, then fell at the fourth.
7mm Remington Magnum, 140-grain Nosler Partition @ 3250 fps, range 250 yards. The first shot landed too far back, around the rear of the ribs, and the bull walked around a little before stopping again. The hunter put a second bullet second bullet at the top of the shoulders, dropping the bull. (I'd previously watched him miss another bull three times at around 400 yards.)
