With apologies to the original author of the word "calmly" in the title - I think it was part of a title from John B that I'm recalling.
I read the 24 Hour thread on minimum elk cartridge and the link to the Rokslide discussion on using target bullets on game, all 250+ posts. Very interesting post. Form D provided much of the discussion and his opinions backed by data – a rather refreshing approach.
It seems there is 2 camps: those that want maximum damage and possibly bullet fragmentation, and those who want maximum bullet integrity and penetration. I found the thread on use of target bullets very interesting and led me to consider my own thoughts. Quite unintendingly, I’ve migrated to monos – 150 etips in my 308, 129 LRX in my 270, 185 TTSX in my 338 Fed. This wasn’t entirely intentional. I tend to default to 2 bullet holes in the hide and penetration side of the debate, especially for things bigger than deer.
What I’m chewing on is the concept of permanent wound channel. I have my own empirical evidence of this. I’ve killed a few animals with monos and some are still alive when I get to them 5+ minutes later. Last years cow elk was still alive when I got to her and shot her again for good measure even though she wasn’t getting up. I had a much “worse” incident 15 years or so ago with a WT doe and a 25-06/100 TSX where she simply stood there for a couple mins, then laid down, finally died but likely took 3-4-5 minutes. I’ve also tracked more than a few deer for my dad using a 7 SAUM/140 TSX. Internal trauma is usually less than I'd expect. I’ve had 3 animals run uphill quite a ways, 100 yards or so, after being plunked through the lungs with a mono. Last years cow ran up a steep hill for ~ 100 yards, then hung a left a ran parallel to the hill before laying down.
Thinking through this a bit, I’m a bit unnerved by it frankly. I’ve shot a pile of deer with a homemade recurve, wood arrows, and 2 blade cut-on-impact broadheads (Zwickey FYI). It ain’t foot pounds of energy that kills animals, its massive trauma to blood carrying vessels and/or central nervous system that kills them. I’m also not convinced a large caliber, high velocity rifle is the answer either – I’ve shot enough things with various 300 and 338 magnums and haven’t noticed a big difference in how quickly things died with a hole plunked through both lungs. All this to say, animals seem to react about the same when drilled through the lungs with a broadhead or a 338 WM. Bones are a different story.
We have a bunch of excellent bullets these days, which in my mind has lowered the floor on what constitutes a minimum elk/similar game cartridge. But I think a key take away from the rokslide thread is the concept of permanent wound channel. Which begs the question of narrow, deep wound channels. I’m not sure I agree that a small hole through the lungs is equivalent to a larger hole. A fieldpoint through the lungs of a deer is a piss poor killer – I’m not going to elaborate other than to say it wasn’t me.
Instead of thinking about cartridge/bullet minimums, maybe the better question is how big is the permanent wound channel and how deep does the bullet penetrate. Is the combination of permanent wound channel and penetration adequate for my intended application at other than optimal angles (i.e. quartering to/away)?
I am curious what camp you all fall in with respect to animals bigger than deer - fragmentation or 2 holes/penetration? What bullet do you use given your fragmentation/penetration philosophy?
