Interesting tests.
If I'm reading the numbers right, it appears that at 15 meters the .308 actually did better than the .300 win mag on penetration with the 165 grain bullets??Expansion ended up being the same tho it occurred sooner with the .308?
I have always felt that definitive tests done by bullet mfgrs (or hunters)
would be very helpful to those who are wanting to choose the best bullet for their particular hunting tasks.
What would one expect IF he conducted the tests at 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 yards?
That would be interesting as the expansion-penetration would change as velocity dropped..I think the Cor Locks do better expanding and staying together at LOWER, mid range velocities..At 15 meters, the construction of the Cor Locks was not suitable at that velocity and they started to fragment..
I shoot the Speer GS bullets in 165 grain for elk in the .300 Savage ..to 200 yards..MV is about 2600-2610 fps and I have never lost a bull. Shot placement and angle and distance restrictions always attended to ..
I have also killed elk with the 6,5x55 Swede at 2500 fps in 140 grain..I think that the higher the velocity the bullet is moving when it HITS the animal, the deeper penetration one will get before expansion begins..I have seen solids pencil right thru elk at close range where no bones other than ribs were encountered..Well placed and the elk died fast, but slightly less than perfect and much of the shocking power was lost as the solid punched thru.
Tougher or dangerous critters that need bone breaking-down and penetration would seem to do better with the tougher bullets..
In my opinion and experience bullet selection should be done based on consistent predictable accuracy...and beyond that, the SD of the bullet, the velocity AT ANTICIPATED IMPACT DISTANCE for the game you are hunting ,an assessment of the size and toughness of the hunted,dangerous game? (or not) would help the hunter choose the appropriate construction of the bullet for big game hunting..jim
