Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Phil Shoemaker penetration tests on a dead whale

I heard that Phil Shoemaker had made penetration tests for various calibers/loads, using a dead whale as test media.

Is it possible to have the corresponding references please?

Only reference I've seen by him as far as using a whale carcass as a bullet test medium was a caption to a pic in his article titled "Beauty and the Beast" in #208 of Rifle mag. May be other references though.

I know he has used lots of Alaskan Brown Bear and Moose in these tests!

It would have to be a very recently deceased whale...

I smelled enough decomp as a Peace Officer to last me 2 life times.

Out of vague interest, I was offered an old cut down .303 that had killed over 60 whales over the years.

Blue whales, pilot whales, all kinds. They get beached you see and if they couldnt get them off, then the old man would come down with the .303 and put them down.

I can't believe it didn't bounce off. Would have figured that only the dreaded 7x57 would offer sufficient penetration....

I recall the article in question. It was in one of the Wolfe magazines, probably Handloader, within the past few years. He and his son were doing penetretion tests of various bullets in .458 Winchester using the dead, beached whale as test media. A perfect example of great personal sacrifice in the name of science.

Any that float and drift to become beached are going to be ripe- for certain.



But it is hard to pass up such an obvious opportunity.

I'll do the shooting, someone else can dig around in there.

I remember reading the article which was mainly about the 458 Win mag and I believe the best penetration was with a 400 grain X bullet.

I know Phil very well and he is an old bullet digger of the old school..So am I, but in my golden years I have changed and now I only dig in the fresh stuff, not wolf bait!

I am being told that he did one article on the penetration of the various 300 calibers / bullet weights.

Of course I would be interested in both references.

Thanks to all for your contributions and your (continuing) help.

Here's one where Phil used an early Ballistic Tip, this was before they hardened them so they wouldn't be so explosively expansive.

I didn't know Rosie O'Donnell passed?

VERY WRONG, funnier than he**, but WRONG.

Besides you know sh** don't float!!

Or is that something she passed..

Here we go....by God!

I am relatively sure that wasn,t the barnes 400 grain bullet !!

Holy sh_t!!

Sorry about your car, dude.

I would not be willing to shoot from less than 100 yards after the whale ripens!