quote:

Originally posted by olarmy:
Gosh, don't you think bullet construction might have just a teney weeny impact (pun intended) on the outcome? Or is is just 100% velocity and nothing else matters?

Hey OlArmy, Now you've done it. You are going to totally confuse the issue with "Relevant Facts".

There are plenty on the Board who actually believe "Shot Placement" is the only thing that Kills.

Damn Skippy, and all these years I've been shooting a .300 'cause I thought it threw a bigger ball than the 30-06 at the same speed.

Bullet construction<wieght retension and penetration> is talked about as though it was of huge importance.You don t need much penetration on whitetail size game,nor do I even want it.Blow up, empty all of it s energy and flip the deer over dead.Last year I shot a buck in the shoulder at 60 yards with my 300 ulta mag.Exit hole was the size of a softball where the opposite shoulder bone was suppose to be.The deers insides where totally destroyed,it s stomach even ruptured leaving corn all over. It is alot more killing power than you need,but Ive shot 25 or so deer and only 0ne didn t drop.Velocity is the reason.

Well, if velocity is all that matters, why aren't you shooting 36gr BAR VG's in a 223 WSSM at 4250fps??

The last 25+ deer that I have shot thru the shoulder with my 257Roberts (or 25/06, or 270, or 280, etc.) have dropped at the shot, too. But if conditions allow, I put the bullet behind the shoulder thru the lungs, and the deer runs a few yards but no meat is destroyed.

And BTW, I HAVE seen bullets "Blow up, empty all of it s energy" in the shoulder of a deer and not penetrate into the vitals. The result is a very long tracking job.

No doubt a 300Mag bullet (or 105 howitzer) thru the shoulder will drop a deer. A 15lb sledge will push in a nail, too. But don't kid yourself that there is only one variable that is important.

Velocity;killing tool or aid to long range?
Both but not to the same degree.
Witnessed some HV gruesome failures (wrong bullet but placement good )and saw some most spectacular kills when the bullets dumped all their energy inside the chest cavity.
The question initiating this thread was not one ,however, that contrasted bullet placement to Velocity effect; there's room for both at the table. Maybe if this gets a second and third revival we'll aquire better understanding. roger

The post is about velocity being a killing tool.I ve shot 20 ish deer with a 30 30 and 20 ish with a 300 ulta mag, same 308 caliber, within 30 grains same wieght bullet.It s kind of a silly question that gets so much response.There is no comparing the killing power of the two. The only difference is velocity.As far as a 257 roberts that blows up in the shoulder and leads to a longtracking job,add another 1500 or more footpounds and there is no trackingjob Ever, unless you shoot then at 1000 yds or so. Which I ve only practiced extensively at 200yds, at the range baseball size bull all day.The hole left from a 12 gauge slug<around 70 cal and a 308 traveling at 3400 fps isn t even close.the hole you see is bigger with the slug,but the ultra fast 308 wound channel is like a bowling ball.

A barrets energy isn t unloaded on deer sized animals very well.Hole straight throu and it does far less damage the a 300 mag to deer.Don t care for shounder steaks as much and my wife and kids won t eat venison hamburg,wacko s.

sounds like your only criteria for "better" is to destroy as much tissue as possible.

A gut shot deer with a 300 Roy is still a gut shot deer. I'll take my 257Bob, or 25/06 and will get just as many DRT deer as you will. Hit them in the right place with the right bullet and they drop. Deer ain't hard to kill. You don't have to blow a bowling ball sized hole in them. But if that is your thing, it's still a free country....at least so far.

I think it's all been said as to the reasons people choose one 30 over another. My go to rifle is a .300 WM. I have all the others and like the .300 RSAUM as well as any. I have four of them in different configurations. All shoot 200 gr. bullets well. I am the most comfortable with my WM and I can get ammo anywhere, therefore I grab it. Shoot the one you like and can place your shot where you what, that's what counts........Tom

Look at how many Elk were killed with a 45-70 paper patched bullet going 1,200 FPS at most. Soft lead slug going 1,200....heavier granted.

an arrow will do the trick too. killed 3 times as manydeer with my bow.But the thread was about velocity being a killing tool.

Increased impact velocity in conjunction with placement and commensurate bullt construction,will reliably do things that hinge on the "amazing' side of the spectrum.

As such things go,the 300Winny is rather hohum,though it rates a soft spot in my heart for years of reliable service.

I'd much rather go 7WSM,in a handier parcel and launch a .625BC at 3100fps+.