how much energy does it take to penatrate a animal i know different bullets are pointed ect and would require different amounts of energy to enter a animal but could someone get me close thanks
jason whyte

It's not only how much energy it takes to penetrate an animal but how much it takes to do damage to the vital organs to insure a quick and humane kill. It take relatively little to break the skin and penetrate to the organs, quite a bit more to turn them to mush.
I have always heard 1000 ft/lbs on target (not muzzle energy) to kill a deer, in the neighborhood or 1500 for black bear, 1700 or so for elk, and so on. Of course for the dangerous kind you'd want as much energy as you could safetly handle.
Also, don't get too caught up in the energy game. Animals don't know the numbers. More importantly is bullet performance and shot placement. You want a bullet that will exhibit controlled expansion and deposit large amounts of energy for massive tissue disruption and shock. I also like to see the bullet retain a large percentage of its orignal weight for deep penetration--of course ideally a large exit wound reguardless of range or shot angle.
And of course none of this does any good if you don't put the bullet where it belongs.

[ 10-31-2002, 21:38: Message edited by: FarRight ]

There are so many variables to take into account when taking game. Bullet construction must be sufficient to penetrate quickly on deer but not explode, this is where velocity factors in. Choose a bullet that will expand quickly and properly within your velocity range. From this you can figure energy at different ranges. I would prefer to dump 1300ft.lbs. on deer and antelope with a good deal of momentum (the more bullet weight, the more momentum you'll generate). This means that a well-placed bullet should penetrate thru the vitals without leaving copper fragments everywhere and offer a sizable exit wound (this is where you hear arguments on calibers for big game). Velocity creates energy, and a lot of velocity creates a lot of what I call "impact energy" which generatres hydrostatic shock, the displacement of fluids within a body, and then the penetrating effect is a result of the bullets momentum through the body. Take, for example, a .270 Win. with a 130gr. Interlock. At 300 yards on deer, it'll dump over 1300ft.lbs. while still moving at a good clip, initiating hydrostatic shock, and since it's in its velocity expansion range, will expand properly, through the vitals with its momentum, and generally leave a decent exit hole with it's fully expanded diameter. This is how I balance my big game rifle choices.

[ 11-01-2002, 20:12: Message edited by: Mikey B ]

Jason, as stated before energy has nothing to do with penetration but bullet construction and velocity do. A fast opening bullet will not generally penetrate as well at very high velocity as it will at a more moderate velocity because it violently expands more at the higher velocity causing it to shed momentum quicker; losing weight and velocity quicker equals less penetration. Generally speaking a tough constructed bullet like a nosler partition, x-bullet, failsafe, bear-claw and a-frame penetrate the best the faster they are driven because they do not desinigrate/blow-up, rarely anyway, but retain most to nearly all their weight and thus momentum to keep on penetrating. A 170 grain flat nose .30-30 bullet will generally penetrate deeper from a .30-30 than it will from an '06 or .300 mag because it can handle the .30-30 velocity but would probably blow-up at the '06 and .300 mag velocity; it was meant for the .30-30.

whoops, wrong thread

[ 11-04-2002, 21:18: Message edited by: JLHeard ]

Read this www.mindspring.com/~ulfhere/ballistics/wounding.html