I am new to this site and have really benefitted from all of your knowledge. I am also a little new to this reloading business. I just finished reading an article on how well different 30 caliber bullets in 180 grains penetrate and how much weight was retained and it was very informative. My question is, has anyone ever tested same type bullets in different weights to see how much difference in penetration there was? I know the heavier bullets are supposed to penetrate more, but how much? I shoot a 300 Win. Mag and have been playing with NP's, SST's and Sciroccos in 165 and 180. All will shoot under an inch, so accuracy is not a problem. I hunt antelope, mule deer and elk with this gun and ranges go from 100 to farther than I care to admit. I don't want to be changing bullets in between seasons for different game. Any help would be appreciated.

With lots of experience with various Nosler Partitions, I can tell you there really isn't much difference between the 165 gr. and the 180 gr. weights.
The big difference will be between the NP/Scirocco and the SST. I'd stick to the premiums for the elk class stuff. E

I've often wondered the same thing but have never seen a definitive study. I would agree that bullet construction is much more important than bullet weight in determining bullet penetration. I also believe that impact velocity comes into play here. Since a heavier bullet will be launched at lower velocities from a given rifle one could infer that the heavier bullet would retain a greater percentage of its weight and hence give greater penetration. Sure would like to see a study though.