Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
Back in the early days of TFL we had a similar discussion, although it focussed more on 30-caliber and a good bit on Sierra bullets. I emailed the Sierra folks, and one of their guys got in on the discussion.
I'd had a 150-grain SPBT blow up in a mule deer's neck. 30-yard shot. No exit. Sure, dead deer, but I was surprised by the blowup.
The gist of it was that the BT is of lighter construction that the flat-base, in that weight. The BT doesn't do well at impact speeds above 2,700 or 2,800. Otherwise, fine and dandy. Well, okay; most prior kills were down at that speed. (26" barrel; book-max loads, mostly beyond 100 yards for me.)
I've mentioned before the superior performance of 180-grain SPBT Sierras, as to cratering on steel compared to not much mark. I'd assume that 200s would be similar. More heavily built than the 150s, by that "adequate smidgen".
I guess the point to all this is that consideration must be given to the package. "Package" includes muzzle velocity and distance to the critter as well as bullet construction and shape. Some very good bullets can give poor results if forced outside their design parameters.
I'd had a 150-grain SPBT blow up in a mule deer's neck. 30-yard shot. No exit. Sure, dead deer, but I was surprised by the blowup.
The gist of it was that the BT is of lighter construction that the flat-base, in that weight. The BT doesn't do well at impact speeds above 2,700 or 2,800. Otherwise, fine and dandy. Well, okay; most prior kills were down at that speed. (26" barrel; book-max loads, mostly beyond 100 yards for me.)
I've mentioned before the superior performance of 180-grain SPBT Sierras, as to cratering on steel compared to not much mark. I'd assume that 200s would be similar. More heavily built than the 150s, by that "adequate smidgen".
I guess the point to all this is that consideration must be given to the package. "Package" includes muzzle velocity and distance to the critter as well as bullet construction and shape. Some very good bullets can give poor results if forced outside their design parameters.