Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
I emailed Sierra about the comments we've been making, here, about bullet expansion and suchlike. I got a real good response:
"Basically, flat base bullets are designed for closer ranges and we usually figure that as 250/300 yards and under. Boattail bullets are designed to perform at the longer ranges- 300 yards and above- where the velocity has dropped off, plus they have a higher BC and are more aerodynamic for the longer shots. Usually, what happens if a boattail bullet is used at closer ranges ( often 50-75 yards ) where the velocities are higher than it was intended to perform at, is very violent expansion.
As the distance increases and the velocity slows down, the bullet performs more like it was designed to. Even the flat base bullets will have a more rapid expansion at close range, just due to the high velocity, since the higher the velocity, the faster the expansion. The more a bullet expands, the less it penetrates. I don't mind a bullet expanding violently, but if it does, I want it to expand in the boiler room of the animal, not on the near shoulder or blow out the far side.
I usually use boattails quite often, but if the shot is close, I stay out of the shoulder and use strictly a heart/lung shot. It does so much internal damage that the animal very seldom moves out of its tracks. If the range is long and the velocity has dropped off quite a bit, you may want to use the shoulder to help give you the resistance to get the bullet to expand at the lower velocity. I hope this helps.
Thank You,
Carroll Pilant"
Joke: This guy actually expects folks to pick a
specific point on an animal? Joke, okay?
Seriously, his statements parallel what I've observed, and certainly clarify the issue. I gotta admit that more than once I have not taken his points into consideration in the "heat of the moment".
Hope this helps,
Art
"Basically, flat base bullets are designed for closer ranges and we usually figure that as 250/300 yards and under. Boattail bullets are designed to perform at the longer ranges- 300 yards and above- where the velocity has dropped off, plus they have a higher BC and are more aerodynamic for the longer shots. Usually, what happens if a boattail bullet is used at closer ranges ( often 50-75 yards ) where the velocities are higher than it was intended to perform at, is very violent expansion.
As the distance increases and the velocity slows down, the bullet performs more like it was designed to. Even the flat base bullets will have a more rapid expansion at close range, just due to the high velocity, since the higher the velocity, the faster the expansion. The more a bullet expands, the less it penetrates. I don't mind a bullet expanding violently, but if it does, I want it to expand in the boiler room of the animal, not on the near shoulder or blow out the far side.
I usually use boattails quite often, but if the shot is close, I stay out of the shoulder and use strictly a heart/lung shot. It does so much internal damage that the animal very seldom moves out of its tracks. If the range is long and the velocity has dropped off quite a bit, you may want to use the shoulder to help give you the resistance to get the bullet to expand at the lower velocity. I hope this helps.
Thank You,
Carroll Pilant"
Joke: This guy actually expects folks to pick a
specific point on an animal? Joke, okay?
Seriously, his statements parallel what I've observed, and certainly clarify the issue. I gotta admit that more than once I have not taken his points into consideration in the "heat of the moment".
Hope this helps,
Art