JPK,

They get pretty mangled. One of them lost everything forward of the cannelure, after punching through several inches of solid bone. Perhaps the extra 250 fps accounted for the greater penetration. The bullets all stopped at the neck to shoulder area, penetrating slightly into the shoulder (couple of inches or so). I haven't weighed them but I would estimate weight retention between 45% and 60%. The penetration is rather mute though since they only needed a few inches to scramble the brains and end the discussion. On body hits they have penetrated over 4' of buffalo before. I have been told of nearly 6' of penetration on lengthwise body hits, but I cannot verify that.

As I stated earlier, use solids if you like, but I recommend you bring plenty of ammo as you may need it. I will rely upon my small experience of 25 years and use soft points in a 50 caliber rifle. There is good reason that the Hague Convention mandates the use of non-expanding bullets and bans the use of expanding bullets for warefare.

Scott