In reply to:

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Do slow, heavy for caliber, bullets out penetrate big bore dangerous game calibers?

How many times have you heard that the 550 grain bullet at 1500 fps shot from a 45-70 will out penetrate the 458 Winchester or the 460 Weatherby? Having a real problem with this and being a bit of a "you'll have to show me that" kind of guy, I did my own testing. I loaded my 470 Mbogo to three different velocities with heavy 560 grain GS Custom Solids. After developing the loads I went to the range and did some shooting. The loads were a 560 grain solid at 1550 fps, 2150 fps and 2400 fps. I set up the video camera and the test box so you can see the results for yourself.



Penetration Result

560 grain solid at 1550 fps - Penetration was 20 inches and 22 inches


560 grain solid at 2150 fps - Penetration was 36.5 inches and 38 inches


560 grain solid at 2400 fps - Penetration was 42.5 inches and 44 inches




Conclusion:

When comparing apples to apples and velocities between 1550 fps and 2400 fps the faster bullet will out penetrate the slower bullet by a wide margin, actually the penetration was just over double. I think this rumor was brought about by comparing soft point bullet penetration to a hard cast bullet penetration which acted more like a solid.

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video:

http://www.470mbogo.com/PenetrationVideo.mpg

website:

http://www.470mbogo.com/PenetrationComparison.html

Those results indicate that a 458 Lott should penetrate twice the depth of a 45-70 (at least in plywood).

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