Lethality of Long Range Hunting Bullets
With hunting season already in full swing, many game hunters have questions about terminal performance and particular caliber/cartridge combinations. Bryan Litz of Applied Ballistics says there are really a number of questions that need to be answered:
1) What’s the max range that the shooter/rifle is capable of hitting the intended target?
2) What’s the max range that a bullet can kill the intended game?
3) How do bullets kill?
4) Effects of Muzzle Velocity on Lethality.
(Your MV may be lower in winter with temp-sensitive powders).
5) Long Range Lethality and the Ballistic Coefficient.
You’ll find answers to these and other questions in Bryan’s book, Applied Ballistics for Long-Range Shooting. These topics are covered in Chapter 15: Lethality of Long Range Hunting Bullets. Bryan says: “For responsible hunting, knowing your limits and your rifle’s limits, is important.”
Bryan’s book also includes Bullet Lethality Charts for a variety of calibers and cartridge types. These charts feature categories for 600-lb, 300-lb, and 150-lb Game animals so you can match performance to the size of your prey. Bryan explains: “If I wanted to know how a Medium Capacity Cartridge shooting the 6mm Berger 115 VLD will perform on 300-pound game, I can reference the bullet-specific chart.”
