GRAPHIC Why you don't hunt whitetails with a .300RUM

[thermaler]

Well, again….a few factors will have an effect on bullet performance when it impacts game.

#1- Is the bullet construction. As was pointed out, a ballistic tip will open sooner and shed it's energy faster than say a partition bullet.
#2- So, if you use a ballistic tip on a large 300-lb whitetail and the bullet hits the animal in the rear leg bone while headed towards the heart\lung area, chances are the bullet will not make it there as it's construction is made to shed it's energy quickly…and hitting hard BIG bone, plus BIG chunks of meat will cause the bullet to shead it's energy, and not penetrate to the animals vitals. (Of course, a hunter could get lucky and hit the animals femoral artery.)
#3- If the same bullet as discussed in #2 above would hit a 120-lb deer, it would likely make it to the vital organ area.
#4- If the bullet were constructed as a partition, it would make it to the vital area of either a heavy or light weight deer.
#5- If the bullet were traveling at maximum speed from a RUM, the small deer would lose probably most of it's one half hind quarter meat because of the energy shed. The large deer would also lose probably half of it's one side of hind quarter of meat. (That's an educated guess on my part)
#6- With a partition bullet, a broadside shot on a small deer, if not placed perfectly, could pass thru the deer and not hit any vital organ and the deer could escape just wounded, or wounded enough to run such a distance that recovery would be impossible.

Thoughts from my experience. As limited as it is.

Dave.

I'm sure what you say is correct and I appreciate it. I was just under the impression that the relative size of what the bullet hits (not density; i.e. bone etc) is not going to be a factor in whether or not the bullet vaporizes--or put better it is density, not size, that will cause a bullet to explode (assuming the bullet is traveling at such a speed/range that it is near it's instability threshold).