Size Matters- Selecting Bullet Weights & Shot Sizes for Success
by Ed Migale
If you’ve spent more than one evening in a hunting camp, you’ve no doubt heard more than one friendly argument about the merits of one rifle caliber versus another or how a certain shotgun gauge is better than all the rest.
No matter what caliber or gauge he touts, the hunter-turned-orator provides a loquacious defense of his favorite and rarely, if ever, allows his audience (you) any chance of rebuttal.
Well here’s the “ammo” you’ll need to counter his claims …. and make better selections in the ammunition you feed your favorite rifle or shotgun:
Bore Diameter: Width Isn’t The Only Consideration
A 12 gauge is bigger than a 20 gauge, and a .338 caliber is bigger than a .308, which is bigger than a .277, right? No question about it, those statements are true as they are based on fact. But where the campfire argument gets cloudy is when statements are made to the effect that the bigger gauges and calibers provide more game killing “power”.
Is bigger always better? Sometimes it is. And sometimes it is not.
Guys, it’s not just bore diameter and chamber length that gets the job done. A lot – make that an awful lot – of how effective a given firearm is has to do with what you send down that bore in relation to 1.) the size and physical make-up of the bird or animal; 2.) the venue (i.e., topography, terrain, amount and density of brush, etc) in which you are hunting, and 3.) the distance at which you are shooting. These three variables are what you need to take into consideration when choosing ammunition for the hunt. To illustrate my point, let’s look at the venerable 30.06, which fires the same .308 diameter bullet as all other .30 caliber rifles such as the .308 Winchester, the 300 Winchester Short Magnum, the 300 Winchester Magnum, the 300 Remington Ultra Mag and the 300 H&H Magnum, to name several. What size and type of bullet should you shoot? Look to the three criteria I cite above and ask yourself… Are you: Stalking elk in the dark timber? Trying to sneak within range of antelope on the prairie or open-country blacktails? Tip-toeing through the manzanita in search of bedded wild pigs at mid-day? Bullet choices for the different scenarios are important because what works optimally for antelope at 300 yards will be a poor choice on wild hogs at 25 yards in dense brush. For long range shooting at thin skinned game, light-for-caliber bullets driven at high velocities have merit. In the 30-06, a 150 grain polymer tipped bullet designed to open quickly on impact, such as the Hornady SST or the Nosler Ballistic Tip would be perfect. With a sectional density of .226 and high ballistic coefficient of over .400, these bullets can be launched at a muzzle velocity of over 2,900 feet per second (fps) from the ’06. Zero this load at 250 yards and you won’t have to worry about holdover on any pronghorn, blacktail, or mule deer to 300 yards. Conversely, those close quarter elk should be stalked with stout, heavy-for-caliber 180 or 200 grain bullets such as the Nosler Partition, Trophy Bonded Bear Claw or Swift A-Frame. True enough, these heavy loads are relatively slower at 2,500 to 2,700 fps but you don’t need laser like trajectory in the dark timber. In fact, several African outfitters I spoke with recently at the Safari Club International Convention in Reno, Nevada, were adamant about the use of “long, heavy, slow bullets” for African plains game. Their reason? Thick brush. However, other PH’s liked the 165 grain bullets at higher muzzle velocities in the ’06. Their reason? More open terrain in their locales, which means longer shots.All-Copper Bullets -- Fact vs. Fiction Fiction: All-copper bullets cause excessive barrel fouling. Fact: The Barnes TSX and MRX bullets have grooves cut into the shank of the bullet that reduce surface contact with the rifle’s barrel. This reduces pressure and fouling. When cleaning my rifle after shooting the TSX all-copper bullets, I have not noticed any extra fouling. Fiction: Accuracy is terrible with the all-copper bullets. Fact: As noted in the main text, I’ve gotten one-hole groups at one hundred yards plus sub 1 inch groups at 200 yards. Fiction: The all-copper bullets do not expand upon impact and will only wound game. Fact: Speaking from experience, Barnes’ TSX bullet expands beautifully and kills game just as effectively as any lead core bullet I have used. On a recent tour of the 40,000 square foot Barnes factory I was shown buckets full of expanded bullets at each bullet press. Barnes stops the press after every 5,000 rounds, takes a sample to the lab, loads it into a cartridge and fires the bullet into a water recovery tank in order to ascertain proper expansion. Industry average is to check for expansion after 30,000 to 100,000 rounds. Fiction: All-copper bullets are far more expensive than lead based bullets. Fact: Lead used to be very inexpensive but recent world-wide demand has caused its price to triple in the last year. While copper prices have also gone up, the increase has not been as dramatic and the price of Barnes’ TSX bullet is on par with premium lead-core bullets. As for factory loaded ammo, remember that the bullet is just one component in the cartridge, the others being the brass case, primer and powder. A slightly more expensive bullet shouldn’t make the ammo that much more costly. Fiction: Those all-copper bullets are not completely lead free. Fact: The copper Barnes uses in its bullets is 99.95% pure. The other .05% is comprised of trace elements of other metals such as tin, zinc and lead. The USFWS recognizes that all metals can contain trace amounts of lead and allows up to 1% lead content in its approved non-toxic shot alternatives for waterfowl hunting. Fiction: If a condor eats an all-copper bullet, it will get copper poisoning. Fact: First of all, the chance of a condor ever getting its beak on an expended Barnes bullet is nil. As mentioned in the main text, these bullets are designed to expand on impact yet plow completely through big game animals. “Pass-throughs” are the rule with these bullets and very, very few are ever recovered by hunters. Other than the two dug out of the ground from behind the two coyotes, I’ve never recovered one. Secondly, the USFWS has approved both copper and Silvex (the tungsten based core used in Barnes’ MRX bullet) as non-toxic shot materials.
