Awhile back, occasional blog visitor Poli was offering a deal at his rod n’ gun club where you could take your hunting rifle, and fire it into ballistic gel blocks in order to get a rough idea of how your gun and load would perform on game. If I understand him correctly, it didn’t go over that well because nobody wanted to pay for it - and shooting into ballistic gel is not cheap! It’s unfortunate because there are so many variables in your rifle’s performance: bullet velocity, bullet construction being first and foremost. A ballistic gel test gives a great approximation of exactly what your rifle and load will do under optimal conditions.
On the negative side… if you hit a bone, or brush in front of the target… everything changes. But having a base line to work from is a great thing to have for The Compleat Rifleman. Had he offered that opportunity at my club I’d have jumped on it.
Perhaps his offer would have been more popular if he had used farting gel blocks in his test?
Personally I no longer get involved in foolish debates about “which calibre is best for deer? .243/.308/30-06/.270 etc etc etc… The fact of the matter is that if you put a properly constructed bullet where it has to go at sporting ranges… all the old standbys are as good as most of the new fangled wonder chamberings that seem to come out every other day. Drive ya bullets as fast and as accurately as you can, keep your ranges short, and do right by the game as humanely possible.
Here’s to filled tags and full freezers! 😊👍
Ha, you nailed it. About 30 years ago, the "which caliber is better" convo came up, the Seal team guy cut through it all with "It doesn't matter what you shoot 'em with, it matters WHERE you shoot 'em."
ReplyDeleteUp to that point, he had shot lot's of 'ems. After retiring, he joined the most active police department in So. Cal.
SO, my puny little, 131 year old, 6.5 Swede, in my 82 year old Mauser, will get the job done.
It's a beautiful rifle and the 6.5x55 looks almost as sleek as the 243.
I bought the 6.5 creed because it's a modern copy of the Swede. Kent
Delete30-30 Winchester. Never failed.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, you gotta hit them in the right spot.
Also, my 30-06 put a round into a coyote's nose and the bullet exited his ass, so I'd give that an A+ for penetration.
I still use the old SKS I bought in 1992, upon my discharge from the USN. Still works fine. If I need more range and/or something harder-hitting, I have my M48 Mauser in 7.92.
ReplyDelete