BULLET DEFLECTION – PART 2
The second part of our series on separating facts from speculation when shooting through obstructions.
The second part of our series on separating facts from speculation when shooting through obstructions.
Part One of this article, that appeared in the September-October edition, covered various types of projectiles in calibres from .30-06 to the .450 (3¼”) NE. All of the projectiles were Woodleigh as it was a comparison of projectile types and how they handled various obstructions rather than projectile brands. Some months after Part One had been written, I spent a month in South Africa. During this trip I visited Richard Sowry, a Kruger National Park ranger, for a few days. During our time together there were many discussions about bullet performance on dangerous game, particularly elephant. After reading the draft article of Part One, Richard suggested an additional test involving only solids.
In Africa, over the last ten years or so, there has been a shift away from traditional roundnose solids in favour of flat-nose solids. These flat-nose solids are made from various materials – copper and brass being the most common. Even though field-testing can be quite subjective, there has been a growing body of empirical data indicating that, once inside the animal, the flat-nose solids penetrate in a straighter line and have a better killing effect than round-nose solids. Even though this test would not give any indication of bullet performance after striking an animal, Richard was keen to see how flat-nose solids compared to the traditional round-nose types and all of them in comparison to the newer Hydros, in a regulated deflection test.
Since the test was just going to be solids for the very largest game, the only calibre considered was .458. This gave projectiles in the 475- to 500-grain range, and using a muzzle velocity of 2 150 fps, a good representation of any of the dangerous-game cartridges in the .450 to .470 group. The projectiles tested were as follows:
• Woodleigh – 480-grain – FMJ (a lead-cored, steel-jacketed solid – traditional round-nose style).
• PMP – 475-grain – Solid (made in South Africa – brass solid but made in a traditional round-nose shape).
• North Fork – 500-grain – FPS (made in the USA – copper solid with a flat nose, slightly different as it has a straight ogive).
• Dzombo – 500-grain – Solid (made is South Africa – brass solid with a flat nose and a curved ogive).
• Woodleigh – 480-grain – Hydro – (brass solid with patented nose design).
The testing set-up was the same as in Part One. The target was at 80 yards from the shooter and the obstruction window halfway between. One shot was fired as a sighter with the window open, then five shots fired so that the projectile hit the media on the way to the target. (See table for results.)
CONCLUSION:
As far as accuracy and stability go, the same comments apply here as in Part One. If any projectile lands outside the 8-inch circle, then it would be seen as being non-lethal. Only the Hydro bullet put all shots into the 8-inch circle. With regard to penetration, any yawing shows some instability, which in turn may affect penetration. All projectiles types exhibited some instability, although in the case of the
Hydros it was only one projectile.
In comparing the round-nose types (Woodleigh FMJ and the PMP) with the flat-nose types (North Fork and Dzombo), then on the average the flat-point style performed a little better. However, as the results show, this difference is not enough to be relied upon. As in Part One, it is the Hydro bullet that is the standout performer, showing an amazing ability to hit an obstruction and keep going straight.
As mentioned in Part One, this was a tough test by any measure. Also, no bullet can “fail” a test it was not designed to pass in the first place. Therefore, these tests must be put into context – a tough test using an obstruction between the rifle and the target. Finally, as the results of both Parts One and Two show, there is NO bullet that can be totally relied upon if an obstruction is hit during the bullet’s flight to the target.