Thread: Rifle for bush hunting over indicating dog

Originally Posted by ZQLewis

I was going to add,
If going subsonic you get no (very limited) expansion so the larger the hole you bore the better. (ie its an excuse to buy another gun, 35, 375, 44, 45 cal etc)

That isn’t necessarily correct. Very much depends on the type of bullet.

A good soft cast lead hollowpoint will readily expand to 2x calibre given enough tissue to work with. This is a .308 calibre. There’s a video somewhere of a guy digging one of these out of a goat’s brisket, shot across the chest cavity, and it looked very similar. I’ve dug a couple out of already dead cull sheep that I’d just killed in the yards to see what they looked like. Shoulder shots. Bullet looks pretty much the same.

Over penetration can be a problem on thin goats, for sure. That’s were you’ve got to be smart with the point of aim. This one was shot in the base of the neck.

But there is a next level of course, that’s the heavy big bore hollowpoint and flat nose cast lead boolits. Even the flat nose boolits can create a surprising amount of damage through a tough pig, of course the penetration is unstoppable. A good top of heart shot opens up quite a wide wound channel through the heart and lungs you get huge fast bleeds out the exit, quite dramatic.

Bugger. I haven’t got the bullet photos on this device but if I remember I’ll post them tomorrow.