In browsing the internet, I ran across the following website that contains some very interesting and eye-opening physics research in the area of bullet performance. I downloaded the kp chart for future reference. The conclusions about bullet interaction with media helps dispel some of the false notions I had (and I'm sure many more have) about bullet energy and performance on game.
The scientific jargon gets a bit thick, but if you can follow it there is a very important concept (kp, or kinetic pulse) about bullet performance that is well-documented by the research findings. I will be including kp in my future considerations of calibers, cartridges, and load data from now on.
Most interesting is how neither energy nor momentum alone indicates the exact performance of a bullet upon impact! This has long been a debate among firearms purists. I think that the concept of kp will at least advance our understanding of the physics of this important concept, if not lead to a whole new way of analyzing ballistic performance.
I wouldn't be surprised if kp replaces ft/lbs as the theoretical measure of a load's potential game-stopping power in the near future. It surely helps explain the great field performance of some of the seemingly tame "on paper" calibers that have long been favorites of many shooters, such as the 6.5x55SE, 7x57, and 7mm-08, just to name three off-hand.
Give this wedsite a visit; you won't be disappointed :
http://www.xmission.com/~fractil/math/kp.html
