fmj for big game

[S.S.]

The use of an Aluminium or fibre tip had nothing to do with making the projectile tumble..
It was to allow for keeping the length of the projectile while decreasing the weight.
The SMLE needed the longer projectile to feed reliably, and when the Brits wanted a lighter round,
the Dual core projectile was the solution. The tumbling was simply an added bonus.

[kombi1976]

The use of an Aluminium or fibre tip had nothing to do with making the projectile tumble..
It was to allow for keeping the length of the projectile while decreasing the weight.
The SMLE needed the longer projectile to feed reliably, and when the Brits wanted a lighter round,
the Dual core projectile was the solution. The tumbling was simply an added bonus.

I stand corrected.
I believe, however, that the tumbling factor was a little more than an added bonus.
There is little doubt they liked the effect of the hollow point MkII 303 round that was made at the Dum Dum Arsenal in India and the tumbling nature of the MkVII bullet was quite pronounced.

[S.S.]

Quite pronounced indeed !
I was firing some MkVII ball at the base of a large poplar tree on the back of my property
(about 18 inch diameter and firing downhill at it) The exit hole on some of the rounds was almost a foot higher
up the tree than the entrance holes. That is some good tumbling and some SUPER penetration.
The MkVII is a pretty nasty combat round ! During the 'Russians Turn" In Aghanistan, The Afghans
really liked the old SMLE's. The feeble attempt that the Russians made at Body armor was no match
for the MkVII. (Neither was the Glass in their APC's)  The Afghans were some pretty decent shots
with those old rifles and I will bet that some of them are in use to this day,,, Don't ask, can't tell you anyway!

[jim0149]

FMJ's are best suited for war and thick skinned african game.
Jim

[RaySendero]

...... The difference between shooting a very heavily constructed animal with blunt solids and shooting light game with the more typical spitzer FMJs common to smaller calibers is huge. They don't even deserve to be compared in their performance any more than they are comparible in their intended design.

I'll second that!

[beemanbeme]

That a fellow feels he must use a bullet capable of penetrating a bank vault to kill a 100# deer and doesn't dare venture into the bear (black) or hog woods without something on the order of a .338 shows why Madison Avenue works. 
While it is a laugh to see some of the bullets touted for deer hunting, there has also been a quiet evolution in your standard bullets also.  As I am a heavy for calibre sort of guy, I don't have to worry about over driving a bullet.  If I'm approaching 3000fps in a hunting load, I get a bigger bullet.  That said, I would be willing to hunt any NA game with a standard Rem/Horn/Speer  bullet.
To me, a NP is a premium bullet.

Sorry, I didn't mean to jack this thread.   

[kombi1976]

I'm with you, beeman.
The hypervelocity fans often forget that it is with very heavy bullets at moderate velocities that dangerous game are taken.
I haven't tried it personally but friends of mine hunt deer and moose using large cal rifles at moderate to low velocities.
The stand out is a friend who uses a Snider .577 cal loaded with black powder.
The consensus from them is that while range is often not at a premium that you can eat the meat rifle up to the bullet hole.
Plenty of research has shown that even FMJs can disintegrate at high velocities so heavier bullets moving at between 2200fps and 2800fps are well up to all game.
You just have to pick your range.
All in all this FMJ argument is semantics and a largely argued on ideal circumstances, which rarely occur in the real world.
Epanding bullets work......that's why people have spent so much money improving them.

[jro45]

Yes I've read all of Capsticks books. I think he has alot of good info and alot of info that doesn't mean anything. As far as solids they're good for dangerous game and if you have nothing else, you have to eat, so they will work on smaller game.