250 SW Bullet Performance (Yesterday)
Dec 4, 2010 9:42:24 GMT -5
Post by ET on Dec 4, 2010 9:42:24 GMT -5
You won’t ever get an argument from me with those they have pointed out the fragmenting characteristic of the 250SST/SW bullet when shot to smokeless muzzle loading velocities. It is a known fact and really can’t be argued.
But knowing this IMO you need to know how this fragmenting characteristic can be applied usefully to achieve a goal.
In my youth when introduced to hunting larger animals like deer it has been instilled in me that the best possible and highest percentage kill shots are heart/lung shots. This has proven itself time and again over the years. Now the interesting observation with a fragmenting bullet that punches into the lungs is that when the animal is eviscerated all that is usually left of the lungs is deflated mush. To me that translated a quick kill occurred. Also the bullet entered the chest cavity before fragmenting to achieve this kind of damage.
But one also has to keep in mind what affects the level of fragmentation such as velocity, RPM (centrifugal force), POI resistance and now with the 250SST/SW the hardness of the nose being driven into the lead core. IMO these are key factors that have to be taken into consideration because they will affect the fragmentation characteristics.
From my current limited experience with the hard nose 250SW (.452” diameter.) when this bullet is driven at 2300fps out of a 1in24 barrel twist it will get into the chest cavity before the majority of the fragmentation occurs even at 20yds.
Over time and from personal experience we have chosen our available bullet of choice for deer hunting. One regret I do have is not having had the chance to try the discontinued 250PTX on deer. By the time I got around getting this bullet to shoot accurate out of my 10ML-II it was discontinued. This one I believed had good all around potential. Guess I’ll never know.
Ed
But knowing this IMO you need to know how this fragmenting characteristic can be applied usefully to achieve a goal.
In my youth when introduced to hunting larger animals like deer it has been instilled in me that the best possible and highest percentage kill shots are heart/lung shots. This has proven itself time and again over the years. Now the interesting observation with a fragmenting bullet that punches into the lungs is that when the animal is eviscerated all that is usually left of the lungs is deflated mush. To me that translated a quick kill occurred. Also the bullet entered the chest cavity before fragmenting to achieve this kind of damage.
But one also has to keep in mind what affects the level of fragmentation such as velocity, RPM (centrifugal force), POI resistance and now with the 250SST/SW the hardness of the nose being driven into the lead core. IMO these are key factors that have to be taken into consideration because they will affect the fragmentation characteristics.
From my current limited experience with the hard nose 250SW (.452” diameter.) when this bullet is driven at 2300fps out of a 1in24 barrel twist it will get into the chest cavity before the majority of the fragmentation occurs even at 20yds.
Over time and from personal experience we have chosen our available bullet of choice for deer hunting. One regret I do have is not having had the chance to try the discontinued 250PTX on deer. By the time I got around getting this bullet to shoot accurate out of my 10ML-II it was discontinued. This one I believed had good all around potential. Guess I’ll never know.
Ed