Ballistics
Howdy Jimbo,
The longest shot that I've taken in this area was about 140 paces
across a cornfield. Most of the others have been under 75.
My rifle is a Ruger 77 UltraLight with a 20-inch barrel (usually) or
a Ruger 77 RSI International carbine with an 18.5 inch barrel,
both in .308 Winchester.
Ammo is a general purpose handload consisting of the Nosler
150-grain Ballistic Tip, 46 grains of IMR 4895, Winchester
large standard rifle primers, in commercial Winchester once-fired brass.
Readings were taken at 30 feet from the muzzle at about 60 degrees F
and at very close to sea level on a crisp October morning.
Three separate chronographs insist that the initial velocity is 2740 fps
in the UltraLight's 20-inch barrel, and a tick over 2700 in the shorter rifle.
Accuracy is good....average of 1.25 to 1.5 inches for three 5-shot groups
for each rifle. Nothing to get fired up about, but perfectly adequate for
deer-sized game out to about 250 or 300 yards if shot carefully.
Performance on the animal is excellent, with none that have been hit
solidly in the heart/lung area taking more that two leaps before crashing, and most drop at the shot like they'd been hit by a truck.
The bullets normally expanded early on and fragmented about 3/4ths
of the way through the chest cavity, with core and jacket separating
shortly afterward, and the core has always been found under the skin
on the opposite side without exiting with the jacket an inch or so behind it.
Large permanent wound cavity with bruising and destroyed tissue that
radiated for 3-4 inches beyond the permanent channel, with some bruised
or bloodshot edible meat in the shoulder area on occasion. The heart and both lungs are typically destroyed.
Performance on two black bear taken at roughly 50 yards has been similar,
with less penetration noted. Heavy bone was not struck on either animal,
with both shots being confined to the chest cavity...One in a frontal shot
and one on an angling broadside shot. Both animals died within 10 feet
of where they were shot. Average weight for both was around 270 pounds
and penetration was adequate, but if I use the rifles for bear again, I'd
use the 165 grain Ballistic Tip with 44.5 grains of IMR 4064 for a muzzle
velocity of about 2500 fps. The 150 grain bullets fragmented heavily
and penetrated about halfway through...barely adequate for an animal
that can be dangerous when wounded. Good shot placement is the only thing that anchored them, and a heavier bullet is needed for best performance on black bear of this size range. I wouldn't recommend
the caliber or the Ballistic Tip of any weight on the larger brown bears.
Hope this helps.
Tuner