The Evolution Of Big-Game Bullets

IT is a fact of life that the expensive custom rifle fitted with the best quality scope available, fired by the most skilled marksman, is no more effective than the bullet it shoots. Everything hinges on a tiny missile that exits the barrel at anywhere between 1200 and 4000fps. A problem which has always troubled bulletmakers is the bullet's behaviour after impact. It is easy enough to make bullets TO shoot accurately, but this is nothing compared to the problem of providing the right balance of expansion and penetration on living tissue.

The problem lies in the many variables encountered in the field. On one occasion a bullet will strike bone. On the next it won't. The animal may be quietly grazing or it may be in a state of high tension arising from fright. It may be hit through the ribs where usually little penetration is needed,