Thread: Velocity
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Old May 15, 2000, 09:55 PM   #5
bergie
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 19, 1999
Posts: 567
The other guys covered power and shot placement, so,
I guess my take on your question will cover trajectory. What caliber are you shooting? What game are you hunting? And what range do you anticipate shooting?
As an example, if you are hunting deer in many western states you may be hunting in an area where 300+ yd shots are not that uncommon, compared to eastern, upper midwest, northwest hunting in areas where you cannot even see 300 yds. I don't know what the country you hunt in is like, but if a long shot would maybe be 150 yds, don't worry about it.

I shoot a .270 mostly, and I am working on some 140 gr bullet loads so pulling some data from the Hornady 5th Edition, if I load 140 gr bullets to 3000 (maxed), 2900, 2800 and 2700 fps (dropping 100, 200, 300 fps)and zero my rifle for each load at 200 yds, then at 300 yds the 2900 load would impact .6" lower than the 3000, the 2800 load would drop 1.2" more, and the 2700fps load would drop 1.7" compared to where the fastest load would hit.
SO IF A person is going to be shooting at 300 yds - 100fps is almost negligible, 300fps on the other hand, if safely attainable, in a load that will group well will make a difference.
At less than 200 yds, don't bother trying to get any extra speed just go for the best shooting load you can find.
HTH
bergie
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