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"Not to split hairs, but both the 150 gr and the 170 gr bullets fall at exactly the same rate. ...The heavy, slower 170gr bullet will hit the ground closer to the shooter, but at the same time as the light, fast 150 gr bullet which hits the ground farther away. (all things being equal) Does that make sense?"
I know that, and was trying to phrase my original post in a way that made that clear, but I couldn't get the words out correctly. I know that downward acceloration due to gravity is 9.8 meters per second(squared) regardless of mass of the falling object.
I guess that to summarize my original querstion I'd ask this:
1. Do the heavier 170 gr bullets really accomplish anything that the 150 gr bullets can not?
2. Does the heavier 170 gr bullet travel as far and at as flat a trajectory from the rifle as the lighter 150 gr bullet?
I guess another thing I could have asked, but don't want to start fights over, is this: Does the (possibly) increased hunting effectiveness of the heavier 170 gr bullet outweigh the disadvantage of having a bullet that travels less far than the 150 gr bullet and that travels with less of a flat trajectory than the 150 gr bullet?
I'd summarize the answers I've gotten as follows:
1. Lots of deer and other animals would prefer not to get hit by a 30-30 round (and those deer were delicious, by the way), but some hunters would be even happier hunting with something that they feel is more powerful.
2. There may be more knock-down / fast-killing power with the 170 gr bullets, but many of you are unconvinced that this is anything more than advertising hype.
3. Some folks trust the new Hornady pointy bullets for lever rifles. On that point, I will say this: I accidentally bought a box of their 30-30 leveRevolution bullets without realizing that they were pointy. The elastomer tip (red plasticy kind of thing at the tip) is cute and all that, but I don't put pointy bullets in my lever rifles. Just too scared to do that.
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